Abigail Whitman
School of Music, VoiceArts, MFA 1
"Stripsody" in Quarantine
This piece is a reimagining of "Stripsody" by Cathy Berberian. The original work explores the idea of a radioshow host, who's job is to create all the sounds of the cartoon characters depicted in the score. Today, of course, we have television, so a solo performer having to play every character isn't as common. Due to the outbreak of covid-19 I, like everyone else, was shut inside and started to wonder how this piece would look from the perspective of a person in isolation. Thus, "Stripsody in Quarantine" was born.
Original piece composed by Cathy Berberian
"Why Me?" an improvisation
tw/cw: verbal abuse, harassment
We live in a world where 1 in 3 women will be assaulted in their lifetime. I am one of them, and I am not even 25 years old yet. It begins with words. It begins with people believing it's okay to call women names, comment on our bodies as we walk down the street, demand to know why we won't do something, or people who won't take no for an answer. This improvisation is my experience as a woman in America. Every word I wrote on my body is something that has been said to me or about me within my earshot. All of it was unsolicited. It has sensitive content so this work comes with a trigger warning to anyone who has experienced verbal abuse or harassment.