София, България
INSERT COIN / PLAYER ONE
You are not an audience. You decide their fate.
INSERT COIN / PLAYER ONE is an electrifying immersive performance exploring the blurred boundaries between real and virtual worlds. Set inside a surreal arcade, the audience becomes active players in a live video game, navigating themes of identity, desire, and control. Fusing explosive choreography with intimate conversations with 4 NPC characters, the work invites viewers into a hyper-stylized world where the performers provoke, seduce, and trick them in a battle for attention. A cult hit with young audiences, the piece pulses with the urgency of now, where digital influencers reign, intimacy is commodified, and contemporary dance becomes an individual experience. At its core, INSERT COIN / PLAYER ONE is a game you don’t just watch, you play. Blurring the boundaries between player and spectator, the performance thrusts its audience into a surreal, interactive space where each choice becomes choreography, and each action shapes the narrative. The performance is a thrilling reminder that the digital worlds we escape to are also mirrors that fragment and sometimes reveal the identities we construct for ourselves and those around us. The performance is an interactive immersive experience and is standing-room only, with a limited number of seats available if needed. The performance includes strobing and flashing lights and is interactive with conversations between the performers and the audience. A work by Karakashyan & Artists Direction & Choreography: Kosta Karakashyan Dancers & Choreographic Collaborators: Aleksandar Gochev, Bilyana Tsolova, Emiliya Toncheva, Nelly Georgieva Composer: Martina Stefanova Set Design: Ada Paunova Lighting Design: Sava Kisiov Costume & Make-Up Design: The Trackers (Eda Kadirova & Evgeni Gochev) Game Design Consultant: Alexander Torofiev Photography & Video: Boris Urumov Associate Producer: Yana Stefanova Assistant Choreographer: Iskra Daskalova PR Manager: Todor Barganov Produced by: Karakashyan & Artists Co-Produced by: One Dance Festival Supported by: The National Culture Fund of Bulgaria, One Dance Festival, The Ministry of Culture of Bulgaria & Collab 4 HY Sustain CCI, an innovation incubation project supported by the European Union.
Audience Role
Upon entry, audience members are given several metal coins, which they use to “activate” the NPC performers and speak to them in short 1-1 interactions with dialogue in English.
Ages: 10 +
Content Advisories
Interaction Advisories
Mobility Advisories
4
Events
5
Years on EI
About Karakashyan & Artists
Studio Karakashyan is a multi-disciplinary production company specializing in dance, film, and artist development, imprinting culture through the power of movement. Featuring a collective of artists and innovators working across disciplines internationally, the studio focuses on creative direction and production with an emphasis on movement and concept-driven storytelling. Founded in 2018 by director and choreographer Kosta Karakashyan and producer Todor Barganov, we specialize in multidisciplinary production and visual storytelling from concept to execution across live performance, film, digital, social, and immersive spaces. We are directors, producers, choreographers, filmmakers, composers, visual artists, photographers, and beyond, crossing disciplines and coming together to provoke inspiration, challenge the status quo and shape a better future. In addition to creating original and branded work, we empower and educate the next generation of artists to take charge of their careers. By leading artist development workshops, we aim to make a meaningful contribution to their creative practice and create a lasting impact in the cultures and communities we serve. Studio Karakashyan continues to produce and perform the multidisciplinary collaborative work of founder Kosta Karakashyan in public, virtual, and live performance spaces. Karakashyan's work across dance, film, and education investigates how to nurture empathy and tenderness in society. His work has been described as "an important voice for LGBTQ+ struggles in Chechnya and elsewhere". A two-time Bulgarian National Ballroom Champion, Karakashyan has performed and choreographed on Dancing with the Stars Vietnam and across Bulgaria, New York, Canada, Germany, Norway, Egypt, Vietnam, and Japan. His work has been featured by The Guardian, Elle Magazine, them, GLAAD, and Radio Free Europe. Our commissions include works for nontraditional sites, public spaces, theater, dance, film, fashion, and brands. Partners include HRC Culinary Academy (immersive culinary experience), Single Step Foundation (documentary dance film about the LGBTQ+ persecution in Chechnya), the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria, music artists Preyah, TINO, Acrillics, Mik Loi, Matt DeLuca, dance works for Columbia Ballet Collaborative (NYC), Ballet Arabesque (Bulgaria) and the Laboratory for Clean Air, and fashion films for Calvin Klein, H&M, Elle Magazine, Studio Zard, SRB Paris and Florsheim.