Pitch Black

CREATED BY the coop

There is something nostalgic, tangible, and inherently human about the film noir genre. In "Pitch Black" we were curious to build a performance piece, which utilizes filmic suspense techniques, while portraying a series of dramatic scenes, inspired by real-life Hitchcock.


Two actors dressed in black move in front of a projection in Pitch Black.


History

"Pitch Black" was created during the Fall 2017 season, and premiered in January 2018 at the Fredericton Playhouse after an intensive creative residency. "Pitch-Black” utilizes Lesandra Dodson’s early choreographic work “Disconnected Series of Utterances” (2002), inspired by the genius of film noir director Alfred Hitchcock, as a springboard for further artistic exploration. Using some of the key building blocks of film noir – all sensory elements working together to create suspense sequences – we experimented with choreographic language, text, music, and video projections to try and achieve those same effects. The piece also touches on the hierarchy, culture and gender discrimination found in early film making practices. These particularly demanding creative environments draw parallels to the present day, and we are led to see and question some of these extreme approaches to creation.

“Pitch-Black“ includes artistic contributions from the former coop Artistic Directors, contemporary choreographer/director Lesandra Dodson, and writer/actor Lisa Ross, as well as composer Andrew Miller (Open Arts), videographer Chris Giles, and coop company members actor/dancers Kira Chisholm and Alex Rioux. 

Two actors, one on their knees and one standing in front of a projection of an actor in Pitch Black.
Two actors in moving in front of a projection in Pitch Black.
Two actors drinking water from fancy glasses in front of a window in Pitch Black.
Two musicians, one playing the cello and one playing the keyboard in front of a projection in Pitch Black.
Two actors in movement in front of a projection in Pitch Black.
Actor illuminated by a single light shining down from the top left corner in Pitch Black.
Two actors standing in front of a projection of a person with their head in their hands in Pitch Black.
Three actors, one with a microphone and music stand, creating silhouettes on the blank screen behind them in Pitch Black.
Two people, one holding their face, facing toward the left in front of a projection in Pitch Black.