Only Breath, Words

Only Breath, Words is a performance without actors in which the voice is delivered by the theater itself, as its HVAC system “exhales” through flue pipe sculptures created by Craycroft. These instruments create hums, murmurs, and moans while words and fragments of phrases flash and glow on grids of lights that move across the stage.

Only Breath, Words is conceived as a performance-installation that activates and extends the specific architectural infrastructure of a theater or gallery.

Following an extensive period of experimentation, fabrication, and staging in residence at EMPAC over four years, Craycroft invited composer Sarah Hennies to work with the instruments in order to produce a score for the premiere of the work.

Only Breath, Words premiered in September 2022 at EMPAC