FLUKKS e.V. | Residency – FLUKKS, DOPPELGÄNGER – A radical experiment in identity swapping

http://www.taupunkt-chemnitz.de

In DOPPELGÄNGER/DOPPELLEBEN/REMIGRARE, four performers embark on a radical
experiment. Each of them begins to lead a temporary double life for the purposes of the research. All those involved in the project are
united – and at the same time distinguished – by their migrant backgrounds. Dina has Jewish and Moldovan
roots, Arthur has ancestors from Poland, Michael’s father emigrated from England and Maral’s parents come
from Iran. This is where the research project finds its first focus: the experience of leading a double life across
at least two cultures. The four performers embark on a documentary search for clues
regarding the experiences of migration within their own and other people’s families, which encompasses themes such as
loss of identity, self-alienation, feelings of alienation and the unavailability of the subject. Each

performer develops a script in advance for their respective doppelgänger in the form of action
instructions, scores or rules for managing their own privacy during the experiment.

This opens up possibilities for (self-)staging. Certain situations that the doppelgängers
will experience could be prepared, faked or fictional. The second stage of the project then consists of the
actual swap. For one to two weeks, a performer takes on the life of one of the other project participants. In doing so, they explore various ways of documenting their experiences. This may result in
texts, videos or audio recordings. The four performers then evaluate this material together in a
third stage of the process and use it to develop ideas for staged realisations and a
concept for a potential performance project in 2027/28.

Links to artistic works/publicly funded projects:

Arthur Romanowski: “Collaboration with a Dead Person/Współpraca ze zmarłym”, performance documentation
https://vimeo.com/1038587509 Password: lokomotywa

Michael McCrae & Dina Zaitev: “THE GREAT FRAND OTHER”, production documentation
https://vimeo.com/887988082?share=copy PW: TGGOdoku2023