Gamelan Madu Sari and Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad present Marathonologue
February 18 - 20, 2010
Naoko Takahashi drank an extract distilled from Japanese giant killer hornets (Vespa Mandarina Japonica) just before she won the women’s marathon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Marathonologue, an interdisciplinary production inspired by this ultra-marathon runner energized by the killer hornet extract, combines highland bagpipe, Japanese taiko and Balinese gamelan music by composers Michael O’Neill, Boyd Seiichi Grealy and I Wayan Sudirana, in live synchronization with computer-animated projections by Kenneth Newby and Aleksandra Dulic. The production brings to life the interplay between the physical landscape and a runner’s internal ‘mindscape’ as it develops and transforms in the experience of running a global marathon.
Marathonolgue zooms in on the creative powers of imagination catalyzed by motor-rhythmic physical exertion, the enzymes of hornet juice, the landscape, and the solitude of long distance running. Performing live with a tri-cultural ensemble of 7 musicians, Newby and Dulic use digital animation techniques to produce a startling array of images, envisioning both the runner and the hornets’ chameleon-like transformations, and reflecting the terrain and human physical/ cultural differences encountered. Image and sound combine to transport the audience to a realm of heightened imagination.
