VOICES OF THE PRESS
«MYOUSIC - A magical theater experience.» Mathias Balzer – BzBasel
«Myousic - A sensual, touching, collective experience.» – ParisArt
«MYOUSIC is a rich, colorful and electric spectacle that is not just directed towards fans of bizarre noises. The universe that is created is unbelievably appealing – because it speaks of us, the audience.»RTS – Vertigo
«MYOUSIC evokes the pulse of the moment, the living present.» Maya Künzeler – Kultur Kompakt
«De Perrot’s sound installation opens the pores of our perception.» Pirmin Bossart – Luzerner Zeitung
«Suddenly you see music. As though it were a physical being that occupies the stage instead of the performers.» Christian Hubschmid – SonntagsZeitung
«Rich, colorful and indescribable – that’s MYOUSIC.» Veneranda Paladino – DNA Alsace
«When sounds let your imagination run free.» Eric Facon – Neue Zürcher Zeitung NZZ
«Surrealism for your ears.» Martin Erdmann – Das Kulturmagazin 041
«Myousifique!» Nina Scheu – Tages-Anzeiger
«The scuffle of your neighbor’s feet, the whispers behind your back and the roaming thoughts of concert visitors create their own notes in MYOUSIC.» Julia Bendlin – Luzerner Zeitung
«Recommendation of the week! MYOUSIC in Paris: » Philippe Noisette – Les Inrocuptibles
«In de Perrot work sound is material, something you can hold. » Carlos Garsán – CulturPlaza
«Dimitri de Perrot lets us consider theater as a purely acoustic experience, without bodies and without images, by extracting material that can be shaped from sounds and then creating a stage figure in and of itself.» Fabrice Gottraux – Tribune de Genève
«Everything that happens in MYOUSIC is something you have neither heard nor seen before» Thierry Voisin – Telerama Paris


CREDITS
Concept, direction, stage design, music: Dimitri de Perrot
Drums and music: Julian Sartorius
Dramaturgy: Sabine Geistlich
Sound design and electronics: Andy Neresheimer
Light design: Tina Bleuler
Development and construction stage design: Ingo Groher
Costume design: Franziska Born
Oeil extérieur: Phil Hayes
With the voices of: Lara Barsacq, Laslo de Perrot, Tarek Halaby, Laurence Mayor, Gaël Santisteva, Fred Ulysse.
Instruments: Hyazintha Andrej (Cello), Jonas Ehrler (Conductor strings), Michael Flury (trombone), Johanneschor Kriens (Choir conductor: Christov Rolla), Ephrem Lüchinger (Piano), Melina Murray (violin), Maria Scheidegger (violin)
Assistance Sample Editing: Peter Bräker, Dong Liu, Martin Scheuter
Assistance building of stage: Jorge Bompadre, Sarah Büchel, Nino de Perrot, Maxim Komarov, Wim Kolb
Light direction: Karl Egli, Pablo Weber, Barbara Widmer
Sound direction: Felix Lämmli, Max Molling, Andy Neresheimer, Jay Schütz
Stage manager: Jorge Bompadre, Pablo Weber
Technical office Studio DdP: Pablo Weber
Think Tank and communication Studio DdP: Christoph Meier

Executive production & Diffusion: Studio DdP

Production: Zimmermann & de Perrot

Coproduction: Maillon – Théâtre de Strasbourg – scène européenne, Migros Kulturprozent, La Bâtie – Festival de Genève, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Südpol Luzern, Theater Chur, Zurich University of the Arts – ZHdK.

Support: Burgergemeinde Bern, Cassinelli-Vogel Stiftung, Corymbo Stiftung, Fondation BNP Paribas, Ernst Göhner Stiftung, Kultur Stadt Bern, Landis & Gyr Stiftung, Zurich department of cultural affaires, Department of cultural affaires Canton Zurich, Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council.

Dimitri de Perrot created MYOUSIC as Artist-in-Residence at Zürcher Hochschule der Künste ZHdK.

Final rehearsal at Südpol Luzern with premiere on the 8th of June 2016.

Photos © Augustin Rebetez

ABOUT
Interview with Dimitri de Perrot
Published in the programme of La Bâtie - Festival de Genève, September 2016

What does MYOUSIC tell us?
Dimitri de Perrot: MYOUSIC tells a story of habits and conventions and refers to how we perceive living moments – the fine line between the past and the future in which our life plays out and which, I believe, we frequently lose sight of. MYOUSIC is a piece without actors or visible staging. The story is told solely via sounds and the ostensible absence of images, which viewers themselves begin to make.

What prompted you to create MYOUSIC?
What would it mean if my curiosity were to lead me to viewpoints or perspectives that questioned everything I’ve known up to now? I often ask myself whether I would like to be surprised, whether I am actually prepared to discover something new, or whether I am just searching for the known in the unknown. Perhaps the most crucial question that arose for me while creating this piece is: How close do I let things get and how much I am willing to give of myself to really discover something new?

The audience is surrounded by a sound installation that fills the space. What was your inspiration for this?
There were various sources of inspiration. But probably the main source was my memories of countless evenings onstage, with the audience as my counterpart, with its impulses, reactions and secret thoughts. I have always seen the audience as a kind of contemporary ensemble that plays its role exactly the same as the actors on the stage.

This piece breaks with customary forms of theatre and opens new possibilities for how we perceive. Is this typical for your work?
I have always attempted to develop and foster a different way of viewing everyday things. For instance, when I developed my own instrument from a turntable, or with the multi-disciplinary work of Zimmermann & de Perrot. MYOUSIC, however, creates a change in perspective when sound momentarily replaces the prominent position normally occupied by the image. We live in a confusingly complex time full of changes and uncertainties, and I think it requires a certain degree of flexibility when it comes to thinking to be able to perceive changes as a chance and find constructive approaches for the future. Perhaps with my work I hope to raise a certain degree of awareness and acceptance for the unknown, the uncertainty, in order to facilitate an opportunity for something new.

What’s your relationship to sound?
Sounds are my material. They are the raw material from which I construct images, compositions, entire worlds. I like the fact that the ephemeral nature of sound enables me to create something new. Sounds are fleeting and they often resonate internally; memories and emotions are awakened with every passing sound, reminiscences that can transport us back to a thousand and one real-life moments.

Tell us about your encounter Julian Sartorius?
Julian is for me one of today’s most fascinating contemporary musicians. He is not only a phenomenally versatile percussionist, but also an incredibly inquisitive, sincere and munificent working partner. A few years ago, when he was still on tour with Sophie Hunger, we made some studio recordings together. That encounter left a lasting impression on me, and when I wanted to work with rhythm in MYOUSIC, I immediately thought of Julian.

Why rhythm?
Rhythm is for me pulse, impulse, and time. Rhythm forms a basis on which everything can flourish.