Octopus Lament, 2011

About
For this project, I explored poetry, sound, and performance on a very large scale. I wrote a poem, translated it to French, and then distorted the French so that it was unrecognizable. We set the poem to music and had someone perform the poem on the corner of a popular street in Nashville. I made a giant octopus costume for the performer to wear while she was reciting the poem. She stood on a raised staircase above the audience, looking somewhat like a political figure giving a speech. The octopus costume had the required 8 legs (each between 16 and 22 feet long), a top hat, and a fancy book from where she read.

Medium
Performance, costuming, sound composition, and spoken word

Collaborators 
Composer: Jin-Hwa Choi
Performer: Megan Kelly
Make-up Artist: Jackie Osborne

Venue
Belmont University just outside the Troutt Theatre