"Sexcetera" with NYU, Sibikwa Arts Center and Wits Drama Department

Sexcetera – an exploration of space between audience and performer, the right to choose, obsession, fetish, voyeurism, and sequence.

I used Google Sketchup 8 to create this map of the locations for our site specific performances.

Sexcetera was devised by Phyllis Klotz of the Sibikwa Arts Centre, and designed by Heidi Hoffer who is a Fulbright Scholar currently in residence at University of Pretoria Drama. The cast was made up of students from the New York University in collaboration with The University of the Witwatersrand School of the Arts Drama Department, actors from the Sibikwa Arts Centre and students from the Wits Drama Department.  It was a site specific piece, with the location being a premium space for musicians and artists as well as the production.

The courtyard of the Wits School of the Arts was our location. This is a view from the middle looking down the stairs towards the foot fetish corner in red light.



This view is from the Lovers doorway looking down towards the Enchained piece with performers in white across from the sultry Priced Right performance.

Lovers was performed by Thapelo Kotolo and Thandi Dube. Audience members had to squeeze their way past these two occupied performers to get into the courtyard.

Smoochers in the pathway.

Tree of Love was written and performed by the musicians Eric Namaky, Siyabulela Sifatyi and Esther Maumela.

The musicians performed love songs...what else?

And to greet you and ignore you was an angel wearing a hard hat, because love is a dangerous business. The Angel was performed by Rasta Mokhere.

An Angel to guide us through and keep an eye on things.

When you crossed the metal bridge past the Lovers if you looked down to your left you could get a top view of the dominatrici in their subterranean lair. Succumb was developed and performed by NYU students.


View from above of the Dominatrix duo.

On the left performing while standing in sinks of water was Chris Couperthwaite and Bulelwa Ndaba in Love Lost written by Jessica Annunziata. Audience members viewed them through open windows.

Love Lost written by Jessica Annunziata could be performed backwards and forwards.

Continuing to the opposite end of the courtyard from the entrance, one got a glimpse of young love/lust on a car seat. Don't worry, they didn't really do it. They just expertly gave animated explanations of the sexual feelings and thought that accompanied their date. Oops and Umms was written by Bulelwa Ndaba in collaboration with Denise Mosiana. It was performed by Denise Mosiana and Taemane Mothobi.

Performers in Oops and Umms talk about the awkwardness of love on a car seat.

My Pastor, My Father, My Pilgrim was developed by Ethan Fishbane, Vuyelwa Maluleke, and Masiza Mbali. This performance was achingly surreal in its depiction of religious bindings.

The performers of My Pastor, My Father, My Pilgrim used long lengths of elastic to stretch and snap their ideas.

A site specific performance about sensuality, sex and acceptance is not without its body image artist. Caged was choreographed and performed by Louisa Levy.

The workshop built a "cage" for the actor in Caged to athletically manouver within while checking her reflection in shards of dangling mirrors.

The viewing of Caged brought the audience to the top of the stairs. Just underneath the stairs, lurking like a sensuous troll in a sequinned outfit was the performance of Basadi which was choreographed and performed by Freddie Nkantolo Zwane.

 Freddie Nkantolo Zwane performed near- contortionist moves in his dance of obsession with the curvy lounge chair.

Priced Right was developed and performed by Ashalin Singh and Chanelle Sardinha. This performance was reminiscent of the window displays of prostitutes in Amsterdam. Audience members got a glimpse of the power of money through the safety of a window.

Priced Right performers Ashalin Singh and Chanelle Sardinha exhibit some of what can be done for money.

Opposite the performance above was a unique poetic performance demonstrating need of acceptance and friendship and comany, and how those very things are often harmful.

Enchained was developed and performed by Raezeen Wentworth and Keith Leroyal Smith.

These performers performed circus style nearly - arial manouvers which were not completely arial because these performers were chained to the railing above.

Continuing in this basement level of the courtyard, the audience came acroos a scene of foot fetish. Foot Fetish was performed by Lesego Ngwato and Lucky Tshimbudzi.

What footsore Nurse wouldn't like to have a nice foot rub?

Lipstick was performed by Thokozane Nsibande. This actor sat on a swing, putting on his lipstick while audience membders went past him to the Foot Fetish performance or the Succumb dominatrix scene.



The tallest actor was given the task of using a bit of lipstick and a hand mirror on a swing suspended from the bridge above. He borrowed a swanky ginger coloured wig, some ladie's clothes, and voila! - a masterpiece of cross-dressing innocence.



The final destination on this level was the Succumb performance by NYU Students.

The desire for a normal life was juxtaposed with the desire for a dominatrix life in this performance of Succumb.

To quote the student Assistant Director Chris Couperthwaite in collaboration with the cast,

“The process for Sexcetera was highly personal and very organic. Grappling with the topic of sex is not easy for many people but we broke down the walls that we had built about sex, discovering as much about ourselves as we did this topic. With the direction of Phyllis Klotz we were exposed to a world of fantasy, sensuality and sexuality, working with sexologists, a dominatrix and, some of the cast observing professional strippers. We unanimously agreed upon not merely delivery of the expected but rather a highly thought provoking “sexhibition”, a show that is a creative collaboration of different voices, backgrounds, cultures and beliefs. We have grown together as a cast, exploring paths that we would not have had an opportunity to explore in any other way. It has been an unforgettable process of learning and engaging that will have lasting effects.”

Assistant Designer for the production was Chiara Moliaro. Stage Manager was Busizwe Mtshali. Assistant Stage Manager was Kgomotso Lwazi Mthembu. Crew members were Luke Webster, Darylene Pillay, Tyrel Van der Merwe, Chulekazi Mahlangeni, Karabo Sekgale, Crystal Vittee, Nicolette Spykerman, and Themba Twala.