Victoria Fringe Festival, Summer 2017
Directed by Colette Habel
Project Mercury explored the experience of chimpanzees used in the testing of various life support systems relating to space exploration. The play followed both the experience of the scientists testing the systems, and the apes being tested, as two separate & interwoven narratives, highlighting the personhood of the subjects against an impersonal scientific context, including misgivings on the part of the scientists.
I recorded a worn out Space Odyssey 2001 vinyl for the chimpanzee scenes, especially those in which they were given drugs, to evoke an out of body experience. I felt the worn record gave the impression both of the time period and the inaccurate experience of the mind’s recollections, while referencing an iconic piece of space exploration media. In addition, I also provided basic lab enviromental sounds, including recording equipment.
Ape Empathy Sequence A
Lab Door
Rewind/Play
Cognition Test B
Ape Empathy C
Tape End
Tarantist 