STAR

Creator
Ben Spatz

Core Participants
Margot Bassett
Susan Oetgen
Peter Sciscioli

Venues
Emergency, Z-Arts, Manchester (2016)
Centre for Psychophysical Performance Research, Huddersfield (2014)
Lumen Festival, Staten Island Arts (2013)

STAR is a participatory, durational song event that can take place in any location. It is especially powerful when enacted in a highly resonant space, such as the lobby rotunda of the Lyons Pool on Staten Island (Lumen Festival, 2013). The structure is simple and can be printed on a small card.

Like the practice of Authentic Movement, STAR explores the dynamics of doing and witnessing without the pressure of a strictly performative frame. In this case, the task is for the person in the center to continually produce sound. STAR offers a particular kind of rigor in that the person in the center does not decide when to stop, but remains there until replaced. This simple rule allows for a surprisingly deep experience for experienced and inexperienced practitioners alike.