Backstage: Ocean Filibuster

Ocean Filibuster, 2023

Video and Photography

Promotional backstage video and photos for a Duke Arts performance of Ocean Filibuster. Ocean Filibuster is a performance that explores the intimate, critical relationship between humans and the ocean. Set in a future Global Senate, performer Jenn Kidwell embodies two rivals: Mr. Majority– who introduces a bill to end the ocean as we know it–and The Ocean, who arrives in human form to filibuster the bill. Using large-scale projection, music, a locally cast “ocean ensemble” and augmented reality technology, the performance immerses audiences into an epic battle of wits and wills, smarts and sass, facts, and anthropocentric fiction.  

During interviews, the performers discussed what excited and meant the most for them before they went up on stage to perform, whether it was returning to Duke after many years, or being a part of something experimental and thought-provoking like Ocean Filibuster.