An art-science performance on social life
Performance Preview
ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE
The Colony is a show about sisterhood and the evolution of communication in two of the most social creatures on earth: humans and ants.
In this performance, as Mona struggles to reconnect with her estranged sister Hennie, she turns to the ant colony for inspiration. With more than 500,000 ant sisters migrating, raiding, and even reproducing as one superorganism, an army ant colony appears to Mona as the paragon of successful social existence. Informed by scientific research on ant colonies, The Colony ventures into speculative fiction and includes projected animations and imagery alongside live spoken and musical performance.
Funny, poignant, enlightening, and just the right amount of strange, The Colony aims to kindle a sense of awe and understanding of our diverse biological world, while using the ant colony as a lens for understanding the ever-present challenge of human connection. As part of a new genre called Evo Devo Art, The Colony weaves together evolutionary and developmental biology (Evo Devo) with multidisciplinary art. Audiences can expect to be entranced by visualizations of ant pheromone trails, a musical aria from the perspective of an ant queen, and a dance sequence set in a grocery store inspired by army ant swarm raids. In all, The Colony juxtaposes forms of biological communication – which have developed over millions of years – with modern technological media as a means of grappling with the paradox of acute loneliness in a world more connected than ever.
The Colony draws visual materials and research in part from the world-class Carl W. and Marian E. Rettenmeyer Army Ant Guest Collection housed at the University of Connecticut and is one of a number of “AntU” initiatives inspired by the collection. The Colony is made possible through the generous support of the Department of Economic and Community Development, Connecticut Office of the Arts; the University of Connecticut School of Fine Arts Dean’s Grant and the Office of the Vice President for Research; the University of Connecticut School of Fine Arts Project Completion Grant; the University of Connecticut Department of Digital Media & Design; and a grant from the University of Connecticut Provost’s Academic Plan competition for the AntU project.
The Colony premiered September 2019 at The Studio Theatre at University of Connecticut. The show runtime is 1 hour.
Performance History
2022 Guerilla Underground 2022 Season Official Selection, Guerilla Opera, Boston, MA (juried season of virtual performances, livestream event and video on demand)
2021 Istanbul Fringe Festival, Turkey (juried festival, video on demand during festival)
2021 “Colonies” September 2021 issue of Labocine. (a subscription-based “Home of Films from the Science New Wave” with monthly issues of curated films).
2021 “Ant Songs,” selections from The Colony, SEAMUS 2021 Virtual National Conference (Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States) (juried conference, online screening in concert program)
2021 KLI Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Klosterneuburg, Austria (online screening, presentation, and discussion)
2020 “Migration,” installation adapted from animation from The Colony, 2020 Studio Art + Digital Media & Design Faculty Exhibition, The William Benton Museum of Art, Storrs, CT (in-person exhibition)
2020 Science in the Virtual Pub, Paleontological Research Institution, Ithaca NY (online screening and discussion)
2020 13th Imagine Science Film Festival, official selection, New York, NY (juried festival, online screening) - Winner of the Science New Wave Award Honorable Mention
2019 Studio Theatre, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (fully staged live performances)
People
Script and Story by Anna Lindemann & Emma Komlos-Hrobsky
Music Composed by Anna Lindemann
CAST
Mona - Anna Lindemann
Hennie / Soprano / Ant Queen - Lucy Fitz Gibbon
Ian / Keyboard - Ryan MacEvoy McCullough
Flutterdex Voice - Michael Hofmann
ANIMATION
Art Director - Anna Lindemann
Animators - Sarah Shattuck, Jasmine Rajavadee, Allie Marsh, Anna Lindemann
PERFORMANCE
Consulting Director - Michael Hofmann
Costume Designer - Brittny Mahan
Lighting Designer - Sam Biondolillo
Sound Engineer and Sound Designer - Katie Salerno
Stage Manager - Sarah Shattuck
Props Fabricators - Ulysses Jones, William Dillon, Matthew Sorensen
Technical Director - Carleigh Meyer
Projection Engineer - Kelly Daigneault
Master Electrician and Lighting Board Operator - Alex Glynn
Production Master Electrician - Michael Demers
Set Run Crew - Stephanie Treviso
Electrics Crew - Jacob Sikorski, Julius Cruz
Production Manager - Robert E. Copley Jr.
GROCERY STORE “SWARM RAID”
Directors - Ryan Glista & Anna Lindemann
Cinematographer - Alex Rouleau
Assistant Cinematographers - Charlie Gorski, Evan Olson
Consulting Choreographer - Felice Lesser
Featured Dancers - Elizabeth Barbeau, Felicia Famularo, Maddie Gidman, Lenore Grunko, Allie Leonard, Rachel Surridge, Stephan Vazquez, Paige Woods
Dancers - Cat Boyce, Lydia Briones, Janine Caira, Karin Ching, Josh Chirip, Evan Dennison, Jack Dillon, Heather Elliott-Famularo, Eric Ellison, Ben Gladstone, Ryan Glista, Bernard Goffinet, Charlie Gorski, Robyn Guyette, Ann Harper, Herbert Jenkins, Thomas Jensen, Stephen E. Johnson, Krissy Johnson, Sierra Kane, Emma Komlos-Hrobsky, Mike Krywinski, Meredith LaMalva, Edwin Lewis, Lisa Weixel Lippert , Eleanor Magnuson, Josh Matthias, Dwayne Mullings, Julia Oppenheimer, Jane O’Donnell, Sandi Petersen, Ena Pottinger, Eric Quinter, Jasmine Rajavadee, Emma Santasiere, Alex Semendinger, Sarah Shattuck, Kelly Zimmermann
PERFORMANCE VIDEO
Performance Cinematographers - Hannah Lim & Mitchell R. Hekstra
Audio and Video Editor - Anna Lindemann
Filmed at the performance premiere at The Studio Theatre, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Designers - Michael Hofmann, Allie Marsh, Anna Lindemann
To learn about the creative team visit www.thecolony.show
STILLS FROM
THE COLONY
WATCH THE COLONY
We would love to share The Colony with you! We are pleased to be able to share a video version of the premiere performance during this time of social distancing.
We are looking to partner with natural history museums, performing arts venues, schools and universities, art galleries and museums, biology conferences, and any other organizations and communities that might be interested in hosting an online screening of The Colony with optional live Q&A with the creative team.
Please contact thecolonyshow@gmail.com to discuss options for your online screening event.
Press
“‘The Colony’ takes Studio Theatre by Swarm” by Stephanie Santillo.
The Daily Campus. September 9, 2019.
“Professor Blends Art and Science in ‘The Colony’” by Kenneth Best.
UConn Today. September 6, 2019.
“‘The Colony,’ a UConn art-science performance about ants and humans” radio interview by Anna Lindemann and Lucy Fitz Gibbon with Wayne Norman.
Wili Good Company 1400 AM. August 29, 2019.
“Anna Lindemann’s ‘The Colony’ to Make World Premiere” by Francisco Salazar.
Opera Wire. August 13, 2019.
Special Thanks
Storrs Price Chopper and Kevin George and Mona Golub, Matthew Hicks, Yohei Igarashi, Bonnie Mettler, Eric Lindemann, Michael Toomey, Stacy Webb, Mike Vertefeuille, Heather Elliott-Famularo, Michael Bradford, Bob Copley, Michael Chybowski, Christina Lorraine Bullard, Michael Demers, Erik Lawson, John Parmelee, Susan Tolis, Edward Weingart, Alexander Woodward, Bart Roccoberton, Matthew Pugliese, Anne D’Alleva, James Ouellette, Alain Frogley, Eric Rice, Janine Caira, Jane O’Donnell, Geert Goemans, Bernard Goffinet, Elizabeth Barbeau, Leanne Kennedy Harty, Nicholas Boston, Amy Feineman, Meg Hammond, Max Schleusener, Suzanne Barnett, Rob Rose, Laurel Kennedy, Meg McLean, Lenora Warren, Rob Scott, Caroline Golschneider