Monday, April 24, 2023

Lena Baker and Expanded Cinema - 'On Griffin Alley'


ON GRIFFIN ALLEY, is an 'Expanded Cinema' live performance work and interdisciplinary experiment, fusing stage theatre and expanded cinema techniques. The goal is not to have a “clean, finished product,” but rather, it is an exploration of the process of the work, which subsequently becomes the work. Through the use of found objects, artifacts, archival film footage, and sound design we hope to create a new language of performance. 'ON GRIFFIN ALLEY' Directed by: Joey Huertas Starring: Connie Winston Written by THE WATCH (collaboration between the two artists Joey and Connie) Live soundscape music performance: Joey Huertas ALL 'LIVE SOUNDSCAPE MUSIC' PERFORMED DERIVES FROM SAMPLED SOUNDS CAPTURED FROM LIVE POWER GENERATORS AND LIVE ELECTRICITY SOURCES. On Griffin Alley is a an anti Capital Punishment work and a re-imagining of the trial of Lena Baker, a 44-year old Black American female who was convicted of killing Ernest B. Knight, her 56-year old white male employer with whom she also was engaged in an illicit love affair in Jim Crow Cuthbert, Georgia. *** Baker is the first and only woman to ever be electrocuted in the State of Georgia. The year was 1944. Baker’s trial lasted for less than one full day, and her jury was comprised of twelve white males. The trial transcript is approximately ten pages long. This live performance was created by interpreting the transcript during self-imposed DIY residency and using found artifacts to design the stage set and "Old Sparky" electric chair.

bye.