Before earning her BA in May, Kit Co already performed on a performance art project hailed by The Dallas Morning News and Dallas Observer.
Few have experienced an undergraduate educational journey like Co’s, who, through receptiveness and bravery, shared the stage with the critically acclaimed transmedia performance art group Therefore.
In 2020, amidst the challenges of the pandemic, Co embarked on her academic journey at The University of Texas at Dallas, joining the former School of Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communications. Alongside her studies, she pursued her passion for music, teaching herself guitar, vocals and audio production. She enrolled in Principles of Digital Audio (ATCM 2345), where she discovered her deep affinity for audio design, igniting a newfound passion that would shape her educational path.
“This is the mindset that I had graduating from high school: to just explore,” Co said. All I really knew at the time was that I was an artist; I really loved storytelling, I loved music, I loved visual arts, and I liked technology. So I just went where all those things were present.”
For the last year and a half, Co has worked closely with Dean Terry, Therefore’s director and associate professor at The Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology at UT Dallas. Terry – a transmedia artist, writer, and education designer – is the Anechoic Chamber and Transmedia Studio (ACTS) faculty advisor.
ACTS, the soundproof chamber Housed in the Edith O’Donnell Arts and Technology Building, is the space where Terry’s group creates live art experiences for audiences. It’s also the place where Co and Terry met for the first time.
“Just like many people do, she just walked in this room one day curious,” Terry said. “Which is what you’re supposed to do when you’re an undergraduate when you’re in college. You should be curious! She just walked in here one day and said, ‘Hello!’”
As Co introduced herself, Terry had recently acquired an audio looper, a device akin to a guitar pedal, designed to record sounds and music, play them back in a continuous loop, and enable users to manipulate the sound with various effects. Co expressed interest in the device, and Terry allowed her to experiment with it. Despite her lack of experience with a looper, Co dove in, exploring the possibilities by creating music and intriguing sounds using only her voice.
“I’m someone who just throws herself head-first into the waters, and I’m really comfortable getting uncomfortable,” Co said. “[Terry] liked the things that I came up with on the fly, so he just started asking me to be around more, and then he started pitching pieces and performance ideas to me. I started spending more time in there, experimenting and improvising, and eventually, I was incorporated into Therefore.”
Every year, The AT&T Performing Arts Center’s Elevator Project features the work of emerging arts groups performing on the Center’s campus in the Dallas Arts District. For its 2022/2023 season, The Elevator Project showcased seven productions, including Therefore’s cross-genre show Poems for Broken Screens. The show, which involved Co and several UT Dallas alumns and current students, staged three performances at Hamon Hall in the Winspear Opera House in June.
“I just found that I really fit in with everyone there,” Co said. “We’re all just really passionate about creating art, and just creating something new. And there’s just like so much talent in the group and skill and experience. It was really fascinating to see other people work because some people have acting backgrounds, music backgrounds and video backgrounds. It was just a breath of fresh air to see the diversity is in backgrounds and skills.”
In Poems for Broken Screens, Co took on various roles, including a scene where she delivered rapid, stream-of-consciousness dialogue while another performer synchronized mouth movements in real time. Additionally, she recited a poem against a dramatic backdrop of ambient noise that she spontaneously crafted, employing sound equipment to enhance the impact of her voice and delivery.
“She is very good at improvisation, which is really important for life in general because it prepares you for unexpected situations so that you can react in the moment,” Terry said. “This is why we make experimental art here. When you’re a creative person, you have to be fearless and experimental and not be afraid of walking over all of the lines.”
Ultimately, Therefore’s collaborative performance piece garnered acclaim from regional media outlets, deeming Poems for Broken Screens the best show of the series by The Dallas Morning News and as the year’s Best Experimental Theater by Dallas Observer.
Reflecting on her journey, Co stands at the intersection of passion and proficiency. Today, her musical and audio technical prowess shines, with an ATEC degree, seven years of self-taught music expertise under her belt, and a live vocal station that boasts six different audio manipulation devices.
Currently immersed in K-pop projects, sync licensing, and sample library creation, her creative endeavors know no bounds. In 2022, in a defining moment, Co opened for the acclaimed South Korean singer and songwriter JUNNY, marking a milestone in her early yet purposeful artistic journey.
As she prepares to walk the stage in May, Co proudly carries the title of a younger sibling alum, following in the footsteps of her Animation and Games ATEC graduate sibling. This spring Co is working with Therefore on an ambitious new show called Phantoms, which will take place at Arts Mission Oak Cliff through the last two weeks of May.
“I think being brave is not about being fearless,” Co said. “Being brave is doing the right things despite that fear. I am a human being. It’s not like I never get anxious or afraid. I just push myself to try new things because I’ve learned that when you open a door, you never know where it will take you. The reality of being an artist is that no one is looking for you, and you must make your presence visible and unique.”
“Everybody starts somewhere,” she added.