Fusebox: Michelle Ellsworth

Phone Homer is a techno-feminist remix of the ancient epic poem, “The Iliad.” Skype, fast food, torture, and illiterate dance phrases are all bedfellows on an Astroturf sheet of war, technology, and the western canon of literature. The frenetic narrative of the Trojan War unfolds as the homebound Clytemnestra has Skype conversations with Agamemnon, Helen, Penelope, and Aegisthus and surfs her custom-built, self-referential, and interactive world wide web searching for direction, meaning, transformative dance moves, and peace derived from materialism and food.

Women & Their Work is proud to present:

Michelle Ellsworth: Phone Homer

April 26 @ 9pm; April 27 @ 7pm; April 28 @ 2pm
The Long Center at 701 W. Riverside Rollins Theatre
for 3 days only during the Fusebox Festival – tickets $15 each

“artistically wild, scientifically accurate movement/theater…” – The Denver Post

Noted video and performing artist Michelle Ellsworth unleashes a one woman, multimedia portrayal of Clytemnestra, the woman left behind as her husband Agamemnon serves as leader of the Greeks in Troy. In Phone Homer she uses a series of instructional videos, Skype calls with characters from “The Iliad”, a kinetic alphabet modeled after the Kinect, hamburger sacrifices, and the entire internet constructed specifically for this show to interpret this mythic character. This Texas premiere performance is informed by years of Ellsworth’s research, including performable websites, tools for coping with the obsolescence of the Y-chromosome and the creation of a dress that can solve problems.

The recent recipient of a prestigious award from the United States Artists Knight Fellowship honoring leading artists nationally, Ellsworth uses text and movement as a foundation to weave together her signature wit, humor and inquisitiveness. She is noted for her prolific video art, which has included a series of tailor-made motivational videos and as the OntheBoards.tv artist in residence. Her work has been seen throughout the US, including her 2005 work, The Monkey Saddle and ED: The Word Made Dress at On the Boards. She is currently Assistant Professor in Dance at the University of Colorado Boulder.