Running in place, eyes closed - !أركُضْ! ارقُدْ! اركُد

A multimedia performance by Lori Kharpoutlian “Running in place, eyes closed - !أركُضْ! ارقُدْ! اركُد " is a set of musings on our relation to time, death (machines), and the impossibility of making sense when constantly expecting the worst. It takes a satirical, historical, and extremely personal look at a body in waiting and the spatial, psychological, and physical tensions that accompany it.  Whether disaster comes or doesn’t, the anticipation remains the same.  The performance combines elements of multimedia, movement, and fragmented storytelling to revisit doomsday scenarios that never materialized and some that do just too often. In stories of catastrophe, accidents, and childhood games alike, a slow but steady process of disembodiment unfolds, time stretches and folds in on itself, and the everyday and the atrocious collide. With the support of: Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) Culture Resource Amalgam studios Zoukak Theater Platform Studios Movement Research  Les Rencontres à l'échelle  Goethe-Institut Hebbel Am Ufer Collaborators:  Ziad Moukarzel (Sound design) Sarkis Kanaan (Acting coach) Pôl Seif (Lighting design support) Jean-Claude Boulos (Video) Cesar Abou Ayash (Technical Setup - Screens) Raffi Kasparian (Technical Setup - Lights) Patrick Sfeir (Video editing - Poster illustration) External eyes: Elie Mouhanna, Simea Cavelti, Ahmad Ghossein Research phase collaborators: Simea Cavelti (Performer), Farah Azrak (Vocals), Sary Moussa (Sound Designer), Nedjma Hadj Benchelabi and Shaymaa Shoukry ("Un|Controlled Gestures II" curators and advisors) Special thanks:  Ali Chahrour - Hassib Dergham - Yara Khoury - Dimitri Haddad - Romy Assouad - Hagop, Maral, and Lisa Kharpoutlian - Ashkal Alwan, Beirut Art Center, and Fleurs du Liban for hosting rehearsals and showings. Photo Credit: Movement Research at the Judson Church. 24.03.04. Lori Kharpoutlian. Photo by Rachel Keane.