The Magic of Eating
My roommate and I arrived an hour early to sit at the table for “FOOD” by Geoff Sobelle. We had bought $10 student tickets and gone in blindly. I had heard of this performance through my Food Systems Capstone at the University of Texas at Austin, but I didn’t know what to expect, except that it was about food.
As we sat around the giant table, adorned with a large white tablecloth, a napkin, silverware and an empty wine glass, people filled in behind us on bleacher seats. At 7:30 p.m., a man in a waiter costume appeared and brought out two bottles of wine. He poured one glass and then had one of the guests pour the rest of the wine. Meanwhile, he brought two microphones and sat it in front of guests, where the guests began talking over each other about a recipe they made recently. He brought more mics out and had people talk about the taste of the wine.
As people settled in, the waiter, now obviously the main actor, Geoff Sobelle, served dishes to a select few people. After continuing the conversations from earlier, he handed people checks and took away plates, as if wrapping up for the night. Sobelle sat down at the head of the table and we were no longer his guests, but, rather, silent observers. From there the true hijinks began.
Sobelle quickly devoured the uneaten food he had brought guests. From my count, it was five apples, a bunch of celery, half a grilled cheese sandwich, two bottles of wine, a rare steak, a flopping fish and the cash people had used to pay. The audience sat in silence as we watched him, like magic, eat more food than most people could eat in three days.
After this, Sobelle cleared the plates and the final act of the show began. He pulled the white tablecloth off the table to reveal a mound of dirt underneath the table. He stood on top of it and began to grab bison from underneath the dirt until they slowly formed a herd. From there it devolved into showing industrialization and agriculture through mini figurines being brought out on metal platters. First, wheat popped up from the table and Sobelle put a tiny tractor down. He moved the tractor, running it over the wheat. Then he handed the guests around the table Hot Wheels and mini trucks and commanded them to drive them around the table. Finally, he pulled people from the audience to bring out trays filled with buildings and had the dinner guests set them on the table, creating a booming industrial city. The performance ended with Sobelle burying himself in the dirt, surrounded by the city he had made his diners create.
Sobelle’s performance was phenomenal and although he claims the performance gives no specific statement, it's clear it does speak to food service, food systems and industrialization. In his three part act he began with a look at the beauty of the restaurant industry through the eyes of the consumer, before showing the dark underbelly of the service industry and consumerism. Finally, he finished it by highlighting the different aspects of industrialization on food. He was able to artfully say this without saying anything directly, through sleight of hand, props and an attitude that could quickly change depending on the scene.
Graphic by Ella Baldwin