Event
Opus Siniestrus
October 30, 2021 (Saturday) — 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Doors open 6:30 pm to 7:00 pm
Institute of Contemporary Art at Penn
Outdoor Terrace
118 S. 36th Street
Free registration here
About
Opus Siniestrus, a play by the feminist surrealist Leonora Carrington and directed by Ricardo A. Bracho, concerns the outbreak of a virus that kills only women. Its protagonist, an old woman who carries with her at all times an ostrich egg, battles the patriarchy in the form of a Doctor, the Pope, Hitler, and Superman. Written in 1979, the play exemplifies Carrington’s environmental politics as well as her participation in the women’s liberation movement in Mexico City. Characters include 12 Cannibals, 3 Astronauts, a misgendered Ostrich, and a Computer. Equal parts absurd performance spectacle and acute social critique, the play’s workshop production at ICA will be the first in its original language.
Funded by a Collaborative Provost Interdisciplinary Grant from the Sachs Program for Arts Innovation, Opus Siniestrus is performed and designed by Penn students, staff and faculty. It is envisioned for the stage by The Headless Collective: artist-educator Joelle Estelle Mendoza, producer-musician Enix Inri (Ren Clark) and poet-playwright, Ricardo A. Bracho, former Sachs Artist-in-Residence of The Center for Research in Feminist, Queer, and Transgender Studies and Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Program and current Fellow at the Center for Experimental Ethnography. Performances will begin after dusk, following the surrealist maxim that, “The revolution begins at night.”
Sponsored by:
The Center for Research in Feminist, Queer, and Transgender Studies
Department of Music
Institute of Contemporary Art
Register
Space is limited for this program, so registration is required.
*Please note, in the event we reach capacity, visitors will be admitted on the basis of when they arrive at ICA.
Registration on Eventbrite facilitates the check-in process, but does not guarantee entrance.