KHAAREJ No.2

KHAAREJ No.2 is a performance involving an opera singer and a drummer. The performance is based on a poem written by Sahar Te, in a free-form, modern style for the singer to improvise upon.  The poem is structured around words taken from English and used in Farsi, while the Farsi words are scratched out on the sheet. It is written in free format and its scattered words around the page allows for the singer to interpret the poem based on the visual layout and phonetics. 

Since foreign language functions as music (words are meaningless sounds), it is important to have the Persian language performed by an English speaker singing for the English speaking audience. The performer accepts the role of interpreter and translator of the poetry to the audience. Meaning is derived, not based on the text’s literal meaning, but the physical and material elements of the words. Both The Eastern Carpet in the Western World and KHAAREJ juxtapose existing cultural materials within an entirely different context, creating new meanings through renegotiating the original works. These approaches can potentially be seen as misrepresentations, mistranslations, and misuses of their original counterparts. They both celebrate inter-cultural exchanges and their consequential products.

* KHAAREJ in Farsi can be translated as: outside, foreign, out of tune/out of key (in music), outer, exterior, abroad, quotient (mathematics), and beyond

Director: Sahar Te

Performers: Louisa Brianna Adria, Craig Fahner