Deserting Las Vegas

An explanation is in order.

Last year I joined forces with Eternal Tour for the 2011 edition: Deserting Las Vegas. The mission was to develop and conduct a stage show for four (although in the end we turned out to be six) performers based on a libretto written specifically for this project. Then, during December we were to tour the States from New York City to Las Vegas, performing at 9 locations counting the premier in in Geneva, and the upcoming grand finale, also in Geneva. In total we were 11 people travelling, divided between what we in our european naïvete believed to be a monstrous camper (the families at the RV parking lots had us SCHOOLED) and a mini-van.

For 25 days we journeyed from one extreme to the other. Between the frenzy of NYC, laid back family life in Greensboro, traumatizing hot chicken in Nashville, roadside motels, Alma: the capital of spinach,  spectacular decadence on the famed Las Vegas Strip, harsh and unforgiving winds in the deserts of Death Valley and perhaps the very end of the world at Synergy Ranch in New Mexico; is it redundant to say it’s been a fundamentally unforgettable experience? Probably. But I just can’t help myself.

Every venue we performed in was different, from a car mechanic’s workshop to a jazz club/kitchen, traditional theatres, the desert and a beauty salon turned into a nightclub, just to mention a few. Of course, we had to adjust the performance accordingly, never knowing until the same day or the day before exactly what to expect. Like space warriors we faced each oily floor and complicated ceiling arrangement with bravery, not completely unappreciative of the game elements produced by such a challenge.

At SEEDS in Brooklyn NYC

VOX POPULI, Philadelphia

Setting up in Greensboro, North Carolina

Warming up, Death Valley

Death Valley

The Beauty Bar, Las Vegas

Emergency Arts at The Beat, Las Vegas

Yes. This is all I’ve got for you right now. I would also like to extend an enormous heartfelt thank you to the team of Deserting Las Vegas for taking me on and sharing this completely delirious adventure with me, and especially to Donatella Bernardi without whom I would probably never have met any of you and would most likely be a zillion experiences poorer. Srsly you guys, from the depth of my non-french heart, YOU ROCK! Here’s a cheesy group shot:

XOXO

Photographs by Donatella Bernardi.