Inspired by the gestural and verbal haplessness of documentary-film subjects, Total Fictional Lie is a reeling conglomeration of speech and dance that, like a piece of music, makes a formally coherent, intuitive kind of sense. ERS's eighth original piece, TFL is an absurdist and dance-heavy look at sales and marketing. The show's speeches and dialogue are taken verbatim from some famous and not-so-famous documentary films and its choreography developed from the awkwardly presentational body language of the films' camera-shy subjects.

PAST PERFORMANCES

• 1998 Performance Space 122
• 1998 Berliner Festwochen, Sophiensaele, Berlin
• 1999 DiverseWorks, Houston
• 2000 Wexner Center, Columbus
• 2000 Walker Art Center, Southern Theater, Minneapolis
• 2000 On The Boards, Seattle
• 2000 Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Portland OR

PRESS

Art in America Feb 1999
The Theater of Danger by Douglas Davis

Village Voice 3 Nov 1998
Zombie Aerobics by Michael Feingold

New York Times 26 Oct 1998
Now the Uncool are the Coolest of All by Peter Marks

Die Welt (Berlin) 10 Sep 1998
Frenetischer Applaus für Pauls zappelnde Füsse

Taz (Berlin) 10 Sep 1998
Echt Dada by Eva Behrendt

CAST

• Leslie Buxbaum
• Robert Cucuzza
• Rinne Groff
• Scott Shepherd
• Susie Sokol
• Tory Vazquez
• Colleen Werthmann

James Hannaham originated the role played by Robert Cucuzza

• Directed by John Collins and Steve Bodow
• Lighting by Clay Shirky
• Sound by Blake Koh
• Choreography by Katherine Profeta and ERS
• Costumes by Colleen Werthmann
• Stage Managed by Zoe E. Rotter