Hello, ROFL MONKEY LALALA here.
We are a theater group that explores how humans get along with their animal nature.
Our focus is on real life stories of various people.
We create art in our own monkey-drama style (mix of physical, post/documentary, immersive, psychological, musical theaters, also clownery, farce and stand up).
© elisELIS •prosto tak•
interdisciplinary art project
“Ukraine. Parts of one world. Parts of one body.”
#ukrwarbody
by the experimental theater-group ROFL MONKEY LALALA
The project researches the idea of physicality and reactions of Ukrainians through their bodies to the war events.
This artistic idea about the study of human corporeality and emotional sensations began before the war.
During the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, the ROFL MONKEY LALALA group began to collect diaries of people, where they recorded their physical condition from the stressful events of this war. Ukrainians from different parts of Ukraine and the world kept diaries in which they recorded the feelings, processes and changes in their bodies for the past seven months.
Five individuals collaborated and created animation movie based on these diaries and stories.
This movie expanded into an interdisciplinary theatrical collage-performance in a monkey drama style (mix of physical, post/documentary, immersive, psychological, musical theaters, clownery, farce, stand up).
So you can and should laugh, cry, think and find your own feelings.
We would like this performance to be used for therapeutic purposes.
let your feelings out!
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28.05.2022
Our first performative reading of collected corporeality-diaries took place online. The ROFL MONKEY LALALA team read it for the virtual audience and shared their emotions with the viewers and listeners.
For many of them then it was a stage of unfreezing of their feelings. To hear what and how people feel, to understand that you are not alone in your senses, to allow yourself to live your experiences. We received a lot of feedback, and we are glad that the project is fulfilling its goal – to help live experiences through art. Individually, each in his or her own way.
Participants of the reading:
Alyona Shtepura, Victoria Manole, Oleksandr Bulyuk, Polina Korobeinyk, elisELIS
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14.08.2022
ROFL MONKEY LALALA performing at an exhibition.
We read texts from #ukrwarbody diaries written by women in the war. What their bodies felt, how they experienced the stress from the events. From forced evacuations and moving to another city, another country.
The audience listened and observed in total silence.
After the performance, we were asked, „Where did you get that texts from? Internet?“ – no, we took all these stories from the real people, Ukrainians in different cities and countries, who recorded their personal sensations in bodies.
And we forward them through art to other people so that they can hear each other. To help each other live through this and similar experiences.
„Not your war?“ exhibition at the House of Cinema, Kyiv
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27.08.2022
BODY. DIARY
Performative theatrical collage – play based on the #ukrwarbody diaries
Kyiv
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21.09.2022
hallo!
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22.09.2022
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24.09.2022
we are all in Hamburg already. five: Polina, elisELIS, Victoria, Oleksandr and Olena
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25.09.2022
we call it „monkey drama“
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27.09.2022
rehearsing
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Author of #ukrwarbody idea: Polina Korobeinyk(Buliuk)
Directors: Polina Korobeinyk, Victoria Manole
Stage designer: Olena Shtepura
Production manager, psycho muse: elisELIS
Music, noises: Olexander Buliuk
Story-boarder: Olena Shtepura
Animation: Olexander Buliuk
Collages: elisELIS
Actors: Olena Shtepura, elisELIS, Olexander Buliuk, Victoria Manole, Polina Korobeinyk
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30.09.2022
There is a fairy tale about the ancient goddess La Loba. Her goal in life is to collect the bones of animals threatened with extinction. Only when she collects all the parts of the skeleton will she be able to sing a song over it. Then the skeleton will become overgrown with flesh, fur, and turn into an animal, and then – into a human who laughs and runs freely to the horizons. Our stories, feelings, emotions, bodily manifestations are our „bones“. And „song“ is a story about them. With this project, we are assembling the body of a state that wants to be free.
It’s time to pick up the bones.
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1.10.2022
Body language is international and doesn’t have borders. Physical experiences unite people regardless of race, nationality, religion, age, profession, gender. A body can react equally to different stressful situations in a person’s life, so through telling physical stories it is important for us to be heard outside of Ukraine and tell how we can consciously re-live our experiences, tell how Ukrainians feel at these times, which affect their conditions, behaviours, and how to understand them.
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ROFL Monkey LALALA on instagram:
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We reveal reality through theatrical form and visual history. The story is called „The Lump“ (“com, comochok” – in Ukrainian). This word was prevalent among people who wrote down their feelings in diaries. It is a metaphorical lump of feelings, sensations and thoughts. They are difficult to name and comprehend, they interfere with the release of awareness. They are pervasive in diaries. It is a story about experiences of sensations, about the collective body-pain and about ways to get rid of this pain.
We use laughter and invite you to experience it with us.
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8.10.2022
ROFL MONKEY LALALA thanks everyone who came yesterday to our premier, for your feedback and support. it means a lot to us and that all this work is appreciated by such a wonderful crowd.
today at 8:15pm we will perform one more time. don’t miss this chance and let’s have a great time together.
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10.10.2022
second show was a success!
Special thanks:
to participants of #ukrwarbody diaries:
Alina Kyiv 35/ Alio/ Daria Zorya/ Katya Kyiv Carpathians/ Marina 30 Kyiv/ Marina Donetsk-Kyiv 36/ Nastya 23/ Nata Kyiv west/ Oksin Ocean/ Oleksandr 35 Kyiv/ Oleksii 25 Kyiv/ Olya/ Polina Sumy-Kyiv 31/ Olesya Rusinova/ Odesa, now evacuated/ Sasha 37 Sumy/ Svetlana/ Sviatyi Muchenyk/ elis 00:34/ Tati 888/ Lida 67 .
to Richard Foks for translating subtitles into German language.
To the funders:
ART Connects – Hilfsfonds für Projekte mit schutzsuchenden Kulturschaffenden
INTRO – Hamburg Residencies for artists at risk
U*act – Hilfsprogramm des Deutschen Bühnenvereins aus Mitteln der Bundesbeauftragten für Kultur und Medien
Double special thanks to whole Lichthof Theater team!
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you will hear from us again!
and don’t forget to let your monkey out (at least sometimes)