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 Keys to the Round House is a site-specific performance that holds a series of improbable landscapes within its architecture-- a farm in the middle of a University, meat at the center of an idea, and stand up comedy for worms. 2021 at Rutgers University ~~~~~~ The Round House at Rutgers’ Cook Douglas Farm was originally used as an animal veterinary classroom, on a campus in which everything from how to care for to how to kill an animal is taught. In 1970 it was the site for Herman Nitsch’s controversial Orgies-Mysteries-Theater, in which he slaughtered a lamb for all of Fluxus to watch. The history of the Round House looms large, haunted with the kind of energies from events that linger on. It’s a round, proscenium theater with high beamed ceilings and large windows that flood the room with light. The entrance of the building is tall, white, and wooden. It is large enough for all species to enter. The ground is dirty, made from gravel and smells and sometimes patches of fur. A wire fence separates this ground from shiny wooden bleachers.Hypothetically, the bleachers are where the students sit and watch as the animals teach. In the case of the Round House, you walk directly into the arena, and only if you are dexterous enough can you open the squat fence that separates actors from the audience. Those who watch must always pass through those who perform. Performed By Sarah Liebau Amanda Horowitz live score by James Gentile |