The lights black out briefly, until a dim light fades on and now the audience sees the same woman dressed in a see through black lace suit, zippered panties, garters, stockings, and boots. Its Ms. Natas turned bad as she takes on the role of a dominatrix insulting and ridiculing the audience. A poetic monologue expels from her mouth in which she demands willing submission from the audience. The dominatrix desires to be fulfilled one way or another as she weaves in and out of the audience looking for a girl that is actually a gun.

The live performance is embedded with elements of traditional theater: lighting, costuming, and props to capture what the audience comes to see as the “day” and “night” Ms. Natas. The use of a bright warm light and soft pastel colors within the costuming create a comforting mood. However, who initially appeared to be a kind school teacher (“day” Ms. Natas) becomes distorted and shifts roles when she begins seducing a student. The effect of the blackout provides a break in order for the character to shift roles. The mood darkens as the character appears in provocative clothing (transforming into “night” Ms. Natas).

Non-traditional theater also influenced my performance. Breaking the fourth wall was strongly influenced by the Futurists and their approach to theater at the beginning of the 20th century. The Futurists wanted to violently engage audience members so that the audience would take a role in the performance. I wanted to use this technique to highlight the blurring of reality and fantasy in my work. The performance is at least partially fantasy while the audience is grounded in reality; by making the audience a part of my performance I distorted the line between fantasy and reality in the space. I intended for communication to break down creating humor and confusion by calling a gun a woman thus humanizing the object.

The performance is intended to arouse and repulse, and in doing so make the audience uncomfortable. Finally, this has the power to engage the audience in the challenging question of what is actually a taboo and how might it function in our culture.