Anna Lindemann’s ‘The Colony’ To Make World Premiere

By Francisco Salazar

Animator, composer, and performer Anna Lindemann is set to premiere her work, “The Colony,” an art-science performance about sisterhood and the evolution of communication in two of the most social creatures on earth: humans and ants.

The work is set to see Lindemann portray the loving, bookish, and stubborn Mona as she struggles to reconnect with her estranged relatives, performed by soprano Lucy Fitz Gibbon
and pianist Ryan MacEvoy McCullough. In the work, Mona turns to the ant colony for inspiration and direction. 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.

The work was co-written by Lindemann and Emma Komlos-Hrobsky and directed by Michael Hofmann. It weaves together projected animations and imagery alongside live spoken and musical performance, all informed by scientific research on ant colonies.

The performance will feature music by Lindemann, and animations directed by Sarah Shattuck, Jasmine Rajavadee, Allie Marsh, and Lindemann. Michael Hofmann directs, with costumes by Brittny Mahan, lights by Sam Biondolillo, sound by Katie Salerno, and additional film direction by Ryan Glista.

Performances are set for Sept. 6 – 8, 2019 and will take place at the Studio Theatre at the University of Connecticut Storrs.

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