I have a complicated relationship with live art. I was exposed to a lot of it when I was studying Modern Drama, both recordings in class and what we were encouraged to go and see. The things we made often had a live art slant to them as well. I don’t always love it, I often really dislike it but I find it an intriguing genre because now and again, something will come along and blow my mind!

My most frequent complaint about live art is that it’s often more interesting for the artist than the audience. This usually involves durational performances or people cutting themselves or putting themselves in danger. I’m always coming at it from a theatre point-of-view so things that show a disregard for the audience really irritate me!

Live art is interesting because it can be so divisive. I’ve come out of a performance feeling irritated and annoyed that these people took my money and then wasted my time with this drivel, while someone else will rave ecstatically about the exact same piece. They will praise it so highly that I’m not sure how they could have possibly seen the same thing I did, even though they were standing next to me at the time.

It can irritate but it also intrigues me and the wonderful, perfect shows are always worth more because of the irritating pieces you sat though before. (And then I will walk out astonished and delighted by what I’ve seen while the person next to me to ready to ask for their money back.) This is all just a long way of saying that I’m looking forward to the <a href=”http://www.livecollision.com/&#8221; target=”_blank”>Live Collusion Festival</a> later this month. It’s been a while since I’ve sat through some truly odd things so I will attending a few shows and trying to work out how I feel about them. And if you’re going to see anything, let me know. It’s always better to go with a pal so you can argue afterwards about what you saw.

Live Collision Festival
It’s a short, blink and you’ll miss it sort of festival from 18-21 April. There are three double bills of work in Project each evening. On the Thursday there’s Dismantelment and Internal Terrains, on Friday it’s Wideawake and The Best of Scottee and on Saturday it’s The Woman Who Walks On Knives and We Used To Wait. Tickets are all €12 / €10. There are also three site specific pieces happening over the few days(Walking:Holding, Dublin’s Fare City and All Limit’s Are Self-Imposed), a free screening on Saturday afternoon called Discussions Without Time Limits and on Sunday night there is a live art party party, with performances at the Workman’s Club. It’s called dis.re.pute and starts at 8pm.

Get involved
If you’d like to do more than just go and see shows, you can do a workshop with “live artist, show off, fat drag queen and attention seeker” Scottee which sounds really fun. The Scottee Workshop is on Thursday 18th April, 3-5pm and costs €20.

There is also a call for artists to take part in Walking:Holding. There is no fee but it is chance to work with artist Rosana Cade on this piece. You will need to have availability from April 16th – 20th. For more information or to register your interest, please contact Niamh McCann – mccann.niamh(at)gmail.com