A group piece for one person starring Anja Müller’s fragmented identities – a hoard of different characters, who take over her gestures, facial expressions and voice. In a time in which everything from obsessive self-presentation to unconditional flexibility is demanded, they retreat inwardly to landscapes of yearning. Does a person simply become a Chimera when all the “I”s simultaneously want to have their say? An absurd choir of every possible identity which a human can portray.

THREE CHEERS TO EXISTENCE

ONE
In the beginning there was a sky full of suns. And the suns were themselves enough and the planets circulated and in the middle of the universe a black hole yawned. It was very small and very empty and was looking for the vicinity of the bright stars nearby and called them by their names. But as the stars came closer, they found nothing, just darkness. And as the stars came even closer – because they could not resist any longer – their rays touched the edge and they disappeared into the hole, and with them all the light disappeared until the stars themselves were no longer there, and the black hole became a little bit bigger. As such it keeps growing and eating and spreading. It will not be long before its edges appear above our sky. Look, we can already see it from the mountain. And when we step through, everything will be open for us. And this was when everything started.

TWO
In the beginning was the end.
Because if nothing is, everything is possible.
And this was when everything started.

THREE
In the beginning I was all alone. Where men once wore a face, I had something indefinite, as barren and empty and rigid as the landscape around me. A blank space, ready to be filled. That’s all I had in a world that is already destroyed or is just reinventing itself. And out of two little pebbles which I found in a dry river bed, I made myself two eyes and put them in my head. And from a half-decayed branch I made myself a mouth, which I put on, and a handful of sand, which I took as thoughts and sprinkled over my skull. So I ran through the world. And I saw through the pebbles everything with the indifference of eternal minerals and I spoke the language of decomposing organisms. And thought thoughts I could never hold on to, they always trickled through the chin and through the chest back to the floor. Whenever I ran and thought, I left such a trail. Once, just as I was resting, someone came towards me on my way. And this was when everything started.

ANJA MÜLLER is a choreographer, performer, and musician. After completing her studies in contemporary dance in Berlin, she studied choreography in Amsterdam and worked as a dancer, with Meg Stuart. In her own works, she is interested in mixing dance with other formats such as film, live animation and concerts. Anja plays drums in the post-punk band Kala Brisella and is part of the international band collective John The Houseband. Together with the orchestra of the Norrlandsoperan Umea/ Sweden they created a re-interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, which premiered in November 2017 in Umea. Anja’s latest solo La Mula – A Beatmusical has been shown in Europe and worldwide since 2014. determueller.com

DENNIS DETER is a native-born Berliner. He works as a dramaturg, choreographer and performer. Dennis studied philosophy and German literature at the FU Berlin and worked with different artists such as Gui Garrido, Begüm Erciyas and the White Horse collective. For six years he has traveled and toured throughout Europe with John The Houseband. He also is the bass-player in Kala Brisella. His last work Blow Boys Blow premiered at Tanzfabrik Berlin in February 2016 and will be shown again in Berlin during Tanznacht 2018. determueller.com

JOCHEN HAKER is a musician, lighting designer and performer. In 2008 he finished his training as stage technician at the Theater Freiburg and worked there for two more years as a light and sound engineer in the field of dance and theater. He has lived in Berlin since 2014 and has worked for productions such as La Mula and with the collective Deter/Müller/Martini, Zeitkratzer, Su-Mi Jang and Sung-Im Her. He also plays with Dennis and Anja in Kala Brisella. Most recently, he designed light and music in the latest production of Deter/Müller/Martini In the Forest There Is at Kampnagel, Hamburg and was the lighting designer for the production of John the Houseband at the Norrlandsoperan Umea/ Schweden.

SANDRA E. BLATTERER is a Berlin-based artist. Her multidisciplinary works combine and alternate between photography, video, installations and contextual performances. As a lighting designer, she has already collaborated with various artists in the field of performance. Last collaborations: Tian Rotteveel K3 Residence/Hamburg; Lighting concept Projecting Space by Meg Stuart/damaged goods, Jeroen Peeters and Jozef Wouters at the Ruhrtriennale 2017; At HAU she was part of the collaborative work City Lights – A Continous Gathering by Maria F. Scaroni.

[Source: www.sophiensaele.de & play bill]

TFB Nr. 1195