All Exits are Clearly Marked (2018)

The performance art piece ‘All Exits are Clearly Marked.’ premiered at the Pillsbury House Theater, Minneapolis, MN in 2018. Ritika put 16th Century Baul writings on the medicalization of the body in dialogue with our contemporary experiences of Big Pharma. Reverberating through this piece is my location in the American politico-medico-legal system as an immigrant. She rendered her compositions of traditional poetry a capella to a live audience in order to present the dots that she has had to join between doctors, drug reps, drug companies, policy makers and patients to make sense of the American health marketplace. The artistic challenge was not only to legibly convey a personal story, but to construct within the space of that theater, a shared existence with the audience. The piece is enriched by the use of binaural beats to create crushing sonic scapes.
This was made possible by the Naked Stages Fellowship, 2017. 

Sound Design | Composition | Concept | Script | Voice: Ritika Ganguly
Audio engineer: Peter Morrow
Artistic Direction: Diver Van Avery
Photography: Bruce Silcox