“Doubtful Guests”, is an intermedial stage play involving four artists and musicians. The performance uses prepared piano (Philip Zoubek), percussion (Melissa Castagnetto), ink (elffriede) and tagtool (Markus Dorninger). The tagtool is a Zeichenspiel, an interactive digital drawing device developed by Markus Dorninger and Mathias Fritz that enables the animation and projection of live drawing.

The play is structured in three acts, each of which is improvised and brings into being a different character, a doubtful guest, through music, sound and visuals (projected onto multiple surfaces throughout the venue). Its narrative is determined by these unforeseen characters whose development also reflects the unpredictable dimension, mode and behaviour of the collaboration between the musicians and the artists. The play takes motifs from the absurd theatre of Eugene Ionesco (The Chairs) and the stories of American writer and illustrator Edward Gorey (The Doubtful Guest), especially around themes of strangeness, the other and imaginary presence.

Philip Zoubek (1978, AT- lives in Cologne, Germany) - Prepared Piano

Philip Zoubek is an exceptional pianist and composer and one of Europe’s most exciting new talents. He has collaborated with, among others, Frank Gratkowski, Paul Lytton, Franz Hautzinger, Xavier Charles, Thomas Lehn, Ernst Glerum, Mazen Kerbaj, Wilbert de Joode and Herb Robertso. His current projects include Snaut, Multiple Choice Orchestra, WZW, Muche/Tang/Zoubek, LHZ, Shift, Solo, Nanschlaf, HubZub and several other formations (including collaborations with visual artists and dancers). He has performed at Concert House Vienna, Philharmonie Luxembourg and numerous festivals for improvised music (including Moers, Humanoise Congress, Ullrichsberg, Nickelsdorf, Bimhuis Festival etc).
LINK - www.philipzoubek.com

Melissa Castagnetto (1977, Peru/UK) - Percussion

Is an artist and musician living and working in London since 1998. She has collaborated with various visual artists, musicians and collectives such as Adam Lipman, Kaffe Matthews, Isa Suarez, Paula Roush, Makimono, Melanie Gillian, John Barret, Ian White, Joelle Gruenberg, Sonora, Sherry Ostapovitch, Kinya "Zulu" Turuyama and The Mary Kelly Project. She has performed at various international festivals such as Internationale Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen (Germany), Whitechapel Art Gallery (London), Kagurazaka Die pratze (Tokyo, Japan), Forde Gallery (Geneva) and Teatro Pradillo (Spain).
LINK - www.methodstodance.net

Markus Dorninger (1978, AT) - Drawing

He is the co-founder of the theatre group Tetete whose productions feature live animation music and drawing. He is also one of the creators behind the Tagtool, an open source instrument for live performance drawing and animation, which has spawned a world-wide community of artists, programmers and DIY enthusiasts. Current projects include Project Zeichenspiel (Tagtool 2.0) and Hilti's Oddyssey of Oddities, the worlds first animated, improvised, live science fiction series. He has collaborated with Mathias Fritz aka iink, Christian Reiner, Ritsche Koch, Matl Koch, Philip Zoubek, elffriede, Thomas Bratzke aka Zast, Akim, Nano4814, Keramik. Theatre productions include Theresas Traum (2006), Gregors Garten (2007), Antonioni Antonini (2007) presented at various national and interational venues and festivals (Dschungel Wien, Museumsquartier; Moers Festival, Germany; Die.Theater Konzerthaus, Vienna etc.).
LINK - makimono.blogspot.com

elffriede - an interdisciplinary drawing system - Drawing

Is an artist living and working in Vienna. She works with old and new media: film, web, typewriter, projectors and, most prominently, ink on paper. She has presented her work in Bratislava, Halle (tempart), Berlin, Dresden, Mainz, Nijmegen/Netherlands, Mooste/Estland, Sibiu/Rumania, Esch, Luxemburg, Künstlerhaus Vienna, Galerie 5020, Salzburg, and Galerie Charim Vienna. She has participated in readings and live-drawing performances in Vienna (Alte Schmiede, Amerlinghaus, Radowan-Halle), Graz (Forum Stadtpark), Hamburg, Mainz, Dresden, Halle, Frankfurt. Her publications include, among others, "leuteZeichnungen" (edition monochrom 2002), "das kommen und gehen der wechselwesen" (triton 2002), "elffriede.seismograph" (edition ch/Vienna 2007), "elffriede.soundrawing" (Vienna-Nijmegen/NL, 2007).
LINK - www.elffriede.net

Tagtool
www.tagtool.org

Supported by the Austrian Cultural Forum