A group of players enters a game space. What initially appears as a familiar structure of play soon reveals itself as a carefully staged dispositif that resists expectation. The participants, largely unfamiliar with one another and arriving with divergent assumptions, are abruptly repositioned within an exit room.

The governing logic of this space remains deliberately opaque. Authority is present, yet dispersed, operating through rules that are revealed only in fragments. To progress, the participants must negotiate a series of tasks that collapse distinctions between play and lived experience. These tasks demand not only problem-solving, but the continuous recalibration of trust, risk, and responsibility. Survival, here, is less a narrative outcome than a performative condition.

As the performance unfolds, the group begins to question the legitimacy of the rules that structure their actions and the extent of their own agency within the system. The exit room becomes a site in which power relations are tested, reconfigured, and occasionally suspended. Through improvisation and mutual dependency, the participants generate provisional strategies for navigating crisis, transforming the space into a temporary commons—one that holds vulnerability and care in tension.

The Ground Beneath is a performance developed within the seminar The Floor Is Lava at the HfG Karlsruhe, and emerges in close relation to the seminar’s field excursion to the volcanic island of Stromboli.

First Act: Volcano

First scene: This is all a game, right?

Group, step forward, in line. The room they enter is a simple WhiteBox.

[Lighting across the entire stage (cold white). Projection: Player A joined the game, Player {n} joined the game]

[Music: ARTBAT—Horizon]

[Text inserts: “What is this?” “This isn’t minecraft.” “Is that a holodeck?” “How to get out of here?”]

The group runs across the playing area in a grid pattern (improvised). The players gesticulate in accordance with the projections and search for the exit. 

Distorted voice, exclamation: The floor is lava!

[Lighting across the entire stage (red/orange). Projection on (flowing lava)]

The projection shows an active volcanic landscape, the sky is reddened and cloudy due to the eruptions. The ground is a lava lake, but some rocks protrude and serve as a safe path.

[Musik: Monolink—Return to Oz (ARTBAT Remix)]

Group spreads out across the black dots, maintaining balance

Player A falls, strides forward

[Sound: Buzzer. Black]

[Spot: Blue light in front of the stage. Projection changes (flowing lava => solidified lava). Lights on stage dimmed]

The new projection shows a solidified and cooled volcanic landscape. The lava flow is now just a cold basalt rock. The sky in the projection is foggy and grey

Player A: The world we know is upside down. What was once taken for granted, has faded and been shattered. What once seemed a lucid dream suddenly became a frightening reality. 

The rise of fascism. The acceleration of global warming. Increasing bloodshed caused by unnecessary wars. The world is burning. 

While governments lose their grip, presidents their sanity, and the people their freedom. 

One may ask, what are we supposed to do?

The world sinks in fragility, chaos, violence. 

You want to escape. But the only escape is the lesser evil. 

Group, choir: So, what are we going to do?

[Black]

Group off

[Light/projection changes (solidified lava => flowing lava).]

Group enters, navigates across lava

One person falls

[Sound: Buzzer. Black]

Player B off

[Spot: Blue light in front of the stage. Projection changes (flowing lava => solidified lava). Lights on stage dimmed]

Player B enters, strides in front of stage

Spieler:in B: Chess. Chess is the game of kings. The game of power. Power itself is essentially a game. Chess is just a mere representation of that fact. You could also imagine Monopoly. It would work the same way. People in power have goals. To archive those, they use strategies. 

That is essentially how the game works.

As people, we replicate these rules. Find strategies, draw certain cards, so that we get the upper hand. And then, our questions could be answered.

How can we identify crises?

How can we prepare? How can we avoid them?

Where can we go in times of crisis?

What can we do, to save ourselves?

Group, choir: : What can give us hope?

[Black]

Group off

[Lighting across the entire stage (cool white). No projection. Same as first appearance]

Group enters

Voice, off-screen: 

Welcome to our WhiteBox supreme exit room. I see you have got used to our setting very nicely. 

Now, for the first task: Imagine a floor. Imagine this said floor becomes lava. Yet small rocks remain, you can safely step on these. 

At some point, the ground tilts, shakes, vibrates. Sometimes more, sometimes less, sometimes it stops, sometimes it starts again. 

Navigate through the floor, step only on the stones. Stay in motion for the whole game. Try to continue your movement while the ground moves. If you fall or step on the ground, you die. Do not stop walking! 

Do you understand?

Group, choir: We understand.

Voice: Good. Then… Pause The floor is Lava!

[Black]

Group off

[Light/projection (flowing lava) on] 

Group appears, navigates across lava 

Group, choir: When the grounds tilt, the earth cracks, the floor is pulled away,

Below yourself, nothing but void

You are falling, and yet standing on both your feet, weightless?

What would you do? 

And why would you run?

[Sound: thunder, hydraulic pump]

Group acts as if the floor is tilting

Player C falls, two others try to hold them, one (D?) of them also falls

[Black. Buzzer sound twice]

[Blue light on stage. Projection changes (flowing lava => solidified lava).]

Group, choir: We are thrown into a game we did not want to play. We did not choose this, we did not agree on its rules. One would say we are controlled, made to run against each other. 

Yet we play these games, willingly surrender to what is beyond us. Hoping that following its rules will bring us benefit. 

[Projection of player C via live cam (possibly red frame/video call as overlay?)]

[+Blue spotlight on C, lights on stage dimmed. Projection remains on, but brightness is reduced.]

+C in front of stage

Player C: So this really is a game. We are not even really dying, but just respawning. But how often before one loses? Before you have to leave the game? No one here seems to have a clue. 

And if we want to leave the game?

Can we even do that?

Or will we be stuck here?

[Sound: Buzzer. Black.]

[Light, cool white, dimmed. Projection: Respawn Player C in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...]

Player C returns to the stage

[Arcade sound effect? Or Discord (‘Joining Channel’)?]

[Light/projection changes (solidified lava => flowing lava).]

Group enters, navigates across lava 

[Sound: Buzzer. Black. Projection changes (flowing lava => solidified lava).]

[Light, cool white, dimmed. Projection: Respawn Player D in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... ]

Player D returns to playing area

[Arcade sound effect? Or Discord (‘Joining Channel’)?]

[Light/projection changes (solidified lava => flowing lava).] 

[Sound: thunder, hydraulic pump]

Group acts as if the floor is tilting

Group (players A–E) walk in a straight line along the stones, showing no signs of a tilting floor

Group (players F–I) continue to act as if the floor is tilting and breaking, trying to keep their balance and not fall

Group (players A–E), choir: We are in a cycle. There seems to be no end, no winner, no points. We disagree with these rules. We do not want to play a game that makes no sense. 

[Black. Projection changes (flowing lava => solidified lava).]

[Projection: Player A left the game, Player {n} left the game]

[Dimmed lighting (cool white) on rear half of stage]

Group (Players A–E) off

[Black]

[Projection: Player A joined the game, Player {n} joined the game]

[Dimmed lighting (cool white) on rear half of stage]

Group (Players A–E) enters

[Lighting across the entire stage (cold white). No projection]

Player E: We cannot leave. We are forced to stay. We never wanted to play this game, yet we are unable to stop it. 

A power beyond us keeps us going. 

We are supposed to act like this would be a game. And yet we find that there is more to it. 

We are imprisoned. And this is outside of our control. Or is it? 

We will rebel. And adhere. 

Because this is just a game.

Group, choir: This is all a game, right?

[Black]

First Act, 

Second Scene:

[...]

To be continued