"The secret to this kind of fluid, seemingly borderless work is actually hidden discipline. ....it takes scrupulous care of the audience. The producing directors Leah Bachar, Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li, and Monica Dudárov Hunken have agreed on a structure that moves the watchers around swiftly and confidently; every section of this crazy-quilt performance is brief enough to intrigue us but long enough to develop a thought. It displays the dramaturgy necessary to light-touch work, an attunement to how much an audience can sustain its attention in the absence of the usual interest-generators like plot. And despite the many folks involved, there’s a shared, modest intention behind the whole thing. This restraint registers as a kind of ragged elegance. In two places during the show, we hear a text by Ireri Romero: “I close my eyes and suddenly I feel a network of invisible threads that cover my entire body.” The collective makes us feel this sense of connectivity, first by demonstrating their own decentralized artistic partnership, then by sewing us — with six quick stitches — into their tapestry."
-Helen Shaw
NY Magazine
Full review from NY Magazine
Rave review from Adrian Dimanlig
In Mid July 2021 we brought the Liminal Archive to life for a full staged production in the New Ohio Theatre's Ice Factory Festival.
Liminal Archive is an immersive theatrical experience that guides audiences through intimate moments of isolation experienced by artists as they traverse the unknown during the early days of the pandemic. Liminal Archive began as an open-source platform, providing a cultural exchange where international artists could collaborate together during a lockdown and mass uprisings, and it has collected more than 40 artworks, including music, digital art and theater. Al Límite has curated these offerings into a 40-minute odyssey of live performances, projections and audio journeys where we venture through the past, the present, and find our way together into the future.Al Límite Collective
Producing Directors: Leah Bachar, Monica Hunken, Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li
Stage Manager: Charlene Ruscalleda
Dramaturg: Tom Walker
Lighting Designer: Hao Bai
Scenic Designer: Monica Hunken
Audio Designer: Benny Woodard, Leah Bachar, Jessica Daugherty
Projection Designer: Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li
Graphic Designer: Mario Fong
Featuring Performers: Ann Treesa Joy, Shan Y. Chuang, Monica Dudárov Hunken, Leah Bachar, Philip Santos Schaffer, Sanam Erfani
Contributing Artists: Cypress Atlas (New Orleans, USA), Arthur Ban (Bujumbura, Burundi), Soraya Broukhim (LIC, USA), Toney Brown (Brooklyn, USA), Katya Chizhayeva (Ukraine/New Orleans, USA), Caio D’aguilar (São Paulo, Brazil), Jessica Daugherty (Portland, USA), Sissy Doutsiou (Athens, Greece), Brad Hamers (Portland, USA), Monica Hunken (Brooklyn, USA), Athina Kolpondinou (Athens, Greece), Hideo Kushiyama (São Paulo, Brazil), Bricio Leao (São Paulo, Brazil), Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li (Taiwan/Queens, USA), Kulije-ku-Suzyika Nyimbili (Zambia/Vienna, Austria), Yuly Rojas Oyola (Bogota, Colombia), Ireri Romero (Mexico City, Mexico), Cris Saucedo (Tijuana, Mexico)
Photos by Erik McGregor
-Helen Shaw
NY Magazine
Full review from NY Magazine
Rave review from Adrian Dimanlig
In Mid July 2021 we brought the Liminal Archive to life for a full staged production in the New Ohio Theatre's Ice Factory Festival.
Liminal Archive is an immersive theatrical experience that guides audiences through intimate moments of isolation experienced by artists as they traverse the unknown during the early days of the pandemic. Liminal Archive began as an open-source platform, providing a cultural exchange where international artists could collaborate together during a lockdown and mass uprisings, and it has collected more than 40 artworks, including music, digital art and theater. Al Límite has curated these offerings into a 40-minute odyssey of live performances, projections and audio journeys where we venture through the past, the present, and find our way together into the future.Al Límite Collective
Producing Directors: Leah Bachar, Monica Hunken, Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li
Stage Manager: Charlene Ruscalleda
Dramaturg: Tom Walker
Lighting Designer: Hao Bai
Scenic Designer: Monica Hunken
Audio Designer: Benny Woodard, Leah Bachar, Jessica Daugherty
Projection Designer: Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li
Graphic Designer: Mario Fong
Featuring Performers: Ann Treesa Joy, Shan Y. Chuang, Monica Dudárov Hunken, Leah Bachar, Philip Santos Schaffer, Sanam Erfani
Contributing Artists: Cypress Atlas (New Orleans, USA), Arthur Ban (Bujumbura, Burundi), Soraya Broukhim (LIC, USA), Toney Brown (Brooklyn, USA), Katya Chizhayeva (Ukraine/New Orleans, USA), Caio D’aguilar (São Paulo, Brazil), Jessica Daugherty (Portland, USA), Sissy Doutsiou (Athens, Greece), Brad Hamers (Portland, USA), Monica Hunken (Brooklyn, USA), Athina Kolpondinou (Athens, Greece), Hideo Kushiyama (São Paulo, Brazil), Bricio Leao (São Paulo, Brazil), Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li (Taiwan/Queens, USA), Kulije-ku-Suzyika Nyimbili (Zambia/Vienna, Austria), Yuly Rojas Oyola (Bogota, Colombia), Ireri Romero (Mexico City, Mexico), Cris Saucedo (Tijuana, Mexico)
Photos by Erik McGregor
Audience reviews:
"Ethereal and grounding all at once. Touchstone to universal understanding."
"thanks for the intimacy."
"Came in with zero expectations. Pleasantly surprised. Interesting. Human connection after a year of little."
"It was gorgeous and powerful. Every performance was emotional and intimate. The sound, lighting and scenery were incredible. Thank you everyone involved"
"Oh man, oh mama oh heavens I needed that! Thank you for the vulnerability, the truth, the reminder in poetry in motion. Love and heart and solidarity to you all!"
"Mesmerizing! The feeling is familiar and yet unknown about the performance. I felt really in tune for each segment/ story."
"I saw loss, home, escape, self and life in a full circle."
"This piece reawakens within me the desire and commitment to making a difference for the better. I never really lost this desire but tonight, re-affirmed it for me. Thank you."
"very emotional and immersive and intense. It definitely had me reflect and look and feel."
"Amazing! Would love to be apart. Art inspires word, action, unity and all that is!"
"Wonderful! Unfathomably beautiful, intimate, grounding and thought-provoking!"
"Thank you! The immersive close encounters were moving and healing the lonely wounded scared bits. I feel cleansed and invigorated."
"A many thanks for taking everyone somewhere else for that moment of time."
"Love the immersion, the emotion, the coming together of cultures and streams for thoughts and perspectives. A rich embracing sea! Thank you!"
"I'm utterly stunned at the depth of authentic beauty I have just experienced. I fail to find a more immersive, heartbreaking, enthralling and truthful portrayal of humanness and the past year than I have witnessed in art. Thank you. I am so grateful."
"I'm speechless. This performance reaching deep in my soul and filled the voids created by the pandemic with warmth, deep connection, and new threads to nourish. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Much love to each and every performer. I will keep this performance in my heart for a long long time. The auditory experience was so beautiful. Each of the sets were such a blessing to experience."
"Can you feel my experience? I felt of all your hearts, I wanted to dive into them each, deep. There's so much I don't know, and you helped me know some more. and how little I know. I felt love for you like my own hands/ heart."
"Ethereal and grounding all at once. Touchstone to universal understanding."
"thanks for the intimacy."
"Came in with zero expectations. Pleasantly surprised. Interesting. Human connection after a year of little."
"It was gorgeous and powerful. Every performance was emotional and intimate. The sound, lighting and scenery were incredible. Thank you everyone involved"
"Oh man, oh mama oh heavens I needed that! Thank you for the vulnerability, the truth, the reminder in poetry in motion. Love and heart and solidarity to you all!"
"Mesmerizing! The feeling is familiar and yet unknown about the performance. I felt really in tune for each segment/ story."
"I saw loss, home, escape, self and life in a full circle."
"This piece reawakens within me the desire and commitment to making a difference for the better. I never really lost this desire but tonight, re-affirmed it for me. Thank you."
"very emotional and immersive and intense. It definitely had me reflect and look and feel."
"Amazing! Would love to be apart. Art inspires word, action, unity and all that is!"
"Wonderful! Unfathomably beautiful, intimate, grounding and thought-provoking!"
"Thank you! The immersive close encounters were moving and healing the lonely wounded scared bits. I feel cleansed and invigorated."
"A many thanks for taking everyone somewhere else for that moment of time."
"Love the immersion, the emotion, the coming together of cultures and streams for thoughts and perspectives. A rich embracing sea! Thank you!"
"I'm utterly stunned at the depth of authentic beauty I have just experienced. I fail to find a more immersive, heartbreaking, enthralling and truthful portrayal of humanness and the past year than I have witnessed in art. Thank you. I am so grateful."
"I'm speechless. This performance reaching deep in my soul and filled the voids created by the pandemic with warmth, deep connection, and new threads to nourish. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Much love to each and every performer. I will keep this performance in my heart for a long long time. The auditory experience was so beautiful. Each of the sets were such a blessing to experience."
"Can you feel my experience? I felt of all your hearts, I wanted to dive into them each, deep. There's so much I don't know, and you helped me know some more. and how little I know. I felt love for you like my own hands/ heart."
