P Megan Andrews
the disorientation project
Photo: Alex Pickrell
P. Megan Andrews (she/her) is a settler dance artist and interdisciplinary scholar, facilitator, movement educator and writer/editor, based on the unceded, traditional, ancestral territories of the Coast Salish Nations. Her artistic research queries the aesthetics of ethics through practices of movement, voice, perception and relationality, and through critical-poetic writing and dialogue. A dynamic performer, Megan has worked with choreographers including Sarah Chase, Corpus Dance Projects, Sylvie Bouchard, Susanna Hood, Eryn Dace Trudell, Karen Kaeja, Yvonne Ng, Peggy Baker, Lee Su Feh and Michelle Silagy. She has presented her own work at venues and festivals in Toronto and across Canada. An accomplished writer, Megan has contributed essays and articles to print/digital platforms internationally. Megan was founding editor and executive director of The Dance Current magazine. She has taught at universities, colleges and dance training programs across Canada. She is a Certified Movement Analyst and holds a PhD in Communication and Cultural Studies.
the disorientation project
The disorientation project is an accessible, durational site-based solo performance/installation exploring experiences of disorientation as a reflection on our current times. The project intent is to catalyze public engagement in the personal/social resonances of these experiences. The invitation is to be curious about the possibilities for new relations that might emerge through disorientation.
The performer inhabits a transitional place/space for up to 6 hours per day for multiple days, engaging in movement practices of disorientation (spinning, walking backward, intense direction changes, complex gesture sequences), extended vocalizations and spoken-word text. The space is scattered with upended chairs, various small objects displays, a looping video, process documents and related multi-media materials. Audience and passersby are invited to explore the installation, to move through the space during the performance, and to chat with the performer between practices (ranging from 15-90 minutes). The audience has complete agency and can choose to linger or leave as they so desire.
Performance History
The disorientation project premiered in Nov. 2021 for 5 consecutive days (10am-4pm) at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre and had a second, single-day engagement on April 29, 2022 at the same location.
Project Details
Project created by: P Megan Andrews
Key Collaborators: Angela Joosse, Sarah Chase, Natalia Esling
Video Gestures: Angela Joosse
[Facing, East?] Gesture Sequence: Sarah Chase
Dramaturges/Creative Consultants: Angela Joosse, Natalia Esling, Michelle Olson, Tedd Robinson
Guardian/Co-host & Production Assistant: Alexandra Pickrell
Guardians/Co-hosts: Jullianna Oke, Ursula Blanchard, Rachel Helten, Natalia Esling
Audience: General audience
Length in minutes: 15-90 minutes per “performance run”, 4-5 substantial “runs” per day over a period of 6 hours daily for multiple days
Space required:
Preparation required: Install in about 2 hours, strike in about 45 minutes; can be set-up and struck daily over a multiple day run
General technical requirements: TV monitor and drive to play a looping 30-minute video. 5 medium-sized plinths (or several tables) to display objects.
Space to hang a large, lightweight wall-hanging/mobile
Availability: Spring of 2022/23, 2023/24 season and 2024/25 season
Number of performers on tour including choreographer: Minimum 3 (1 performer, 2 guardians/docents); could draw on local artists to support in 2 additional guardian/docent roles
Number of support staff on tour: 0
Community Engagement Activities
I am interested in inviting movement artists from the community to join as additional guardians/docents for the performance/installation. This simple role involves movement sensitivity and attention to maintain an active, non-performative presence and capacity to engage with interested folks in a non-imposing manner. An application and zoom interview process would determine fit. Invited folks would receive an honorarium for their involvement.
I’m also interested in engaging with groups who may have shared experiences of disorientation, for example newcomers, refugees, folks displaced by natural disasters, etc., and to open up facilitated dialogue about such lived experiences. In the case of engaging with potentially vulnerable or historically marginalized folks, I would engage active listeners/witnesses and/or counsellor to support a trauma-informed, safer space.
Envisioned as a 10-year project that accumulates and iterates, the disorientation project begins to hold the lived experiences of those who engage with it. Response forms invite folks to reflect and share. One-on-one interviews are another invitation; to be transcribed and collected in a digital or print document. Other possibilities may emerge as the project continues to snowball and transform.
$100/hr for facilitation
NOTE: Any situation in which community members share their own material would involve a straightforward ethics and consent protocol.
Photo: Alex Pickrell