M, an average piece

M, an average piece by XL Productions:

Maria Clara Villa-Lobos always has flirted with references to trash and pop culture. In 2003 she served us Big MacStuarts and Double MacFrankfurters in the performance XL, because size matters. XL by XL Production was an entertaining, ironic mocking of contemporary dance, a field she personally works within.

To the festival Meteor 2005 XL Production returned with M, an average piece.

M, an average piece as a performance does not slim down on the stage candy even though Maria Clara Villa-Lobos has slimmed down a couple of sizes to a Medium. The characteristic humour and seducing irony is present, communicating a critical glance at consumerism and entertainment.

M, an average piece makes a topic out of sex and its seducing function in the mass media, among other things.

About M, an average piece by XL Production:

Banality, the standard, the pre-fabricated, simulation.

Cell phones, a sofa, some magazines and soft drinks.

These are some of the starting points of M, an average piece.
M is also about bodies, average bodies, objectified and plasticised ones, ready to consume and be consumed, desirable, manipulable, bendable and disposable like inflatable dolls.
Expressions are frozen in content, ordinary movements are repeated  as guided by an invisible remote control, accompanied by a distant and never-ending Vivaldi loop. Also emotions are manipulated, are they spontaneous or rehearsed, true or fake?
Sexual representations in mass media also play an important role in M, an average piece. Sex and sex-appeal are essential seduction tools, to sell anything from soft drinks to shampoo. Being young, beautiful and most of all sexy is an absolute must today to "be someone" in our society.  Someone free, independent and successful with the latest mobile phone, reachable anywhere, anytime...
With humour and self-irony, M gives a critical an amusing look onto consumerism and entertainment, trying to make tangible the illusory and one-dimensional aspect of the mediatised world.
M, an average piece is the last part of a trilogy which includes XL, because size does matter (2000) and XS, a production for children (2002).

Sources: XL Production, performance program.

BIT Teatergarasjen, Meteor 2005. 16.09.2010 www.bit-teatergarasjen.no -archive