DON'T KISS ME: I'M IN TRAININGDON'T KISS ME: I'M IN TRAINING

DON'T KISS ME, I'M IN TRAINING is the story of CLAUDE CAHUN, a female surrealist photographer, writer and anti-war activist. All but forgotten soon after her death, Cahun's photographs, re-discovered in the 1990's, depict the artist herself in a variety of strange poses and costumes; an aviator with camera lens caps in her eyes, a coy, effeminate weightlifter in pasties and spit curls (with the words "DON'T KISS ME, I'M IN TRAINING" written on her chest), Little Red Riding Hood, a dandy in a white suit and scarf. In one photo she dresses as her own father, in another as a judge. She easily slips between genders and characters, but always stares down the camera with an invasive and intense expression. Since the uncovering of her immense and strange body of work in the 1990's, she is heralded as a queer icon, the ancestor Cindy Sherman and Nan Gold in never knew they had, and a forerunner of the feminist theories of Simone de Beauvoir and Judith Butler.

DON'T KISS ME, I'M IN TRAINING consists of several loosely connected scenes, each highlighting a significant moment in Cahun's life. Characters from Heroines, including the Virgin Mary and Eve, will also come to life and confront their creator. The work will be scored for one mezzo-soprano soloist, 8-person chorus and a 15-person mixed chamber ensemble. The mezzo-soprano soloist will portray Claude Cahun, and the roles of the chorus members will shift with each scene. The visual landscape will combine film projections with newly created animation to bring to life Cahun's vibrant and dream like creations.