The World, 2024

Performance

The final act of The Kitchen Table, a series of 22 performances each based on one of the Tarot Major Arcana, orchestrated by Nic Brannen.

The World (Katrina Parker) enters the stage, sitting down before a mic, and begins knitting from a glittering strand of golden yarn. The two giant, metal needles clack rhythmically with each stitch, amplified by speakers. The World holds up the work and sees The Fool (Brody Scott) sitting in a chair nearby. She stands and walks backstage, returning with a circular knitting machine. She places the machine on the stage floor and sits behind it, turning the crank handle, clanking loudly, knitting the black sparkly strand from a skein of yarn nearby. The Fool approaches, sitting beside her, watching the work. After a few more turns of the handle, The World reveals her new creation — a circular infinity scarf — and presents it to The Fool. The Fool takes and wears his gift with delight. The World’s gaze shifts from The Fool to the watching crowd behind him. She once again disappears backstage, re-emerging this time with an armful of amorphous black material. She places it on the grass just in front of the stage, then cranks away at the machine again, faster this time. The Fool takes one end of the black mass and walks with it toward the audience. The black material extends as it’s pulled, unwrapping from the center, until The Fool has walked around the entire audience, leaving a black circle of fabric in his wake. The World looks at the audience, then whispers to The Fool. They both walk to the black circle, crouch, and begin untying pieces of the black fabric. The pieces come apart, links disentangled from a long chain, to reveal the circle of fabric is made up of numerous infinity scarves. Each time a scarf comes free, The World or The Fool gifts the scarf to an onlooker. Eventually, the circle is no more and every audience and crew member has a scarf. The World and The Fool come together once more, wave, and disappear backstage.

The audience and their scarves depart, scattering into the world.

Photography by JD Dominguez