Predator Songstress is a series of performances which began in 2012 by Haruko Nishimura and composer Joshua Kohl operating as the Degenerate Art Ensemble. Nishimura is a butoh performer known for large scale productions.
Predator Songstress: Dictator is the current chapter playing on the big stage.
It is a fantastical and surreal new myth.
Ximena, played by Nishimura, is captured by the Harvesters, a group of old men, who pass judgement on her. She is accused of exaggerating peoples feelings by singing them; and is sentenced to have her voice removed.
She joins fellow women prisoners who hang birdhouses in the forest while they await the same fate.
Ultimately Ximena triumphs, restoring the voices to all from which they have been stolen.
The performance incorporates video, animation, stories gathered from the audience by Ximena in the lobby before the performance, and an original score. Collaborators include Douglass Ridings, Okanomodé Soulchilde, Benjamin Marx and Paris Hurley. Costumes by Alenka Loesch.
Predator Songstress degenerateartensemble.com/dictator-current by the Degenerate Art Ensemble at On the Boards 100 W Roy Street, Seattle. Thursday-Saturday 8PM, Sunday 5PM $25 (waitlist available)
