MIKE

Dana Michel’s experimental choreographic work MIKE deploys an unexpected logic that unravels the orderly world of mechanical labor. Accompanied by an inventory of office items, which appear sculptural yet also act as performance collaborators, Michel embarks on a series of tasks subject to interruption and absurd redirection. Michel moves her body and these disparate objects nomadically through the margins of theatrical space and the given architecture, upending their typical function. Both playful and serious, MIKE deals with work culture and self-respect. Michel asks: “is it possible to live public lives that reflect our inner selves?”

Michel’s MIKE is an ever-shifting work that updates in response to each architectural space it is presented in. At EMPAC, the piece’s itinerary shifts between one of the building’s most technologically advanced spaces (Studio 1) and some of its seemingly most simple and public—such as lobbies, stairwells, and an outdoor patio. Where apparently straightforward infrastructure becomes entangled in subtle, comic gestures, the finish of theatrical production is surrendered to the physical and emotional complexities of maintenance. At issue are the everyday performances we undertake at work.

MIKE is a three-hour, durational performance. Viewers can move around the performance spaces as needed to follow the work. While audiences are encouraged to stay from start to finish, viewers are free to enter and exit the performance as they like.