In February and April 1998, Liminal presented the performance installation Handke Salmagundi at Reed College. This event was co-sponsored by Reed’s Division of Arts and Division of Language and Literature in conjunction with a public forum that Liminal organized to address the state of contemporary art in Portland. Over 150 people attended the discussion, which included a panel of Portland notables from the contemporary arts scene.

Handke Salmagundi was a site-responsive performance installation that mixed text from Austrian playwright Peter Handke with original physical actions and shifting sound and light media. Actors performed in close proximity to the audience, while using the words and actions of Handke’s various early, middle, and late plays. The installation was a repeating hour-long event that consisted of several scenes performed simultaneously in synchronized time and space. Handke Salmagundi was the first performance that Liminal structured as a cyclical live exhibition within a 360-degree environment.

Much of the text and action for Handke Salmagundi was selected from the following Peter Handke Plays: Offending the Audience; Self Accusation; Calling For Help; My Foot, My Tutor; The Ride Across Lake Constance; and Voyage to the Sonorous Land.

Bryan Markovitz directed and designed. John Berendzen produced live sound and media. Trent Moore constructed the setting. Cast members included Amanda Boekelheide, Georgia Luce, Jeff Marchant, Trent Moore, Jennifer Olson and Rich Southwick.

See the News Release