Seafoam Palace crew working in Berlin

About the Project

We came across a trove of mysterious astronomical research some time ago — materials hoarded by a scientist with crackpot brilliance whose theories initially seemed ludicrous. But the more we dove into his drawings and designs, the more engrossed we became. Until we put one of his theories to the test — and this event series was born.

He claimed to have found a planet that had fled from its siblings and was on an unexpected course, catapulting away from its original elliptical path around its sun. The planets left behind in its solar system soon struggled to stay in their orbits, compensating for the sudden imbalance in their gravitational forces with explosive shifts and ruptures in their mountain ranges.

What he found next was startling: The planets were sending out distinct wavelengths that were both unique and conjoined — a kind of loop, or lasso, which they cast out into the universe until it coincided with the path of the planet, where they would capture it and draw it back into their rein.

For this they needed to pass through a resonating chamber which would not only snare the planet but also offered us the opportunity to listen in on their narrative exquisite corpse — and give us a means to guide the planet through to safety.

In an abandoned train tunnel in Ohio, we tested this theory and were treated to a surprising landscape of auditory wonders. Feeling the presence of the renegade planet brought us to the edge of a cosmos whose invisible spectacles, for just a moment, became tantalizingly and wondrously real.

FALLING SIDEWAYS IS:

  • an immersive auditory exquisite corpse
  • site-specific and scientific
  • inside abandoned tunnels
  • and you're invited

We have already staged these intersectional meetings between the planet and lasso in various places in Berlin, Estonia, Ohio, Los Angeles, Rhode Island, Massachussets, and Texas, with more coming up.

To join us – or suggest possible event sites – you can check back here, join our mailing list, follow our Instagram or send an email.

  • Conceived, directed, written and composed by:
    Julia Solis and Christos Pathiakis
  • Head Apparatifier & Web Designer:
    Tom Kirsch
  • Production Coordinator & Lighting Designer:
    Kim Couchot
  • Design Inventress:
    Dorothy Trojanowski
  • Props & Sculptures:
    Tracy Gilman
  • Paintings & Artifacts:
    Dorothy Melander-Dayton
  • Programming & Gamma Rays:
    Eric Singer
  • Projections:
    Bryan Parcival
  • Riggers:
    John Law, Christopher Beauchamp
  • Chief Archaeologist:
    Eleanor Lovinsky
  • Poet Laureate:
    Mïï Gunn
  • Logistics:
    Mike Whalen
  • Designer & Best Man:
    Eduardo Cunha
  • Shuttle Engineers:
    Gayle Snible, Susan Dundon
  • Illustrator:
    Persephone Hopper
  • Cottis Groundskeeper:
    Drew Feuer
  • Navigators:
    Leah Marino, Christine Felton
  • Tea & Conjectures:
    Joshu DeLeon
  • Chief Librarian of Alexandria:
    Alessandro Toffoli
  • Master of the Mill:
    Bill Daniel

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