Choreographers will premiere experimental works this weekend at Pink House Studio in Riverwest. TRIP/syck is a collection of intimate studio showings collaboratively presented by New York transplant and queer disability activist April Biggs, local anti-disciplinary maintenance artists Posy Knight and Zeze Schorsch and singer/songwriter Forrest Jackson.
TRIP/syck, which was developed with in-kind support from the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, will take audiences on an interactive journey exploring coping mechanisms and artmaking with audio/visual, physical, technological and therapeutic elements in three parts.
Here’s a rundown of the featured works:
- Sickgirl, a Milwaukee premiere by Biggs, is an autoethnographic and interdisciplinary solo, exploring her disabled and medicalized body as a site of chimeric world-breaking and world-making – a cyborg body-mind imagining itself into a winged creature.
- BIOPIC, a satirical one-woman award show created by Schorsch with performer Selena Milewski, and Afternoon of a Fawning, inspired by the evolution of choreographic process from the birth of modernism to post-pandemic zoom dance.
“My piece features an installation that I’ve designed that has a couple of different stations that has some audience participation,” Biggs said. “I’m setting up this environment that is using materials from my medial experience and the medical industrial complex, then beautifying those things and juxtaposing them with nature. It’s a very vulnerable piece for me and there’s a lot of sharing of my medical experience.”
Biggs has battled cystic fibrosis since birth and received a double lung transplant in 2004.
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“I’ve had a very long and complex medical life from the time I was born, and I’ve also always been a dancer,” Biggs said. “There’s a bit a reflection for me in bringing those two worlds to the stage. That’s exciting for me and very nerve-racking at the same time. I definitely feel there is a different kind of nervousness than I would have compared to when I normally perform.”
After a quick change in the stage setup, lighting and costumes, Biggs will also perform a dance routine.
Biggs and her wife, Raven Jemison, executive vice president of business operations with the Milwaukee Bucks, moved to Milwaukee in late 2020 over concerns about the potential dangers the COVID-19 pandemic could pose to Biggs’ health in densely populated New York City.
“This is my first live, indoor theater performance because I’ve needed to be really careful about that,” Biggs said.
Biggs appreciates the cozy setting for the performances that Pink House Studio offers.
“I’ve performed on all kinds of stages. I really love an intimate space,” Biggs said. “It’s my favorite thing, when I can see people and they can see me up close. That intimacy is one of the beautiful things about Pink House. It’s a studio space that has the ability to become a tiny theater space.”
Performances will be Saturday at 7 p.m. (Sick Girl) and 8:30 p.m. (Afternoon of a Fawning/BIOPIC); and Sunday at 7 p.m. (Sick Girl) and 8:30pm (Afternoon of a Fawning/BIOPIC). Pink House Studio is located at 601 E. Wright St.
Audiences can attend shows in person or online and will have an opportunity to enjoy refreshments and interact with the artists in between the 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. shows. Beers and bratwurst will be served on Saturday night and cocktails, wine and cheese on Sunday.
“It’s designed to give the audience a bit of social time and possibly talk to some of us,” Biggs said.
Pink House is not wheelchair accessible, so audiences are encouraged to join virtually. The performance will include material that is graphic in nature. Limited in-person and live streaming tickets are available online and at the door on a sliding scale of up to $20. No one will be turned away due to a lack of funds. Tickets can be reserved in advance (recommended) or purchased at the door 30 minutes prior to the show. Virtual attendees can reserve tickets up to 6 p.m. the day of the show and will receive a link to access the event electronically via Zoom.
Biggs also started a fundraiser to support the event. All funds will be used for project costs. To donate, click here. 
