Flipper
video scenography
Flipper is a theater piece that blends irony and surreal imagery to explore themes of animal cruelty, gender identity, and exploitation in the entertainment industry. The scenography is shaped by dynamic video projections, where shifting monochrome patterns create a hypnotic interplay of confinement, rhythm, and repetition. Serving as both a backdrop and an active participant in the narrative, the projections shape the performance’s evolving atmosphere between tension, playfulness, and spectacle.
Flipper is a theater piece for three performers, written by Marion Zurbach and produced by the company Unplush. The story revolves around the death of Kathy, one of the dolphins that portrayed Flipper in the popular 1960s TV show. With a tongue-in-cheek approach, the piece explores themes of animal cruelty, gender identity, and exploitation in the entertainment industry, blending irony with surreal imagery.
The scenography is intentionally minimal, consisting only of chairs, a table, and small props. The video projections serve as the core visual element, dynamically shifting with the soundscape to transform the stage into a hypnotic and ever-changing environment. Moving fluidly between tension, suspension, and absurdity, they visually echo the themes of confinement and control at the heart of the piece. Abstract shapes create a sense of entrapment, as floating entities are confined within shrinking boundaries and guided by invisible constraints. The video graphics unfold through two interconnected visual systems. One consists of sinuous lines weaving organically across the space, forming interwoven structures that suggest both fluidity and restriction. The other features black-and-white patterns that pulse and evolve, shifting from static-like noise reminiscent of old television screens to a coarse, grainy texture. At moments, jagged flashes of light punctuate the visuals, heightening the sense of disorientation. Their repetition and transformation establish an iterative rhythm that shapes the atmosphere of the performance alongside with the sound design. In contrast to this stark monochrome world, the projections also include snippets of the eponymous TV show, found footage, and kitsch, colorful imagery. These moments briefly transport the audience into the exaggerated aesthetics of television, creating an ironic contrast before dissolving back into the visual landscape. The projections serve as both a backdrop and an active participant in the narrative, reinforcing the performance’s dynamic interplay between tension and playfulness, restraint and excess, abstraction and spectacle.
The scenography is intentionally minimal, consisting only of chairs, a table, and small props. The video projections serve as the core visual element, dynamically shifting with the soundscape to transform the stage into a hypnotic and ever-changing environment. Moving fluidly between tension, suspension, and absurdity, they visually echo the themes of confinement and control at the heart of the piece. Abstract shapes create a sense of entrapment, as floating entities are confined within shrinking boundaries and guided by invisible constraints. The video graphics unfold through two interconnected visual systems. One consists of sinuous lines weaving organically across the space, forming interwoven structures that suggest both fluidity and restriction. The other features black-and-white patterns that pulse and evolve, shifting from static-like noise reminiscent of old television screens to a coarse, grainy texture. At moments, jagged flashes of light punctuate the visuals, heightening the sense of disorientation. Their repetition and transformation establish an iterative rhythm that shapes the atmosphere of the performance alongside with the sound design. In contrast to this stark monochrome world, the projections also include snippets of the eponymous TV show, found footage, and kitsch, colorful imagery. These moments briefly transport the audience into the exaggerated aesthetics of television, creating an ironic contrast before dissolving back into the visual landscape. The projections serve as both a backdrop and an active participant in the narrative, reinforcing the performance’s dynamic interplay between tension and playfulness, restraint and excess, abstraction and spectacle.
stage video projection
full HD
digital animations
generative graphics
found footage
full HD
digital animations
generative graphics
found footage
12.2017. Dampfzentrale, Bern (CH)
07.2018. Emergentes Festival, Sevilla (ES)
09.2018. Theater am Gleis, Winthertur (CH)
10.2018. BAD Festival, Bilbao (ES)
06.2019. Neuestheater, Dornach (CH)
12.2019. Tojo Theater, Bern (CH)
07.2018. Emergentes Festival, Sevilla (ES)
09.2018. Theater am Gleis, Winthertur (CH)
10.2018. BAD Festival, Bilbao (ES)
06.2019. Neuestheater, Dornach (CH)
12.2019. Tojo Theater, Bern (CH)
Credits —
Video Scenography: Matteo Taramelli ︎ Staging, Choreography: Marion Zurbach ︎ Performing, Choreography: Johnny Lloyd, Peter Cripps Clark ︎ Acting: Eve-Marie Savelli ︎ Assisting: Vittorio Bertolli ︎ Sound: Henrry Bonnet ︎ Costumes: Myriam Casanova ︎ Lights: Jonas Bühler ︎ Stage management: Olivier Famin ︎ Illustrations: Valentina Brković
Video Scenography: Matteo Taramelli ︎ Staging, Choreography: Marion Zurbach ︎ Performing, Choreography: Johnny Lloyd, Peter Cripps Clark ︎ Acting: Eve-Marie Savelli ︎ Assisting: Vittorio Bertolli ︎ Sound: Henrry Bonnet ︎ Costumes: Myriam Casanova ︎ Lights: Jonas Bühler ︎ Stage management: Olivier Famin ︎ Illustrations: Valentina Brković