The relationship between the body and the screen is the overarching idea for Palmer Mathews’ MFA thesis concert. Through dance choreography and video design, he explored the concept of digitalizing the human body in the context of social media, specifically looking at its effects on how people build relationships. In the process of developing this piece, the creator and the performers reflected upon their relation to technology and social media, and experimented with how to portray these relationships creatively through dance performance.
Palmer Mathews developed the work Playground by investigating the fundamental human desire to love and to be loved. He was interested in how social media has impacted the way people build and maintain intimate relationships. This piece focuses on the influence of dating apps, and the emotional, psychological, and physical consequences they have on their users. Palmer Mathews believes these apps epitomize the extremes of social media, and mark a fundamental shift in the way people build relationships with one another.
Chapter 1 introduces the context in which the work was developed, including the creative motivation, movement concept, and academic context. Chapter 2 explains the methodology behind the creative process, discussing the movement creation and development. Chapter 3 analyzes the creative structures and gives interpretations of significant moments in the choreography, specifically focusing on the relationship between the body and the screen. Chapter 4 discusses how all other creative elements in the work were synthesized to create the overall effect, including video, lighting, sound, and costume design.