The Collective Experience of “Long Playing”
Mary Jane Agnew
Rachael Lincoln & Leslie Seiters’ Long Playing is an intricate and multifaceted exploration of perception and critiquing the social norms that categorize us as good or bad, beautiful or ugly, productive or lazy, these social structures we subscribe to daily. The energy between the two artists and the world they built onstage created an environment of play and creativity that made the atmosphere feel rigorous but comfortable.
Lincoln and Seiters state that “… there is nothing you have to ‘get’ here. We know, sometimes, if you can’t find a clear story, you might feel lost or uncomfortable — we want to assure you that you’re not alone in this and that you have everything you need to see this.” They invite the audience into their world, to witness and at times participate, to experience a collective inquiry of the ideas they are presenting.
The piece was structured into sections signified by differences in their movements, their placement on stage, and the props they were using. One corner of the stage was covered in a newspaper blanket fastened by colorful tape. Another had two chairs set up side by side, covered in a quilt and set over various detached fuzzy jacket hoods. The back right corner was framed by a colorful spotlight where the floor met the back wall. In each area, the performers interacted in a specific way with the elements onstage; crinkling the newspaper, wearing it, hiding underneath it, dancing on it.
The duo moved between these areas in a pedestrian walk, sometimes talking to each other, signaling when they should move on to the next thing and how they should do it. The open and transparent nature of their transitions felt relaxing as an audience member. They were simply being and relating and happened to be onstage being viewed, which meant the audience could relax and relate too.
Lincoln and Seiters incorporated the audience into the piece, not as “the audience”, but as individuals. At times when they were speaking onstage, they looked directly at audience members. They read out sticky notes, some of which the audience members had contributed, and included those in acknowledging who was in the room.
At the end Long Playing, Lincoln and Seiters invited audience members to sit on chairs they had set up all around the stage. Leading everyone in a series of breaths and small movements, even people still seated in the audience could participate and feel connected to the whole room. Ending with everyone breathing together was a wonderful way to finish off an investigative and elaborate experience.
Mary Jane Agnew is a Bay Area-based writer dancer, and artist. She studied Performing Arts and Social Justice, Journalism, and Anthropology at the University of San Francisco. She values interdisciplinary and intergenerational collaboration and writes and makes art about issues she is passionate about.
