“Essay on the Emil Bach House” is a performance in the shape of an architecture tour. The performance explores questions of spatial memory, domesticity, and Midwestern aesthetics. It is performed by an ensemble of five musicians and performers. The essay proceeds as follows…

Act One (ten minutes)—

A tour group of ten to fifteen people meet in front of the Emil Bach House, a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home on the Far North Side of Chicago. I greet them on the sidewalk and give a brief factual overview of the house, while the other four performers perform a movement piece on the front lawn of the property.

Act Two (ten minutes) —

The tour group is invited into the house. As the audience enters into the main living space, the ensemble performs a short song further articulating the history of the building.

Act Three (twenty minutes)—

The audience is invited to explore the entirety of the house, unguided. The performers, who have taken positions throughout the building, alternate between performing a musical score, improvising movement, providing architectural interpretation of their room, and reciting texts from Henri Lefebvre, Ladies Home Journal, the Historic American Buildings Survey, Gertrude Stein, and Gaston Bachelard. Biscuits and herbs bake in the oven on the main floor.

Act Four (five minutes) —

In the main living space, the ensemble performs a cover of “I Want A Love I Can See” by The Temptations. Biscuits are served.