Bites
Born out of the pandemic where many of us were stuck inside, "Bites" respond to the question “What keeps you going?” by blending dance, theater, music, storytelling, through the mediums of digital media, interactive websites, and film. Each Bite relates to the psychology behind a different part of the house, including: Window, Corner, Wall, and Closet. Ranging between 15-60 minutes in length, the Bites were part of HOLDTIGHT's 2020-2021 residency at the cell theatre. Each Bite is an attempt to foster sincere human connection and build empathy in a time when we are all experiencing varying degrees of isolation.
Bite 1: Window
Directed, co-edited, & performed by Gwendolyn Gussman
Created in collaboration with performers Nico Gonzales, Xenia Mansour, Anna Driftmier, & Johnny Butler
Co-Edited by Anna Driftmier
Music by Johnny Butler
Bite 2: Corner
Directed, co-edited, & performed by Gwendolyn Gussman
Created in collaboration with performers Nico Gonzales, Xenia Mansour, Anna Driftmier, & Johnny Butler
Co-Edited by Anna Driftmier
Music by Johnny Butler
Bite 3: Wall
Bite 3: Walls is an interactive virtual experience exploring permeating boundaries. Unlike anything you've seen so far from HOLDTIGHT, Bite 3: Walls gives the viewer agency to navigate the material in a guided or distinctly individual way. You face a wall. Just on the other side, a form moves, creating a shadow and blurry image. What will follow, you decide. Let the maps guide you, or make your own, to experience a mix of sound, movement and story, expressing the physical and emotional walls that separate us from, or bring us closer to, what keeps us going.
Directed, co-edited, & performed by Gwendolyn Gussman
Created in collaboration with performers Nico Gonzales, Xenia Mansour, Anna Driftmier, & Johnny Butler
Co-Edited by Anna Driftmier & Alex Taylor
Website Design by Anna Driftmier
Music by Johnny Butler
Bite 4: Closet
Bite 4: Closet is an interactive virtual experience exploring taboos that can at first constrict us but ultimately push us towards discovery and breakthrough. Our most extensive and exploratory offering to date, Bite 4: Closet introduces a new platform that guides the viewer through a journey digging deeper in the inner “closet.” This Bite portrays the uncomfortable nature of grappling with taboos and stirs the viewer’s ideas about gender narratives, all the while embedded with humor and intimacy. By the end, the viewer arrives at a space of contemplation. An opportunity to meditate on what we share and what we keep tucked away.
Directed, co-edited, & performed by Gwendolyn Gussman
Created in collaboration with performers Nico Gonzales, Xenia Mansour,
Emily Haughton, Anna Driftmier, & Johnny Butler
Co-Edited by Anna Driftmier & Alex Taylor
Website Design by Anna Driftmier
Music by Johnny Butler