The Theater of the Absurd highlights the absurdity in daily life. Pedestrians are drawn from their intended path through the site and into the theater, where they become both viewer and, unintentionally at times, performer. The program consists of both a more traditional stage setting and places where the stage is set for unintentional performances. In cases where the pedestrian is unaware that they have become a performer, the performance consists of that which people do when they think no one else is looking. These strategies draw attention to the absurdity of plans and appearances and the belief that we are in control.
The project draws inspiration from the Dada film “Ghosts Before Breakfast” by Hans Richter on both a conceptual and formal level. The film depicts absurd occurrences in an everyday setting (albeit caused by ghosts). Frames were extracted from the film in order to create a collage, which then became the inspiration for a formal study of twisting space.
The twisting form derived became the central circulation path through the site. The site is located in Ann Arbor on a site connecting a parking structure to the busy State Street. The building uses the disorienting geometry of the twist to misdirect the pedestrian headed out on their daily route into a programmatic detour. Although it is possible to pass straight through the building, those unacquainted with its quirks will find themselves entering the theater space.
The above series of images illustrates the detoured spatial sequence from the back of the building towards the upper level of the main theater space. Along the way, the pedestrian encounters a two-way mirror overlooking State Street. This mirror is oriented so that the pedestrian sees their reflection but the people on the street and in the coffee shop across the way see through. The pedestrian’s posturing becomes performance. The below series shows the path from the opposite direction, where the pedestrian is misdirected into the seating for the theater space.
By putting the pedestrian’s path into clear visual juxtaposition to a more traditional stage space, creative possibilities are opened up for performance artists.
