A Review of Sagittarius A. by Yara Travieso

Sagittarius A. was an immersive, multimedia performance that took three different approaches to tell the same story. The first approach of the story was through the tale of a mythical female deity named SA. Her tale was about her downfall and rebirth caused by an obsessive wolf predator. The second approach was through the life of a dancer named Ana, who portrayed SA in a performance piece, and was attacked in the woods by a predator. The last approach to the story was told by Dr. Amalia, as she taught the audience about the life and death of a star, such as Sagittarius A., and the blackhole that is created in its place.

I thought the performance piece of telling the same story in various ways was really interesting and rather entertaining. Each version shed a different light on the tale, whether it be from a fantasy, realistic, or scientific point of view. I felt the tales of SA and Ana brought a societal taboo to the forefront of the performance. Travieso exhibited the concept of predators that seek fulfillment through seizing control; therefore, to assuage their own fragile masculinity, these predators assault women. With the story of SA, she was always being watched from afar by a wolf that was “in love” with her but felt she would never notice nor love him because she was so great and powerful. He felt the only way to get her to acknowledge and need him was through attacking her while she slept and removing her limbs that allowed her to control the universe. Thus, making her weak, broken, and feeling as if she had been reduced to essentially nothing. Similarly, to SA, Ana was also being stalked by someone. After her rehearsal, her privacy was clearly violated when her stalker was spying on her and objectifying her by emphasizing her body parts as she changed. Ana’s portion of the story is told through her predator’s perspective, whose point of view was the same as the audiences’. Later on, when Ana was dancing in the woods, she was being watched again by her predator until she was chased and attacked. Leaving her scared and wounded. The stories of SA and Ana relate to the life of a star and how it dies. Despite the destruction of the lives of SA, Ana and a star, all of them were able to create something of themselves once again. All turning into various versions of something stronger and greater than what they were before similar to a blackhole.

Travieso used the entirety of hall in her performance, from the stage to the empty seats to the lighting control room in the back. It felt like a 360-degree performance and this is what made her piece feel immersive to the audience because we were at the center of the performance. Additionally, the multiple types of media that she used was noteworthy. Not only was there a live performance, but there was also live video, previously recorded video displayed on stage and on the ceiling, live and pre-prepared music, and an intentional use of lighting. It was truly a multimedia performance. All the different uses of media were stimulating and grabbed your attention every time something new was displayed or used. However, the most captivating and my favorite part of the performance was the use of the 4 giant pieces of cloth on stage that were used as SA’s limbs. The use of the cloth was a beautiful and fascinating way a demonstrating her power as a god and a great way to end the performance.

Overall, I thought Sagittarius A. by Yara Travieso was great and I really enjoyed it. I thought the way of telling the same story in three different versions was creative and thought-provoking. The use of the theater and various types of media really added to the piece and grabbed the attention of the audience without being too much.