a bedtime story

about the performances

2008-05-06T11:55:00.002+01:00

the outcome of each performance was different and very interesting.
in the first minutes we chatted a little bit and i ensured that each person had the right environment at home. a lot of participants were alone, but some people asked me to listen to the story with someone else, which created a deeper communal sense. one participant didn't have microphone, so we could only interact by chat. this was very strange because i had no immediate feedback, like sounds of movement, breathing or sighing.
in general participants were people that i never met before, but there were also some friends. from the people i never met before some further contact was established by email- either to know about the stories i read or to ask more about my work. one of this contacts lead to an invitation to participate in an artistic project.

stories

2008-02-18T12:26:00.004Z

the stories that i read were both in english and in portuguese, depending on the choice of the listener.

i read excerpts of the following books:
- in english

The Nightingale, by Hans Christian Andersen
Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter, by Simone de Beauvoir
A Hunger Artist, by Kafka
The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint Exupéry
The Story of the Merchant and the Jinni, In One Thousand and One Nights

- in portuguese

Ontem, de Agota Kristof
Memórias de Uma Menina Bem-Comportada, de Simone de Beauvoir
Orfeu e Eurídice, In Mitologia de Edith Hamilton
A Hora do Diabo, de Fernando Pessoa
O Artista da Fome, Kafka
O Pequeno Príncipe, de Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

2007-11-25T12:23:00.000Z

the process

2007-11-24T12:29:00.000Z

the stories that i will be reading were chosen by a group of friends, to whom i sent an email asking them to choose a story that they would like to be told.

bookings

2007-11-22T13:19:00.000Z

time slots already booked:

7th december, friday, 23:00h
8th december, saturday, 22h
8th december, saturday, 22:30h
8th december, saturday, 23h
8th december, saturday, 23:30h
8th december, saturday, 24h
9th december, sunday, 00:30h
9th december, sunday, 22h
9th december, sunday, 22:30h
9th december, sunday, 23h

the performance

2007-11-22T13:13:00.000Z

a bedtime story
a performance by susana mendes silva

for INTIMACY Across Visceral and Digital Performance

7th, 8th and 9th of December 2007
only from 10 pm (gmt)

the artist will tell a bedtime story to everyone who would like to hear one.

1- how to participate:
please send an email to arslonga@netcabo.pt or call 07964291286 to schedule the date and the time when you would like to hear your story. you can choose if the story is told to you in english or portuguese.

2- what you should do:
- please listen to the story in the dark, and if possible in a comfortable place or in bed.
- we will be using skype, with no image just voice.
- please don't forget to send me your skype name.
- if you don't have skype, please download it: http://www.skype.com/
- each performance will have as maximum time 30 minutes, and can be stopped at all times if the participant or the artist feels the situation is no longer comfortable.

3-
- there is an implicit degree of mutual trust and discreetness, as you might actually fall asleep.
- the performance will not be recorded.
- the participant can interact with the artist at any moment, and all is improvised (except the choice of the story). we can never guess the outcome of each performance, because the story may just be a motive.