At each simultaneous screening of footage from Robert Lepage’s epic LIPSYNCH, spectators invariably believe that the images were designed for the groundbreaking projection concept known as the Re-ACTOR. In fact, the scene in question – eleven minutes from the “Thomas” chapter that bring to light the neurosurgeon’s alcoholism, a vocal performance in a jazz club and an alcohol-fuelled breakdown – was written well before Lepage had heard of the Re-ACTOR. Nonetheless, it seemed so tailor-made for it that the adaptation was quickly and easily accomplished. Fragmentation is the Re-ACTOR’s third project to date.

Eleven minutes of selected footage, filmed in the afternoon before each show at the Théâtre Denise Pelletier in Montreal, were made into a loop after minor adaptation by Lepage. The choice of this sequence is due to its underlying concept. In the ‘Thomas’ chapter of LIPSYNCH, the set is created from seemingly random bits and pieces that lie scattered over the stage. When seen through the lens of a camera mounted at a speci c angle, these inchoate elements are transformed into a hospital cafeteria table, a piano, and a table in a jazz bar, the transition created as the camera moves between preset positions. The images of this sequence, filmed simultaneously by 10 cameras positioned on five of the corners of the hexagon surrounding the set, are projected on five of the Re-ACTOR’s screens in an orientation consistent with their camera angle. The images from the rotating camera onstage and its preset viewpoints appear on the remaining screen. Spectators see what these positions reveal but also, walking around the projection device as if they were on the set, see reality from five distinct perspectives.

(Text from http://www.epidemic.net/)