Conceived/Written/Performed/Camera by Paul Coffey, Brent Felker, Cory Nakasue, and Kristen Revier
Directed/Edited by Brent Felker
Score by Peter Wise
Special thanks to John Nyguen, Rosalind Masson, Rachel Biello, Allen Norvick, and Brooklyn Botanica
“Reframed” asks its audience to restructure their interpretations of an event and its aftermath. The piece subverts contemporary situation comedy and drama formulas as we are used to viewing them by presenting four characters’ interpretation of one event on four screens simultaneously. The video is displayed on a loop, allowing viewers to enter the story at any point in the narrative. The installation is uniquely configured for each venue to encourage repeat viewing, deepening and even changing audience members’ experience of the story.
The performances further subvert our “normal” television viewing experience by breaking the fourth wall. The director’s inclusion of the outtake as a Brechtian part of the cinematic, further challenges our familiarity with the stylistic touchstones of television and Hollywood cinema.
Like watching an episode of “Friends” with decidedly disturbing undertones, SPINE’s “Reframed” takes the familiar plight of 20-something romantic confusion in an unexpectedly sinister direction.
Peter Wise’s complex and evocative sound score was the catalyst for the visual premise of the piece, which includes nostalgic photography and eerie video art abstractions. The four performers in “Reframed” then shaped a story around the imagery; a story that raises questions about the underpinnings of our most cherished allegiances and intimate bonds.
