Biography
Slaughterin' Slobbersville is a traveling showcase of cross-collaborating artists. The show is an ever-changing sequence of first person vignettes hung loosely from the underlying conceptual history of a genetic mutant civil war in 2024. While the story takes place decades into the future, the format and aesthetic borrows heavily from the vaudevillian traveling shows of the past. The artists involved come from a variety of backgrounds - mostly from around the United States. Musically rooted in experimental, computer, noise, cabaret, and spoken word traditions, the artists all share a common ion for combining theater and music into visceral performances that defy expectations. Costumes and sets are created from refuse and inexpensive materials often found along the journey. This contrasts sharply with highly technical computer driven projections, electronic music and sophisticated conceptual content. Collaborative contributions include the design of project specific software, homemade synthesizers, original compositions, choreography, and story-telling. The dichotomy between the makeshift folk aesthetic and techonology is intentional; causing a suspension of disbelief between order and chaos that helps the viewer integrate with Slobbersville. Although the core narrative of the show is well defined, the professionalism of the performers allows for a freedom of creative evolution from show to show. This is a central theme of vaudevillian traveling shows and is our motivating factor for undertaking this project. Video documentation throughout the tour will illustrate the unfolding development of Slobbersville and capture the resulting spontaneous collective inventions.
