THE PARADISE PROJECT is a group performance work that told the story of a visual artist who became fixated with the 1945 French film classic Les Enfants du Paradis (The Children of Paradise). Through emulation, transformation, and eventually madness, he uses his obsession as a way to escape his existence.

This contemporary tale includes a close friend of the artist, a woman who accompanies him to a pivotal screening of the film, and the guy that runs the projection at the movie revival house. The work then morphs into live re-enactments of scenes from the film, which include the enigmatic characters Natalie, Frederick, and especially Garance, who represents the focus of his obsession, as he literally disappears into the on-stage film projection.

I had long been wanting to create a work based on The Children of Paradise, especially considering my already extensive history of running around in billowy white fabric.

Text, choreography, direction, video by John Kelly; music by Michael Torke; lyrics by Mark Campbell; lighting design by Stan Pressner, costumes by Donna Zakowska, sound by Tim Schellenbaum. Developed at The Sundance Theater Institute, produced by Alyce Dissette and John Kelly Performance at The Kitchen, NY, 2002. WITH: Wendy Hill, Walter Hudson, John Kelly and Kelli O’Hara.