Schaefer called the piece an "extravaganza of fun."
Schaefer is responsible for the dancers and the choreography, as well as set design and costumes for the entire production. Moore directs the actors, leads the musicians, composed the original music and made the sound score.
According to dancer Molly Williams '02, "[All the dancers] contributed concepts to the choreography, and our dance portion really grew out of our improv at rehearsals." Moore and Schaefer said that their vision of "Cartesian/Split" was in large part influenced by the work of their cast.
The result is a mixture that is difficult to define. There is dancing, there are some character sketches and there is music. However, the dancing and acting is partially improv, the narrative is open to interpretation and the music is provided by both a recorded sound score and live musicians who are free to improvise.
Audience participation is an important aspect of improv, and both Moore and Schaefer emphasized the amount of audience engagement that is needed for their creation. The cast, while improvising, will be responding to their fellow performers but also to the audience. To facilitate this, most of the action takes place on the floor, using the entire space within the theatre.
"Very little is handed to the audience in this show; you don't get to be a passive spectator to a clear-cut story. We're not overly concerned about everything making sense," said Moore.
What will come through, however, is the sense of fun Schaefer says she recognized early on. "We are having fun making it, and that is going to show," she said. "It may not be a brilliant work of art, but it will be a fun time that will stretch your ideas of what a piece of theater work is."