kayfabe

projection designer

created by: josh rice

premiere: june 2022, new york state puppet festival, perry, ny

technology: front projection, live-feed usb wecam, pre-recorded video

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philosopher and critic roland barthes wrote in mythologies, “The function of the wrestler is not to win; it is to go exactly through the motions that are expected of him.” drawing from Barthes and the work of Samuel Beckett, this absurdist wrestling puppet show explores fantasy, reality, and the spaces in-between, using bunraku-style puppetry, projection, dance, and the very real world of professional wrestling.