Through the activation of wearable fabric sculptures, an atypical structure, and direct interaction between movement and the resulting sound, H. Gene Thompson and Arvid Tomayko’s Apart From Me, a collaboration with Ru Emmons and Anna Azizzy, requires the audience to engage with the work on its own terms.

This evening-length performance is an example of world building — a world filled with large, colorful, wearable fabric sculptures activated by performers — complete with its own set of characters, rules, and limits. To that end, the rules of dance or theater or gallery-bound installation art do not apply and shouldn’t be forced upon the work. Instead, the audience needs to see where the performers take the piece and then reflect on that journey.