Liz Rosenfeld: URSA-X | April 20-23 | SOPHIENSÆLE – Sophiensæle | Independent Theater in Berlin
Program
Liz Rosenfeld:
URSA-X

URSA-X
Premiere
April 20 + 21 | Performance with German audio description. The preceding tactile tour takes place from 6.45 to 7.15 pm. For audio description and pick-up service, you can register Monday to Friday between 10 am and 6 pm via 030 27 89 00 30 or barrierefreiheit@sophiensaele.com.
It is mandatory to wear an FFP2 mask during the performances.
Please klick here for the German Audioflyer.
Starting 60 minutes before the performance, the access dramaturge will answer individual questions about accessibility and can provide detailed information about the performance (in the Hochzeitssaal-Foyer, 3rd floor). More details in the accessibility information.
URSA-X is an immersive and interdisciplinary performance about change and transition(s). Inspired by the notion that transitions arrive and take on many formations throughout our lives, Liz Rosenfeld and their International team of intergenerational collaborators look at their own notions of transitions beyond binaries of gender, loss and expectations of what life brings our way.
In a fusion of cinematic and performative elements, URSA-X tells the story of the main character URSA, a literal and metaphorical hole that cannot be filled and yet yearns to be. At the same time, the work explores the Greek myth surrounding the constellations Ursa Major and Minor (the Big and Little Bear). Performers R. Justin Hunt and Liz Rosenfeld encounter URSA in a choreography that understands their own flesh as collaborative material and experiments with practices of physical transmission. Together they explore how bodies are always in flux and how one can spatially reflect on one's own body in flux.
- The show is not suitable for people experiencing Trypophobia (fear of holes).
- Full nudity
- Explicit description of sexual acts
- Listing of food and eating
You can find more information on working with content notes on the house here.
If any questions remain from the following information, please feel free to contact Hannah Aldinger at barrierefreiheit@sophiensaele.com or 030 27 89 00 35. Please note that details may change by the day of the event. Therefore, if you find out after you have purchased your ticket that the performance is no longer accessible to you, you can contact us for a ticket return at ticketing@sophiensaele.com or 030 27 89 00 45 until 5 business days after the event (Monday through Friday between 10am and 6pm).
Duration
- Approx. 75 minutes
Language
- English spoken language
- English and German Subtitles
- In one improvised scene, there are no subtitles to the spoken words. Instead, a different text specifically written for this scene will be projected
Light
- Light-intense performance with dark scenes and frequent light changes
- Light circle surrounding the dance floor that alternates brighter and darker and can be blinding
- Occasionally pulsating or blinding lights in some parts of the audience
- Light projections in several intense colours on the ceiling and wall
- In two scenes, animated projections of hole drawing will be projected, sometimes onto the audience.
Sound
- Several scenes with loud music
- Regularly bass music and vibrations that can be felt physically
- Various sounds are produced with metallic foil as well as latex gloves.
- In a very dark scene, holes are repeatedly poked in the foil with a loud noise.
- In one scene, the soundscape works with a pulsating heartbeat for several minutes.
Other effects
- Stage fog is used.
Audience
- Suitable from the age of 16
- The audience is seated in a circle around the performance space.
- All seating options are step-free accessible (chairs with backrest, beanbags, wheelchair seats).
- 6 beanbag seats bookable according to availability
- 2 wheelchair seats bookable according to availability
- The Audience is invited to move and leave/re-enter the space at any time during the performance. A chill-out space will be provided next door.
- The performers might come close to the audience, but without any physical contact.
- During the performance, a costume made of fur is handled several times near the audience.
Relaxed Performance
- Noises and movements from the audience are explicitly welcome. Visitors can leave and return at any time.
- There is a chill out space (with weighted/unweighted pillows, weighted/unweighted blankets, noise-cancelling headphones, earplugs and stim-toys) next door in the Hochzeitssaal-Foyer that is available during the performance.
Pre-Show Access
- Starting 60 minutes before every performance (Thu + Fri: 19:00; Sat + Sun: 17:00) you can meet our access dramaturg in the Hochzeitssaal-Foyer (3rd floor).
- The access dramaturg will be there to talk you through the access of the performance and answer questions related to your individual access needs.
- At 19:30 (Thu + Fri) or 17:30 (Sat + Sun) you will be able to enter the performance space with the access dramaturg for some minutes, to make yourself familiar with the space and choose a seat that matches your access needs. On request, it is also possible to experience strong lights or sounds.
Tickets
- Reservations can be made via the ticket telephone at 030 283 52 66, Monday to Friday from 4pm-6pm
- Via the online ticket shop
- At the box office
You can also find more information about accessibility here.
PERFORMANCE, CONCEPT, DIRECTOR Liz Rosenfeld PERFORMANCE, ARTISTIC COLLABORATION, CHOREOGRAPHY R. Justin Hunt STAGE DESIGN Sadie Weis COMPOSITION, SOUND DESIGN Neda Sanai LIGHT DESIGN Joseph Wegmann ORIGINAL TEXT Johanna Linsley DRAMATURGY An*dre Neely ACCESSIBILITY DRAMATURGY Noa Winter COSTUME DESIGN Marquet K. Lee TECHNICAL DIRECTION Elliott Cennetoglu ARTISTIC ASSISTANCE, VOICE COACH Alex Piasente-Szymański ADDITIONAL ORIGINAL SOUND Shara Heshiimu ORIGINAL AUDIO DESCRIPTION Ursina Tossi, Nicole Meyer DISTRIBUTION Kira Koplin PRODUCTION Anna von Glasenapp / High Expectations SPECIAL THANKS: Leah Marojevic, Season Butler, Christa Holka, Nadja Krüger, Colin Self, Jessica Gadani, Leila Jones
A production by Liz Rosenfeld in co-production with SOPHIENSÆLE Berlin and Kampnagel Hamburg. Supported by the Capital Cultural Fund. Media partners: Berlin Art Link, Rausgegangen, Missy Magazine, Siegessäule, tipBerlin, taz.die tageszeitung.
Liz Rosenfeld is an interdisciplinary artist working with performance, moving image, drawing, and experimental writing. Their practice explores cruising methodologies, queer memory, and the politics of taking up space through flesh as a non-binary collaborative material. Rosenfeld’s first auto-theoretical book, Crossings: Creative Ecologies of Cruising (cowritten with João Florêncio), was published by Rutgers University Press in 2025.
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© Christa Holka