Die No Die is a site-specific, collaborative performance structured in the spirit of a shooting star. Undertaken by a rotating cast of performers, the work linearly traverses and crashes into space—once, then again, appearing, evading, and accumulating. The intensity of its arrival initiates a four-part choreographic structure of various degrees of freedom and exactitude that each each performer passes through. In collaboration with the audience, Die No Die creates pockets of intimacy within otherwise diffused spaces and shatters routine audience-performer relationships. Everyone meets in a shared unknown, where Die No Die is at once something to behold, lunged after, or lost.
Like maps are used to familiarize a person with the terrain, routes, and possibilities of a geography or place, Die No Die involves a publication that details architectures, flora, types of ground, and qualities as they relate to the performers and the performance’s trajectory.
Presented for the second time in Iowa City, IA, Die No Die featured this publication produced using the resources and tools of the Iowa City Press Co-Op, resulting in a work produced by hand and using three different print processes (silkscreen, letterpress, and risograph) to articulate the diverse and dynamic range of creative process engaged by each of the performers in the work.
Author: Matty Davis in collaboration with Matt Wolff
Publisher: The Iowa City Press Co-Op
City: Iowa City, IA
Year: 2023
Pages: 20
Dimensions: 9 x 6 inch.
Cover: Soft Cover
Binding: Folded
Process: Letterpress, Risograph, and Silkscreen Printed
Color: Black and White
Edition Size: 100
