“X-Agent, Destroy Monster Regimes"
“X-Agent, Destroy Monster Regimes" is a multimedia performance project created using remixed text and redactions from the Mueller Report. The project addresses issues of political manipulation, technocratic power, spam scams and populism’s appeal to melodramatic narratives. The piece loosely follows the narrative of Russian interference in US elections and social media from 2014-16 focusing on a fictionalized persona X-Agent, whose name comes from the tool Russians used to hack DNC computers.
At the heart of the project is a 13-part libretto/graphic score using text and redacted shapes remixed from the Mueller Report. Some parts feature haunting, ephemeral pieces of music with singing violinist while others have the feel of subdued west-coast hip hop and others still more ambient noise. It will be performed by The Afield a performance collaboration between visual artist and writer Anthony Hawley and violinist Rebecca Fischer. The live performance will feature several performers, video projections, and large hanging inkjet prints on canvas--pages from the libretto we created. There will also be a website that features various "rooms" for audiences to explore. Some of these will be serious in nature, others sardonic (for example a room where you can play a game and "shoot" characters from the Mueller report as well as a "research room" that highlights various facts from the Report)
The first incarnation of the piece will be presented virtually and in-person during a 12-hour performance period on October 23rd at Residency Unlimited in Brooklyn, NY right before these pivotal elections. During the 12 hr performance period, we will present 20-min sections throughout the day to small, socially distanced members of the audience. The virtual component will go live that day and live after the original performance.
Below you will find samples of the libretto/score as well as several images of previous performances.
