How To Put On a Sock
Rachel Karp (2018)“How to Put On a Sock” was an interactive theatrical performance that explored sex education and abortion policy across America today. The project was created and directed by Rachel Karp, with media design by Giada Sun, Joyce Wang, and SooA Kim. The media design team used real-time polling and animated projections to emulate a quintessential American high school where the audience followed the lives of V and Mehl, two American teenagers, in their journey of sexual exploration. This PDF (5.8MB) describes their design process.
How to Design a Sock :: Supported by FRFAF from STUDIO for Creative Inquiry on Vimeo.
The project authors write:
“We created two worlds in parallel—the sex-ed world in a high school gym, and the memory world of V and Mehl. Throughout the play, the audience participated in sex-ed lessons alongside V and Mehl through anonymous, text-in polling with results displayed in real-time, as if they were high school students themselves. They learned about birth control, abortion, and STDs, while sharing their own opinions on these issues. The polls highlighted the similarities and differences in the audience’s values within the play’s larger discussion of national issues.”
In between the lessons, magical transitions led the audience into V and Mehl’s memories. Their story began with innocent romance but ended in tragedy, forcing the audience to reflect upon the cause of this sexual violence, and how we as citizens could bring about change to our policies and culture.
Developed with support from the Frank-Ratchye Fund for Arts at the Frontier.