A spectator is also a sleuth in multi-media thriller

“The Case of the Spectator,” a multi-media work by Spanish performance artist María Jerez, will make its American premiere Thursday-Saturday, Sept. 23-25, as the first offering in this year’s “No Boundaries” series.

Designed to celebrate the diversity of voices and experiences in today’s world and enhance Yale’s educational mission, “No Boundaries: A Series of Global Performances” features works by artistic innovators from around the world.

Jerez is both sleuth and video artist in “The Case of the Spectator,” a surreal thriller tinged with humor. Equipped with a television and video camera, she plays an armchair femme fatale who unravels the mysterious murders of a series of blonde bombshells. Over the course of the evening, Jerez deconstructs and re-imagines iconic mid-20th-century crime fiction.

There will be four performances of “The Case of the Spectator”: at 8 p.m. on Sept. 23 and 24; and at 7 and 9 p.m. on Sept. 25 - all in the Iseman Theater, 1156 Chapel St. Performances are for mature audiences. Tickets are $35, with discounts available for seniors and students. They are available online at www.yalerep.org/noboundaries, by phone at 203-432-1234, and in person at the Yale Rep Box Office, 1120 Chapel St., at York Street.

Jerez has worked with dance, theater, and visual artists in Madrid and Paris since 1997. In 2001, she began creating solo performance works. Her work has been featured in acclaimed theatre festivals across Europe and in Canada.

Question-and-answer sessions with Jerez will be held immediately following the 8 p.m. performances on Thursday and Friday, and the 9 p.m. performance on Saturday.

Audiences are also invited to participate in an interactive studio session with Jerez on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 6-8 p.m. in the Theater Studies Ballroom, Rm. 101, 220 York St.

A lecture titled “My Screens Are Killing Me, or Watching Hurts” will be presented by Sue-Ellen Case, director of the UCLA Center for Performance Studies, on Wednesday, Sept. 22, 5:30-7 p.m. in Rm. 208 of the Whitney Humanities Center, 53 Wall St. It will explore representations of spectator, spectacle and spec-actor in Jerez’s performance, and how these relate to issues of identity. Laura Wexler, professor of American studies and of women’s, gender and sexuality studies, will respond.

“No Boundaries” is presented by the Yale Repertory Theatre and the World Performance Project at Yale. Co-sponsoring the special events are the Yale Theater Studies Program and the Whitney Humanities Center.

For more information, visit www.yale.edu/wpp or www.yalerep.org/noboundaries.