Genius Loci artist & scholar series Mary Anderson




“BY AIR, BY LAND, BY SEA: PERFORMING PLACE IN AUSTRALIA”

For Thursday Oct. 23, 2008


 PENSACOLA – The University of West Florida Department of Art will present “By Air, By Land, By Sea: Performing Place in Australia,” a Genius Loci Series lecture by Mary Anderson Oct. 23 at 4 p.m. in the Art Gallery of the Center for Fine and Performing Arts, Building 82. The event is free and open to the public.

Mary Anderson, visiting professor in the UWF Department of Theatre, recently returned from a year as an Australian Fulbright Scholar. Anderson was an honorary research associate in the School of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Tasmania, studying sense of place in site-specific performance.

With a background as a dancer and puppeteer, Anderson’s interests focus on the way objects move from place to place. Her dissertation investigates the relationship between site and performance and how each influences the notion and experiences of the other. She earned a master’s in theatre from California State University-Sacramento and master of fine arts degree in dramatic art from the University of California-Davis.



   Lecturer Marry Anderson presents her performance piece "By Air, By Land, By Sea: Performing place in Australia".   Photo credit: John Dourgherty
 

Performers acted out various roles during the performance and wandered through the audience. Photo credit: John Dourgherty 


  
Lecturer Mary Anderson rehearses in the Gallery space before her performance. Photo credit John Dourgherty

 Audience members were asked to participate by flipping through images given to them as they entered the lecture. The images were used to guide the audience and to encourage participating in the act. Photo Credit: John Dourgherty

 
Audience members followed along with Mary's performance and  filled the gallery. Photo credit: John Dourgherty

 
The aftermath of Mary's  tenacious performance include both the papers she tossed throughout and the shoes that she kicked off. Photo credit: John Dourgherty