I create poetic, dark, sensual, wry performances that ping pong between the sacred and the profane. These uber-theatrical, collaborative creations are vehicles for self-reflection and self-empowerment.
Unbound by the rules of traditional narrative, I don’t start with a script; I start with the people in the room. You say, “Bootsy Collins,” I say, let’s explore the rhythms of funk. You can do a handstand? Handstands become part of our artistic palette. Whether I am leading the process or playing alongside, we create with messy joyfulness, until the moment we craft with rigor. My pieces are sewn tightly, but often appear as though they might come apart at the seams.
I’m searching for the untold stories, the ones that are hard to acknowledge or that no one wants to hear. Grappling with grief, love, shame and the frailties of the human body is a vulnerable land to traverse. I navigate that rawness with honesty and humor, welcoming audiences to explore the awkward and difficult terrain together, to look at each other and say, “yes, me too. I am not alone.”
Lest I appear too kind, let me tell you, self-contemplation is not always pretty. While I use kindness to explore human vulnerability, I use absurdist humor and wicked jabs to take aim at human inconsistencies around race, gender and culture, breaking open the dark human comedy. Or travesty. I love a tragic story - missed connections so close you want to weep, people with good intentions making the wrong decisions, people being naughty for the sake of being naughty.
Whether the work is punching you in the face or cradling you to sleep, I am looking for human connection. The ties that bind us may be golden or soiled to the core, but my work calls them what they are and asks for acknowledgment, acceptance and action.
Learn More: https://www.rachelhynes.org/