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SATURDAY
Meredith Monk is the epitome of a hyphenate artist. She’s a composer, choreographer, theater and film director, and writer. But as she herself says on her Web site, “The heart of my work is singing.” And what singing it is: Monk is one of the foremost practitioners of extended vocal technique, which includes everything from heavy breathing and hissing to clucking and barking. Fittingly, Monk’s latest work, Impermanence, is interdisciplinary, mixing music, movement, and video, but her seven-person Vocal Ensemble nonetheless gives the piece its humanity. Inspired by a workshop Monk led at a London hospice, Impermanence offers a non-narrative look at various states of being and at how humans wish to leave their mark on Earth—even when faced with the end of their time on it. The performance begins at 8 p.m. at the George Mason University’s Center for the Arts, Braddock Road and Route 123, Fairfax. $20–$40. (888) 945-2468. (Christopher Porter)