William Strom (crouching) and Claire Bird show off their dexterity as they complete a number of tasks while confined to moving treadmills.
Pony Cam’s Burnout Paradise is a madcap smorgasbord of actions that are tied together by a final aim: complete a number of tasks in a certain amount of time, all while walking on a treadmill. Part performance art, part physical theater, the show opens with four performers—Claire Bird, William Strom, Dominic Weintraub and Hugo Williams—on treadmills under a large screen displaying the words “Warm Up.” A soft, muttering soundscape (created by the ensemble) floats through the air, offering thoughts on greatness—“If greatness doesn’t come knocking on your door, you should go knocking on its door.”
During the show the performers have 10-minute intervals on each treadmill where each person must complete a series of tasks. Collectively, they must complete all of the tasks by the end of the show and beat their time from the previous show. Otherwise they promise to give the audience back their money.
Hugo Williams gets some help from audience members as he washes his hair while walking on the treadmill marked “Leisure.”
Each treadmill is labelled—“Admin,” “Survival,” “Leisure” and “Performance”—and each is tied to specific tasks. For instance, the contenders must write and complete a grant application ("Admin"), cook a three-course meal ("Survival"), do something performative culled from a childhood memory ("Performance"), and complete a host of tasks outlined on a dry whiteboard ("Leisure"). The tasks must be done while on the treadmills, and performers end up walking, crawling, crouching, jumping, dancing, chopping things for a meal, and even changing clothing to complete their task.
Once the timer starts, the performers cannot leave the treadmill, so the audience is asked to assist. The cacophony (and sometimes the mess) that results is uproariously funny.
At one point Williams, recalling a version of Hamlet that he saw as a 12-year-old, needs a belt to complete his costume, so he called out to the audience. A woman scurried down to offer her belt, helping him complete his costume.
As the show unfolds, the audience becomes more and more invested in helping the performers complete the tasks, especially for “Leisure,” where a long to-do list that includes such things as wash hair, play bingo, (a group of 15 audience members gather on stage to play), trick or treat, hunt, and fish.
The performers are in noticeably good shape, and it’s clear this is not improvised or created on the spur of the moment. A lot of practice has gone into being able to multitask on the treadmill. However, the very act of performing on the treadmill means there are many variables outside of the performer’s control.
For example, when Dom, also on the “Performance” treadmill, recalls how his mother gave him a large bowl of sugary cereal before swim practice as a kid, uses a grabber claw in an attempt to fill a bowl with cereal. An audience member helps uncap the milk and pours it into the bowl, but when he tries to pick it up with the grabber, he’s unsuccessful and it spills everywhere, creating a big milky mess on stage.
Dominic Weintraub and an audience member get cooking on the “Survival” treadmill. Photographs by Teddy Wolff.
After each 10-minute interval, the performers congregate downstage, drinking water, wiping sweat from their brows, and generally catching their breath. Ava Campbell, also a member of the group, serves as an MC of sorts, working a laptop that projects images on the screen and speaking to the audience from time to time. Midway through the show, she circulates with a tray of Gatorade as if the audience were on this performative marathon and needed fortification as well. She also sells T-shirts (a few audience members bought T-shirts in the middle of the show) and helps serve the three-course meal to two lucky audience members who volunteer to sit on stage (where table and chairs are set up for them) during the show. Dans Maree Sheehan’s bright lighting gives the show a feeling of both spectacle and sometimes breaks the fourth wall. By bringing the house lights up from time to time, she aptly defies the division between audience and performer.
The show is clearly a metaphor for how circus-like everyday tasks can feel and how burnout can build up from repeating mundane tasks. But rather than descending into a Kafkaesque gloom about the hamster wheel of life, the show digs deep into the absurdity with a physical glee. The performers’ creative ways of approaching the tasks allow each to shine and highlights their physical and theatrical strengths. In the end, the combination of the absurd with the high level of audience participation feels less like a performance (and they, less like performers), and more like neighbors in a truly unique and communal theatrical experience.
Pony Cam’s Burnout Paradise is playing through Dec. 1 at St. Ann’s Warehouse, 45 Water St., Brooklyn). Evening performances are at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; matinees are at 5 p.m. Sundays. For tickets ($49) and information, visit stannswarehouse.org.
Created and Performed by: Claire Bird, Ava Campbell, William Strom, Dominic Weintraub & Hugo Williams
Lighting Designer: Dans Maree Sheehan
Wardrobe Supervisor: Billie Causieestko
