Untitled Peter Tripp Project

created by Johanna Bundon, Jayden Pfeifer, and Lee Henderson.

Available for Touring.

Born in contemplation of a publicity stunt from 60 years ago, 'Untitled Peter Tripp Project' (UPTP) is the collective work of contemporary dancer Johanna Bundon, performance creator Jayden Pfeifer, and contemporary artist Lee Henderson. These artists have been working under the name BundonPfeiferHenderson since 2018.

Peter Tripp, a once celebrated radio DJ, performed a publicity stunt in 1959 wherein he broadcast continuously, for 201 hours, from a glass booth in Times Square. This act was his undoing—he suffered psychological complications from prolonged sleep deprivation, and his increased fame made him a target for investigators who would accuse him of commercial bribery in the “payola” scandal of 1960.

Through UPTP, we enter the arena of Tripp’s myth to research our personal relationships to themes of exhaustion, public failure, and loneliness. Performance strategies include movement, improvisational and written text, projection, radio frequency programming, and the fracturing/looping of sound recordings. These strategies are engaged to conjure hallucination, fugue states, and doppelganger-paranoia.

Tripp is an aspirational and cautionary figure for this work. We find rich territory in the metaphor of the radio broadcast—the host sends performative energy into literal thin air, not knowing whether it's being received by anyone at all. Exhaustion acts as a character in Tripp’s universe, as the ever present wolf-at-the-door threatening to consume each performer while also motivating their gimmick.

Visit untitledpetertrippproject.com to view a series of playlists featuring more research and performance materials (2018-2021).

*This project will be pitching at the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival in Vancouver (Feb 2023), presenting FM broadcast and digital media work as part of PushOFF in Vancouver (curated by Theatre Replacement, Feb2023), and presenting the full-length performance work with Pi Theatre in Vancouver (May 2023).

Photo Credits: Shelby Fenlon & Lee Henderson