If we tried to harmoniously blend the trials and tribulations of the families who experienced the Dust Bowl with the current mortgage crisis that has been inflicting the entire nation as of late, we would probably get something close to the Builders Association’s “House/Divided”. Directed by Mirianne Weemes, “House/Divided” seeks to juxtapose the famous Joad family from John Steinbeck’s highly renowned The Grapes of Wrath with today’s financial mortgage crisis. Weemes and her colleagues produced this piece by incorporating media straight into the performance itself. This means that during the performance, scenes from real video clips were used as well as live videos of the actors and actresses speaking. These types of media were intermingled into the live-action play itself, and in all honesty, I’d have to say that it created too much tension and confusion for me to keep up with.

In saying that I did not like the media intermixing with the live performance, I am siding with the Phelan perspective from Dixon’s Liveness. Phelan’s perspective says that the media should be kept separate from live performance because it detracts from the piece as a whole. On the other hand, there is also the Auslander perspective which basically says that media and live performance can work fine together. In fact, Auslander states that “Dance + Virtual = Virtual”. This shows that Auslanders considerably favor media in live performances. However, in “House/Divided”, I believe that the media side only made me more confused. I didn’t even know the performers at the end of the play! By using media heavily in the piece, Weemes did layout a lot of information that could have otherwise been unknown, but with too media, the play became more diluted, and I felt like it was more a television documentary with some living people performing on the side.

I am not aiming to bash “House/Divided” because I am probably too uninformed about both the Dust Bowl and the current financial crisis to even have a say. However, from an outsider’s perspective who doesn’t know anything at all, I must say that I did not truly grasp the concept of “wrath” or anything of the sort. I wouldn’t go so far as to completely side with the older woman who first commented during the after-show talk; however, I would say that the older woman’s point was valid. I mean, the play as a whole was enjoyable– the props were nice, the see-through house was cool, and the use of media was very modern– but I cannot say that the play as a whole was successful.