In Performance: Yesterday Tomorrow (COIL)

In the remarkably elegant Yesterday Tomorrow, director Annie Dorsen has created a poignant meditation on what it means to be present, particularly in our contemporary screen-obsessed world. The third in Dorsen’s trilogy of algorithmic theatre pieces, Yesterday Tomorrow tasks three extraordinary singers in sight reading an algorithm-driven journey from the songs “Yesterday” by Paul McCartney to “Tomorrow” from the musical Annie!. Meditation really does seem like the right word: with a warm, glowing Buddha statue watching over the stage, the singers maintain pristine focus as they sing the random notes, words, and rhythms created live by the algorithm on its 60-minute road from the past to the future (which is different in each performance). In addition, the algorithm generates signals for the lighting to change and the performers to shift positions. As the sound and space–which is populated by a few couches, a TV, laptop, and other living room detritus–evolves, the result is a rich exploration of the ways our lives are increasingly driven by computer programs, and furthermore, how our constant attachment to screens and devices keeps us obsessed with the past and the future, and detached from the present moment.

LA MAMA’S ELLEN STEWART THEATER
66 East 4th Street
Manhattan, NY, USA

WED JAN 13, 9:00 PM
THU JAN 14, 7:30 PM
FRI JAN 15, 7:30 PM
SAT JAN 16, 3:00 PM

Running time: 60 minutes

Tickets:
Ticket Price: $20

Photo by Alexandre Schlub