The Edge of the Circle

July 10, 1992 (workshop)

Written by Belén García-Alvarado and composed by Randall Packer

performed by Charles Lane, Pamela Z, Julie Queen, Leigh Evans

The Edge of the Circle probes the destructive forces of heroes and leaders. This human journey unfolds through five hundred years of history chronicled by sounds, text and imagery from discoverers, heroes, leaders, and the instruments of technology that made their obsessive visions possible.

From the Arab palace of la Alhambra in Spain, through a sea journey in time, to the Aztec pyramids of Mexico, the staging of The Edge of the Circle divides the theatrical space into three areas brought together by the flowing of water.

Towering projection scrims give a sense of motion through projected slide, computer and video imagery, as well as through the spatialization of live and synthesized sound. An interplay between five singers and images, music, lights, and text is achieved through an elaborate interactive system in which voices and electronic percussion instruments trigger sound and visual elements.