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The LALA Circus

Three retired humanoid robots perform in an obscure dystopian noir cabaret The LALA Circus. They are programmed to display failing remnants of their glorious powers: flying, tele transportation and time travel. The robots are isolated in their dressing rooms, looping segments from their routines, helplessly trying to remember and revive their past success. Instructed by a surveillance system, they are periodically re-calibrated, rewarded, punished and called one-by-one to the arena to entertain the public. The poignant acts lead to a joint song in which they search for what may be love: in an empty bar and resigned to perpetual motion.
Electronic sounds controlled by accelerometers and gyroscopes are combined with acoustic instruments and voice, creating a sonic world of nostalgia and gentle failure.

Lyrics by Jennifer Beattie.

Details

  • Year composed: 2017
  • Instrumentation: voice, viola, piano and live electronic sound
  • Duration: 30 minutes
  • Composed during the Visiting Artist and Researcher residency at Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), Stanford University.

 

Performance History

  • June 8, 2017: UC Irvine, CA. Performers: Jennifer Beattie, Diana Wade, Jason Charney and Juraj Kojš.
  • June 6, 2017. CCRMA Stage, Stanford University, CA. Performers: Jennifer Beattie, Diana Wade, Jason Charney and Juraj Kojš.

 

From the Performance

Images by Juraj Kojš

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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