Lesson
Lesson is a lesson – not in the sense of studying but rather like classes at school, where you simply sit out the time and are forced to do so as a group. Correspondingly, Krõõt Juurak takes on the role of teacher, not because they have any knowledge to impart but because they simply take on the role. Initially, the title of the piece was Performance Therapy – but then Juurak noticed that theatre is a bit like school and vice versa. The rehearsal process for Lesson incorporated insights from psychoanalytic sessions spanning more than two years, with therapy in this case being the ‘material’ or ‘rehearsal’ for the performance. Juurak also realised that therapy essentially means education because everything else can be googled. Lesson is located at the interface of school, therapy, and stand-up comedy. The issue of authenticity, the ability to be moved, to laugh, to cry or to remain indifferent, is crucial for this piece.
born in 1981 in Tallinn, Estonia, is an artist, performer, stand-up comedian, and dancer based in Vienna. They studied choreography at ArteZ and Fine Arts at the Sandberg Institute, Amsterdam. Together with Alex Bailey, they have taken workplace conflicts and put them on the stage, performed for pets, and even assigned the role of director to their one-year-old son. ‘As a choreographer and performance artist, Krõõt Juurak has a penchant for self-sabotage, for getting caught up in the awkwardness of the moment, trusting far more to the dramaturgy of the endeavour than to its actual success. Juurak discovered the genre of stand-up comedy for themself some time ago, but with Juurak, the audience occasionally has to wait a little longer for the punchlines. But what if the performance, and its wit, still work even when they are not meant to be funny at all? Indeed, Krõõt excels at the great art of comic unease’ (Wiener Festwochen).
Credits
Concept, performance Krõõt Juurak Assistant, co-performer Luca Büchler Light design Leo Kuraite Dance coaching Gottfried Gehberger, Martin Maldonado Dramaturgical and artistic advice Alex Bailey, Anne Juren, Ralo Mayer, Pauliine Põldmaa Thanks to Erika Foltin, Helga M. Treichl Co-produced by Krõõt Juurak and Tanzquartier Wien With support from the Municipal Department of Cultural Affairs, Vienna.
In English