Marija Gavrilovic

Humans and environments come together to shape one another. I'm especially interested in the way space can change the physicality and perception of performing arts, and vice versa. A gap is an element in space and time completed by human performance and imagination. Humans decide how to use and perceive that space by instinct. A gap is a field, rather than a set of objects, and it evokes an experiment, wonder, stillness, presence, flux, performance and audience. The Smallpox Memorial Hospital on Roosevelt Island is the setting for my thesis. A red stage and an elevated runway soften the features of the ruins, while the forms of drama performed on these platforms call for an exploration of an identity. A third element of stage design is a reflective glass wall inside the ruins. The audience will cross the gap between the theatrical limelight and the shadows by going backstage during the piece and exploring. The story was developed into a site-specific outdoor performance with elements of immersive theater, contemporary dance choreography and soliloquy. The built environment will incorporate and shape the lives of characters through time. For example, the intimacy of the soliloquies will have a setting different from that of a contemporary dance. Space will embrace emotions and challenge their expected theatrical representations. Stage design will shape the way we see and memorize those emotions. See more on issuu .