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The journey within changes things

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Beneath is a media-rich, live performance about the science of the Earth’s deep interior.

Alternatively whimsical, poetic, and awe-inspiring, this transdisciplinary fusion of current scientific research and live theatre peers into the mysteries of what lies far below the surface. Beneath features a geologist ballerina dancing catastrophic planetary cycles, a bass-playing geophysicist interacting with his data through trip-hop bass-lines, and a belly-dancing theoretical astrophysicist embodying seismic waves. Audiences also visit the lab of a mineral physicist who uses diamonds to unlock the mysteries of the deep, and talk with the first woman to lead a NASA mission beyond Earth’s orbit to discover why we look up and out to see down and in. Beneath introduces audiences to the wonders of our planet’s interior and the people who study it. Compelling, fun, and approachable, Beneath illustrates the dynamic systems of the Earth and shows the ways in which humans are connected to the immense and ancient processes of our planet.

Beneath is the product of a multiyear collaboration among a team of planetary scientists, theatre makers, performance artists, and media designers based at Arizona State University in collaboration with animators, artists, and media designers, from across the US, including the performance group Cloud Eye Control, Obscura Digital Creative Studio, and Ohio State University. These partnerships have served to redefine the ways in which performance can function as both an arts-led research practice and forum for engaged learning. In both its goals and methods, Beneath provides a model for transdisciplinary collaboration and public outreach in science.

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