“This show was a two-day showcase of “a unique African-American Science Fiction art presentation.”
Part Two: “Existant: The State of Epiic” by Darrel “Friidom” Dunn.
According to the program notes which were accessed via QR code which sent one to ‘thefriidom.com;’ ‘Existant’ is part of an ‘Exi–series’ and has a ‘Book of Movement Philosophy’ at its base. “Existant… explores the blurred lines between reality and the extraordinary possibilities of Artificial Intelligence, inspired by works like ‘The Hunger Games,’ ‘Squid Games,’ and ‘Battle Royal.’ Through movement philosophy, dance installations, and opera/choir music, visitors contemplate the essence of being human in a world shaped by technology.” The N.O.T.E. in the title stands for: None Of This Exists. It was unclear why Epiic was spelt with two I’s instead of one – perhaps it was merely a mirror of Friidom’s own name?
Existant: The State of Epiic” by Darrel “Friidom” Dunn – Photo courtesy of the artist.
Friidom is a self-admitted ‘Sci-Fi nerd,’ and this production is an ambitious step in that direction. In a great many Science Fiction stories, novels, TV productions, etc. there is a world view given so that we, as an audience, can understand what is happening and put it in context with our own reality. The very best of it keeps humans and humanity at the center of the action so that we sense what the people in the stories feel. A few examples are Philip K. Dick’s short stories, Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001 series, Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy, and Frank Herbert’s Dune series. All center on the human condition dealing with their own futuristic settings.
This show was more along the lines of ‘Squid Games’ than any other Sci-Fi production as it was set up that ten dancers (‘Tributes’ in the program) had to ‘challenge’ each other to a duel of improvised dancing in order to advance in the game and finally the winner would square off against Friidom himself as the ‘Creator.’ No ‘Tribute’ knew what music they would be improvising to, nor indeed if there was music at all, as sometimes it was a text driven dissertation on some subject. The audience was sympathetic and engaged as it was clear that many were friends of the dancers performing. The winning dancer went on to compete and the losing dancer merely sat down to wait until the conclusion of the game.
Existant: The State of Epiic” by Darrel “Friidom” Dunn – Photo courtesy of the artist.
When arriving at Highways in the lounge there were the ten dancers all in white and around the piano improvising to music and supporting and laughing with one another. The atmosphere was creative and inclusive, warm and generous. It was then a little surprising to understand that the evening was a ‘Squid Game’ of winning and losing in order to reach Friidom. I think this was the purpose to introduce the crowd to a ‘Matrix’ like atmosphere where the winner gets a one-on-one with Friidom much like Neo gets to confront The Architect.
Towards the end of the show, an older/wise man enters and proceeds to castigate Friidom for his hubris in setting himself up as Godlike and having these people challenge each other in order to prove themselves worthy of him. Friidom hears him and when asked what he is doing it for, he responds ‘for them.’ This is a pat altruistic response and I think the evening calls for greater explanation and detail. It may be that as acolytes they have to prove themselves worthy of the information and experience Friidom has, but none of that was made clear at the beginning of the game itself, nor at the end.
Existant: The State of Epiic” by Darrel “Friidom” Dunn – Photo courtesy of the artist.
Some of the ‘battles’ were described as epic by the host of the evening, the ‘Manifesto’ played by Tai ‘Ryan’ White, but they were far too short and underdeveloped to be defined as ‘epic.’ He introduces the combatants and judges some of the outcomes. The audience also judged the outcomes by standing and thereby voting for their favorite. This action put me in mind of the Roman Colosseum where a thumbs up or down would determine the fate of that gladiator. It did not make me think of AI at all but was a harkening back to Bread and Circuses.
The contestants had to refer to a number of shapes in order to combat each other and these were in the form of a Decagon, Hexagon, etc. It was not clear why or what the meaning of the shapes were, nor was it clear what the ten performers dressed in black were. I like what Friidom is trying to do as he has a very ambitious program in this genre of Sci-fi. It is very easy to become lost and not understand what is happening or for what reason. More clarity is necessary for the audience to follow and not less. From where I sat, AI did not enter my sensibilities of what was happening at all. It was a survival game of challenges through movement. Who or what is the Manifesto? There is a manifesto mentioned in the Book of Philosophical Movement which was on display in the lounge area but no one was allowed to touch it. I got the feeling that the people involved in the project with Friidom understood what the show was about and who all of their characters were, but that is not enough. The audience must understand the overall point of the work or else the material devolves into an ‘in crowd’ event. There were too many unexplained motivations in this work. If, as a choreographer, Friidom wishes to broaden his fan base and accede to bigger venues and greater audiences, then clarity of purpose and storyline will be necessary in order to get there.
Existant: The State of Epiic” by Darrel “Friidom” Dunn – Photo courtesy of the artist.
Costumes were uncredited; black or white and served their purpose to differentiate the groups other than one individual who inexplicably had large white rabbit ears. Why?
About the plethora of nicknames in the program – one can only wonder why? They seem to be an inside acknowledgment between Friidom and his dancers but what about the audience? Why are they left out of this nomenclature for whatever purpose it serves? Are these the names of the characters that the dancers take on when performing in the show? Let us know.
Program Notes:
‘Creator’ – Darrel ‘Friidom’ Dunn
‘Manifesto’/host‘ – Tai ‘Ryan’ White
‘The Ten’ – Ramon Joelle Rosales ‘Slaterrose,’ Cassandra ‘Harmony’ Tsolis, Jon ‘Gifted’ Jimenz, Saleh ‘Robozilla’ Simpson, Jackie ‘JK’ Agudo, Carolina ‘Caro’ Arango,
James ‘Animated J’ Jimenez, Malik ‘Gvmby’ Bannister, Sherry Lin, Zyla Nia Harris-Petter.
‘Keepers of the Cubes and Dominoes’ – Parisa, Koy, MaryAlyssa Rodriguez,
Blossom Wilder The Clown, Kae’Dyn Levy The Clown.
‘The Ark of Epiic‘ – Alyssa Milligan, ZuZu Savage, Hannah Wathen, Dominique Pompa, MaryAlyssa Rodriguez, Moriah Miller, Enom ‘Wulf’ Clayton, Hunter Ha, Seth Grier.
Music: Indigo Smith, Madison Dorsett, Torii Wolf.
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To learn more about Darrel “Friidom” Dunn, please visit his website.
To learn more about Highways Performance Space, please visit their website.
Written by Brian Fretté for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Existant: The State of Epiic by Darrel “Friidom” Dunn – Photo courtesy of the artist.
