The world premiere of the six-day performance “Frail Affinities” makes poetic and satirical reference to the tragedy of the “Donner Party” from 1846. A group of settlers migrating across the United States became trapped in the snow of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and endured unimaginable horrors. Saint Genet’s method insists on images becoming obsessions, opening mental and physical spaces on a periphery where suffering, pain, joy, delirium, and death flow over into one another.
Director/Text: Derrick Ryan Claude Mitchell
Performer: Darren Dewse, Ezra Dickinson, Matt Drews, Sara Edwards, Ethan Folk, Derrick Ryan Claude Mitchell, MKNZ, Lily Nguyen, NKO
Musicians: Brian Lawlor (piano/synth), D. Salo (piano/synth), Emily Stewart (violin), Judith Reiter (viola), Julia Pichler (violin), Lukas Lauermann (cello)
Composers: Brian Lawlor, dl Salo
Choreography: Matt Drews
Costume & Make-up: Robinick Fernandez
Costume and Make-up assistant: Jordan Christianson
Video: Alexander Nowak
Light Design (for performance): Ben Zamora
Sound Design: Ryan Kelly
Dramaturgy: Melissa Henry
Company Manager: Sara Edwards