Underwater, On The Ground: Double bill

Underwater

A submerged concert-performance
By Maja Dekleva Lapajne & Alenka Marinič
Duration: 60 minutes

Underwater is a collaborative project by Alenka Marinič and Maja Dekleva Lapajne, rooted in key periods of their shared creative journey, a strong friendship, and a shared position as mid-career artists: no longer eligible for past social benefits, but also no longer considered “emerging young artists”; mothers, freelancers in culture, precarious workers, representatives of a disappearing or downward-sliding middle class, and women. In a broader context, the creators find themselves in a time of austerity programs and the dismantling of the welfare state, rising inequality in Slovenia, the EU, and globally; in a time of technocratic governments and populism, renewed nationalism, fascism, xenophobia, the immense power of multinational corporations, “technical obstacles” and wars, irreversible environmental destruction—in a neoliberal and post-truth world.

Thematically, the project draws directly from the artists' life positions and their perception of the current societal moment. The inspiration is deeply personal, yet through diverse working methods and carefully chosen artistic approaches, the artists transform it into a universal musical-theatrical experience. Underwater is a playful blend of concert and theatre, which on one hand explores feelings of repression, precarity, and entrapment in neoliberal dynamics, and on the other, seeks new spaces where alternative relationships can still breathe and evolve. It’s a witty onstage reflection on where we are now—and where we can retreat to.

Underwater is the first part of a trilogy by performance artists Maja Dekleva Lapajne and Alenka Marinič. In 2017, they created the show and musical album Underwater, and soon after envisioned a three-part collaborative journey: Underwater, On the Ground, In the Air. They also dream of an epilogue, Underground, which might be performed by only one of them—or may happen without their physical presence in this world.

Creators and performers: Maja Dekleva Lapajne & Alenka Marinič
Costume & scenography: Katarina Zalar
Movement consultation: Andreja Rauch Podrzavnik
Photography: Špela Škulj
Supported by: Ministry of Culture and Pocket Teater
Production: Family of Arts Narobov
Thanks to: Borut Cajnko, Justin Durel, Jaša Jenull, Gregor Kamnikar, Kreatorij DIC, Tomaž Lapajne Dekleva, Gregor Moder, Samo & Jelena Oleami, Barbara Polajnar, Zanda Priedite, Maja Smrekar, Eva Š. Maurer, Sara Šoukal, and Sonja Vilč

More about the performance and photo gallery: http://www.narobov.org/index.php?/projekti/pod-vodo/
Conversation with the artists – City of Women Web Reflections: https://mestozensk.org/sl/blog/umetnisko-ustvarjanje-ki-nastaja-iz-odnosa
Music album: https://kolektivnarobov.bandcamp.com/album/pod-vodo-underwater

On the Ground

On the Ground is a stage piece created by artists, collaborators, and longtime friends Alenka Marinič and Maja Dekleva Lapajne. It is an earthy concert-performance that, in a personal and humorous way, processes themes of precarity, feminism, labor, motherhood, and living in the era of late capitalism. This sparkling musical-theatrical event captures the state of things and states the obvious, leaving space for communal questioning rather than offering solutions, and seeks playfulness even in the darkest and most difficult times.

Through musical and theatrical material, the two creators play with various meanings of the phrase “on the ground.” Using the metaphor of the ground, they touch on themes of exhaustion, despair, and hopelessness—being brought to one’s knees in the face of brutal and intensifying capitalism, climate change, corporate power, and cuts to social welfare. At the same time, they understand the ground as grounding and support—something we can stand on firmly, something that allows us to push off and, ultimately, to resist. The ground is also a source of new life, soil from which new ideas and spaces can sprout.

On the Ground is the second part of a trilogy by performing artists Maja Dekleva Lapajne and Alenka Marinič. In 2017, they created the show and music album Underwater and soon after envisioned a trilogy of collaborative creation: Underwater, On the Ground, and In the Air. They also dream of an epilogue titled Underground, which might be performed by only one of them—or may happen without their physical presence in this world.

Co-authorship & performance: Maja Dekleva Lapajne, Alenka Marinič
Costume & set design: Katarina Zalar
Artistic movement guidance: DISKOlektiv
Artistic vocal guidance: Irena Z. Tomažin
Technical management & lighting design: Špela Škulj / Borut Cajnko
English translation: Jedrt Maležič
Executive production: Urška Jež / Eva Prodan
Production: City of Women
Co-production: CUK Kino Šiška, DU Narobov
Support: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, City of Ljubljana