Televised Confession

How do power structures utilize the mass media to turn the intimate act of confessing into a tool of hegemony? Inspired by the use of televised confession by oppressive regimes throughout the world, Televised Confession explores how the televised image changes our experience of guilt, accountability and social order. On stage, a performer confesses to a crime. Live-feed video and amplified sound carry her mediated image out to the sidewalk and the passerby. The spectator has a choice between the broadcast image and the real person. Utilizing texts and materials from diverse sources such as television transcripts, historical accounts, and religious doctrine, this piece juxtaposes period and medium in unexpected and revealing ways.