photo credit: Cas Burns

The set design of a taped square establishes geometry as a value-system of the work, and posits the space as a “ring” of heightened visibility for dancers and movement events. The notion of “picnic,” or meeting place, offers a sense of location, as the film takes place in three different settings. The tight quarters of the set design’s square perimeter stands in contrast to a lush, vast landscape featured in the film. Desert Picnic aims to actualize a figurative wasteland, and gestures towards the need to yoke and unify in the face of misconnections.