Performance group’s play explores sterility

The members of the Performance Collective don’t call themselves activists.

But their latest production definitely carries a message.

Their original production, “Sterilize,” which questions the concept of purity, opens at the Student Artery tonight.

The show is a satirical look at modern society’s obsession with seeking medical, cultural and ethnic sterility.

“We are giving a performance to point to sterilization as a cultural obsession, but also as a cultural practice,” said Peter Pendergrass, a senior studio art and performance studies major.

Pendergrass said the performance does not have any hidden political motives but instead serves as a way to open up the topic for discussion.

Coming off of a successful performance of “The Activist” — which won Best Original Script, among other awards from the Independent Weekly — the collective wants to add to its repertoire, but not with any pressure, said Tony Perucci, an assistant professor in the department of communication studies.

The Performance Collective emerged in the spring of 2009 from a series of Friday workshops for art students.

“For us, the process of collaborative performance-making is just as important as the product itself,” Perucci said.

“We didn’t set out to be a performance group, we just realized that we were one.”

The roughly 40-minute show features an eight-member cast working with minimal props as they struggle to deliver a humorous yet thought-provoking experience.

The idea for “Sterilize” — which debuted as a part of the Durham Art Walk in November — arose when members of the collective began discussing ideas for their next performance.

During the discussion, dirt and messes came up.

“It was that talk that we rallied around and got us thinking about cleanliness as something we could approach from different angles,” Pendergrass said.

The piece will follow the story of a group known as the cleaning squad as they attempt to purify Loribird, a character serving as the entity of beauty and purity within the show.

“I wouldn’t say that the characters exist outside the story in any regard, but we are trying to place it within a larger social construct,” said senior Lori Baldwin, who plays Loribird.

“We don’t consider these characters to be realistic, and they’re not intended to be.”

A lot of societal stigmas will be addressed, from hand sanitizer use to the North Carolina female eugenics crisis in the early 20th century, Baldwin said.

And though the piece might be too topical for some, members are excited about the outcome.

“There are definitely people who wouldn’t like this,” Baldwin said. “But I still want them to come.”

Contact the Arts Editor at arts@dailytarheel.com.