Bricolage, museums team up for ‘DODO’
Bricolage Production Company and Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh will pull back the curtain at the Museums of Art and Natural History for “DODO,” the latest and largest immersive project from the company that won national recognition with “STRATA” in 2012.
For Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, “DODO” is part of its Carnegie Nexus initiative that draws connections between the arts and sciences. The production that opens Oct. 13 will allow patrons to move through galleries and collections areas, as well as behind-the-scenes spaces never before opened to the public.
The “DODO” description released on Thursday reads: “Since 1760, they’ve operated in secret, preparing the way. Once considered legend, they’ve been steadily growing in number and influence. Their existence, in direct response to a pressing need expressed by the natural world, is one of the most significant and far-reaching stories in America: a story of un-natural selection. A story of extinction. The actions of humanity have set into motion events that will outlive our species. It must now be determined what will endure. Do you know how you got here? Do you know where you’re going? Our past is a memory, our future is certain. ‘DODO’: the time has come.”
“The museums look forward to working with Bricolage to set a new standard for participative experiences in the theater and museum fields,” Jo Ellen Parker, president of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, said in a press release. “This project has much to teach us, and most importantly, great potential benefits for the audiences who will join us on this journey.”
Jeffrey Carpenter, Gab Cody, Tami Dixon, and Sam Turich — the team that brought us the Bricolage urban adventure “OjO” and the warehouse-sized “STRATA” — has spent more than a year interviewing museum scientists and curators and investigating every corner of the Oakland museums to create “DODO.” The production includes sound by District 5 Sound and lighting by Rob Long.
“This partnership is a true collaboration with, for, and by both museums, who have granted unprecedented access to us and now to patrons. This really changes everything,” says Jeffrey Carpenter, Bricolage’s artistic director. “DODO” runs Oct. 13-Nov. 19, WednesdaySunday evenings with a few exceptions. Each performance time slot can accommodate six patrons at a time; tickets are $60 at www.BricolagePGH.org.