The Residents' God in 3 Persons
Written and Performed by the Residents
in Collaboration with John Sanborn
The Residents, in collaboration with media artist John Sanborn, are creating an extraordinary live video/theater version of their legendary 1988 album God in 3 Persons - the story of a disgraced evangelist and his twisted obsession with a pair of gender fluid conjoined twins. This innovative LIVE work will premiere January 24 and 25, 2020.
A Tale of Faith, Confusion and Lust
God in 3 Persons is a journey into the darkest reaches of the human soul. Beginning with a series of flashbacks, our unreliable narrator, Mr. X, tells us of his discovery of a pair of conjoined twins he believes to be miracle workers.
As they tour the revival tent circuit, the relationship between the twins and Mr. X shifts from paternal to something more sinister, as he becomes convinced one of the twins desires him.
Framed by folksy memories, Mr. X pretends that his lurid obsession was simply a regard for the health and safety of these faith healing twins, until his libido bursts like a flood swollen dam, causing a dire release and realignment of the twins’ connection.
It does not end well.
Creating a LIVE Work
God in 3 Persons is a raucous musical composition, fashioned as a propulsive hard rock oratorio with a deep Southern twang. It is sung in a rhythmic spoken word style, similar to the talking blues, and driven by a bombastic and dynamic score derived, in large part, from the first few bars of the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy.” The character of Mr. X narrates and is accompanied throughout by a chorus of voices, singing in high, nasal, “outsider country” harmonies.
This staged version centers on a live vocalist (one of The Residents performing as the evangelist, Mr. X) shadowed by an onstage double. They perform inside an innovative series of video projections that depict the thoughts and desires of Mr. X and draws the audience inside his collapsing mental state. Oscillating in style from animated cartoon to film noir, the media staging seduces the viewer as it takes us on a kaleidoscopic journey into the darkest corners of human desire.
For this production, noted visual artist Leigh Barbier has produced miniature sets, puppets, and props featuring her eclectic collage style, that will be transformed in the media mix. The music has been newly orchestrated by Musical Director Joshua Raoul Brody specifically to support the live performance.
We Need Your Support
Bringing God in 3 Persons to the stage will involve a six-month period of creation and rehearsal. In October, we will be creating a brand new version of this classic album, complete with new orchestrations by long time Residents music director, Joshua Raoul Brody and a method to perform the work in sync with three video projections.
At the same time, celebrated artist Leigh Barbier will be designing and rendering a range of props and costumes for both video recording and on stage use. We’ve cast noted performer, filmmaker, author and activist Jiz Lee as the twins, and they will need a fee to give us a week of their time and talent.
In early November, Sanborn and his crew will record for 5 days in his studio – and then spend 2 months creating the animations and layers of video needed to create the virtual world for the live show. The production is pleased to have cast gender queer artist Jiz Lee as the Twins.
In early January, stage director Travis Chamberlain steps in to begin blocking the actors. Staging rehearsals with the whole team, Sanborn will lead the coordination of media, live band, vocals and stage effects to take to New York for the premiere performances in late January 2020.
THE ARTISTS
THE RESIDENTS
composers and performers
The Residents are an American art collective that has been creating avant-garde music and multimedia works for over 40 years. Since their first official release, Meet the Residents (1974), the group has released over sixty albums, numerous music videos and short films, three CD-ROM projects, and ten DVDs. They have undertaken ten major tours and scored multiple films. Pioneers in exploring the potential of CD-ROM and similar technologies, the Residents have won several awards for their multimedia projects. Ralph Records, a record label focusing on avant-garde music, was started by the band.
Throughout the group's existence, the individual members have ostensibly attempted to operate anonymously, preferring to have all attention focused on their output. Much outside speculation and rumor has focused on this aspect of the group. In public, the group appears silent and costumed, often wearing eyeball helmets, top hats and tails—a long-lasting costume now recognized as its signature iconography.
In addition to their groundbreaking work in the areas of trance, world fusion, electronica, punk, industrial and lounge music, the group has also been credited with being among the originators of performance art and music video. Two of their videos are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art and their Freak Show CD-ROM were featured in “Looking at Music 3.0” exhibition.
A film documentary about The Residents, “The Theory of Obscurity”, premiered at SXSW in 2015.
JOHN SANBORN
media artist and director
John Sanborn is an award-winning, world-renowned media artist whose body of work ranges from the technological stone age of the 1970’s to the digital bleeding edge of today. The Cahiers du Cinema has called him “unparalleled master of the video medium, the most outstanding artist working in media today”, and “the acknowledged genius in the field” by Vogue.
Sanborn’s works have been shown at almost every contemporary art museum in the world, including the Whitney Museum; New York; the Prado, Madrid; the Centre Pompidou, Paris; the Tate Gallery, London; and the Seibu Museum, Tokyo. His video works have been broadcast world-wide (BBC, Channel Four, A2, RTBF, Sky), including 16 programs for PBS featuring works with Robert Ashley, Bill T. Jones, Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass, Nam June Paik, Twyla Tharp, the Residents, and David Gordon.
In 2019 Sanborn debuted Alchemy, commissioned by the National Museum of Qatar, installed in a remarkable building designed by Jean Nouvel. The work was hailed as “…Art with a capital “A”” by Artweek.
John Sanborn holds an honorary Master of Cinema degree from ESEC, in Paris, and was recently named a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettresby the Minister of Culture of the Republic of France. The Mill Valley Film Festival honored him with a lifetime achievement award in 2017.