"Daydream House" is the result of an encounter between theatermaker/performer Sanja Mitrovic and architect Laurent Liefooghe. Their work utilises the glass house from Liefooghe's audio-spatial installation entitled "Woonmachine". Developed as an architecture rather then a decor, this construction was conceived at the same time as a "functional" house and a theater-box. This allowed it to serve as the starting point for a new theatre performance based on the docu-tale format which Mitrovic has explored in her previous work ("Will You Ever Be Happy Again?", 2008 and "A Short History of Crying", 2010). The sound design, which made the house a living and breathing object, was made by Evelien van den Broek.

Because of it precise combination of plot and space, of movement and story, Daydream House slowly and elegantly tricks the audience into the all too human desire for reality." -- Christophe Van Gerrewey, 2001

Performed at Festival aan de Werf, Utrecht, 2011

You know, this is very personal for me. It's not just political. It's not just public. (Hillary Clinton, crying at a New Hampshire election campaign event, 7 January 2008)

A Short History of Crying is an investigation into the phenomenology of tears that touches upon the themes of memory, emigration and death. Throughout history crying has been connected to cultural conceptions of gender, age and class, and perceived as a shared non-verbal language in which we communicate complex and often contradictory emotions. In Western cultures crying is generally considered an intimate and private act. Showing emotions in public has anti-social character, signifying one's weakness or lack of restraint. It is only relatively recently, with the emergence of reality television and the confessional culture, that the private suffering becomes a public spectacle. Today, sharing emotions with millions of others is not only allowed but is also encouraged as therapy and lucrative mass entertainment.

In her new work, Sanja Mitrovic questions the social and cultural mechanisms related to public display of emotions. Contrasting personal statements with iconic scenes of crying in contemporary culture, this 'stand-up tragedy' examines how emotions are manifested in different situations, and why we express them publicly.

Co-production: Stand Up Tall Productions/Amsterdam , hetveem theater/Amsterdam, Center for Cultural Decontamination/Belgrade

Concept/text/direction/performance: Sanja Mitrovic, Dramaturgy: Felix Ritter, Marija Karaklajic, Stage design: Laurent Liefooghe, Set design realization: Douwe Hibma, Sound design: Evelien van den Broek, Vladimir Raki?, Light design: Katinka Marac, Video editing: Janneke Küpfer, Research/artistic advice: Vladimir Tupanjac, Technicians: Paul Schimmel, Konstantin Leonenko, Camera: Marko Stojmenov, Nadja Leuba, Assistant director: Giulio D'Anna, Maya van den Heuvel-Arad, English translation: Sinica Mitrovic, Dutch translation: Sarah van Lamsweerde, Hester van Hasselt, Production: Anke Wirken, Trailer made by: VideoMachas,

A Short History Of Crying is financially suppored by European Cultural Foundation, Fonds Podiumkunsten Nederlands, Amsterdams Fond voor de Kunst, VSB Fonds, SNS Reaal Fonds