PRISMA: Book of Moves is an instrumental and theatrical production scored for a theatrical quartet - that is, a group familiar both with that which is musical and that which is dramatic. With instruments strewn about stage as a makeshift set, the troupe sets off to perform. This piece examines the standards of dramaturgical movement and their context within the standard musical practice, using popular tropes of modern horror movies to create the juxtaposition. In doing so, the piece questions the nature of performance (from the dramaturge’s perspective), the initial presentation of the quartet reminiscent of the “in medias res” tropes into which horror movie characters get written. In this way, the quartet’s performance is unexpected to them, as if they just woke up backstage and forced to perform a piece - PRISMA - about optics and colors. That is to say, the group of performers is acting as another group of performers, led on stage to play a piece for the first time, the rest of the surrounding details a mystery.

The performers set off on their journey, wary to read instructions carefully, but over time, disrespect the music by either failing to execute directions properly, being too scared of messing up, intentionally disregarding risky text, or later, by beating and dismembering the score. Soon enough, however, some of the details surrounding the link between the music and the performers are uncovered… or better yet, brought to life.