"I don’t want pain to be my legacy." Tristan Niemi on subverting the expectations of theatre
The artists that I’m close with, when we talk about our practice, we often come to a place of discussing this pressure we feel to be in pain in order to making art of value. But when a layer of othering, as you put it, is added to that the pressure becomes intensified and localised to the “otherness” we are branded with. I, personally, plan on being a working artist for the rest of my life and I don’t want pain to be my legacy. I don’t want the next generation of artist to have to inherit that from me and feel that same pressure. So, I’m using ASK to point out the despicable nature of this pressure.
Intoxication | Before Shot
At its core, the show is about love and relationships and the anxiety, self-doubt, self-loathing, and questions of worth that can come along with it. Christopher addressed audience members as if they were people in his life, people he admired, desired, despised. The audience became participants, watching and being watched in the circle.