CPPM MANIFESTAL. Ragnar Uustal: STAND, AND UNFOLD YOURSELF / LIVE STREAM

This is a live stream of the performance. Purchase an online ticket to watch this via elektron.art. The performance is followed by an artist talk moderated by Eero Epner.

To watch all live streams and artist talks of the festival, buy the online pass! You can find the live stream timeline and more detailed information about the festival pass HERE.

For watching the live stream we recommend you to use Chrome browser, Internet download speed minimum should be 10 Mbps (https://www.speedtest.net/). Use headphones or home sound system.

Stand, and Unfold Yourself is a performance that takes William Shakespeare's well-known Hamlet line “To be or not to be – that is the question” and investigates it on a personal level, through a physical journey. What comes out of it is resolved by an artistic process, the sweat and a manic, personal, repetitive counter utterance: “What is my body – that is the question”.

Inevitably, my life consists of small things, every day.
What is my body?
I drink coffee and, every time, I shun the sugar.
What is my body?
I refuel my car, every time at the same gas station.
What is my body?
I count every cent, I bring my spending down.
What is my body?
I linger for the next “Black Friday” to buy me boots.
What is my body?
I store information - how much have I spent on my teeth?
What is my body?
I give flowers. I always buy one rose. That's enough.
What is my body?
I know I spend most of my money on alcohol and cigarettes.
What is my body?

The body stands. This body stands still on a large empty stage. It moves. It sweats. It drains everything. My manic lists. Manic tables. Manic documentions. Manic written lines. My manic Hamlet and a body … that seeks an alternative explanation for all there is.

Director and Performer RAGNAR UUSTAL (EST)
Dramaturg JARMO REHA (EST)
Scenographer LIISA MARIA LAI (Estonian Academy of Arts)
Sound Designer MARKUS ROBAM (EST)
Lighting Designer ALEKSANDR MIRSON (EST, FLEX)

Thank you: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre

Ragnar Uustal (1990) is an Estonian actor. He graduated with BA in Acting from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (EAMT) and immediately after school started working at internationally renowned Estonian company Theatre NO99 and stayed with the company until the theatre’s closing in autumn 2018. Currently, he is back at EAMT, obtaining an MA in Contemporary Physical Performance Making (CPPM).

In his approach, Ragnar focuses on the relationship between the physical body and its various interpretation forms. His research question would be: from what moment does physical exertion change into a crystallised meaning? What conditions does the body take to express the mundane, the sublime, and the banal - and how small or large can we transform as human beings? From which pieces of information can one individual be put together? How does our body commute between these pieces?

His recent projects include the Total Studio (FIN) production Dreams for Sale, theatre Jalostamo2 (FIN) production Ice Ice Baby, and Peader Kirk and Simona Gonella’s 99-hour production Where do we go from here (CPPM, Kanuti Guild Hall, Elektron.live).

CPPM Manifestal is a celebratory international festival exploring dance, body, art, sound, multimedia and creativity.
2.05–17.06.2021
http://manifestal.ee