By Gilles Pastor
In Conversation with Lea, everything is focused on Lea’s language articulation, in this troubled and silent zone inherent to her deafness. Her ears no longer enable her to understand the outside world. Lea lives alone.
Far from the outside world, on “her mountain”, until the first snow; the booming sound of her cows bells do not disturb her anymore. When, rarely, visitors reach her chalet, it is to visit her and buy her cow’s cheese, 100% animal fat and out of European standard. While buying these cheeses a strange trade is at stake. The situation is out of words, out of Lea. I entered her kitchen with the women of my family. A new alphabet is created. The language darkens. I shoot a film.
Simple transaction : I am at the cheese-seller’s house and I would like to buy two cow’s cheeses. This simple transaction takes 25 minutes.
The performance Conversation with lea lasts 25 minutes.
This is an invitation to hear. The performance, through video, invites the audience to hear Lea's silence mode.
What is projected on the screen is a sequence shot; sound and image are reproduced without editing.
It is the matter of one shot where DV camera recorded in real time my conversation with Lea. Then, on stage, an actor with a smoke machine enters and progressively hides the image. Lea’s cloudy mountain disappears in a deep fog that reaches the audience that suddenly becomes blind. The audience cannot see anymore but still can hear.
