A plot exposed, a foul deed enacted invites scandal. In the spirit of revolution or romantic musings, scandals provoke an imagining of the impossible. Utopian or mundane, how might scandal reveal what lies unwittingly close to our fantasies? And how does it expose where society places its limits? If life is a scandal waiting to be plotted, how do we position ourselves within its matrix? Immoral and lacking propriety, scandals are incidents where fantasy and pleasure take center stage. Guided by the questions of whom this pleasure is for and at what expense, Ligia Lewis’s new plot explores the stage where scandals abound.  

A plot is a word referring to a story or narrative, a piece of land or property, and the act of scheming or plotting. Intricately entangled in a three-part play engaging themes of “scandal” and resistance on the island of Hispaniola, and the greater Caribbean, Lewis explores such pleasures and their cost. Weaving together a series of historical events, political laws, and mythical narratives, ranging from John Locke’s treatise on white man’s ‘natural rights’ to life, liberty, and property, to Jose Aponte’s revolutionary plot that led to the antislave rebellion in 1812, to Lewis’s great-grandmother, a guiding figure for the community who unfolded alternative forms of resistance such as the Palo dance, A Plot / A Scandal operates as a site of visibility and concealment, inviting the scandal of rebellion at the edges of representation. 

The work unfolds through the following parts: 

Prelude
Plot 1: John Locke
Plot 2: Rebellion
Intermezzo: John Locke cleans up his mess
Plot 3: Story of Lolon / fuck up the plot
Outro: Repair? 

In Moving in November A Plot / A Scandal is performed by Vânia Doutel Vaz.

Ligia Lewis is an artist, choreographer, and director whose work spans stage performances, gallery exhibits, and film. Her creations, marked by intense physical and emotional elements, blend comedy and tragedy, challenging conventional views of the body while exploring themes of history, memory, and the unknown. Her highly defined choreographic landscapes incorporate movement, speech, and visual metaphors to create spaces that evoke both the familiar and the enigmatic. 

Lewis’s works include A Plot / A Scandal (2022), Still Not Still (2021), and deader than dead (2020). In Fall 2023, she debuted her solo exhibition study now steady at CARA in NYC, featuring a new film of the same name. A retrospective of her stage works, Complaint, A Lyric, was presented at HAU Hebbel am Ufer in Berlin in 2023. 

Her performances have been featured at prestigious venues and festivals worldwide, including MOCA, Los Angeles; HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin; MCA Chicago; Tate Modern, London; and the Whitney Biennial. Lewis has received awards such as the German Theater Award Der FAUST (2023) for A Plot / A Scandal, the Tabori Award (2021), and a Bessie Award for minor matter (2017). 

Vânia Doutel Vaz is a dancer of Angolan-Portuguese heritage, trained in Portugal and performed with prestigious companies like Nederlands Dans Theater and Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. Collaborating with renowned artists such as Tânia Carvalho and Trajal Harrell, Vaz has made her mark in the dance world. 

Her ongoing partnership with Trajal Harrell includes notable works like O Medea and Maggie the Cat. Vaz has also directed and assisted movement for Portuguese theatre groups and created her own productions, receiving recognition as one of the 100 most influential black personalities in the Lusophone world. She’s an active member of the Black Arts’ Union (UNA), showcasing her commitment to artistic excellence and advocacy.