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Check out the review of BADco. in The Village Voice.
BADco. brought a level of detail and sensitivity to the performance that we rarely get to experience in New York. These were consummate performers, always in the moment of their actions, such lush gorgeous movers in their own idiosyncratic way. The audience surrounding the
dancing space made it a ritual, an abstract painting, a communal action – it touched the community of artists and dance lovers at P.S. 122
deeply. People are asking when will they come back.
see this review of koosil-ja to compare/contrast:
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0351/footnotes.php
Dear Culturebot,
I came across your review by chance after I returned from New York to London where I live.
I was very interested to read how generously you accepted the spirit of ‘Black Angel, The Double Life of Arshile Gorky.’ Your use of the word ‘unadorned’ is right. I just wanted to tell the stories and see if I could stay in the background so that the characters might emerge with their images though the spoken words and my own experience. For me this is an overwhelmingly personal story and it should not be acted or represented but just conveyed in the simplest way.
It was encouraging to be told by audiences every evenin as I signed books that they welcomed this approach and were moved by it. Particularly as it was a very mixed audience.
Thank you for taking the trouble to write such a well-judged piece. I do not know who you are but I was pleased that you enjoyed it and think it worth repeating the production. That is something I have been asked to do.
Many thanks.
Warmest Armenian wishes to you for the New Year.
Nouritza Matossian
http://www.arshile-gorky.com
Ov,hay shoxovurd,co prkutyun@ co havacakan ushi mesh e.
It was my fhirst thought,when I heard about show,called Black Angel;Double life of Arshil Gorki.After I read the ‘BlacK Angel”,I had some desire to continue learning more and more about our nation and about Arshil Gorki particulary.Despite 14 hours driving ,I got to the fhirst day show.The tickets were sold out.But fortunatly the administration found one for me.I want to say special thanks to Nouritza Matosyan.The show was wonderful.80 minutes of it just separated me from the reality and transfered to our Moderland-with ancient culture,tragic but unvolnurable people,bloody history.
I was wondering how almost 600 pages value book can be introduced in one show time.Mrs.Matosyan has chosen the perfect way pulling up to the stage the 4 omniponent female persons in Arshil Gorki’s life.Each women was introduced by N.Matosyan,who had personal meetings with some of them.These personalities had different influencies on Arshil Gorki’s life since his birth and untill his unbelivably tragic dead.
I can’t imagin any other ,even celebrity actress playing this show.Nouritza Matosyan passed very long and hard way,gathering all relevant materials.She is suffering with her heroes,she understand them better, than anyone else.I think here is the main point of success.
What is really interesting for me,even the most tragic fates don’t drive us to the pisimistic mood,on the contrary they make us to be strong,to fight for brigth and peacfull further. The good living will be the best revenge for all our victims.
hi there -
someone sent me here to read – i’ve never read anything about a dance i’ve made, and i liked what you wrote and thinking about you watching the piece. thanks. who are you?
adrienne
xxx
God bless Mark Russell. It was almost ten years ago now, before Hedwig, before Leguizamo hit Hollywood, and I was just graduating from NYU’s Experimental Theatre Wing and hell-bent on bringing theater and rock n roll together in a way I’d never seen before. I had no ‘connections’,no following, but I had a great script and an amazing group of wild and hungry performers who’d done a workshop version of my play Distortion Taco. Everyone else – like fifty different producers – passed on me. Mark Russell was the one and only guy who was willing to take a chance. And it was amazing. An amazing experience for me personally and professionally, and successful even, in pretty much every way a new ‘downtown’ first-timer’s piece can be. We ran as long as we could, turning people away the final weekend. TimeOut NY reviewed us on the same page as the original production of Rent and said our piece was the real rockin deal, ‘beautiful even at its most grotesque.’ Isn’t that just so PS 122? Mark is a true risk taker, courageous enough to see the diamond in its rough, and bring forth beauty from the rough n tumble riff raff that no one else will deal with. I will always be grateful for his support and guidance. Even a year later when I made some colossal mistakes with my sophomore outing and it closed in previews costing PS 122 everything they’d put into it, Mark was still kind enough to say ‘hey, this is all a great experiment, and in that you’ve done your job.’ How many of us get the chance to screw up so beautifully, to have someone fully behind our vision, however fucked up it may be? Mark has done that for many of us performing freaks, he’s given us a home when no one else would, he’s brought people together who have gone on to do amazing and important things…and I can hardly imagine PS 122 without him. (He’s probably the last chance I’ll ever have to perform there again – God knows he’s the only guy who’d give me another chance, and I was just beginning to feel brave enough to ask him for it.) It makes me sad to hear that he’s leaving a place that seems so completely defined by his truly inimitable style. But then, he’s had such an influence on NY performance that his presence will always be felt. And if there is anyone who can find ‘what’s next’ and nurture it, if anyone has that kind of ‘art radar’it is Mark Russell. It’s amazing what he’s done with what he’s had to work with, and against, all these years. I can’t wait to see what he manages in a new capacity on an international scale. Personally I’m getting a little tired of yet another deconstructed-slash-stylishly-appropriated retrofitted redefined re-hash of all that’s been so artfully homaged already. If there is actually anything new under the post post post-modern cliplamp, Mark Russell will find it, bring it back to NYC on time and under budget, and give us all something truly new to talk about. Hell, Mark Russell gives me hope, even now. Mark Russell rocks, and I know I’m only one of so many who will be wishing him all the best in his next incarnation. Good luck, Mark, and thank you so very much. J.Stephen Brantley, writer/performer, Distortion Taco @PS 122 1996
how do i read the rest of the article part 2 of it? it was going so good and i would like to read the rest.
So here’s what the Onion says…
It’s in the Calendar section, in the back: Wednesday, February 11 Comedy Worst. Sex. Ever. w/Chris H–, Blaise K., Paul Ford & More, P.S. 122, 7:30 p.m., $5 Blogs, those comprehensive and self-indulgent online diaries kept by aspiring scenesters e…
Here’s some comments from around the web by audience members:
Sparky
Swerdloff
CallaLillie
JimmyLegs
Bob
And some by participants:
Chris
Blaise
Kiri
Brian
Dori
Choire
The world premiere of the film was an ENORMOUS success! It is an amazing documentary that not only covers the origins of P.S. 122 and the dance movements it spawned, but also the spirit and creativity that have infused the space since the beginning. For anyone who wants to learn more about the downtown scene this is a must-see. You can learn more about it at CharlesDennis.net
cool site. comments part, what a good idea.
Can’t wait to see Michael Portnoy on stage!
He is always brilliant.
The Dates of this show are actually March 24th & 25th, April 2nd and 3rd. Do not miss this……
Douglas Davis has also written a very elegant tribute to Spalding Gray in The New York Press.
Fun trip to New York
Apart from dragging my bag around most of lower Manhattan, an awesome extended weekend. I saw Erik in 131, which was really fun. Zanza Bar was also pretty cool, and Carl introduced me to Olive Tree. People in New York…
The Village Voice calls 131 “utterly engrossing, perfectly pitched.” Read the full review at http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0412/zimmer.php
yeah once even before i even knew steph. i had no idea. its good that it all seems right.
An additional performance has been added – April 3 at 10pm. Get tickets now b/c it’ll sell out quickly.
http://www.uffish.com/archives/007876.html
The long arm of justice…
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
Nice browser, without the special security holes of IE.
here’s another write-up at Playbill.com
I just want to add that The Greene Street Salon was very fun, a singular experience with some great emerging talent at various stages of their creative discovery. They’ve started a website: http://www.greenestreetsalon.org, that is a culture guide, check it out.
Also – Mike Arauz and the guy who did the comedic spoken word piece are part of a cool new improv-based performance ensemble called Organatron, which you should definitely check out.
I think the counter tenor you were talking about was Jeffrey Mandelbaum. Has to be him, how many counter tenors have long flowing red hair and dress like rock stars? Wonderful guy too…
Yes, the counter tenor was Jeffrey Mandelbaum, not Waldaum as previously published. The correction has been made and we regret the error.
Thank you Culturebot for your positive feedback.
How is Tina connected to Jeffrey Mandelbaum? Is she a singer?
Yes, I’m a singer/performer and worked with Jeff when we performed with Meredith Monk last Spring.
Cool. I like Monk’s work.
I hope that we cross paths sometime. Let us know when we can hear you sing. You can email me at my website. Meanwhile, I’ll mention you to Jeffrey.
Yes, and I will deinitely check out your salon soon! Thanks.
Yes, and I will definitely check out your salon soon! Thanks.
Neal Medlyn is hot!
Deb Margolin interview
Culturebot.org has an interview with the brilliant Deb Margolin. Her wondeful book “Of All The Nerve” is really expensive, since…
I once saw Organatron fly too close to the sun.
Last Friday night, Organatron ate paste and paid a heavy price.
Organatron is a singular, fascinating theatregoing experience…each time you attend one of their shows you’ll be rewarded with free beer and an overwhelming sense of joy. There’s not enough joy and free beer in the world, so get it while you can.
Ms. MArgolin’s response to the intelligent, thought-provoking questions presented to her indicates the need for all of humanity, — all genders to curtail their thirst for monetary gain and focus upon the need to rid the world of furtive people and focus on making the world a safe, sane place for future generations. Her words are great tools for excavation in order to re-build the crumbling foundation of a once strong America.
rachel,
7 of us just finished this process a week ago. thank you for your understanding.
This play is like the sister of a really hot girl: same features, just placed on her face wrong. The dialogue was self-indulgent, asking the audience to accept juvenile romanticism as the ultimate comment upon suburbian insularity and meaninglessness. We all either saw American Beauty or read White Noise back in college. That was enough.
The auditor was a sexy Basquiat-esque man with Buckwheat-esque words of wisdom. Excellent set design. The intermittent dialogues between the auditor and individual cast members were lucid and profound, a welcome reprieve from the exorbitant display of routinized behaviors. The choreography was impressive, but it left me with a headache. Why did the choreographer use such an arsenal of talent to create a repetitive and ultimately limited sequence?
Such a rich cultural space should be able to be more discriminating and topical in their choices. This was a really good experiment in audience entrapment.
i believe the ontological might be looking for one more so-called “dwarf” for next year’s foreman play, which is tenatively entitled HIPPO and will star the great actors jay smith and t. ryder smith. if anyone is inspired to grease themselves up and fling themselves into this channel, please feel free to contact me at juliana_francis@hotmail.com. x, juliana
3 seconds in a key is in search of a point of view. It doesn’t make sense and is emotionally dishonest, in my humble opinion. This woman teaches playwriting?
I’m an acting student at Yale’s School of Drama. I just heard about 13P from a panel discussion including Mac Wellman at the YSD’s Reunion Weekend. I unfortunetly missed the discussion because I was at another event, but I overheard the buzz about 13P. Very exciting. As an artist in another field, yet still a field that seems like it will require me once I graduate to the fill the role of producer(of my own work)at some point in order to work, I identify with your search of ways to do your work and applaud your persistant pursuit of artistic authenticity. I would like to know more about and be updated on your endeavors. I remain in school for two more years, but am interested in information about the casting of your new plays and any volunteer work you may have. Thanks! And good luck.
Sincerely,
Kathleen McElfresh
If I stare at Organatron long enough, will I forget Donald Rumsfeld’s Social Security number?
can you provide a link to documantation about this? i ask because i do some web development with heavy use of css, primarily working on windows xp machines and i have never seen this problem. and if you can show an example i am sure there is an easy solution. in all honesty the most problems i have with css are when mac users try to visit a site ;P
If you’d like to get involved with 13P you can find out more about them at http://www.13p.org.
http://www.flavorpill.net/mailer/issue205/index.html#revue
what a great party this was. and what an amazing building, too.
More cool stuff in the Village Voice OBIE edition:
Alexis Soloski on the history of Mark Russell & P.S. 122:
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0420/soloski.php
And Mac Wellman writing about the new playwrights, including 13P, who we interviewed here.
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0420/wellman.php
A hopeful essay on theatre
This week’s Village Voice has an essay by Mac Wellman on why he is hopeful about the state of theatre…
13P has some very interesting people involved. We’ve seen work by at least Anne Washburn and Young Jean Lee this year, and really enjoyed them.
There is a good essay related to this from Mac Wellman in this week’s Village Voice:
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0420/wellman.php
A hopeful essay on theatre / 13P
This week’s Village Voice has an essay by Mac Wellman on why he is hopeful about the state of theatre…
Ladies First : WYSIWYG Talent Show just blew me away!
I almost forgot to post about this. Culturebot.org: Ladies Firstat The WYSIWYG Talent Show was one of the best spoken word shows I’ve been in a long time. The shows are made of bloggers. That’s right, social networking at its most basic : Read the godd…
There is a difference between privilege and economic status, although economic status is certainly a part of privilege. Most of those artists mentioned in the Wellman piece certainly are struggling to make a living and make art and raise money all at the same time. I think that’s a pretty good indicator that their arts organizations (and, in some cases, they themselves) fall into the “poverty” group. Simply put, there’s no money to make art anymore let alone make a living making art.
This doesn’t mean, however, that he artists Wellman is talking about are privileged. Most are quite privileged, for all the reasons mentioned in the posting (MFA’s, elite schools, etc.). I’m just saying economic privlege and regular ole umbrella privlege ain’t the same thing.
I don’t think there’s any question that professional theater artists today are academically “privileged,” and that the nature of those academies necessarily make it so. Other than UCLA or USC, I can’t think of too many public MFA-granting universities that aren’t private and consequently expensive, especially those with good academic and professional reputations (NYU and Carnegie-Mellon, for example).
Two points: First, the professionalization and specialization that has affected all of American academe has affected the profession of the theater practitioner as well. While this has provided the American theater with a huge pool of trained talent, it’s also shut out those practitioners who may not have those academic credentials. Graduate schools are not merely training grounds; they’re also informal communities, networking opportunities, not to mention indocrination centers for the ideological and aesthetic shibboleths of the current reigning academic stars. (Honestly, I don’t mean this in a negative way; any community tries to instill common values. It’s in the nature of community itself. But it can be stultifying to those who are outside of the community or to those who may disagree with the common values of that community.) You learn to walk the walk, talk the talk. There is privilege to this.
Second: If theater practitioners are going to continue to search out spectacular effects, require large casts, then this poverty will continue. No individual nor community can afford to live beyond its means; the same goes for an aesthetic form. If this is a limitation, so be it: we learn to do more with less, as we’ve always done, instead of relying upon and continuing to expect broad support in the form of government and foundation grants. There’s no question that the lack of government support for the arts in this country is one of our greatest shames (and we seem to have quite a lot of them lately). But we can’t expect economic support to be unlimited.
priviledge
“Two points: First, the professionalization and specialization that has affected all of American academe has affected the profession of the theater practitioner as well.
Brilliant!
I love my dear pal ‘Patty’ and appreciate this endearing report of thatt genius eve !
xoxoxodavid
thanks!!!
Greetings fellow bots of culture.
Organatron has migrated to a new time.
We are now born on Fridays at 10:00.
Soon we shall all be Organatron.
http://www.organatron.com
San Francisco based performance poet Bucky Sinister has a big list of this sort of observation, including “toddlers are the new babies” and “Macaulay Culkin is the new Drew Barrymore.”
Personally, I think fat is far sexier than smoking.
A-ron-
Congratulations! It’s so nice to see some extended writing of yours. The analogies are very clear, it flows with a great sense of punctuation. And most importantly (if you ask me) it’s grounded in a sense of “no bullshit”. You should be very proud.
Hope I get to see you soon.
~Sand
Miller conflicts me (sign of a good political artist, to be sure). Impassioned, yes, however, I don’t see how his running to another country to get married is helping anything here. As always, love his effusive imagery!
Check out the Village Voice Review of the Sisters.
Correction: CVR also played at the NYC Fringe Festival in 2000.
Rachel, I’m so envious of you I could just pee.
I’m seriously in love with the Wau Waus. Mmm.
http://www.uffish.com/archives/008030.html
Culturebot interviews the Wau Wau Sisters! *Swoon*…
I’m very exciting with your ideas!
check out a review of this show in the village voice.
I would like to know more about the history of the Belgian colonial experience and the script as I am having difficulty undrstanding why it relates to current events. Perhaps a short summary of the history and how that is being illuminated by the script would be helpful.
I want to see this one. When will it be coming to Cleveland?
great piece of writing.
It’s all sold out tonight, so we’re going tomorrow. Can’t wait.
[i]For those of a certain political bent, Noam Chomsky is something of a hero. Or at least the idea of Noam Chomsky holds endless fascination. Anybody who was politically engaged (from the left) in the early 90’s saw the documentary Manufacturing Consent and subsequently could be seen toting one or another of Chomsky’s books or even The Chomsky Reader.[/i]
For certain people Chomsky is a hero. Then you equate this with “anybody who was politically engaged in the 90’s”, taking a lot of care to qualify this with “from the left” in parenthesis. And then claiming anyone who falls in to this category has seen and read these items, so to someone who hasn’t it seems you’re the one glorfying him.
You suck. Go back to journalism school. Or just pimp yourself out to your local republican chapter or news channel.
First off, this is a blog not a newspaper. It is supposed to be opinionated and we don’t have to maintain a facade of objectivity. And secondly, your comment makes no sense. Are you suggesting that I am glorifying Chomsky or not? And so what if I am? Its true – pretty much everybody on the left saw “Manufacturing Consent” when it came out. It was a big deal. And if I’m glorifiying Chomsky (which I’m not, if you go on to read the article you’ll see that what makes the show compelling is that it shows him as a complex and conflicted person rather than the purely ideological mouthpiece that staunch leftist ideologues would like him to be) why should I shill myself to the Republicans?
I may suck, but you’re an idiot.
TRIBECA ALL ACCESS OPEN STAGE >> Calling all playwrights of color
Culturebot.org: Call for Entries – TFI The Call for Entries is now open, with a deadline of July 16, 2004. Playwrights who identify as Latino, African American, Asian American, Native American or Pacific Islander are invited to submit full-length plays…
Read the review of this show at the NY TIMES:
http://theater2.nytimes.com/2004/06/26/theater/reviews/26BLIN.html
I agree. NOIR was one of the finest evenings of performance I’ve seen since the early days of Alwin Nikolais. Good enough so that I actually went back a second time with my girlfreind, because I wanted her to see it, and also because the first time I ended uo in that beat-up old LeBaron and I wanted to see the performance from the best seat in the house – the beat up old Cadillac convertible. Interestingly enough, by the time I got back the second time, the car batteries had run down so far we couldn’t honk the horns and flash the lights after the performance.
The dancers were agile, evocative and skilled enough to not crown themselves on the low ceilings of the garage. They were also nice enough to be approachable after the performance, not always the case. As a sound/dance/setting, it was marvelous, and I would recommend to anyone that if this piece is ever performed near you, get your ass down there – but ask which cars they have first.Kudos to Noemie; she’s definitely got something here.
rachel, you hit the nail on the head. the memories came flooding back. . .and i laughed myself silly. i hope you’re very well. -kristen (fellow dwarf)
I for one want to know who the hell she had to, um, service to get THREE photos in the article.
fearsomely happy aggression
julia – wonderful story. i miss you and your poetry – still no tight fitting oily black leather gloves and briefcases, just the sweat lodge and sundance (the original version, not that prestigious trendy film thing)
still can’t shake all this bureaucracy
Miguel Luke Jones, Wash DC
wow. who would have thought anything new could be done with radio!
I have read/heard incarnations of two of the shows, and I think they are both very special:
Anatomy 1968 is a straight play, quite touching, a look at the beginning of a marriage, and then a flash forward a buncha years thing with a younger generation — all takes place at the Hong Kong Hilton
Prozac and the Platypus — a really unusual story I will not even try to summarize, but on top of being an original premise, it has the potential to get you right in the ribs — while having pretty good music too!
I do highly recommend both of these. I cannot recommend the others simply because I know nothing about them, but from the fact that the Tepper crew chose both of these, I think any of the choices will provide for a memorable eve.
There was also a review in The New York Times on June 17. The producers would actually really like to bring it to Cleaveland… Let me know if you have any ideas!
Methinks whoever wrote this article is a woofy writer and a keen observer of the dog-eat-dog theater scene. She should be given a full-time job at the Village Voice, no bones about it. Arf!
Glad you dig the site, it is a labor of love and an art project for Bri and me. We appreciate, appreciate and applaud everyone who contributes to this work. As we don’t have any $ to pay people, it is out of their own generosity of time and work that solanasonline exists.
We take submissions and will collaborate with transgressive artists in whatever medium they work in to make interesting things…
Thank you for the link, Kirsten and CultureBot.
Manifestoes serve the excellent functions of providing a theoretical rationale for an ensemble’s existence and of providing a jumping-off point for discourse. More than mission statements, they’re provocative theatrical documents in themselves. The difference between them and the artistic activity they seek to engender, I suppose, is where the shadow lies, but then, if we could say everything we wanted with our manifestoes, we wouldn’t be making theater at all. After all, there is a difference between Brecht’s Short Organum and Messingkauf Dialogues and his plays, just as there is between Erik’s manifesto and his own work. But they inform each other and provide the groundwork for future aspirations. So there you go.
I think Raul is still as smart ass just like in catholic school and I think it is rude that he highlights peoples unwillingness to acknowledge their stupid attempts to appear cool when they don’t actually get or like something they experience in the gallery scene. So yeah, lets all get out of those insane nihilistic places anyway.
raul is a sincere ball of fire
My ramblings about manifesto – (and they are just ramblings)
Idealism is awesome, I yearn for it. But, I’m afraid that the mission statement has killed the manifesto. Idealism has given way to the question…”can we get a grant?”
Manifestos should be as exciting to read as a lurid novel. But lurid novels don’t always get public dollars.
But, I’m afraid that manifestos can become albatrosses on our necks. The really good ones should enable ACTION! Anything else is fruitless, dilettantism, etc.
Make sure that the manifesto doesn’t become an additional entity in the rehearsal studio with you. Then it is this thing you always have to negoitate with when it should have just been your Yesman. “Can I do this Mr. Manifesto?” “why yes Mr. Idealist you can do any damn thing at all!!”
I wish we had fewer people who wanted to publish manifestos and more artists who wanted to right down something secret and special on the back of a book of matchsticks and pass it around.
I wish were more enabled to express ourselves through our art.
The wishlist as manifesto
Also isn’t the manifesto a politcal act? Perhaps we aren’t political enough to mean anything that we would put in a manifesto.
Perhaps the time of manifesto is over…to declare one’s politcal beliefs is to offer them to your opponent (a spin off of Mac Wellman’s Theater of Good intentions essay.) Perhaps we need to go back to secrets scrawled on matchbooks instead.
I don’t know if this is useful at all. Just some quick thoughts. Personally, in high school when all I was being fed was Miller, Neil Simon, and Show tunes…I read manifestos…by candlelight (not actually, but I hope you get my point)
. . . were you serious about subdomains/other cities . . . dropped a line but no response . . .
I’ve heard that Puddlejump is amazing!
Signed,
Puddlejump.
To quote BOTH Time Out and Village Voice from two years ago: “The Fringe is dead; long live the Fringe.”
I should comment that small slivers of hope are Omaha, Nebraska’s greatest, least exported resource. The city’s status as a near cow-town that passes as the most cosmopolitan place within hundreds of miles makes it the Austin of the Midwest (okay, Lawrence, KS comes close, but it’s a college town, which Omaha, despite two universities, ain’t, it’s a proper city). Omahans are a diverse bunch, with a strongly experimental streak. Make no mistake, bigotry runs amok there, but so does rebellion and critical thinking, as in few places nearby. Omaha is the only way I could have survived my first 28 years as a Midwesterner. Granted, my last 8+ years as a New Yorker have been the happiest of my life, but Omaha doesn’t suck.
Political theater, well, I’m a scion of Piscator (via native Omahan JoAnn Schmidman, protege of Megan Terry and Joe Chaiken), and I recognize that populism must come first before grey Lehrstucke neccessity or pomo irony. And populism general needs some “hearts and minds” passion as you’ve suggested.
Vis: “that for the purpose of making art, it doesn’t really matter what you care about as long as you really, genuinely care about it. A play about roller-skating or Smurfs or the State of Oklahoma is fine—but you better really care about roller-skating or Smurfs or the State of Oklahoma. It’s the caring that registers, not the subject.”
Um, this is a good message to even the most careerist among us. I’ve learned from others’ hard-knocks lessons that if you happen on a project that you’re passionate about, that’s your fast track to letting know the world who you are. Working strictly for pay, especially as a creative team type (director, choreographer, writer, etc) is a fools errand—passion is the only way to make that vaunted “killing.” Trying to make a living on hack work is less likely than even that elusive “killing.” Unless hack work is your passion (which is why I’m looking into writing genre series novels—I actually think I could develop a fun-loving passion for that variety of hackery).
No real point here, just some observations that I hope others find fun.
Hmmm…there have always been shows in the Fringe for the wrong reasons…charlatans are never in short supply where the words “cutting-edge” or “next big thing” are bandied. Still, with 200+ shows on offer there’s still some pretty Fringe-y stuff in there. Um, but anyway, since GG Allin, does “Fringe” really mean anything? Oh you know, its like “alternative” or “indie” all over again. Is escaping co-option even possible? Is it always to be desired? If my gay copulation is simulated on Showtime, does that make it less subversive?
And hey, where are the trannies!—They still are the pilot light of what humanity should be.
A kickline still trumps a police line any day
How many NYU theater artists leveraged impossible loans to gain access? Well, me, and a handful of other “working class” artists going to school there that I know of. Still, I have made my peace with being a Manhattanite, and consider my college loans my own car payments/mortage. Oh, never mind that I can’t afford even that having taken up the life of a journalist for a non-corporate local outlet.
There is much truth to the idea that the very possibility of even trying to make it in NYC requires financial backing. Many a trust fund daughter wastes her youth trying to make it as an actress in a place where young actresses are as common as air.
My closest collaborators are former white trash intelligensia like myself, and we all have skeletons of relatives who didn’t make it (who are either totally abject or actually dead) lining our path to making beauty for the casual viewer.
Risk is in play, if not us, for our friends and family left in “darkest” America.
It shouldn’t be so. Me and my colleagues should be sending government checks back to our loved ones, and government progams should offer them alternatives to substance abuse to address their problems, problems largely caused by those who truly have their hands on the levers of privilege.
Bush must go. Lives depend on it, and not just in Iraq.
The Brooklyn Rail and Theatre2k have also teamed up on theatre for change, which will list resources, previews, and events, theatrical and otherwise, of people working in opposition to the convention at the end of August.
Awesome.
Well, miss thang. From Nebraska to the Netherlands…not bad. There’s no date on this thing, so if you’re still bloggin’ away, shoot me an e-mail: raia@21stdems.org. I miss you much, and would love to hear about all the exploits directly…
i hate to miss this. hate hate hate.
Hey everybody. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who attended the Bukowski Tribute and thanks to Culturebot for the review.
A website for the series is in the works, but till then, shoot me an email if you want advance notice of the next few shows.
FYI, the next one is Sept. 28 and is an encore of the Tribute To Judy Blume.
Judy Blume will be there, likely reading a passage from “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret” and answering audience questions. At Fez. For ten freaking bucks.
Anyway, thanks again Culturebot, and thanks to Mike Daisey, Miss Bunny Love, Jonathan Ames, Amy Sohn, and everyone else who rocked the house.
–Greg Gilderman
email: MisterGregNYC@hotmail.com
Needless plug: Watch my public access talk show, “Mr. Greg Live,” every Wed @ 11:30 on Time/Warner of Manhattan channel 56.
Darlingj,
I’m glad to see you’re overcoming your institutionalized homophobia and heterosexism.
Keep up the good work, my little mid-western cultural attache!
Waving at you from internal exile here Upstate, C.W. And all’s I got to say is, ERS got Andy Kaufman way before, and way better, than Jim Carrey.
IMHO : Blogging. Politics.
The WYSIWYG Talent Show The WYSIWYG Talent Show Curated by Andy Horwitz with Dan Rhatigan Moderated by Jeff Jarvis (buzzmachine.com) Panelists: John Aravosis (americablog.blogspot.com) John Perry Barlow (barlow.typepad.com) Cam Barrett (camworld.com) J…
Ok, I just can’t help myself, I have to slam Spurlock here for a minute, and europe for a few minutes.
What kind of 3rd world ape would eat strictly McDonalds for such an extended period of time? Common sense tells you bad things are going to happen. Anyone who could convince themselves, or even be convinced that eating a steady diet of McDonalds is anything but unhealthy is a complete fool. The notion that obesity is the fault of McDonalds and its competitors is simply stupid. Something I am sure you know well by now is that astronomically ignorant generalizations such as Americans eat too much McDonalds, are common in european countries. They have nothing else to contribute to the world except negative comments, petty quarrels, and reality defiant “as a matter of fact”’s, that are based on less than accurate demographical generalizations targeting anyone but themselves.
If you don’t like McDonalds stupid asses, don’t eat it. If you don’t like super sized fries ignorant goofs, order the sleeve of fries. I like super sized fries, and if I can’t get them at McDonalds now, I will get them at Hardee’s. Noone is complaining about people eating monkey brains fresh from the skull over in Thailand, or the putrid amounts of cheese the French eat, and how bad those things are for a persons body. I personally am sick of being insulted by people who, by all rights, should be kissing my fucking ass. When the day comes to silence thier beliefs forever, I will be the first in line.
As for the belief that european woman are thinner and healthier than American women, my opinion is this. American women are the most beautiful women on the planet for more reasons than just a plump ass, and nice tits. American women are educated, independant, understanding, and loving females who hold thier heads high with a sense of dignity, and self-worth. Europe, your woman are homely, and unattractive as a whole to me, but I still have my fun with them because I know it pisses you off, but thats a little off topic.
Well Rachel, sorry to rant, but I had a moment to kill and wanted to bitch, hope you don’t mind. Anyway peace out, and eat a super size fry for me! and give that rude clerk a flying headbutt to the nose for me
you mean sunday?
yes i meant Sunday.
Oops.
Will correct.
thanks!
Aw, You’re So Sweet!
I don’t know which of you magnificent people out there are voting for me, but it’s great to see that Modern Fabulousity is now one of the Top 30 Gay Blogs according to OutRadio’s Freedom Forum! I am humbled and overjoyed…
Kiki and Company
It was quite a show. Compared to the many I’ve experienced in smaller venues, a lot of the intimate…
I didn’t see ya there, Andy, but of course I imagined you were, along with everyone else in town. Much as I missed the imtimacy of he smaller venues, I still have to say it was a great show.
Hi! The Flea has launched its new site, and some of the links have changed. The root site is http://www.theflea.org, and the ‘Pataphysics site is http://www.theflea.org/pataphysics/
Thanks!
so i know that living in l.a. is boring and you know that living in l.a. is boring- but everyone here is so goddamn happy. it seems like amsterdam is like this too. how do we get out of new york? are we condemned to be broke and chronically un/under-employed until our carcasses bloat and rot there or until we past whatever maturity test that makes us admit that new york is dirty. it is dark. it is expensive. it is hard to get anyone to admit that something you do is good and worth looking at/attending. and sometimes even your friends can’t make the boo-boo better.
but all the best people live there. all the smart and funny people. all the loving, good (is sometimes nosey/bossy) friends live there.
bug. all i know is- my skin is brighter and the peaches taste much better here. but i’m still going back.
lovelauren
I performed a show with dan at justin tranter’s flaming sundays at the sidewalk cafe a while ago, and found him to be a talented, interesting performer and affable, lovely person. he’s polite and cute and attractive in spandex. go dan!
Dan is a very inspiring performer and a wonderful person. I am a big fan!! I love his whole speech about running into George in the Yale locker room..
Art Workers
“I regularly see people making art or running theaters or doing a million other things for virtually no money with no resources on the force of sheer will and hard work.
A few thoughts:
1. Country music or jazz – unless the juxtaposition of those two genres is a veiled low art vs. high art swipe (which would be depressing) – who cares what kinds of music people listen to? The mystery of music is primary, the arrangements are secondary.
2. Why are we trying to “get someone to go to the theater”?
Shouldn’t we just try to create resonant works?
3. Paris Hilton is brilliant. I would love to see her in a Richard Foreman play.
Well, to answer point by point…
1. it wasn’t a veiled low art/high art swipe, it was just to demonstrate that people have different tastes and you can’t necessarily change that. For those people who love a specific kind of music the arrangements are not secondary, they’re the most important thing. On some level music is memory is identity and in our culture the kind of music we listen to is a primary identifier.
In terms of taste – theater is one of those things that I think people either like or don’t like and for those of us that think it’s important it’s hard to understand why other people think its stupid. So I’m really asking myself – as someone who spends a lot of time trying to get people to see difficult work – is it realistic to expect to convince people to try something new?
2. We are trying to get people to come to theater because if someone presents a play and no-one comes that defeats the purpose. And if we believe that what we are doing is important, then don’t we want to get people to come see it and be affected by it? I’m not sure what “resonant” is supposed to mean. Its one of those words that is slippery and hard to nail down. I think people should make work that is relevant, that speaks to the culture at large, that speaks to other human beings and sheds light on the human experience. I get nervous when people use the jargon of performance theory, because I think it can be a means to justify work that is unnecessarily hermetic and insular.
3. I have to disagree. If Paris Hilton were doing what she is doing intentionally, she would be brilliant. I think she’s sad. She has no skills, no talent and no discernible vision for what she creates, if she can be said to create anything. She’s not like Judy Holliday or some of the other classic “dumb blonde” personas created by talented actresses. Come on, Juliana – you know true brilliance and genius when you see it. Why play into the Warholian Superstar myth? So many real artists of enormous intellect, skill, passion and capacity slave away to create meaningful work – how can that brilliance be equated with the clueless self-indulgence and self-exploitaton of an overprivileged brat?
Good morning!
This is probably not so helpful in a practical discussion of audience development, but I really believe that all work finds its audience, whether it’s an audience of five or five thousand.
I don’t speak performance theory – I’ve never studied it. I love the word “resonant.” I don’t think it’s slippery at all and I would be heartbroken if resonance only resonated as jargon.
To me, resonance tracks the mystery of how we can recognize ourselves in a piece of work that should otherwise be absolutely foreign. It reminds me of A.E. Houseman trying to explain poetic impact:
“Poetry seems to me more physical than intellectual. A year or two ago, in common with others, I received from America a request that I would define poetry. I replied that I could no more define poetry than a terrier can define a rat, but that I thought we both recognized the object by the symptoms which it provokes in us. One of these symptoms was described in connection with another object by Eliphaz the Temanite: “A spirit passed before my face: the hair of the flesh stood up.” Experience has taught me, when I am shaving of a morning, to keep watch over my thoughts, because if a line of poetry strays into my memory, my skin bristles so that the razor ceases to act. This particular symptom is accompanied by a shiver down the spine; there is another which consists in a constriction of the throat and a precipitation of water to the eyes; and there is a third which I can only describe by borrowing a phrase from one of Keat’s last letters, where he says, speaking of Fanny Brawne, “everything that reminds me of her goes through me like a spear.”
If a resonant play falls in the forest and only five people see it… the work will continue to unfold in those people in a way that I believe exceeds any lost revenue.
—
I will always be a Paris Hilton fan. I treasure the daft American heiress archetype (which predates Warhol and reminds me more of the late 19th century “professional beauties” like Jennie Churchill.) It’s not easy to explain, but knowing that there’s a girl who’s restyled herself to look like a Winx cartoon and is now blithely collecting careers like they were beads on a bracelet, gives me great joy!
x,
juliana
I think the reason people think theater is boring is that modern theater is dumbed down to appeal to a broad audience. Much like TV, big Broadway shows, the kind of theater most people are exposed to, become about appealing to the most people instead of about appealing deeply to a community.
Yes, there are human themes that can be explored on stage that we can all relate to, but part of what made theater so rich back in the day is that it talked to a specific audience. Classical Greek theater was filled with culture specific refrences that only Athenians would fully grasp. Every good Greek knew the story of Oedipus Rex. Shakespearean plays are the same way.
In addition to this, I think as a society we are afraid of theater challenging the audience. Most “big tent” theater shows people a world they are comfortable with instead of challenging them. There are exceptions, but as a rule most theaters don’t. Combined, these two factors mean that most people who are only exposed to a little bit of theater, think it is boring. It’s kind of tragic really that they are missing out on such a wonderful art form.
see, now this is the kind of discussion that makes this editor’s heart proud! everyone reading this should come to “cocktails with culturebot” on Oct. 18th at Open Air Bar and we can talk about this stuff while drinking in the East Village. The way art was meant to be discussed!
Here is some more news about this from Playbill magazine:
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/88961.html
I think all culturebot readers are rooting for the same man.
Wow, their publicist sounds great! Any way to get a recommendation for them? Downtown publicists that are good are really rare beasts, and we’d love to know about them.
we should probably do a full feature on downtown publicists, because it is a tricky subject. there are many of them – and different ones will do different things for different people. I think the most important thing is to find a publicist who has a similar aesthetic or cultural sensibility to your work – who will “get it” and publicize you the way you want to be perceived. Read the programs for the shows you like and admire, see who their publicist is, and go from there. People can have very different experiences with the same publicist – depending on how they get along and so forth. ALSO – and this is the hardest thing – publicists can’t guarantee press and they also can’t guarantee the quality of the work. Sometimes it can be very difficult when a show seems like it’ll be good, the artist deserves press, but then when it final hits the stage it just isn’t quite there. The artist still wants press, but they probably shouldn’t get it, because its not their best work. so you need, as much as possible, to find a publicist you trust and who will advise you as objectively as possible about what is realistic and how to manage your press once your show is up.
Yes, absolutely true on all counts. My excitement about CultureBot doing a survey of downtown publicists stems from having worked with many of them, both with my own company and when freelancing around town. I’ve yet to find a publicist who is both affordable for small companies/productions and energetic in their approach. I’ve no illusions about the difficulties of getting coverage in NYC, especially for downtown work. But I’d just really like to find a publicist who cares about the work, who feels like a partner in the endeavor. Is that asking too much?
At any rate, I’d love to see that feature on publicists, if you ever decide to do it!
hee. Rambam.
im voting for kerry! and freedom! long live friendster!
Election night events
I hope to be celebrating, not drowning my sorrows, on election night. I actually hope we know who the "winner"…
they have made a 10 minute pirate puppet TV episode at http://www.bionicfilms.com under the “Pyrates” menu
its worth seeing
And how was it?
Boot Camp! Are you kidding me? What a mockery of the playwriting process! What kind of desperate playwrights do they get? “Please, please, homogenize and sterilize my script in four days. Please make it funny, and easy for the actors to get off book.”
If you’ve written a play, and you believe in it, then find your actors, find your director, find the space, write the press release and produce it yourself. If people want to work for pennies for this kind of organization then they’ll work for pennies for you. In this way you’re unique creative vision will evolve and thrive and not sink in four days of mediocrity.
unfortunately i didn’t make it to the show. i was kind of hoping someone would go and tell me. but i will definitely try and make one of the future ones and will probably put something about it up here.
I saw the show at the premiere on Nov 18th and I bought the tickets(2) as a present for my Birthday and IT WAS A Wonderfull PRESENT…Thanks to Julie and all the people involved in “I Am the Moon and You Are the Man on Me”.
Please send me more information, and upcomming events.
Would like to net work with other black playwrights and producers
Thank You.
Please send me more information, and upcomming events.
Would like to net work with other black playwrights and producers
Thank You.
You seem nice.
Does Jeffrey Mandelbaum have his own website? I would love to hear him sing again!
Although the story you mentioned may, at first, feel disconnected from NYC art, specifically downtown theater and performance. I can’t help but think about the lack of original work on Broadway and how this trickles down to Off-Broadway, then to Off-Off-Off and then hits all of us in some way.
I mean even a Bollywood Musical on Broadway originally produced by Andrew Llyod Webber needs to cast a “star” from American Idol in order to sell tickets.
And yet, alternative theater continue to flourish. Why so many young artist see each other’s work and support each other. Knowing the stroryteller and seeing how they have grown and supporting each other is the key to this comuunity that us readers live and work in.
Our House
Last night I went to see a spectacular and fantastic performance at
I think the burden of “knowing” lies with us storytellers and not with our audiences. In a remote tribal culture, the stories on a television are not those of the tribe. However, in contemporary America, the stories on the television are those of the culture. As artists, we must find ways to connect the stories we want to tell with those who are listening. We cannot isolate ourselves in our super-smart, oh-so-cultural, i-hate-television-ness. Come on, we all watch it. Yet, those of us who work in live performance know that the live experience offers something tv cannot. It’s up to us to connect the dots.
Sounds like they should have an audience at this thing…an audience of non-participaters. That would be great. No, seriously, hilarious stuff.
Sounds great. Sorry I missed it.
StarS?
“There’s something inherently powerful about knowing your storyteller, knowing an artist, being a part of the world of the story.
I cam across this site while surfing the web and thought I would let you know I really enjoy the content! Happy Holidays!
This list is a great resource. There are also the two programs at the Ontological Theater for emerging artists http://www.ontological.com/
… the Downstairs Series and the laboratory program, Outside/Input.
Calling All Politically-Outraged Artsy Types…
Want to rant and rave about Rumsfeld? Got a Powell polemic to perform? Maybe a theatre piece that bitchslaps the Bush Administration? If so, there’s a new arts festival in town, and it’s got your name all over it…
Unbelievable, simply intolerable. I can’t believe this, is it true?
Perhaps this info shouldn’t be public. Just Saying…not great to have potential legal problems by announcing seemingly “illegal” performances. Fitzy boy has been dead for 65 GDM years, his estate should have lost rights long ago. Nothing is worse than the “Mickey Mouse” law creating more egotists though simple extentions of copywrite. Thanks to Congress for over stepping their bounds and screwing artists yet again.
black playwright in memhis tenn looking to produce plays and work with others. ron killebrew. call or email at jayhawk6@bellsouth.net. 901-942-7242
Best wishes for a speedy recovery for the great Sarah Michelson, a fierce & generous artist. “The place that you rip open again and again that heals, is God.” – RM Rilke
I am looking for RT Pierce. Anyone with information on where he might be please e-mail me. thanks
Stew is a frickin’ genius! Fantastic writer, performer, human. See him, today.
-R.B.-
i wish Ms Michelson all the best in healing and recovery…so sad to miss your show…but just think of the material you will have now!
I’m not sure I understand the question, but speaking as an American blogger I’ve written about this here:
http://www.ghunka.com/cgi-bin/blosxom.cgi/Theater/Politics
Perhaps the American theater community just doesn’t feel that this is immediate enough (unlike our participation in the Iraq War) or important enough to engage. On the other hand, maybe its well-intentioned political sensibilities encourage them to refrain from response — a similar protest, though non-violent, certainly greeted Terrence McNally’s Corpus Christi here in New York and elsewhere around the country a few years ago, but in that case the protestors were fundamentalist Christians, not a minority ethnic community. In which case, one wonders just how deep the cherished belief in freedom of speech goes in the American dramatic community.
Leave it to a ballerina to propose that anal sex is taboo- let alone the “last taboo”. I guess one couldn’t help but be completely uptight, after having danced on the tips of your toes for years.
OH Mike, what does make a legend most? You, lady, you!
All I can do is practice it
[Helen] Vendler does not do e-mail. Somehow this is not surprising. Prolonged reading of her work conveys the sense of…
This review was originally written for offoffoff.com, but was not published. It is posted here in its entirety.
DANCEOFF!
PS122, October 19, 2004
by: Quinn Batson
Choreographers:
Terry Dean Bartlett and Katie Workum
Noemie Lafrance
Daniel Clifton and Aaron Draper/A+D Dance
Kimberly Burnette/Young Dance Collective
Leigh Garrett and Katie Workum
Hal Hartley/David Neumann
Julia Jonas and Jenny Seastone Stern
Clare Byrne
Danceoff! is a quirky little dance series hosted by Terry Dean Bartlett and KatieWorkum that doesn’t take itself too seriously but mixes things up well. This edition of the series was full of weirdness and humor but left room for sweetness and light as well.
A slightly precious site-specific piece by Noemie Lafrance kicked things off by using the support columns as onstage props, with light African music by Fela and vaguely simian performances by Emma Stein and Jeffrey Crumrine.
“Danceoff!: The Motion Picture” was Terry Dean Bartlett and Katie Workum goofing around in clueless-geezer-workout-clothes drag at running-track exercise stations with just enough dance movement and reference to be “dance.”
An excerpt from “This is a True Story” amped up the psychosexual electricity a bit with a twisted tale of cross-dressing, identity issues and love geometries, set somewhere in the Daisy Duke South. Daniel Clifton, Aaron Draper and Amy Larimer, aka A+D Dance, gave this piece just the right amount of conviction and lethargy to do justice to a piece with “additional text by George Orwell.”
Far on the other end of the spectrum was the angelic “Be There for Me” by the appropriately named Young Dance Collective, a group of protodancers with an average age of ten. Hannah Burnette, Sophia Orlow, Liana Ray, Isa Reisner, Cosmo Scharf and Kassandra Thatcher gave every fiber of themselves to performing this delicate piece set to Steve Reich music in white costumes, danced around parallel translucent white walls of fabric. It was a joy to watch these kids give staple dance movements fresh life, and their enthusiasm was contagious.
Returning to, um, Iraq, was the barely sane duet “The Toni and Marylin Story, part 2: Going International” by Leigh Garrett and Katie Workum, which followed this duo as they pursued grant money from the NEA, which in this scary future has actually been merged with the USO. They gamely go with the flow and against each other to create something full of conflict that the armed forces might actually appreciate. This dance audience certainly appreciated it.
David Neumann performed a solo by filmmaker Hal Hartley as only he could, giving a Willie Loman salesman character his sad and undivided attention in deceptively mundane movements that ultimately touch something deeper.
“I May See You on Tuesday” was a somewhat confused amalgam of narration and movement with an unexpectedly brilliant biblical interpretation of Job’s story thrown in midway, performed by Andrew Dinwiddie, Chris Wild, Tim Donovan, Jr., Kourtney Rutherford, Jennie Marytai Liu and Julia Jonas.
The finale, truly, was Clare Byrne’s excerpt from “Swing High, Fly By” danced by Byrne, Will Rawls and Sharon Estacio. This piece drove home what a misnomer “jazz dance” via Bob Fosse and Broadway musicals really is. For the first time, this dance set to jazz by Eric Reed fits the name “jazz dance.” Jazz is a music of fluidity and flux performed best by virtuoso musicians, and “Swing High, Fly By” matched this musical energy with virtuoso dancing in a fluid and beautiful piece.
Danceoff! events are scheduled for February and April 2005. See http://www.danceoff.net for more information.
There is an All New DANCEOFF! scheduled for February 18th & 19th @ Symphony Space’s “Laughter After Dark” Comedy Festival starring Leigh Garrett, Ryan Bronz, Jonah Bokaer, Parallel Exit, Ivy Baldwin Dance, Jenai Cutcher, Nathan Phillips, Katie Workum, and Terry Dean Bartlett w/ Members of STREB!
To Purchase Tickets goto: http://www.symphonyspace.org/genres/eventPage.php?eventId=1023&genreId=3
Check out Culturebot’s Preview of last year’s DANCEOFF! at Symphony Space here->
http://www.culturebot.org/archives/2004/01/12/Danceoff.php
For complete info on this, and future DANCEOFF! productions, goto http://www.danceoff.net
NYFA’s website has some of those features (www.nyfa.org). They’re certainly not covering it all though… I’d love to see C-bot get some funding. Let us know what we Bots can do to help.
Dear sirs
I am the author of performance whom I would like to introduce at your festival.
Please, inform me how I can submit the reference, with the request for participation?
We suggest you to look video fragments of our performance on a site:
http://www.drama-impro.com
Brief characteristics of performance:
1. Title: _______”IGVITTA”___________________
2. Author:_____ On a theme of the French farces_________________________
3. Director:____Fomin Guennadiy_________________________________
4. The musical head: Sandler Alexandra_______________
5. The musical contents: 5 vocal products, without support of tools which are executed by playing actors
6. Scenery: a podium of 6/3 meters, “a black cabinet”
7. Contact person for the show: _________Fomin Guennadiy
Telephone:+375 0172 34 02 00 E-mail: gena@bip.by
6. Language of the play: Russian_________________
7. Duration: 1Hour 20 minutes
8. Date of the opening:____8 December 2004___________________________
9. Number of performers and teachers: _14______________________________
10. Number of accompanying technicians:____0_________________________
Yours faithfully
Fomin Guennadi
It was alot of fun performing in the Dance Off. I enjoyed the whole experience and I liked meeting other dancers. Thank you for inviting the Young Dance Collective!!!!!
I was one of the 6 kids in The Young Dance Collective last Dance Off. It was alot of fun. I enjoyed the whole feeling and meeting other dancers. We all were overjoyed when we heard that we were performing in it… Thank you Terry Dean and Katie!
It’s nice to see you haven’t changed one iota since UVA – and have actually made a career out of it!
Iam all the way in South Africa,your I have not seen it yet but find it interesting comenting as a performer.
The Dirty Basement is back at the Bowery Poetry club this Friday Feb 18th 2005 at 9:00pm. Rock out with your cock out.
Hey Mike,
Saw your show las night and gotta say I LOVED it, esp. the Amanda/cell phone bit. Has SNL come knocking yet? Congratualtions and keep up the good work!
yeeeeeh!
Wow, I have been following these DANCEOFF! folks since they were Lisa LeAnn & Terry Dean put on a Danceshow at Galapagos in Williamsburg, and this was hands down the best installment yet of the series. and sold out, and much deservedly so. They just keep getting better and better, hitting the nail on the head each time.
Standouts in the night:
Jenai Cutcher and Michelle Dorrance tapping away Bring da Noise style to bring down the house, closing the show.
Jonah Bokaer’s NUDEDESCENDANCE referenceing “nude descending a staircase”? first, doing a striptease of sorts from seven layers of hats, sweaters, shirts, pants, more sweaters and pants, long, then short sleeve shirts, three more of them, then a untiard, then tights, then bike shorts, and finally eventually nude. lights go out, and back up on Bokaer face down on the stage a knee juts out, then a wrist and the neck bends left foot from pointed hooked, hand wraps around head, elbow bangs floor, pike up twist around, deep lunge away from audience resttle again face down and repeat similarly slowly working to a stand from DSR to DSL. light go out.
come back up on a still nude boaker now sitting on the stairs to the stage drinking from a liter bottle of water as Peaches and Herb come up on the Speakers. The song goes on as he slowly lowers down the stairs and continues to drink. the song ends the bottle is finally emptied.
flawless.
other highlights: Terry Dean Bartlett of STREB’s reinterpretation of Elizabeth STREB’s “POPAction” vocabulary into an office workers day to day hum drum in “CUBICLE”. the four dancers tip and hit the floor, rotate in headstands, BAng bang BanG, a cacophony of full body hits on the wood stage culminating in a “nestea plunge”-like back fall by the dancers (all STREB company members), taking the form to a new level, adding “theatricality” or a story of sorts, to the already brilliant minimalist postmodernism of STREB’s vocabulary.
The Carol Burnette like “dances” of Katie Workum and Leigh GArrett along with the entre-act skits of Nathan Phillips rounded out the evening with gut splitting off beat humor and wit.
A smart, strong, hillarious evening of dance-theater.
5 stars (out of five)
We have two more shows (3/4 and 3/11) before were off to perform at the Chicago Improv Fest (http://www.cif.com/fringe-30april-1030.html). Why don’t you come down and check us out for yourself. We would love for you to join us.
There were highly problematic aspects of this play.
For instance, the beginning is what Brecht would have called (300 plus years later) an example of the alienation effect in theatre – the playwright deliberately focuses the audience on the “reality of the unreality” of what they are about to see (Brecht thought it was important for playwrights to make the audience keenly aware that they were watching a play since this would continually snap them out of the passive audience role).
Yet, in this play, they present the initial chorus as a “real” act with an actor pretending to be homeless. Hearing a homeless person, however, say, to paraphrase: “You are now going to hear exceptional poetry from the pen of our author…” makes no sense…obviously this guy is a “chorus” not a homeless guy. Furthermore, it was gratuitous to drag the audience out into the cold to make us hear this bit of text. Did the director actually understand what Marlowe wrote on even a literal level? This play was just badly conceived.
Furthermore, all the deadly sins are WOMEN. On an allegorical level (in the MIDDLE AGES) this would work. It doesn’t work now. Not even in Queens. And they are all very flirty and seductive women…the person I was with pointed out, “This director turnbed all the deadly sins into lechery because he seems to have a view that women are naturally predisposed to be used as sexual creatures.” I saw no difference between the 7 sins either…they all were the sin of lechery saying they were other sins.
May I also point out the lack of diversity in this production? No actresses/actors of color and the one person of color who came with me will probably be the only person of color to venture into this misconceived production.
I’d also like to point out that some of the actors get some of the words wrong: i.e. “vaunted verse” not “daunted verse!” And why was Marlowe’s text so badly chopped up? I know they were trying to make the play more visual but even Grotowski failed at this. Without words Faustus is lost (even more so). Because he believes he can do more with words that words allow he gets into his jam. So what do these choco factory folks do but limit and chop up his words! A Faustus who is not always talking about stuff is not a Faustus.
Oh well, it was only $15.
Dude, I think they stole the homeless idea from craigslist. Someone was looking for a director or producer and posted something like: Here’s what I’m shooting for in my play. I want the audience to show up thinking it’s Shakespeare in the park but then I want them to be confronted with homeless and hungry people from the neighborhood.
So they stole that for a Marlowe play. Cool. Too bad it didn’t work out. And I’m sure they didn’t give their original source any credit. And I can only imagine how they portrayed the “homeless” person.
Thanks, by the way, for a thoughtful analysis of the play. I had my eye on it and might have gone next week but I’m spend the $15 on porno instead (joking). The review I just read was great if you take out the typos. Get thee to an editor and you have a future as a critic.
This show is amazing! I caught it in Feb. They’re on at PS 122 in May, everyone should check this out!
sorry – i was probably a bit too critical. there were some good aspects of the play. like faustus i get a bit too impassioned – experimentation is a good thing – any type of experimentation should be lauded. they all worked hard on the play and put some thought into it.
i just hated having to stand out in that cold and was miffed about the sins all being women and didn’t like the fact that the “homeless gentleman” at the beginning of the play was referred to as a “vagrant.” wtf?! there are lots of folks who are homeless through no fault of their own and if not for my own family stepping in at critical times i could have become homeless at times. arrrrrr; this is just like me, i get riled up, say something and even if there might be a kernal of truth in it i feel like garbage afterwards for saying it.
in any case, i’m always glad to see faustus in another incarnation. as long as that incarnation is not richard burton (worst faustus ever).
what really pisses me off is that faustus is such a sympathetic character: comes from the working class and makes it to the upper reaches of his society but is not satisfied with the education of the best schools in europe, is not satisfied with what passes for religion in his society, is not satisifed with anything…this guy is way ahead of his time and truly admirable. he is the elizabethan rebel without a cause.
in any case, i need to learn how to keep my goddamn mouth shut because i shouldn’t have said such mean things and i feel rotten about it now.
Hey Universes! This is Justin Beck, the weird lighting technician that worked briefly with you back in 1999 at ol’ PS 122. Remember me at all dude? These days I pretty much just like to keep my head in the sand and work with munitions. Cool eh? naw. I’ve been hanging out in Berlin and London with zero budget. Far out. Glad you’re workin’!
No, don’t keep that mouth shut, your points are certainly all vaild ones. Especially the desire to see more of the rise to the ranks from the “base class”, a CRUCIAL part, I wholeheartedly agree.
However, I wouldn’t step in to toss a hat in the ring (because that is BUSHLEAGUE, as my father would say, I was in the goddamn thing), but one of your comments was almost libelous, and that was the accusation of having “no person of color” in the cast.
What the hell? What the jam? Who…what..when you say “of color”, so you mean ‘black’ specifically? What the HELL? I’m probably the whitest person in the cast, only a measley quarter Sicilian…but what the hell? I wish I didn’t feel that I needed to say something about this, but amidst the 10 of us there are those from Japan, Cadiz, and Brazil? Or perhaps you were out there with a chart of varying skin tones, and none matched?
I’ve worked for the Chocolate Factory on and off for a few years now, and I’m glad to say that in all my years here, I’ve not worked for a more diverse company. I’ve not SEEN a more diverse company. I’m sorry, I’m steaming a bit here, you can probably tell.
I’m thankful for your comments about your frustrations with the piece, as that’s interesting and helpful. But come the hell ON.
My work of art is about sinestesie and mix color, sounds and smells, that performaance is realized by peoples that touch it, could have chance?
ok…point taken. you had some diversity. i have learned my lesson and am not going to get riled up and try to refute your argument. i am just tired of going to the theatre and only seeing white folks in the audience and no black folks on the stage. i saw the asian actress…she was very good as sloth – i guess lechery might have been the person from cadiz…i don’t know. the actors were all very good in my humble opinion (and who the hell am i anyway?) i should have just said, “where are the black folks?”
again, i applaud the experimentation in the production. i think they tried to do too much with the play…that’s my criticism. they over-thought some aspects and maybe under-thought others.
and why couldn’t i applaud for your actor folks at the end? when i was going to the bathroom afterwards i saw some of you in a secret room and you quickly closed the door on me before i could thank you for a great job.
so i’ll thank you for a great job now. thank you.
again, i have a big mouth, i learned my lesson.
Hi my name is Carolina Cosson de Oliveira.
I´m live in Brazil and I search your name because i need to know when live my parents.
Please … if you are one … contact me!
thanks
Carol
I love the idea of using the term “live art.” It cuts through everything. I think we’re all afraid of labeling our work because we want to be free to explore the broad base of media available to performance these days. However, we’re also afraid NOT to label our work because we want audience and press to have a sense of what to expect and therefore be interested in attending our performance. This connundrum is how we end up with the myriad of hyphenated genres floating about in contemporary performance. I’ll say it again: I love “Live Art”. Let’s all use it, so we can all stop worrying about packaging and focus on what’s inside the box. (Oh, and “Art Workers” is a great term as well.)
I plan on writing up a whole diatribe about this later…but one quick point about ‘Live Art’. Simply put, I’ll bet you money (dollars or pounds, whichever) that on some message board in Britain they are having a lively debate about just what in the hell the term ‘Live Art’ means. Ask any so-called Live Artist (Live Art-maker?) working in Britain what it means and there will be a lot of scratching of heads. It seems to be not unlike the senatorial definition of pornography in The States: They know it when they see it. Be that as it may — it has it’s uses. And for what it’s worth: I think, actually, that putting a microscope on the term ‘dance-theatre’ might be an incredibly useful thing. We shouldn’t attempt to limit ourselves by genre, but we also shouldn’t take nomenclature for granted.
I agree with Jake- if it’s not one name it’s another. Instead, let’s do the work that needs to get done to find out what “dance-theater” does and doesn’t mean. This conversation being a great example.
I think the tricky thing is finding a way to keep simplicity of meaning in the words. “Live Art” works for me at the moment because it means simply art that is live. Those two words strung together still have distinct meanings. At one time “Performance Art” did as well, but now those two words have merged to become a term that is now a genre. The same thing happened with “Experimental Theater.” It used to mean theater that was experimenting with form, etc. Now it is a genre referring to a type of theater that replicates the outcomes of a certain kinds of experimentation. I wonder if it’s possible find a way to define the term while retaining it’s simplicity, or if our terms will continue to lose their power and we’ll constantly search out new ones.
heya -
i didn’t know you were doing this down at ps 122 – that is great!
as far as baghdad burning, i’m the adapter and director and i don’t want to sound defensive, but maybe you should check out the show if this is interesting to you rather than dismissing it as weak because of one person at the times. we’ve had very different responses from other reviewers. i mean, it’s not death of a salesman, but we weren’t trying to do death of a salesman. if this is something you’ve been exploring, i would LOVE to get your feedback and chat. we close this weekend…
Criticism noted. I shouldn’t said that it sounds weak without having seen it. NY Theater.com has good things to say:
http://www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/baghdad1543.htm
and if there are other links to positive reviews, please post them here in additional comments.
has anybody else seen this show who can offer feedback?
This is a huge problem. I for one find the concept of disciplines completely useless. In my own semantics I transfer the possible good of the disciplines into the term “practices” — because I do see the incomparable good of spending a lot of time really exploring certain practices. . . but that practice can then feed into something which is much less categorizable. There’s no reason why a person can’t bring different practices together, though, and if it’s all generated from the same noggin, then it stands to reason that some _commonality_ stands at the base of their dancing, writing, sewing, what have you. It’s not a hybridization of foreign things, necessarily, but a multiply stranded instantiation of something.
But this desire to categorize invades all manner of thinking- in terms of professionalism, in terms of art disciplines, in terms of academia. What gets put on the inside and outside of a category, and why?
Having played around with terminology for the communicating of my own performances – dance theater, dance plays, hybrid performance, etc. – i have ended up feeling that a different kind of description works better (or at least is more fun). Like “deluded entertainments” or “performance curios” or when i’m feeling cynical but also appreciating my dog, “mongrel dances”. Better not to worry, especially about what the NY Times thinks, no bastion of either forward or free thinking, to say the least, about the discipline. I see a time (standing on the crest of a mountain staring off into New England vistas) when the university system will catch up with this in terms of theater at least. I hope that performance spaces are already well on their way to giving up disciplinary definitions. Professionalism and tenure stand in the way of all such loosenings. But there are ruptures everywhere.
I was recently asked what I did and I said, “world of things in duration.” I was laughed at. Oh well. “tiny actions in the now of recognizability”. . . “Live art” is a great term, as is the PICA festival “time based art.” But maybe we can look for guidance to the esteemed Kurt Schwitters, who just called his work Merz. For him it could encompass things, presences, languages, sounds.
So good to read so many great comments running off this thread. Hmmm…What do we call ourselves??? To begin, I do agree with all of the above. That terms like “Live Art” or “Performance” tend to classify our work in a more flexible and true form. But is this necessarily a more open term?
I do need to stick my small hand in the fire and speak about those people we like to call “average audience” or the “average person.” Except for family, I’m sure they’ve never seen my work. And yet, I do think the categories of dance and theater, music and film, visual art…help these people in talking about what they see. It gives them a point of reference, a way of getting into the experience, a door for them to walk through that is something that they potential understand. Seems less scary. And no matter how genre-defying our works may be, we all fundamentally work from our training, our experiences, much of the work we make is in response to work we see, and the work or yours that I see.
But perhaps by embracing these simple words of “dance” or “theater” we can help to expand their definition, as opposed to creating something new that distances ourselves from our audience. Do we really want to create new words and new genres? Or do we all want to make our work and have people understand it as “dance” or “theater?”
I just came back from the Gorilla Man show and It was best $15. my boyfriend ever spent on me.
Fantastic interview sherry…love it!
Hi, do you send out email announcements with open calls for enteries for performance artists or grants/residency info? if so, please add my name to your list. Thanks, murray
Dear Melissa,
My name is Amy and I am a student at Northwestern CT Community college in Winsted, CT. I also recently saw “Weight” by Melanie Hoopes on March 29, 2005, and was moved by the performance. I appreciate your interview and would like very much to write to Melanie myself. Since I have found no other means of contacting her, if you have an email address or other way of speaking to her I would appreciate your help. My email address is: jazzygirl1492@hotmail.com
Thank you, Amy
An all new DANCEOFF! is Approaching!
April 5th & 6th at 8pm and 10pm both nights
@ PS122- Corner of Ninth St. and 1st Ave.
tickets: http://www.ticketweb.com (search word “danceoff”)
*Starring
Annie-b Parson w. Tricia Brouk (New Work)
Carolina & Felipe Telona (World Professional Mambo Champs)
Weena Pauly (Brian Brooks Moving Co./STREB/Magbana)
Leigh Garrett (Workum-Garrett Dance Theater/Fischerspooner)
Katie Workum (Workum-Garrett Dance Theater/David Neumann)
Headlong Dance Theater (Philadelphia)
Terry Dean Bartlett (STREB/Cirque Du Soleil)
A New Dance Film from Amy Larimer and Paul Sullivan
And Special Musical Guests:
THE ISOTONERS!
http://www.danceoff.net
“Really Altogether Different…DANCEOFF! is changing the face of the Nation…well at least Modern Dance.”
– Jenai Cutcher, Ballet-Dance Magazine
WE WANT YOU!
1. Map your neighborhood and send it to us.
2. Photograph the fruit you find. Put yourself in the picture too!
3. Send us your kindred projects. (as links or for our gallery).
4. Send us a poem or your thoughts on your favorite fruit, or fruit related experience.
HTTP://WWW.FALLENFRUIT.ORG
FallenFruit.org is an artist’s project about mapping of all the ‘public fruit’ planted on private property that overhangs public space. This project encourages people to harvest, plant and share public fruit. The project is a response to accelerating urbanization, as well as issues of grassroots community activism and social responsibility. The mission of this web project is to expand our community fruit maps, photos and essays to create an online global public fruit resource.
Fallen Fruit was originally created for The Journal of Aesthetics and Protest, Volume #3, 2004.
this artists project is a collaboration of dave burns, matias viegener and austin young.
*********************************************************************
Hi everybody,
The voting for the 2005-2006 Rhizome Net Art Commissions is now underway. If you are eligible to vote, please go to http://rhizome.org/commissions/voting/ to vote for your favorite proposals.
The Rhizome.org 2005-2006 Net Art Commissions will award eight to ten new net art projects with commissions ranging from $1,500 to $3,500. We are interested in having a relatively open decision-making process that gives community members a substantial say in these awards while also retaining a traditional voting role for the Commissions jury.
To be eligible to vote in the Commissions process, you need to be a Rhizome member in good standing. In addition, to prevent people from signing up at the last minute solely for the purpose of influencing the result, only Rhizome members with accounts that were created before January 1, 2005 may vote.
wish us LUCK!
help us win!!
xo,
dave
An all new DANCEOFF! is Approaching!
April 5th & 6th at 8pm and 10pm both nights
@ PS122- Corner of Ninth St. and 1st Ave.
tickets: http://www.ticketweb.com (search word “danceoff”)
*Starring
Annie-b Parson w. Tricia Brouk (New Work)
Carolina & Felipe Telona (World Professional Mambo Champs)
Weena Pauly (Brian Brooks Moving Co./STREB/Magbana)
Leigh Garrett (Workum-Garrett Dance Theater/Fischerspooner)
Katie Workum (Workum-Garrett Dance Theater/David Neumann)
Headlong Dance Theater (Philadelphia)
Terry Dean Bartlett (STREB/Cirque Du Soleil)
A New Dance Film from Amy Larimer and Paul Sullivan
And Special Musical Guests:
THE ISOTONERS!
http://www.danceoff.net
“Really Altogether Different…DANCEOFF! is changing the face of the Nation…well at least Modern Dance.”
- Jenai Cutcher, Ballet-Dance Magazine
Juliana, my crush on you is now even stronger now that I have read this article! You would have been a great Tank Girl, alas. You would be an amazing Penny Century if the Bros Hernandez ever did a movie, tho I am sure you wd prefer Luba.
xxxxoooo!
Will Eno, whose drama “Thom Pain (Based on Nothing)” is now playing Off Broadway, has written a mock-epic opening monologue for Neumann’s “Tough the Tough,” a new dance-theatre piece about “the humanity, or someone named Stephen.” Dressed in coveralls, Neumann and his dancers pantomime their way through brief tussles, tweaked Marx Brothers routines, and a changing of the guard along the India-Pakistan border. Chris Yon, poker-faced and zany, is the John Belushi of downtown dance. – The New Yorker
You went to high school in Omaha? I graduated from Central High in ‘99. Your name sounds very familiar. Perhaps I met you once through David Rennard (also a Centralite)? Shoot me an e-mail sometime to confirm. Or, maybe I’m just full of shit ;p
I’m an apprentice Stage manager with Canadian Actors Equity, and have been trying to find information on the boycott.
Equity has made many comments and a web site http://www.bluemanboycott.com, where press release, statements of support, and an open guestbook are avaliable for comment.
So far Blue man group has put out no information as to why they won’t negotiate.
A lot of people are getting heated up over this. Non-union/non-association individuals (notice I didn’t say non-talented or non-professional) have been posting in support of BMG, and against Equity, sadly with alot of name calling, and stereotypes.
Since I am young into my career (only 8 years) I don’t know if alot of this (the basis for anger against the union) is true.
From the information I have found, I have only seen alot of irritated people making assumptions.
Because Blue man group is a large organization, Canada is a smaller market in which it’s unions do represent their specified performance art, I don’t see why BMG won’t negotiate. The only info I have from BMG is seecond hand.
I have loved their music, but I too am trying to make a living working in the arts, and by joining Equity, I can guarantee working conditions and standards. This isn’t to say that BMG does not offer these, but I have found no information from BMG about them. Others have said that BMG is generous and supass basic requirements.
Some accuse CAEA, IASTE and TMA of being unions/associations trying to flex muscles and are willing to destroy the very theatre industry to make a point. A union will not try to put it’s workers out of work, it will try to guarantee them appropriate work.
More information is needed for the public to come to a decision, but for myself, until BMG proves otherwise I support the boycott in order to support the standards in the industry I am contributing too.
Eamonn
hi i am currently studying in dance and i am chroegraphing a site specif piece! there are so many possiblities with site that have just recently made me realise how important it is to engage with the audience physically aswell as mentally. Site specifc work is a whole new working process for myself so i found this information really useful are you currntly doing any other work?
best jo
Long live the spirit of Ethyl, generous, modest, hard-working, loving, daring, classic. I’ll always love him.
April 22, 2005. Toronto -
I am the Executive Director of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association and have been personally involved with attempts to negotiate a contract for the engagement of artists to work on the Toronto production. We have been rebuffed at every turn, even when we went down to New York in January of this year. Although Blue Man says they pay over scale, we have yet to receive any confirmation of this. We have also requested, but have not received, information about working conditions, hours of work and time off, pension and health benefits, etc.
We want Blue Man to come and be a vibrant part of our community. We want their show to run forever. But what we can’t have is a new producer coming in to town who refuses to really join us. In Toronto all major producers work with the professional associations and unions. We’re not closed shop (at least Equity isn’t). The producer can hire any artist it chooses. But once chosen, Equity is the legitimate representative of those artists. We are there to enforce the contract so the artist and the producer can continue to have an artistically productive relationship. We are there to ensure that minimum health and safety standards are adhered to. And we are there to see that the artists who contribute so necessarily to the production are treated fairly.
The posting above this one raises an interesting question: why aren’t we hearing from Blue Man. They do their reputation no credit by being so cagey and tight-lipped. We are looking for a dialogue, but right now it’s us who are blue in the face.
If you want to learn more about this issue, please visit the protest website at http://www.bluemanboycott.com and look at the variety of opinions posted. None of the comments are edited. We believe in free and open discussion because these are important issues.
Thank you for giving me this opportunity.
Susan Wallace
Executive Director
Canadian Actors’ Equity
CIRQUE DU SOIREE!
When Terry Dean Bartlett isn’t flying through the air and crash landing for Elizabeth Streb/Ringside, and Katie Workum isn’t playing ice hockey, the two organize their lively performance revue, Danceoff! Postmodern dance rubs elbows with film, comedy, and ballroom in a new installment at P.S.122 (April 5-6).
Tricia Brouk struts and claps in Annie-B Parsons’s work-in-progress Short Ride Out; Weena Pauly twirls on her knees in “Ta”; Leigh Garrett dances Cha Cha Championship alone, because her alleged partner’s too shy to come onstage; and actual ballroom champions, tanned and toned Carolina Orlovsky and Felipe Telona, do a scorching mambo.
In a film made with Paul Sullivan, Miss Penelope’s School of Stillness, Amy Larimer stars as a demented dance teacher, who pelts students Clare Byrne and Holly Handman with pickles whenever they move. Mousy Amy Smith and portly Jeb Kreager of Philadelphia’s Headlong Dance Theater cavort as a suburban couple, re-living their hippie past to songs by Joni Mitchell and Neil Young.
In Dance for a Girl, Bartlett in a tux woos and wins ersatz cellist Workum with a series of exhausting back flips that crash onto a floor-mat. And downtown rockers The Isotoners – including two cute, befuddled go-go boys in skivvies – play musical interludes, including, appropriately, “Flashdance.”
Gus Solomons jr
(Originally written for the NYMetro Newspaper, but never published)
hi. i am wrapping up my stint as a foreman dwarf today, as a matter of fact. and i am sad, very sad, that it has to end. the composer of these journals obviously thinks a little too much of herself and had no idea going in how richard works. where she should have felt lucky and honored to work with a genius, she bitched and moaned and didn’t take in the very interesting process that richard goes through to create wonderful, intricate pieces of art. he does fine tune. he does come off as rude or harsh sometimes. but what ex-dwarf needs to remember is that it is completely not personal. it is about the show and his own issues with himself. it is a little egotistical for her to have taken things so personally… mostly, i feel bad that such a great opportunity was wasted on this girl.
please keep me posted about this program!
and who is being considered as faculty?
thank you,
Alicia
Well,
as a complete outsider, from far, far away, I still couldn’t help but notice that the “variety of opinions” on http://www.bluemanboycott.com is namely letters of support. There is simply no other category – or space for comment. I am convinced you meant it when you wrote about the “free and open discussion”, I just don’t know where to look for it.
Also, the following quote sounds a little… scary:
“We want Blue Man to come and be a vibrant part of our community. We want their show to run forever. But what we can’t have is a new producer coming in to town who refuses to really join us.”
I think the expression “to really join us” would require an explanation, otherwise it is difficult to tell what you have to offer in exchange – and thus, what is the difference between a respectable Actors’ Equity and a mob-style monopolizing group.
Sincerely,
Vvoi
new-art.blogspot.com
read a review of this show at:
http://www.offoffoff.com/dance/2005/highways.php
That’s right, PS 122 show from May 19 thru 29 is goin to rock. I hear they’ll even have two smoke machines.
Hey i bet you didnt know that there are Urbaniaks here in Chicago…. i almost choked on my pop-corn after watching venture bros, and seeing Urbaniak in the credits it was cool
I worked a few times for 58 here in Toronto and all I can say is that these guys are the laziest workers I’ve ever worked with all they care about is their lunch breaks and when they are going in overtime I’ve been in that business for almost 10 years and these guys (union) are destroying the industry, now I know why it is so expensive to go see a concert or a movie when you have to pay a guy $25.00 an hour to sweep a floor on a set!!!
keep it non-union
Hi Susan Wallace. A friend of mine from an immensly successful, multi-platinum Canadian Rock Act has landed a gig with the Blue Man Group in Toronto.
In conversations I have had with him, he has shared nothing but positive things regarding salary, working conditions, and benefits. He couldn’t be happier about how it has all worked out.
For the first time in his career, he is receiving a regular salary and full health/dental benefits. This type of support is quite rare on the Canadian rock scene, and I am quite happy for him.
Soooooooooooo, don’t be so upset that they haven’t joined your little group. I don’t know why you are all so angry about this. Bruce.
hi taylor,
you were great at atomatic vaudville and everything else i’ve seen you. can you please send me your email address as i would like to ask a question without it being posted..whatever that means.. tom
Just wanted to let you know about a similar place in LA if you don’t already know it: the Electric Lodge in Venice, CA. It is a solar-powered artspace with a theater, dance studio, and walls for art exhibits as well.
sounds to me like a new-found Genet…
new-art.blogspot.com
i’m also interested in knowing who will be on faculty.
thanks!
I love Radiohole…..
As a member of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association, the only thing between myself and a large, rich, powerful entity like the Blue Man Group is the little book called the Canadian Theatre Agreement (CTA). Good pay, good conditions, benefits can all be offered, but what happens when there is a disagreement between the performer/musician and the producer? I would like to think that I would not have to stand up for myself, by myself in such an instance, but would have the full force of the Association behind me supporting me. I’m no David against Goliath without Equity. The CTA holds the minimum standards and conditions. If the BMG is ready to better these standards, there should be no reason to not sign on. When you come to Canada, you play by Canadian regulations. I don’t think this is so unreasonable.
Happy performers? We have no inforamion on every little instance in the other venues. Who knows if there were instances of disagreement where the performer backed down? We don’t know. We do know that in the U.S. some productions were mounted under IATSE agreements and that BMG had been a signature under one of the Variety performers’ agreements. This is reasonable, since the memberships are divided into different jurisdictions than in Canada, where CAEA has members in Ballet, Opera, Theatre, Cabaret etc.
We are not a little group, we are an association of professional performers who believe in the collective agreement that we sent our elected to negotiate with the professional theatres in Canada.
I’m assuming those who frown on our union are of the Tory colours, cause you sure ain’t NDP or Liberal. Unions serve to protect those who cannot protect themselves, and an actor on a self employed limited income certainly is no match for the massive BMG.
Besides, I signed on as an actor who would abide by my association’s rules and governance and I think those who would bail because of one well paying job should be ashamed for being such fair weather friends. Agree or disagree, you are either in for better or for worse. You can’t opt in and out anytime you want to. At least if you belong to Equity.
In response to “why it is so expensive to go see a concert or a movie when you have to pay a guy $25.00 an hour to sweep a floor on a set”, your ticket will still cost the same because the BMG is not quibbling about salaries, just about being signature to our Agreement.
Bottom line, though, is that I personally totally agree with Equity’s stance and hope no one is going to take cheap shots at we who are standing by our integrity and our brotherhood.
If you knock down the laws and leave the sanctuary, don’t expect protection to be there, later, when you need it.
Brenda
Equity Member, former Executive Councillor
What I don’t undertand is why this has become such a large controversy? First of all this is not the unions show. BMG is a large american group and I am quite sure that they know what they are doing and what they are getting themselves into. If they cannot handle it then they would have made arrangements prior. My opinion is that the money hungry union is trying to control the entire arts “scene”. This is their performance, why must their be a boycott against it? Perhaps we can find something better to bitch and complain about? More important things even. If someone is too arrogant to see a performance because their belief of the BMG’s independance then that should be that. If you were in their shoes, and the money anf benefits were better, you cannot say that you would decline because you wanted to be part of a “union”.
Quit bitching and start acting!
Dear Anonymous;
How can you talk about the money-hungry unions? How much money is in it for the unions? Maybe jobs for three performers(which by the way are going to be American when the show opens in Toronto), a few musicians, some stage crew and technicians. How much money is in it for the Steelworkers who are supporting the boycott at their website? or the Ontario Federation of Labour? I am a member of Canadian Equity, and we’re talking about having access to these jobs for our fellow members. We are not a “little group” Bruce. Right now we are about one and a half million strong–Ontario workers who see this as a worthy cause, and are just trying to make a living in the profession we have trained for. I have just been talking to people from the Screen Actors’ Guild, the Australian performers union, American Equity–and they all support us 100%. We’re not complaining about Blue Man and their show. It’s great if they are paying well. But why are they so afraid to talk to us? Why don’t they want to sit down at the table and work out an agreement with us? We’re actors, we’re not lazy, and we have loud voices. We’re not going away!
radiohole loves raul…
I am professional from India. I want to do this course. Kindly tell me about my possibilities.
Hello Joe and Maggie-
Every second counts. Don’t stop the body rock. Never Bored. Miss ya’s
Chicago Vinx
you know what is really unfortunate? That I have now been completely intimidated into not going to see Bluman next week eventhough I have tickets organized…. And if nobody goes to this show then the people who lose are Canadians:performers, musicians, technicians and audiences. Bluman will leave without a breath and find another city to work in and support their economy.
Brenda
susan wallace and canadian equity are a pain in the ass for those of us who are trying to produce our own independant work. she makes it very difficult for us to get anything done without jumping through stupid hoops. i’ve had to do idiotic things like post a bond in case i (as producer) can’t afford to pay myself (as actor). how idiotic is that? equity is only useful with dealing with big companies. but, of course, bmg is a big company – but a big company who wants to work with nonunion actors. and that should be their right. it may not be a money grab but it’s a power grab. i couldn’t give a shit about bmg and wouldn’t have considered going to see them until now. luckily the general public couldn’t give a shit what susan and her dusty bunch of cohorts think and will be happy to support a good show. if it’s a good show.
A few comments. I’m new to this page, and I want to remark on a few things I’ve read that are, in my opinion, from everything I’ve read, false.
You think BMG should give answers, maybe you should to.
Why were your members allowed to work in a space that would be deemed so dangerous (hence the rebuilding of the theatre) that over $16 Million would be spent in and around Toronto to rebuild it?
500,000 members support the boycott? I’d like to know if you did a poll? And what the actual number of people polled were.
There are many number of small theatres in Toronto with dangerous working environments…why not unionize them?
I’ve heard that a lot of set came from Union workshops. Is this true?
I’ve seen a lot of shows close, but very few open. Is this hurting the union. I’m curious.
From the videos I’ve seen, this show looks like nothing else. Nothing comes close to it. I can’t believe anyone could think this was a “Ballet, Opera, Theatre, Cabaret” show.
If the show has a good run, won’t it bring more people to Toronto, making it more viable for more shows to open? More tax money into the city? Keeping down our taxes, improving our roads and transit (gas tax $$ remember).
I happen to agree with the mob mentality. I seems as though I remember a Canada where people used to choose to be unionized. A group from out of town comes in and they’re told they have to conform with the unions or face sanctions (the boycott). Telling your members that you can’t work for the “non-professional and non-talented cast and crew” or you’ll face sanctions. Isn’t this stretching the boundaries of good faith. Thank you for using the term “Non-union/non-association individuals”.
I heard they rehearsed at the Elgin Theatre. When did it go non-union?
I was curious to see what all the fuss was about, so I went by on my way to work the other day. The lobby looks awesome, and it not even done yet! It had to at least have cost the $250,000 they said it did. There’s at least 20 or 30 wide screen TVs on the walls and ceiling.
“Ensuring that the minimum health and safety standards are adheared to”…that’s a good line. To bad that anyone has right to refuse work if they do not think it’s safe, not just Union employees.
I’ve been to many concerts at the Air Canada Centre. They were all great! It’s staffed by IATSE 58 right? Why isn’t it listed on the sign down the road from the theatre urging people not to go? Through a little searching I found out that I’ve seen shows in places like Rogers Centre…that have contracts with the people staffing BMG! And those shows were every bit as good!
I’m a liberal, and I think you can see who’s side I’m on. And I kinda resent being called a tory. Especially considering the fact that the conservatives in this country are trying to topple a duly elected government.
Boycott the boycott.
Picket the Picketers
I wish I could have seen Calvin Klein, and mostly, them trying not to laugh.
Equity needs a massive shaking up. They act like theatre is a widget factory, demanding very rigid conditions making it next to impossible to create anything but the same old shit. they assume that theatre companies are wealthy bosses bent on exploiting their hapless defenseless workers. it’s idiotic – most artisitic directors (for better or worse) are/have been actors/writers/directors and are more interested in running a smooth and inspiring rehearsal than they are in squeezing the blood out of their employees. theatres in canada are fucking broke and they need to be cut some flexibility so they can reinvent how they do stuff, make some interesting work and start to win back the public’s interest. equity doesn’t have a clue how to create work and they should be bumped out of the loop. they don’t get it – this is not big business, it’s not a factory floor, plays are not machines. equity is not protecting anything but mediocrity. and like “indie theatre artist” above pointed out, they don’t have a single clue how smaller companies work, making it next to impossible to take a show to a foreign festival. if a bunch of equity actors want to work for less and take a cut in their per diem AS AN INVESTMENT IN THE SHOW’S (AND, IN TURN, THEIR) FUTURE THEN THEY SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO DO SO. when fucking susan wallace bankrupts a theatre company because they’re trying to hook up international contacts she’s doing nobody any favours. CLUELESS!!!
yeah…fuck stupid Susan Wallace…shes an idjit who wants some attention. Maybe she should join the liberal party.
Ann Liv Young is awesome. Here is my post on the first time I saw her:
http://bloggy.com/mt/archives/000929.html
Anyone going to “warmly welcome” the “invitation only” guests June 19th? Do the unions think everyone is stupid, except them? I”d like to see what happens when this goes ahead? Wouldn’t it be great to see the union leaders hauled away in handcuffs? After all, what they seem to be planning is of course illegal, and they’ve been made aware of that fact! Why are they making Toronto look bad? By “losing” one show (which they never had to begin with), and all they’re tactics will make people not want to come to Toronto. We’ll all lose because they think they’re right…and they’re not. STOP RUINING ARTS IN THE CITY. Get along with them, they’ll get along with you…and TOGETHER you can re-vitalize the city after losing so much with 9/11 and SARS and everything else that has impacted the economy. With everyone working together, you can turn Toronto into a mecca of cultural, artistic, and financial endevours. The unions may not realize this because of narrow-mindedness, but having Blue Man here will ultimatley bring the unions more money and jobs. Stop complaining, work on bettering your unions, and stop pissing the community off!
i’m a horrible speller.
but i figure it gives the post card a little kick.
thanks,
ann liv
um, where?
This event is at GALAPAGOS and the doors open at 6:30.
Hope you can make it “Steven”
The exibit is amazing – a good hour of serious awe-inspiring clever lil’ pieces to admire…
And while you are there, check out a show!
All you need to know is at SKARBAKKA.COM.
Member,
ARTIST UNDER ATTACK COALITION
I’m glad to have read Kerry Skarbakka’s statement, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Daily News flat out lied to create an anti-artist story. But I don’t think “all we need to know” lies squarely in Mr. Skarbakka’s statement either. I believe “All we need to know” is scattered across quite a large field, and is not mired in pro-artist/anti-artist camps. I did not see FALLING DOWN, but reading about it led me to looking at Frida Kahlo’s stunning “SUICIDE OF DOROTHY HALE” and Yves Klein’s beautiful “LEAP INTO THE VOID.” I hadn’t looked at either of these works since a childhood friend died in the WTC, and I’m grateful that Steinberg’s scree led me back there.
Why did you hate Pullman so much?
Hey, Martin Bragg, Artistic Director of CanStage has come out IN SUPPORT of Blue Man Group! A little late…but good nonetheless.
Greg Zuccolo has always been such a refreshing performer…I wish I could have seen Calvin Klein too. Did anyone see him in the new Sara Michelson piece at PS 122? What did you think?
Since I live on the West coast now, can anyone who’s seen Daylight let me know their thought on the performamce. Thanks…& missing NYC
I am in the process of starting my own theatre company so the interview was very informative for me. My concern that was not addressed in interview was whether or not Clubbed Thumb is NFP. I am currently organizing a not-for-profit theatre because I will target the christian world first, as well as the secular. Much of what will come through my theatre will be spiritual. This will qualify the company to fall under a religious charity. Even though I plan to run it like any other normal theatre company.
What really stirred my attention in the interview was to learn about them operating as producers and paying themselves when they cast in the productions. I would like to dedicate my life to this ministry as I love the world of theatre and it is my desire to ultimately leave my day job to run the theatre, but it is discouraging to think that my work can never be worthy of my hire from the labor that will go into the theatre. If anyone can comment on this I would be interested to hear what you have to say.
Please keep in mind as you comment that the theatre I am forming “SRD & Wright Performing Art Ministries, Inc.” will offer – Plays, Skits, Poetry readings, gospel puppet shows, mime, music, and praise dance ministries. I would like to offer a space to produce like functions.
Sherry
“It’s not about me. I’m an everyguy,” said Skarbakka, 34, taking a break from his falling to talk to a reporter and others who had gathered to watch his performance. “I’m interested in bringing new light to contemporary art. This is my attempt at reaching a new public.”
Skarbakka, who grew up in Tennessee and later moved to Chicago, was inspired by the images of Sept. 11, 2001. He remembers seeing people jump from the World Trade Center and thinking about their emotions. He went about finding ways to get a small glimpse of what they might have felt…
(from the chicago tribune article on his website)
if his art was indeed inspired by the ‘falling’ of countless people who died during the 9/11 attacks…shouldn’t he feel or expect some sort of accountability?
i am not impressed by his statement..i believe that what we put out in the universe will have repercussions…in a way his reaching for ‘new’ art may inspire others – and cause others to re-live experiences they are trying to put to rest….and we as artists should be cognizant of that…. or suffer from the ‘priviliges’ that can come with being oblivious…
“If you label me, you negate me” – Kierkegaard
I just read Skarbakka’s text which was handed out during the event. Wish I’d read it before my previous post. An excerpt (capitalizations mine):
“Here’s this guy IN CRISIS falling off the roof. People are either going about their business, buying fruit and having lunch, eyes wide shut, or they’re gaping up at him. And if they are looking is it with compassion. Or sensationalism [sic] – just another amusing spectacle? Whatever – here’s a CRISIS and life goes on.”
UGH. I am still glad this led me to looking up Yves Klein (who falls much more beautifully, pre-photoshop) but I find Skarbakka’s snotty characterization of his audience distasteful – particularly in light of the 9/11 allusions, after which much life did not “go on.” Lord, who thinks an artist-on-a-rope posing for photographs counts as a “CRISIS” anyways?
Martin Bragg has written a letter of apology to the Blue Man Group Boycott Coalition for his comments which were printed in the Globe and Mail on June 20th.
In that letter, he states: “The quote which appeared in the Globe and Mail was taken completely out of context.”
I think he is an ignorant artist, though I find this work visually interesting. Indeed, the last note kind of takes away any true value it could have had. I wish he hadn’t said anything about 9/11.
I’ve written more about it at http://new-art.blogspot.com
I didn’t see the follow up letter. Since he’s the AD at a Union house, do you think he was pressured into rebutting his statement?
I hate you! You ruined my life! Byotch!
and there’s a solar-powered restaurant and flea market in broolyn at fulton street and south portland:
http://www.habanaoutpost.com/
hey im cool and easy going
I’m one of the founders of Arts Hub, one of my staff caught sight of your blog entry. Can I just make two points:
1) We receive absolutely no external funding for Arts Hub, and never have. Other than my partner and I selling our house to raise some cash. In fact, we made a pact not to seek government or other funding.
2) We now produce Arts Hub Global http://www.artshub.com, which does contain a great deal of content for North America. You might like to check it out!
Kind regards…David
Utterly disappointed by the work and completely disillusioned by the NY dance critics who endorsed the artist. I was nothing if not excited to see her bold reconception of the venue (PS 122), a dark and awkwardly deep space transformed into a bright and intimate stage. The band was positioned behind the audience bleachers creating another dimension to the space. Her P.S. ‘extreme makeover’ extended beyond the 4 walls of the theater down the usually dank hallways of the former school that she whitewashed to enhance the feeling of daylight. She removed all of the ‘clutter’ (adverts for fellow dancers) that usually adorns the same hallway. However it became immediately evident that Ms Michelson spent a great deal of time redesigning and constructing the venue rather than constructing a solid piece of choreography.
The stage was too small for the movement that she choreographed. Her dancers competed with walls, a front row of can lights and a poorly regulated ‘haze effect’. The stage was so shallow and the bleachers so clunky that all but the first row watched 4 floating torsos – and the top 4 rows of bleachers were forced to stand through the whole performance to even see that much. The movement was boring and incoherent. If you could look past the fact that the dancers were ‘pulling’ the choreography to avoid wacking the set or an audience member in the face you could still see that there was little to no substance or chemistry. I had read one NYTimes preview that went on at some length praising her acute attention to detail, explaining how she would choreograph the movement right down to the fingers of her dancers. The 4 dancers were lucky to coincide even the most basic moves or gestures originating from the hips or shoulders let alone down to their fingertips. The already sloppy and choppy movement was further broken by dreadfully long pauses that killed any momentum created by the repetitious choreography. She squandered every opportunity to take the choreography to the next level by either building on the base gestures and forms or repeating with any sort of precision the same movements that she so stubbornly held to.
The next great disappointment came from the musical ‘accompaniment’. With little variation in movement, her choice of drastically disparate musical genres seemed poorly suited for the performance – more like a tragic jukebox on random playback. Much like the choreography and the paintings hung on the wall the music was muddled and sloppy as it blared over tinny speakers. The live music was fine.
By far the most pretentious and self indulgent add ons were the two moments of spoken word ‘poetry?’ and what I believe was a sorry attempt at self referential humor near the very end of the piece.
In short, the transformation of a cherished performance space is not enough to engage an audience for 90 minutes. I would have been pleased to see stronger work performed in 122’s normal digs. This was barely a good first draft.
Lastly, i was distressed to read the reviews that seemed to be praising the artist (more the persona) rather than reviewing the work. I understand that Ms Michelson has recently suffered many trials and tribulations and as artists we all struggle to eke out a living doing what we love. However no one benefits from writing disingenuous puff pieces praising work with very little merit. Having no previous experience with Ms Michelson’s work I would like to believe the reviews praising her other endeavors, however I will definitely think twice about buying tickets to another performance.
I would say there seems to be a paradox between the way Jefferson presents the avant-garde as a world of experimentation, and her admitting that the avant-garde is “not a designated tribe of rebel outsiders anymore. It is a set of tools and practices”. I believe this paradox is part of the way the avant-garde is being seen and felt, but I would have like to seen some sort of critical appraoch to that. I’ve written a little more on that a couple of days ago, here.
I am Steve’s mother, married to Dave Cosson, originally from Iowa, USA. The Cosson family in the USA traces the family to possibly France, but they don’t really know the entire story because of many unknowns prior to about 1840. As far as we know, we have no connection to Many Cossons are located in Florida, USA, and in England, France, New Zealand and Australia. I hope you find the information you want.
Shirley Cosson
i hate pullman wa. because it is this weird transient city, that is devoid culture and is a atereotypical college town. with pucca shell necklaces, tanning salon, busch light… and a bunch of people who wish they lived in southern california
and there is no reocrd store, or art gallery, or place to see good shows.
it sucks ass! i hate it
Can you post an e-mail address to which I can apply for your call for writers? My default e-mail program won’t allow me to click on the “e-mail me” link. Sorry to trouble you! Thanks!
SubwayInfo.com has been providing free customized subway directions for New York City commuters since January 2002. We would love to get your feedback on the site. Please review our site and let us know what you think. The Web site is http://www.SubwayInfo.com.
I’m late on this comment, but let me point out – SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION – that Jefferson’s “introduction” to the avant-garde comes 5 months after Time Out New York did a similar spread for theater, new music, modern dance and art galleries. And we did it better!
FYI, here’ s a link
http://www.timeoutny.com/features/490/490.ft.toc.html
David has a point on this, but don’t we all know that the NY Times is about 1-2 years late on all trends. Once anything hits the big boy, it’s old news.
BUKOWSKI IS BACK!!!
Steve Payne is back at the SoHo PLayhouse Monday nights at 8pm. through August….Payne recreates a spell binding portrayal of the notorious writer for a visceral evening of poetry and prose.
Tickets are $25.00 212 691 1555 or SOHOPLAYHOUSE.COM
Thanks for spreading the word! We also have a related website, NYC Music Places, http://www.nycmusicplaces.org, that lists spaces for musicians in all genres.
we got the rights. check our website for more info…
http://www.elevator.org
How was the piece at Merce Cunningham? I read about it in the Times but I missed the performance? Did you get a chance to see it? Was it any good?
Love your MOM!
Thank you again for the beautiful piece. I appreciate it. As I said in the Q&A, the piece is never really done until someone talks about it. That’s when the performer/creator can really begin to think about what he did or made.
Criticism as poetry.
Writing for consideration not consumption.
Good luck this weekend.
RK
I saw Uncle Jimmy at Joes Pub in ‘03 and have never been quite the same…It’s hard to recall, but he touched me in a place so deep, so private, well, what can one say ? It was jinglebox at its utmost.
Still Pining for U.J. in L.A.,
C.Cole
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Hey Taylor,
I just saw you at Way the Fuck Off Broadway yesterday and thought you were incredible. Do you have a recorded version of the song you did for WFOB?
Thanks,
Ian
Well really, my ultra-modular new CD is Called “That’s So Gay!”
How fun it would be if you played something from it like “Alpha Male” at your next That’s So Gay event.
Yours in Music,
Gnarlene d’ott-Kom
¡que te mejores pronto!
Hy
I m studying Scenografy in Norway and will be finished with my bachelor next summer. Your M.F.A course fits perfectly in my further interests. How are the conditions for european students containing application and studycosts?
thanks, your sincerely, christina peios
what a great idea!
Some discussion has already started on my blog and I’ve linked to some responses. Quick overview: 1) It seems that people are more likely to fault the presenters than the dancemakers. 2) There is a question to be asked if the point of dancemaking is to be innovative/experimental.
The other point I would make is that Gia does not seem to pinpoint a city that is the center of innovation but “Europe.” I’d say that’s an apples/oranges comparison. Perhaps the better question is whether dance has become more global? We’re living in very interconnected times and many other industries no longer have centers. Just a thought.
One of the key areas that GK does not touch on in her article is that of resources and that the scarcity of them is what may be driving both artists and presenters in NYC to be more conservative in what they do or make.
What severally frustrates me by this article is the lack of specifics. GK’s writing is full of board general statements that are written without any third party sourcing, quotes or back up. Why is it that dance writers can get off so easy when they are writing about the field? Why do we except this from them. And why do we continue to give critics so much power.
I also seem to remember reading GK reviews in the NY Times and previews in TONY throughout the summer. When in the world did she travel to Europe and witness all of this great European art making. Was she at the Spring Dance Festival? Did she see Ann Liv Young and the Biennale? I don’t think so. Perhaps GK overheard this one night when she was hanging out with a prominent downtown choreographer that she likes to champion and has now assumed this stance as her own.
I also need to point out that Jerome Bel was to have his premiere at PS 122 in September 2001, but the performances were cancelled due to 9/11.
i have no background in professional theatre/dance, but it’s clear from my residency in asia and latin america that the gloss has been stripped from the US, whether it be theatre or business.
i will always love most everything about nyc, but having seen so much innovative performance around the world over the last couple years, i worry that it is in worldwide decline.
-c
Coryb – when you speak about gloss, what are you referring to? When I hear the word, I think slick presentations, rather then daring experimentations. If you feel that NYC performances don’t have that shine anymore, then I must throw out that word again, RESOURCES.
When artists have few resources at hand then their energies can only be devoted to ideas. Usually these ideas will be based on the body and what it can do inside an empty space. This kind of minimalism may lack the luster that so many people desire, but can’t we all recognize the substance and deeper resonance underneath?
praxis is my favorite word in the universe. i can’t believe i didn’t start a band with the name first…
This is a beautifully written essay. Could Culturebot be a rigorous, professional journalist if he wanted to be? Why or why not?
I thought it was great. Sobieski’s lyrical dialog, as well as the costumes and set, are a perfect complement to an almost allegoric story.
Thanks to Culturebot for giving us such a great review at Agora. I’m glad Culturebot & companions enjoyed it, I think it’s really great.
do you understand Sarah McLachlan’s metaphor?
have you ever experienced the melting and spreading feeling of… ?
you’re using the word “collaborate” here. are you hiring musicians to compose and perform original music or are you hiring a band to perform music that has been already been composed?
was this entry written by Andy Horwitz, Associate Producer of Performance Space 122?
is Culturebot the webzine of Performance Space 122?
I agree with Jeff comments, only mine are even harsher. I saw her performance in Minneapolis on 9/17/05 and was not impressed and neither were the other people we spoke with. The scowls on the faces told most of the story. I won’t go into detail, but user her as a opening for the new theater was bad business. I will defintely think four times before I buy another ticket to a performance at the Walker Art Center because it appearts their judgement is off.
This article is not very clear. I wanted to know if P.S. 122 is hiring musicians to compose and perform original music for Itching of the Wings or if P.S. 122 is hiring musicans to perform music that has already been composed.
Before I send musicians to you, would you clarify if you are hiring composer/peformers or if you are hiring performers? Also, what is the pay for this job?
I was recomended to read the books by my cousin and I love them. I want to become an actress and would love to be in the Cirque de Freak movie. I’m 13 and was wondering if I could be sent info on the LA auditions. I also sing. I don’t have too much experiance, just a couple classes at school.
Lack of Resources?
that seems like an excuse for not probing & crafting work. Or perhaps, suggesting a priviledged postion? NYC i hope, has not been reduced to lackluster & mediocre performances due to not enough resources… NY has a plethora of resources, which if we probe & dig deep, will provide us with inspiring motifs for incredible work…the real deal/ existential thought is can we handle NOT being the leader/center of artistic innovation, now that the global community has caught up with us?
Hi Lectrice (I’m sorry but I don’t know your real name)
I tried to email you directly but it bounced so I’m posting here. unfortunately we get a lot of comment spam so I often miss comments, which is why I asked for people to email me directly in the post, but anyway:
Yes, Culturebot is PS122’s webzine. I started it in January 2004 but we try and do more than just PS122 stuff. I want to serve as a hub for the downtown community which is why I always solicit submissions from new writers and am always looking for people to help out.
In terms of ITCHING – I am looking for musicians or an existing rock band to play their own material for a short period of time during this performance/installation.
I don’t know how much $$ I will have to pay at this point. It really depends on how much it costs to put the show on, but it will be a very, very, very small amount.
Mostly it is a chance to get to perform in a non-bar environment for a different audience and meet some artists from another country. Also, PS122 has an ongoing music/performance series called SCHOOLHOUSE ROXX and we are, of course, hoping to build relationships with artists who are exploring the intersection between music and performance.
To follow up please email me directly at andyATps122DOTorg.
Thanks!
Hi Taylor,
Are you back in NY yet? I met you after you performed If you see Something at the Howl! fest and gave you some postcards. I would still love to draw you, you,re the most drawagenic being i’ve met for a while and your performance was inspiring. (my hand is better now)
Please add me to your e-list and contact me when back in NY.
x x Arlene TQ
Has Culturebot heard anything about Agora’s canceled show last Friday due to rain? What are ticket holders supposed to do? No mention on the Agora web page. Sadly, I think that they might have dropped the ball with this one. Such a shame for a well done show to fall apart on the logistics side.
I’m interested in your offer. Here is a link for my demotracks: http://www.alexdemos.net. Waiting to hear from you.
The Olson House in Cushing Maine is well worth the trip. Even though the house has been repainted on the outside, and cleaned up on the inside, it is very much the same as it was while she lived there from 1893 untill she died in 1967. The house was filthy when Wyeth painted it: part of the allure to him. Christina, who could no longer “crawl across fields, up and down staircases”, could not clean above where she could reach from the kitchen chair she scooted across the kitchen floor. The result–black soot all over the house from the woodstove, cobwebs and cat piss. Also, she couldn’t get up to go to the bathroom, so she urinated on the floor. Some of the people Wyeth took to visit her couldn’t stomach it, and had to vomit.
So, think about that before you say not to visit the Olson House because it is not as it was when Wyeth painted there: Christina could not move around nearly as well as Claire Danes. It was her inner dignity and strength–as well as her deep New England roots, and hints of primordial life-.- that Wyeth found so fascinating
Hi. I understand that what I’m about to say may be wholly inappropriate. However, I’ve really started to think lately that we need to start talking about work — things we like and things we don’t — in a much more honest way. And afterall, what’s the internet for if not to vent?
I saw this show tonight — largely based on this post, Mr. Urbaniak’s note, and The Times review linked above. I must be missing something. The show I saw depressed me beyond belief for it’s half-hearted jokeyness and general mushiness. Granted, I’m not a dance afficianado and so perhaps didn’t appreciate the dance-centric humor in the show. On the other hand, I’m relatively up on my dance history and it just failed to do anything at all for me.
The humor was broad and unspecific, the dancing was (intentionally?) uninspired and the choreography was heartless. Why make a show all about a fictional, dead, mediocre dancer and her fictional, dead, mediocre dance family? The only thing that could possibly come of it is all too real, dead, mediocre dances and a pretty lousy video.
Could somebody help me out? Disagree with me. PLEASE!
I love culturebot!
I found out about this HUGE TAG SALE at Theater for a New Audience like 15 minutes before and rushed over
For me it was Alladin in the Genii’s cove.
Especially since I’m doing ‘Twas the Night Before the Twelve Days of a Nutcracker Christmas Carol at ps122 Dec 15 – 23!
Goblets and metal steins and mugs, fake fruit and sausage links, candleabras and silver tea services!
well below cost.
Thanks culturebot
Ken Nintzel
The performance in Seattle at On The Boards echoes the experience in NY and Minneapolis. The whole performance seemed to thumb its nose at the audience. I found it poorly conceived and choreographed, boring and with its maximum 40 minutes of playing time (not including the poinless add on out in the street) a big waste of time and money. Like Terri, we will think twice before we buy tickets to On The Boards again.
I hate Pullman, too.
HTH
My only problem w/ Pullman is that it isn’t SoCal.
I Luv BigBallaJ, but hate media whores.
I stumbled on this thread because I just got a big grant and I’m trying to unravel yet again the mysteries of theater ecomonics. I didn’t read the Wellman article but I agree with what you quoted of him. Younger people may not be aware how fixed companies, from the Wooster Group to the Graham Company to the Ridiculous Theatrical Comnpany, defined great theater in the 60’s, 70’s and to some extent the 80’s.
It comes down to this: you want a company, your company, to realize your vision and tour the world. BUT.. you can’t have a company any more. They aren’t supported. The ecosystem that held them up has collapsed, starting with the price of space. So you have to do a SHOW. You have to run for as long as you can then close, pack up your costumes and go home. This involves you with “show” people who have lots of rules and regs. They want regional companies all over the country to “develop” productions of your SHOW. They want workshops. Well that’s what companies were. They were on-going workshops except they stayed with the founder/s. Now there are 500 people molding and changing your work. Is there a loss of quality here?
Thanks for the encouragement, Suzanne (re message October 5th). Claire & I will be visiting the Christina Olson house in May and are very much looking forward to it. Best regards, Tamar
If you missed Young Jean Lee’s Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven, you can see it at 6pm on November 1 and 2, along with an excerpt of Theatre of the Two-Headed Calf’s The Drum of the Waves of Horikawa, at HERE Arts Center (145 Sixth Avenue, betw. Spring & Broome).
i saw it and boy did i love it
they’re wild and crazy just like my home gals
i really liked the knife fight between the two women
but boy did those girls have a lot of bruizes
i hope ann liv doesn’t beat them!
it is so true she i sreally a bitch, you have no idea how much of a bitch she truely is, if you are luckey she wont be a bitch for at the most of 5 seconds, and she wont stop reading this shit out loud, what an idiot, even though she had to help me spell idiot, wow what a bitch
I saw the play in previews. It is fantastic and should have an extended run, not only because it needs to be seen but because it is important that it have a chance to develop to the fullest. The reviews by the NY Tmes, Newsday and the NY Post were typically narrow minded and personnally driven – all written by men who seemed threatend by Schulman’s lesbian centered narrative. It’s interesting because this play is the most sympathetic to straight white masculinity that I have seen by her, although it still does not put them in the center of the plot, which is maybe why she is still targeted as public enemy. I would be interested in hearing responses from a broader demographic. The packed house I sat with was in stitches all the way through. Even as it raised some very tough points about personal and political loyalty, greed and paranoia, the work is ultimately one of warmth and redemption. Brava!
I saw this one and was truly amazed with the performance.
Hello,
I was wondering when the next deadline for proposal will be. I am extremely interested in presenting work. If you could let me know I would truely appreciate it.
Thanks,
Tikola McCree
The Itching of the Wings at PS122 is fantastical. All should check it out before it flits away on the 13th.
http://www.ps122.org/performances/the_itching_of_the_wings.html
well I went to see the play after reading both the nytimes profile and the review. as a former wow cafe-ista (1986-1991) I am continually disappointed in what now stands for “cutting edge” art – it’s sad but I think I am spoiled. I did enjoy the play – most of it- the sound production seemed the most creative aspect – the actors were talented people – but it sagged and lagged. she should have really gone for the jugular – not worry about being too “off-off” bway – hell what can you lose? I am aquainted with sarah from da hood – ditto 6th flr walkup etc – and I make a living as a teacher, too. its frustrating when you see people of lesser talent “making it” as an artist, who know how to play the game – which is why my art stays home. kudos to sarah for fighting the good fight, and best to her. she is a triple threat to the establishment- a talented and innovative artist, a real academic/intellect, and an activist! how many people can claim to be just one of these? but what is really ironic is that at the end of the profile in the times it states that she is both a tenured professor AND has 9 plays in production!! most people would give their eye teeth for just ONE of those accomplishments!! you dont get respect and acclamation by demanding it. and if the jerks out there dont get you do you really need them? art and commerce dont belong together – when they do it’s called “entertainment”. and it’s crap. decide what you want and then suck it up, either way.
Estoy buscando al coreografo puertorriqueño Eduardo Alegria.
I am looking for a Marietta Bernstorff, who is an artist associated with an Antonio Turok. If it is you, hello. I love Oaxaca. Gina Weston said there was a house for sale just below Toledo’s paper factory. I am an american, and have heard that you can’t really buy land in Mexico, it is a lease or something. If there is land for sale just below the factory, I would like to know about it. That is a really great area. I would love to set up a photo workshop there. Sometimes having multiple reasons for coming to an area are good. If you don’t answer me, it will be an answer, thank you, blessings, John
Hopefully by the next bienial we can expect large scale gladitorial events between performance art divas…in the meantime…here’s a couple thoughts I had about Seven Easy Pieces:
I’d like to say in addition that there was also something very beautifull, but also very “off” about Marina Abromovic positioned in the big blue dress on the final night of Seven Easy Pieces. The “off-ness,” I should say, was crucial to the piece’s sucess,if not the metaphysical “site” of her performance.
Despite the fact that the sculpture/costume/set was an enormous evening gown, Abromovic didn’t appear to BE a larger-than-life Performance Art Diva (at least not by way of anything traditionally associated with theatricallity). Her facial expressions, were watchfull, controlled. Like a guroo silently contemplating life from the top of a big blue mountain(that at the same time WAS the mountain). In spite of the amplified scale of an the gown, the artist remained in place, albeit ambigulously (traped? exhaulted? transending her position as subject? as object?)
The illusion of the artist inside the dress was not a convincing one…to its credit. The gap between seeing a twenty foot tall dress with a regular sized person coming out of it and the expectation of seeing that regular sized person “fit” the proportions of that gown…a person existing in a false or fragmented scale, was a profound one.
The dress, was more a gesture of a dress than a real one. By that I mean it was something recognizable the same way a white bedsheet with a hole cut out for ones head might be recognizable as a “ghost costume”. Without the artist’s head and arms sticking out of the top, I would have likely called it a teepee, or giant wizard’s hat. Yet it was obvious that it was supposed to read as a dress, and at the same time did not linger upon it’s functionality as a dress (a functionallity that one would assume to be perhaps social as opposed to say, sculptural-Pat Olezko aside). The dress, as an element of live performance, it was not especially interesting. It was not a dress that comanded attention or empathy, but rather seemed to exist only to relentlessly drew the viewers eyes to the performer.
Marina Abromovic was at all times the piece’s focal point, if such a term can be used in describing performance. I couldn’t help but notice how vulnerable the artist was. That she would be utterly unreachable if the piece commanded an intervention…if she were taking large swigs of turpentine, for example. But perhaps more distressing, was seeing the artist physically unreachable, unavailible and yet totally in sight, animated by our gaze(becoming strangely, statuesquely larger than life), distorted by our expectations(the precariousness of her conflicted scale and out-of-reach-ed-ness). Seeing her, as Mr. Keckler said, endure our gaze.
pieces of German Lieder (L!) doesn’t make sense here, nor does much of the rest of the article. Oh yeah, it’s guru -don’t you snotty art critics ever get assigned a dictionary? Better luck next time.
Does “grosseguru” have a dictionary? Lieder translates as “songs”. I think it’s fine. I thought it was a very fine article. Humorous and thoughtful. It made perfect sense to me. The first commenter spelled a number of words differently. Not because he’s stupid, I don’t suppose. Possibly because he’s a heterographer. (Refer to dictionary)
Thank you for all your feedback….Was there anyone out in the audience non-professional critic that liked it & why??
Is Michelson worth all the hype & accolades?
This is one of the most disturbing shows I’ve ever seen in my life. It really fucked me up. I couldn’t believe the way people were laughing – they were really cracking up, and it made me want to puke. I was cracking up too, which was even more upsetting. I think this is a really important show for people to see – it forces you out of complacent, useless ways of thinking about racism and sexism (only white people from the South are racist!) and confronts you with your own, hidden issues.
i didn’t really have that reaction. this show felt like a 15-year-old’s response to the assignment: “write a play about misogyny.” misogyny isn’t as simple as that, obviously. and while theater doesn’t have to reflect the complexities of reality, i just didn’t see the point.
that phenomenon you describe, of the hairspray audience that feels morally secure because they’re watching hairspray – i felt the same thing in the audience of the prophet – everyone laughing, and being vaguely uncomfortable, and applauding themselves for being “cool enough” to laugh at really blunt and easy representations of misogyny and racism because OBVIOUSLY they’re not ACTUALLY as misogynist or as racist as the people on stage. and the cartoonishness of those portrayals made it all the more unlikely that an observer would see those prejudices reflected in themselves.
the enemy shouldn’t be caricaturized — it’s just too easy. political theater has to acknowledge the uncomfortable truth that biggots and anti-feminists are real people with complicated lives. THAT’S the theater that will really unnerve, not some childish and self-righteous cartoon of absurd and barely-existent christian tyranny.
not to be harsh, but i walked away from that play in utter disbelief that the playwright is a professional who gets paid to work in theater.
yes yes yes…kindly submit the email i can attach
my resume to…or address. Very interested in the
writer position…ruth
thank you
http://www.travel.to/ruth.breil
you can read a sample of my writing under:
ruthbreil
or view my workunder: exhibitions
Please i just want to know maybe i will be a member of this troup Dance i have a group in Ghana West Africa and i want to send what i have to the world. Please if you will grant me this opportunitie to improve my skills to the world i will tell you more if i hear from you back some pictures and vidoe clips of our show.
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We hope that the peaceful surroundings; quaint, inspiring setting, and supportive community, will provide
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I agree with most of this: that we should recognize and work with European artists as we continue our work as theater practitioners, as dancers, as writers. Too many American artists work in ignorance not only of their compatriots’ work but also of the work of their colleagues overseas, especially with an eye to what they bring to ours as well us what we might bring to theirs. Our access to this work, thanks to the Internet and cable television, is more convenient than ever before, and we don’t have much excuse for not knowing about it.
On the other hand, I’m not convinced that one of our main conceits these days must be the intersection between technology and the self. Technology hasn’t changed what or who we are as human beings; we will go out of the world with exactly what we came into it with, and when the telephone and movies came into being in the early 20th century, theater didn’t suddenly turn to investigating these new technological aspects of our lives. (Theater absorbed them–when I read about Piscator’s productions and those of the the Federal Theatre Project, I have to laugh when I see artists’ use of projectionsm, video and film as somehow innovative and so 21st-century.) We can use this technology to express those human concerns, but it’s foolish to think that somehow this technology changes the human spirit; this spirit may express itself through this technology, but that hardly means we’re shaped by it, or have to be.
I didn’t mean to imply that technology was the only front for exploration or where the meeting ground would be. It was late and I was pretty much free-associating at that point. More I’m just interested in speculating on what the new aesthetics might be. Certainly technology will play a part. But it also will be about merging performance aesthetics from different cultures and places.
Oh, no, please don’t misunderstand: it’s just that the trend towards the integration of technology is so strong. It’s even more of a challenge to resist it.
It’s going to become harder and harder, as globalization continues, to differentiate between our culture and others. I’m just reading Tristes Tropiques, and it’s clear that, even in the 1930s, Claude Levi-Strauss was worried that in a few short years it would be impossible to say where the West left off and where these other cultures began, so quickly did these other cultures assimilate Western traditions and values. Much more quickly, in the cases he cites, than we assimilated theirs.
No thanks to Ian or the fucking retarded sous chef from the rathole next door, Letters from the Earth is not over. Far from. Next performances January 6 and 7. Then three more Jan. 20-22. Go to the website for info.
ps. Ian, brother, we loves ya man, you makes good gumbo but I don’t know about the rubber, always seemed like you were made of glass to me. Turns out our babysitter is friends with the young girl from Carroll Gardens (no lie), and she said you were lousy lay too.
Jesus Christ Bellman! What’s gotten into you? Clearly you have been misunderstood. Having said that, if I didn’t know you Id’ve probably taken a swipe at you myself. But, since I do i know you, I know what you probably needed was a big hug…poor Ivan- We just can’t help loving you!
- I must say the whole affair sounds very much up it’s own ass.
Good luck to all of us and happy holidays!
I can’t make head or tails of all this. The Ivan I know was a good boy–true, he was abducted as a young boy (still in dipers at eleven I’m told) by a troupe of Kurdish actors experimenting with Dada-esque performance techniques, but when I knew him he was fully functional and likeable, too. I don’t remember him drinking. I think you’ve got it wrong. Who is Ian Belton?
Aw shucks . . . If the CG’s box office receives a little lift from my nocturnal emissions then the love and redemption I feel isn’t false. It’s true . . . Ian backslid and sand started drinking again. Maybe when the new meds kick in he will return to his former lack of glory. Until then I’m driving this fucking bus . . .
Jimbo, your Common-Law Baby Mama, Huggybear, knows I’ve had a big crush on you for years. You and Iver think its narcissism but really its my latent homo fantasies that compel me to respond to your antagonistic relationship to the audience. If we were in Berlin, there would be a lot more beer cans thrown.
In addition to AA and NA, I’m going to have to have a word with Ian about messing with those young girls. Drama teacher turned student by sexually superior pupils. (Yeah, I was in bad form that night but did you have to go and tell the world??? Thanks fucker. I love you too .-) xoh~ivan
I’m interested in Abacus Black (NYTimes today) because I’m writing an essay on American Fundamentalism and Fear for the International Jung Association Meeting in London this summer. When and where do you expect to perform it? Is anyone in the company interested in discussing it with me online, in terms of your research and conclusions about fundamentalism and its strength in contemporary society? For background on me, I’m a director and theatre professor at U. of Hartford, a theatre critic, and have published on theatre and Jungian theory.
there is also a similar program at Brooklyn College called PIMA (Performance Interactive Media Arts) see Interactivearts.org for more info.
I can’t get an apartment for two reason bad credit and they are not affordable. I am currenly renting a space in a two bedroom apartment with three other people. I would love to move out but I can’t afford it any advise
A new version, now called (I am) Nobody’s Lunch is opening January 19, 2005 in NYC and touring to Cambridge and Philadelphia. Go to http://www.thecivilians.org for details.
Parklane are NOW!
http://www.myspace.com/parklane923
I was wondering if it’s true that Jonathon left graduate school because he staged a conterversial version of Medea that involved elderly people covered in real blood, dancing and fencing.
Knowing the author to some extent, I read this post assuming it to be fact (specificity is key, good job). Despite DC being a Democratic “city” overall, having recently traveled there for New Years I have decided that I am happier here for the following reasons: 1. The feeling that no matter where you are, you are being watched. Maybe this is due to the unmarked cameras on most street corners or the man with an ear piece standing outside of where we were staying. Sure, he could have been an elderly tourist and sure it could have just been a hearing aide but the anti-Republican in me of course jumped to the assumption that someone knew our apartment was FILLED with Bush haters from NYC. 2. The inability to get a cab at 4 a.m. on New Years Eve and of course 3. The a-hole sitting on Capital Hill. That being said, I did think Mapplethorpe was part of the Fantastic Four (common misconception I’m sure). Repubs and rightwing buttkissers may exist in New York but at least here, they are easier to avoid – or at least ignore. Great story, Bellman, fact or fiction. Keep it up.
I have known Eric for more than 20 years. Since we worked together in Chicago. He is the most perfect artist I have ever been associated with. His talent, vision and drive are world class. With the current “dumbing down” (and alternatively the artificial exporation of fringe issues by mainstream actors and directors) within the film industry targeting mass market comsumption it is critical that certain hands-on artists (Eric Koziol) carry the art forward. We used to say that many of the bolder artistic statements that we came upon in Chicago were “Eric” as in “Wow! That’s very Eric!” With H-Gun Eric and his partners presented their vision to the mainstream. But the media never fully got it or built on what was “Eric”. It remains for Eric himself to bring this about.
Knowing a little bit about the writer and a lot about the political situation
described above, I must take extreme exception to the description of
Washington, circa; 2004. He is so wrong. I canvased and petitioned for
the summer that year and thought my work was, if not successful,
at least worthwhile and better than grousing in Williamsburg like most
of Ivan Bellman’s friends probably did. Though I didn’t go for a Capitol
Hill job at summer’s end due to health problems and, I feel, bigotry on
the part of the “aides” I interviewed with, I felt the experience was on
the whole very positive.
To Leah; sweetie, don’t go to a strange southern city for your New Years
Eve pukefest. Wow, couldn’t get a cab! So fucked up. Come to my town;
we like easy girls with credit cards,
All the best to Ivan,
J
Whether or not Mr. Bellman’s story is true is irrelevant. We all wish we could have such a cockeyed night of political ribaldry. A night with Ivan is like grassroots politics with Sir Francis Drake, storming congress with an eye patch, a scimitar and the polling results for whether unwed mothers in Wisconsin would vote for Swartzenegger if he ran for president in a Snuggles the fabric softener bear costume. The man is attempting to rekindle gonzo journalism before the government declares creative thought a terrorist threat. I will definitely come back to culturebot searching for more crash-and-burn, three-fisted tales from this Aquarian Rasputin.
By the way, I just spoke to someone who was in Washington on 9-11 and said he saw smoke coming from the White House. Any other eye-witnesses?
Save the world from itself by expanding its concept of the possiblilities of reality, dammit.
peace MC Esher
would like a phone number or current email address for gomez-pena, as my university is interested in sponsoring a border art project w/ him. tanx!
dr george vargas
art historian
texas a & m university-kingsville
361-593-2619 (art dept)
361-991-7354 (home)
361-593-4238 (office)
Howdy, ya’all sound interesting…Started writing our musical while living at 29th & Third in Kips Bay…Give our website a looksee and let me know if anyone wants more..cowboysonmars.com
Best regards,
Bob Gately
No comments since 2004? So sad. Hello, Salley. Missing you in Florida on a boring Sunday afternoon. A long time gone from St. Marks Place. Glad you’re still going strong. .g
Rachel, I to am flooded with images as I read these passages……”No more hats. I’m retarded (a small drawing of a dark haired girl with an enormous hair ribbon and a large tear rolling down her face.) Me, crying, because I’m retarded. Bring on CIGS W?CLUB RIBBONS!”
I know, I have seen this image at a art show in New Orleans. And I kick my self Everyday for not getting it!
Charles cbhhale@aol.com
Hey – If anyone sees Spot Coffee girl tell her I still need my fucking cellphone back. Its on her dresser.
Love,
ex-Mrs. Brendan Bellman, currently Mrs. Larry DiAmorio and proud of it.
Firstly, I’m a republican. So, lets get that outta the way. The writer, Ivan Bellman, is a communist. No, actually he’s the Nation’s “7th highest ranked canvasser” (and bisexual communist). How do I know this? Because I spent 13 weeks on a fishing vessel in Alaska with him, very close quarters. Adding insult to injury, his given nickname from the crew was “Spanky.” As we know from his ‘pure fiction’ essay, he’s got great wit, creativity, and a mean sense of humor. We republicans have no creativity, we have balls. We live in the world of reality (and martinis). We focus on economic freedom, Tom Delay, God, Tom Delay, God, children, & country – something like that. Basically, we need a hot beef injection of some of that Ivan Bellman!
Living in DC, I love Ivan’s take on the city. I always wondered what those grassy roots types are up to..? I just realized that when Republicans need a break from all that red, white & blue stuff – we NEED to turn to entertainment, like Ivan Bellman. Ivan makes us feel like we’ve missed out on life. You know, the fun stuff. If I’m not reading Anne Coulter, I’m reading Ivan Bellman!! Rock on. Momo P
I had the pleasure of getting drunk and trying to make college actors act their ages and not their shoe sizes (not in that order) with the former Mr. & Mrs. Ivan Bellman when I was younger (about 16 months ago). It was sort of like the Magnificent Seven (minus 4) starring Maggie Thatcher in Birkenstocks, Eminem, and Tristam Shandy. Brendan and I bonded over a shared love of various types of music and the fact that between the two of us Ivan’s yelling could be doled out equally, and Ivan and I bonded over mutual surlyness, martinis, Kanye!, pharmaceuticals and insanity. Our play was the grand scourge of the indomitable Skidmore Theater Department for years to come (a professor would later hale her subsequent production of Tina Howe’s “Museum” as a peace offering to the Saratoga community…our play remains one of the best I’ve ever worked on and it had a nice titty shot in it). And, I must affirm that Brendan, Major Barbara, and Ivan and his blog (a Pent House letter about an abusive relationship with experimental theater??) are seriously some of my favorite things.
The revolution will not be televised – it will be bloggerized.
I saw “Daylight” here in New York and it moved me to tears. Had I seen it a couple of years before, I would have hated it. The reason I loved it is that I am now able to see the subtle aspects of life. When I was too young and inexperienced, my perception could only relate to a limited type of aesthetic (such as ballet) and my eye could only decipher the most obvious gestures. Big jumps, many turns and perfect synchronicity meant “good dance” to me. For the last three years I have been studying the complex world of the body-psyche connection and my perception has completely changed. I still love big jumps and many pirouettes but now I can also understand the fascinating world of modern dance.
I loved the piece because somehow, without you even realizing it, gradually got you by the guts and made you feel some deep, complex feelings… feelings I can’t even describe. Sarah Michelson chose very unlikely elements (music, choreography, staging, costuming) that once put together evoked something completely different and much more powerful than what the elements would convey separately. The key ingredients that make everything work are her superb timing and musicality. She applies them in a deliciously subtle manner. Sitting there watching this performance my mind somehow managed to be deeply moved, enjoy its unique beauty, and have a thousand thoughts that had to do with the deep mysteries of my own life… all while having no idea what the story is about… now that’s abstraction.
Just my experience of it….
Ivan is clearly disconnected from the sports world, but it was a nice try.
I feel the need to set a few things straight:
Steve Nash did indeed play for the San Antonio Spurs. They are however, NOT a college basketball team, they are the best team in the NBA, they will be repeating their championship performance this year or I am out $600.
Furthermore, the Spurs are totally not connected to the University of Texas Longhorn football team, who recently beat USC in the Rose Bowl to become the national champions, hence the longhorn penis in your mouth comment.
Rather than bet money for that one, I instead put my dignity on the line and bet a couple of guys who went to USC that if their team won I would wear a USC cheerleader outfit to law school for a day. If Texas won, they each had to eat a bull’s penis…it was a glorious victory thanks to Vince Young (watch for him in the NFL next year) and honestly, there isn’t much that compares to watching two guys eat STEAMED bull dick covered in miso sauce.
Just wanted to clarify a couple of errors. Ivan, the blog is great…but stay away from sports references or check out EPSN first.
I love Sherry Vine. Saw her for the first time Sat. nite in Delaware. What a jem. I wanted to write this in her guest book but cannot get in.
The puppetry is hilarious. The music kicks ass. Check out the web-site they just updated. Many tunes and some great videos. I want more!
I as well had the pleasure of seeing the first of the nine episodes of Castellucci’s Tragedia Endogonidia. It was a truly powerful performance with heavy symbolism attached. The trip to NJ was worth taking, to say the least. I encourage anyone interested in contemporary theater to follow Mr.Castellucci’s work.
Hi I am trying to get in touch with Lise Serrell I used to dance with her at UNCG!! anyone know her email or her phone number or any website that I can find out how she is doing???
thanks
Shae
To JackDaniels
No one who reads culturebot cares about college basketball
No offense…
To Ivan
I heart you
“But if the President of Iran keeps talking mad yang, it’s going to continue to salt my game.”
Can I swear on this post? Cause I fuckin love that line.
Master Bellman, hope the dookie is dope in the city of wind. Please tell Jessie J that I say hey and that I’m rockin’ the mad beard like he was the last time I saw him at that party in Phily or Jersey or wherever it was when he told me the M word dumped him.
When do I get into one of your stories?
love the rat
You think you’re starting to get better — I mean you really fucking do. You take the fucking pills and you go to the VA — I go there. I share. I got a sponsor. I facilitate the cirlce on fucking Thursday nights. I got a chip. I got five fucking chips. I tell the brothers and the psycho chick and the old guy with the metal plate in his head — I tell them all about the mass graves, and the torture and the school bus we accidentally blew up — on the road there — from — you know — and those women and children — all those brown crispy babies laid out on plastic — and how I didn’t fucking care — not one moment, no fucking way I’m letting that choke well up in my fucking throat — no you’re not ever going to see me shed a fucking tear in public. No fucking way. Puts you at way too much personal risk out there. And I even tell the group about Freckles Murphy. I tell them all about Freckles Murphy and the faulty rocket launcher that took off his fucking face and how it landed in my fucking lap and sure — you can laugh — laughabout his face — about I laugh. It’s better than — than this fucking — the fucking alternative — I mean, you got no idea, man. Yeah yeah yeah. Whatever. You have no fucking idea. Freckles gets his face blown off — and — and — what, I’m thinking about national health care? I’m bitching about the State of the Union address? You know what I am thinking about. Yeah yeah. Whatever. Listen to me. I mean really listen: I’m talking about his face, not his head, but the actual skin of his face, the mug, the countenance, sitting right there on my lap, staring up at me with eye holes but no eyes, lips but no teeth, like I’m in some fucking Greek tragedy with no people, just masks. Only Freckles is still alive right — he’s screaming with just this red pulp for a head — trying to get me to put the face — the flesh — back on him. But the guy I know as Freckles — at least the Freckles I recognize as the one I’ve been fucking for six months — he’s sitting on my lap. This other guy coming at me, screaming at me –screaming with such rage and fear — he’s some fucking — I mean which one is it? Which one do you care about — when you go back to your safe little domestic nest — do you care about the person or the face. When you’re fucking somebody are you fucking the face or the — the –pulp. When you look at yourself in the fucking mirror is it the pulp or the face that you recognize as your true self???
- the character of the Army Deserter from THE PUZZLE LOCKER by W. David Hancock
your self-loathing is so hot, why don’t you take your skizelles and start cleaning toilets?
OH, my Lord, Yes there are too many in-jokes in that damn piece above.
Most egregious of which is that Mr Bellman implies that he’s been in a
County, State or Fed lock-up. Am I wrong? Or was there a whiff of the
Rikers in the piece? The Yard? Meaning the Plaza in front of Lincoln Center?
Duda; speak to me and tell me what really happened at the party after;
That’s all I care about.
Alll mt love,
J
So happy that you seem to be hooking-up as opposed to studying the work
of the Fine Directors around you. Was just in Canbridge and heard the skinny
on The Molly… not great if you ask me. From Company Members. Saw the
tippy-deck No Exit which was half the written play and should have been
halved again. Tippy deck was fun though–something you/we could do if we
had Equity on our side. Maybe you could find some Eastern Euro hottie
Equity girl and get us some consesssions. I can’t believe what they got away
with. Does this happen in Chicago too? Far from the centers of culture/unions? Now THAT would be useful info… not how much you drank/puked
on that special night…Glad you’re back with Jesse; what a memory.
I fucked-up the asshole that defended him/her/the whole thing at ART last
week. Just the Highlights… asshole…
Luv; J
Terrific fun insightful play. Two performers both excellent, brilliant actually, embellishing their performances with gusto and inspiration. Loved the son. And the costume changes.
Wish I could repeat the few lines especially about his father not understanding the technical aspects of what he was doing with his project in his room.
Special effects were inventive, unique, basic.
Food irradiation facts good to expose to the public.
Maybe should have had a handout to further enforce the numbers and facts so they could be recalled and used for
political and scientific enlightenment once us theatre goers
left the venue/warehouse.
Definitely go see this show before it departs its run in February, though it very well likely will make it to Manhattan thereafter, and deservedly so.
Conrad Miller M.D.
The idea is great – but the survey is depressing. Who the hell did they pay to make that and what do they think they’ll gey out of that rococo cookie cutter?
i’m really eager to see HEDDATRON but I was surprised that the Times “audio slide show” which ran in tandem to Soloski’s feature claimed Ibsen as a writer of “well-made plays.” I always thought that “well-made plays” were turned out by writers like Scribe and Sardou, and part of what makes Ibsen great and enduring is that he plotted precisely but dealt with real social dynamics and problems.
Didn’t know about your Grandmama- I’m so sorry– so strange to be
communicating like this but DAMN I’ma likin your writin…
Love, your boy.
Mrs. Beltman is the Lester Bangs of our time.
You little young’ns don’t know the truth; It’s
Beltman and Bangs… Google Lester and read
Carburetor Dung for Christ’s Sake.
Question: Does Mrs. Beltman write these missives trippingly off the
keyboard or does she labor over spelling and shit? Cause Damn she uses
some big words.
xJ
In my view production of well-trained professional in health management sector is must to improve health delivery system.
Ivan
Peace to your grandmoms.
Interesting observation about Freedom Fries and all the rest of the anti French sentiment. What better way to distract people from the truth than by preying on stereotypes and common prejudice? And football has been looking like the backdrop to a Russ Crowe movie to me for years now. More distraction! I literally kept thinking while I was watching the superbowl that the losers where going to be thrown to the lions, but that could never come true, cause even in Detroit the Lions couldn’t get in the stadium for that game.
While I agree we should encourage our rogue govt not to step up to Iran, the Pres of Iran isn’t really helping matters much. I think he can probably see the shadow of the wailing wall with old glory painted on it about to fall on his ass.
Good to hear you aknowledging Hunter S. It seems like you are trying to fill his shoes, but please take the double barells out of your mouth so we all can understand you better. He died like a dick, dude.
My brother is generation Z, and he makes alot more sense to me than alot of people these days. He loves his life, it seems. And he’s politically active. Said he moshed to Primus in Vegas in a chicken suit. Sounds like fun.
I think the best stragedy in getting people to see how bogus this war is is to help them see how badly we are going to need each other if natural disasters keep occuring like they did last year, and they most likely will continue this way for a while. Wait till the coasts are underwater. No one will care what skin color, culture, or language is on the other end of the hand reaching down to pull you up onto dry land. Just my humble opinion
keep ya head up
I have received several emails in response to the above article including one from a very angry Brooklyn Law student . . . or alumni??? Not really sure. Given my proclivity for deviant behavior and trouble with the PoPo, it is not a good idea for me to messing with Lawyers . . .
It also be duly noted that in my attempts to stimulate Gen Z into some kind of political awakening, I have tarnished the character of Jack Daniels™. For the record she is not an oblivious sports fan on perpetual Spring Break as I might have insinuated. She often runs 5Ks for charity and volunteers her time to work with underprivileged children.
Brooklyn Law also held a recent card game benefit for Hurricane Katrina relief for which they raised a sizable amount of cash. Brooklyn is mos def in da hizzle! Big up baby!!!
“I have shot mine arrow o’er the house,
And hurt my brother. ” Hamlet, 5. 2
Regretfully,
Ivan
all theater criticism should be as a incendiary as this…Theater is asking for it……i never aligned with cote’s opinions but his need for a change in flaccid bohemoths like MTC (BAM for that matter) is encouraging and important……..
Ouch. I found Kommer super touching. I thought it is the most powerful piece that I have seen for a long time. The reality/illusion thing totally got me. It makes me think for those of us who believe in theater, what exactly is theater to us. as performers how our lives on and off stage enstrange and intangle with each other. I was really touched to watch the guy reluctantly walking to the hospital, and when Ton eating junk food on his bed. One way or the other, we walk our way toward death. That’s what I was thinking. But anyway, it is fun to discuss a piece with a total stranger in this way.
complaint: why do I have to fill in the email address
hi melissa,
were people from the site melissa is a bitch
jane has comment to send this message to you
you want to here it
really really
really really really
really really really really
don’t worry but…………………..
don’t worry but be happy :
he melisa hje bent een gewone bitch ik ben naar de site van http://www.melissa bitch.com
ik ben gegaan naar melissa is a bitch ik ben daar gegaan en ik vond niets dat je een bitch ebnt
maar voor mij wel
wordt niet boos maar jij en je schatje idioot matthew mogen smaen kinderen en leven emt elkaar
bye bye
doei doei
dit is alleen tussen ons heh
als je het aan iemand zeg ga ik jou geheimen ook zeggen
doei doei
tots
it is really interesting – some people (like me) really loved kommer. other people were just indifferent. which i found hard to believe. but i guess that’s part of the cool thing of a festival like under the radar – you can see lots of things and people will react to different things in different ways.
regarding the email thing: the reason you have to leave your email is because 1. it cuts down on comment spam and 2. it discourages people from saying hateful things. (hopefully).
thanks!
hey babe – which part of that was ‘my speed?’
Dear Marya,
I am a choreographer from Sweden. You can read about my work on our web site
http://www.suenbutohcompany.net
Is it to late to apply for a short performance for this September? I am working on improvisations together with a singer based in New York, Nuria.
Best regards
SU-EN
Tomorrow night (sat 2/18) is a free ticket giveaway (first come first serve) to the show Escape from Bellevue and other stories! One time offer only (5 shows left).
To buy tix and read about “Escape From Bellevue”:
http://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showCode=ESC0
Thanks Bianca..that was very articulate. Thank you, c
The “Forget Me Not” work is truly inspiring, and I find myself searching for some of the same things. I am currently ironing out the wrinkles within a performance idea dealing with intimacy. I would love to get some advice!
I don’t think this is purely a censorship issue – the play has not been censored in the pure sense of that word, it is not banned, it is simply not going to be done right now by one small, fearful, NY theater group. It is also not a self-censorship issue unless those who supported its creation decide to withdraw it or weaken it from fear or frustration. That has not happened thankfully.
I believe in free speech and absolutely do not care for bullying tactics or threats of violence. Threats always provoke resistance. However, I do think it’s wise, not just to pick ones battles carefully, but to consider the most effective method of pursuing said battle. Much as we would like to think that art can be kept separate from politics, in this case, because of the subject matter and current events, to ignore the possible reactions of those with an axe to grind would be shortsighted. I’m not suggesting surrender … but a strategic retreat often leads to victory.
The NY group backing out is a minor setback. This play will continue (it’s already booked for a new and bigger run in London). This play will also be performed in North America eventually. I have no doubt. The important thing is to fight the battle wisely: to avoid volatile rhetoric and name calling which really can’t do any good.
This play is not the first work of art to have faced resistance, nor will it be the last. The New York Theater Workshop’s decision is not unique but neither is it universal. The point is that we keep trying to evolve, that we keep trying to understand, that we keep trying to tolerate .. that we keep trying period. Let the play speak for itself. Let it’s growing audience have the final word.
People can fight official censorship.
Self-censorship, however, has no solution, and is much more of a threat. Society needs art to force it into introspection. Once artists put financial or other interests above artistic concerns, we all start down a slippery slope. The point is not THIS play, and whether or not it has a bigger, better, run at a flashier theatre elsewhere. Rather, it is that this theatre let itself be intimidated, or has taken a cowardly attitude to begin with.
Since when is art separate from politics? I never noticed.
Heather Hayes
Hi-
I read the above article and the above comments about it, and felt the need to respond also. Despite my disapproval of the Israeli occupation of West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, I would probably not go to see “My Name is Rachel Corrie” for a number of reasons. However, I believe that it’s wrong to cancel the opening of the play, because that is clearly a muzzing of free speech right then and there. In fact, when I read/heard about it, I was reminded of the cancellation of a stage production of the beautiful musical, West Side Story, at Amherst Regional High School, in Amherst, MA several years ago. The production got pulled exactly ONE WEEK prior to its formal rendezvous. A petition, which argued that West Side Story presented a negative stereotype of Puerto Ricans, signed by some one hundred and fifty people circulated around the school, and, under duress and pressure, school officials finally caved in and pulled the WSS production, which was never rescheduled. The truth is, however, that the people who signed the above-mentioned petition were NOT representative of the entire Hispanic community in the Amherst area, or the Hispanic community, PERIOD. In fact, the Latino community in the Amherst area was very divided on this issue. The town of Amherst, MA, which is supposedly a liberal and progressive town, certainly gave itself a PAIR of big, black eyes over that one!! Having said all of the above, I believe that the reasons for cancelation of the opening of the play “My Name is Rachel Corrie” and cancellation of the school production of West Side Story are very much one and the same: fear of controversy and discussion which has pervaded this culture for some time and has been made worse by the Bush Administration. It is unfortunate to see theatres and/or school officials or whoever caving into this kind of fear.
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my blog theworlsisaGhetto.blogspot.com pleas reveiw my work and bio for upcomming peice on ASSATA SHAKUR/PRISON thank you carolyn baxter.
The feelings and reactions stated above are commendable. However, I do not think it is a question of censorship. It is a question of fear. I believe it is excusable for NYTW to postpone a production whether their reason be the safety of its employees and audience or the fiscal survival of the theater itself. What is not excusable is our culture’s inability to objectively admit in any kind of artistic discourse that it is ignorant or terrified of the unknown. For example, is it possible to talk about this production without considering recent events in Palestine? I find it odd that nobody mention the rise of Hamas, the evacuation of the West Bank or the current health of Ariel Sharon. Should not these issues effect what a theater chooses to produce?
There have been a great many cancellations of productions and tours the sort Miki sighted in her response. Like, “Rachel Corrie,” these are symptoms of our neglect, both political and pedagogical. So how do we make art as vital an issue as prayer in school? How do we deepen our understanding of theology and global politics when we are living under the mythological separation of Church and State? We don’t even understand our own class structure so how are we supposed to comment on somebody else’s? We have to set our sites on the sickness rather than the sick, if that is not too bold a statement to make.
I did see the show at the Public and I thought it was incredible in such an intimate setting. I look forward to checking it out again. Thanks for sharing.
Hi, Ivan:
While a certain amount of apprehension is understandable, and I’m not arguing that the rise of Hamas and Ariel Sharon’s recent illness has had intense affects on the ever-volatile climate in the Mideast, I DO believe that, although there’s an equal amount of blame on all sides, the Israeli withdrawal of their troops AND the settlers/settlements from the Occupied Territories is long, long overdue. Nonetheless, I stand by my position that NY Theatre Workshop’s cancelling the production of the play “My Name is Rachel Corrie” is wrong. I believe that the play should’ve gone on, and, if there’s some concern about possible safety of employees/audience, then perhaps the theatre could’ve beefed up security for a bit, or at least until things calmed down. As for financial survival, I’m sure “My Name is Rachel Corrie” would’ve been quite popular in NY and elsewhere here in the USA.
I attended Marina’s excellent installation art lecture in my home town of Portland Oregon, at the Reed College Vollum Lecture Hall on March 7th, 2006.
She is most inspirational, enlightening and whats more, unbelievably physically beautiful at age 60! She looks like most women half her age!
I felt ecstatically honored to meet and speak with her at the end of the lecture.
-Mark Seibold
It seems to me that few commentators can bring themselves to say what is really going on here.
First, the NYT reported about “local Jewish leaders” who had “an unease about the play’s message”. They remain faceless – the only attribute was they are Jewish.
Second: While these “leaders may be Jewish, that is not relevant. Not all Jewish people oppose this play.
These “leaders” have an attribute in common much more relevant to their repressive tactic than being Jewish. Their conduct here reveals them as “Leaders of groups motivated to oppose informed introspection by the American public about exactly what the US and Israel together are doing to the Palestinians”.
Their unique and binding trait is their objective to obstruct informed awareness about something so grievously momentous as our nation’s role in the physical destruction of a people and their society – as evident from Rachel Corrie’s narrative.
Third: The “green light” fact is that the oppression and suffering of the Palestinian people reflected in Rachel Corrie’s narrative is a joint venture by both Israel and the United States. Israel is the violent occupier, the trigger-man and land-confiscator, the United States officially is its facilitator in the international community and political-financial proponent on the home front. This is a unique historical horror deserving of portrayal in the world of art: a joint venture by two rich high-tech military powers thousands of miles apart, to crush and plunder a defenseless and helpless agricultural society.
Fourth: Rachel Corrie’s narrative is among the recent conscience-raising messages to the US public about the reality of this co-sponsored horror. Others include the films “Palestine Now” and “Munich” – which have likewise met with fierce efforts to suppress their rightful stirring of American moral consciousness.
Fifth: This instance of repression is but one of many – all of which have one thing in common – to prevent that high level of awareness in the American public necessary to public argument about our nation’s instrumental role in Palestinian suffering. The horrors Rachel Corrie witnessed and struggled against should be an expressive theme free of fear of vengeful financial reprisal or even physical attack by those who don’t want Americans to be touched by the inhumanities Rachel Corrie witnessed, and died as a truly brave American heroine to prevent.
The director of the Iowa production (that this girl is good friends with) is named Ian Belton not Ivan Bellman. Ian was vicious to students during this process, treated the women as sex objects and turned in an atrocious product. I only write to keep dear Mr. Bellman’s name in the clear (who is this Mr. Bellman? Does such a person exist or can we all make up the names of directors?) I wish.
Michael, I think you are confused. I directed an entirely different production from the one of which you speak. I would like to have seen Mr. Belton’s rendition of the play. I had no idea it was so popular. Do you know if it’s going to be published?
Thank you for speaking up for me . . . This Ian Belton seems like a real jerk. Women as sex objects? That’s obscene! In my production it was the boys who were the sex objects . . . replete with granny panties and fishnets . . . that’s what Daddy likes!
I’ve heard other things about this Belton guy. . . like he is stalker and he pulled this Hannibal Lechter thing on this girl who was supposed to help him buy groceries when Betty got sick. And then he cold cocked some freebaser at Afties. Oh, and he also has Abandonment Issues and is OCD and is addicted to Vikaden and Yohimbee Barkroot.
You know, all this confusion reminds me of last St. Paddy’s Day when the casino thought they had booked “The Pogs,” that vegan electro-jazz band from Berkley, so they only stocked up on wheat beer and white wine. The McSweeney brothers drank it all in like three minutes and everyone else had to wait in line at Nardy’s Nascar Bar for $9 Budweiser in a futuristic aluminum bottle. (Props to Caleb).
Anyway, I’m sorry you are not so very good writer and he can’t direct. Are you any relation to Steven? Maybe we could work together??? I’m sure I am much less viscous than Ian.
Best of Luck ~ ivan
Ivan:
Sorry about the mix up. Just after all the chaos out here I didn’t think anyone should be blamed for what happened but Ian. I’m also sorry to see you think I’m not a good writer. I’m not. I’m an angry theater patron who is forced to see lots of bullshit in Iowa and then is told here’s something exciting this guest director has done and you realize exciting means he’s yelled at students to the point of tears, made freshman girls into sex objects off and on stage and convinced one of his actors that to be a real artist means supplying your director with your little sister for blowjobs after rehearsal. I mean fuck this- no wonder theater is bad- how could we ever attack the oppresors of our country if we welcome them so openly and jokingly into our places of art…
Hey Michael,
Hmmm. You ARE angry, my friend. I wouldn’t give this director guy so much power. I mean, it’s just a play. No one is forcing you to do anything, including the seeing of bad work. The play has sex in it. Not all of it is pretty. I was hard pressed to figure out how to stage the rapes, the murders, the mutilations, the humilating scene where Mrs. C smears excrement on the Narrator’s face… let alone the sex scenes. Please do let me know about that DVD as I’m now more curious than ever to see some of the slaughter you describe. I will email you my address if you can track it down.
And I have no knowledge of what went down during or after rehearsal except what you are writing here. I, for one, can’t engage in casual sex anymore. I’m too much of a bitch and catch feelings way too easily. So props to Mr. Belton if he can detach himself while painting Iowa City black n’ blue. If I behaved as such I would just end up falling in love . . . wouldn’t that suck? Sucky sucky sucks loving you, oh yeah!
Maybe you should work on the material yourself? There are also some other great plays by the same author. That would be your best recourse rather than complain online. Better use of your bile me thinks. But this is just my take on the sitch.
Best of Luck ~ ivan
I know that Ian Belton guy! He made me cry a bunch of times. It was really painful and stuff and I told my mom on him and she told me I could quit the play if I wanted to, but would that solve anything? Because, as my ex used to so lovingly remind me, we hate most the things we see in others that we also know are within ourselves. So I did this play with the Belton guy, and you know what? I cried a bunch more times. BUt then we made this amazing art, and I learned that, well, it’s certainly isn’t nice to be not nice, but you also have to be demanding of people. Because they’re lazy, people are. So then I directed my own play, and I didn’t make anyone cry (except the audience and that’s cause the play was like, um, emotional). But I did know how to ask for what I wanted. And now when someone yells at me I’m like “Look, just because you’re all freaked out, don’t take it out on me sistah. Just tell me what you want and I’ll get it done, I’m good like that.” And about that play I made with the Ian Belton dude, my friends, who knew he’d made me cry, they really loved it. Even though they knew how hard it was for me to make the play. Because that’s the great thing about the art: you bleed all over this canvas and everyone thinks it is a beautiful painting made from cadmium red paint and it really speaks to them about how their dog died unexpectedly one Christmas morning. Or maybe they just like the color red. The point is, if they want to buy in to the story, they do it. And in doing so, they make up their own story. Ian Belton sounds like he’s on the same page as my frined Foucault. They should jam. And Ian Belton, if you read this masturbatory blog post of mine, know that I think you’re a helluva guy, sure you could be nicer, but I heard from my friend Reefa that you’re making some changes and I know you have your reasons. As we all do. Oh, and Ivan, you’re okay too. Reading your blog makes me feel like I’m in the cool kids club, and it’s pretty entertaining stuff. Ever thought of writing a book? I know this story about girls and candy…
Hey homie~
Mo’ money mo’ problems as Biggie used to say. I find it hugely funny that you’ve plugged into the Walker kids blogs. Back in the mid-late-nineties, when the Guthrie was still attached, I used to flirt with the Walker girls on my breaks. I fell in love with this one girl who went by the name of Candygirl and we had an online romance that lasted a year or so. This was when institutions were just getting hip to email and the beginning of the end of the Dot Bomb Era. So don’t stress homie. It’s a long time coming and the Kids are all right.
Much Love~
Ivan Bellman
Thanks for posting information about the Performance Mix Festival at Joyce SoHo. We are now into our second day of the Festival and tickets are going fast. Lot’s going on including a free Breakfast Mix at Dance Theater Workshop at 10:30 on Thursday, March 30th with guest speakers Vallejo Gantern and Tanya Calamoneri followed by informal performance by La Zampa — for reservations e-mail newdancealliance@nyc.rr.com.
Hey there Vanilla Puddin- I wish you had been there. I had some time to rub up against you and it would’ve been good for my nerves. I haven’t spoken so much on stage lately so the John J. reading was kinda new for me. Very verbose, adn as you know, although i can speak, I tend to be a more, “Lie down and shut up” kinda girl.
I hope to bump into you on 14th street. You are my sunshine
JAM
I’m just back from NYC. I saw “Hell” at the matinee show on Friday. Simply and completely amazinglingy brillian. I know, too many adjectives. Yes, the writing and music were amazing. Yes, the arrangement was cool as hell. Yes, Eileen Myles is a genius. The coolest thing: Both Eileen and Michael where there in the audience.
Go see the show. Forget Beauty and the Beast. Forget The Producers. “Hell” is funny, tragic, intelligent and it actually says something. Step back mainstream, all Hell’s breaking loose.
I have never collaborated with Grotowski. But it is pride that his Laboratory is in my home city Wroclaw.
who reads this shit? oh wait, i just wasted 5 minutes doing so. your time would be better served counting sand.
I know Candygirl! (She’s getting divorced, I hear, so maybe there’s still a chance, Ivan.)
This is HTML stuff is so righteous. Not only can you trace the exact local of an IP address but you can even profile the machine from which the posts are sent! Even when people leave bogus email addies. Wanted to reach a wider audience. I wonder who’s boyfriend I slept with in Tex-ass! Keep it coming chuckles! :-0
xoh~ib
Pete~
You wouldn’t have a way of getting in touch with the Walker’s former Audience Advocate, would ya??? Hit me up on the email if the results are positive.
~ib
Hi Salley,
I heard through the grapevine that you are doing well. I have just seen this as well. I am teaching creative writing (in Chattanooga, TN) and would love to talk to you. I called the old clinton street number. I hope we can get in touch.
Mia
I completely disagree with Carol’s response to 3 Seconds in the Key. I think the emotional bond between mother and son is so accurate and true. It is extremely visceral and raw without blatant mention in the text; the fact that the bond is so subtle heightens its honesty in my opinion. The nuances of their relationship, as well as the Mother’s relationship with Player really got to me. I love the different points of view; what would a play be without different points of view? A text with one point of view often becomes didactic, and a didactic text alienates readers. I think 3 Seconds in the Key, ambiguities and all, is a spectacular text. Kudos to Deb.
This sounds very cool. My first alias in email was and still is Seymnour@Salinger.org. I’m presently at work on a book about Salinger and have colleagues who imagine ourselves as defacto Glass family members…and it’s always good to have a place to go to the bathroom in NYC.
Will
What we need – and by we I mean people who think the theater they see is awful for the most part (when actually theater has the potential to be the most exciting and immediate of arts) and the structure of the Theater World is in a large part the problem – are immediate acts to express our frustrations… collective actions, disruptions, vandalisms that voice these frustrations which i know I share with most of my fellow theater-makers….I want CiNE to create a list of actions. For the first time I feel in that position where you really WANT to do something but you don’t know how. Can you help? Or is this essay – published in an exclusive magazine – just an angry academic diatribe.
Ah yes, actions.
The trick is–and this is the trick we tried to pull with the portfolio–is that MANIFESTOS and ACTIONS tend to marginalize themselves, if they don’t take into account the realities of the situation, and we have no desire NOT to learn from the 60s. None of CiNE’s proposals are impracticable; indeed, some might find our embrace of current exigencies almost cynical (see PLAYGOER’s blog)–and likewise, we prefer to keep our list of ACTIONS to ourselves, and let them proceed quietly, gnawing at the body from the inside out…
So look for ACTORS AT WORK, chestbursting in August, 2006.
IB~
You know who is untalented? Me. Just re-edited the above . . . yuk . . . I blame jet lag. What’s your excuse??? Seriously dude, your website is filled with the most solipsistic yang I have ever wasted my time to skim. C’mon man! What are you saying? What are you REALLY saying? Who cares about Jo Fucking Bonney??? Are you not more interested in what is killing all the Dolphins???
~IB
i think the only reason Raulitto makes Burritos for other people is cos he is still greaving for when he used to make them for me. *sigh*. So, after SEVEN years of memories, (packed, wrapped and stacked in gewy beans), trying to decide if I miss Raul more than his Burritos still really fucks up my weekends. JEEEEEZ. Its one of those things that takes a really long time to weigh up. You know what I mean?.. Sometimes its a psycho obsessive loop that sneaks into my head and fractures my working week like a shifting techtomic shiny vinyl plate. Neumonic plate. Burrrrrr…ate . O. See? Ruined. Looping. And no Beanyfleshygewy Burrito for consolation.
Yours, Secretly Digging It
I think what Holly Hughes and the NEA 4 are fighting for is admirable. Tim Miller is directig a show at my school next semester and I only hope that I can have the pleasure of working with such a amazing artist.
“The Warriors” isn’t a B movie.
warriors may be a b movie—-but,,,, as much as I hate to admit it,,, italy scored both goals against the americanos. thats the real problemo……………….
oh, by the way, according to italian “lip readers” empoyed by leading italian media moguls-the italian dude on thee receiving end of the worst headbut of the year apparently said that mr.z’s mama is a terrorist whore.
shit, where’d i leave my bong?
jim
Starting a Theater Company
…An Interview with Meg MacCary of Clubbed Thumb …
Chez Andy…ha ha…hahahah…ha.
Not to mention the fact that David Cote wrote of Rabbit Hole:
Read the rest of Cote’s review here.
Thanks for checking it out, Andy. E.
Okwui Okpokwasili is great! I have been trying to find her in anything that she has done after seeing some plays she’ been in…i recognized her as the UN tour guide at the beginning of The Interpreter (like 20 mins in) and i can’t wait to see The Hoax! She’s such a beauty, i hope to see her in more!
ART is in Cambridge, MA.
I may be wrong, but FF’s Goings On newsletter recently noted that this event is sold out. Maybe that depends on what price ticket you want to purchase, but at $20, I can understand if there are no more of those tickets. It should be a great, if long, night.
fantastic show, astute write-up.
this had to have been one of the most purely enjoyable shows I have seen in a long time. Unpretentious almost to a fault, and bursting with the raw artistic energy so rarely seen onstage outside of a musical venues with young new acts. BBB achieved the kind of cross-disciplinary performance that is so well integrated it can’t actually stand on one of it’s facets. The piece’s weight is spread so evenly that, like it or not, no part can be easily separated from the whole, which to me is a testament to a complete theatrical experience of the highest order. Sometimes, I wish I had a british accent.
Was Casey the guitar player? He was great.
i love that you call it a dream come true. it most definitely was.
It’s interesting that “budgetary concerns” keep major theaters from producing work that they seem to tacitly acknowledge is more to their taste, more appealing to audiences, and more likely to break theatrical ground, choosing instead to produce work that no one is particularly interested in. This seems like both a bad business model and artistically irresponsible, and could easily be mitigated by sloughing off some of the old guard–the “usual suspects” in NYTW’s particular vernacular–and giving chances to younger, less seasoned talents–writers, directors, and actors. Pay them less and give them the exposure. This may seem unfair, and would certainly be protested by the unions, but think about the fact that almost every theater professional working downtown or under the age of 35 or so routinely works for almost or completely free on projects whose exposure is severely limited by the press space taken up by the “majors.” People deserve to be fairly compensated for their creative work, but as long as that’s not happening, why not take advantage of it by launching new careers and interesting work? Of course, that would require that the artistic directors of companies are willing to take a chance and cease settling for the kind of shows to which season subscribers give away their tickets to visiting relatives.
As a two-time former member of the lab, I feel compelled to encourage anyone who considering applying to do so. An incredibly positive experience both times around. I know I’m not alone in feeling a great degree of debt to Soho Rep for all I learned and experienced.
Awesome! Amazing dance group, go see them! They will seriously blow your wind. Visit http://www.youngdancecollective.org
My son was there
One thing most people are missing. It seems to me, Mr Mike Daisey, knew before he posted on youtube, who this group were and came from. In the info area of the clip It states 87 members of a Christian group. why?
I talk to him about this in messages ,he said he had posted before he knew who they were. It does not look that way to me . The one that puts the clips on youtube, are able to pull their clips, and repost, They can remove comments and block viewers from making a comment. Which he did to me.
Day of walk out 4-19-07
Talked with Cindy L. from the school and the man the poured water David 4-20-07 acording to news papers and his site.
Youtube shows posted 4-21-07.
Why? After reading much about Mr. Daisey and his followers. I think I have the answer.
Seems as he forgave 1 and punished 86 others lets not count the other 11 adults just the 75 kids that were 14-17 years of age.
He heard there cries with their comments .
They were public high school kids from s. California .there for choral competition.
To date 5-14-07 more info still shows Christian group. He said 4-21-07 is a repost .but he did not amend info even if posted on the 20th. 3:40 pm . he talked to lady ,Cindy L. from the school, in the am of the 20th .what some will do in hopes of making money and fame.
Seriously one of the most unengaging shows i have seen and i have seen A LOT of dance in NYC over the last seven years. The guest artists’ works were sloppy and non specific. For York dance works, maybe consider your selection process when sharing a concert in the future. Good for your for promoting your friends’ work though!
Hey, thanks for the plug, CB! It went well.
Wish I could have seen the show. Wish I could have seen Melanie….charlie thompson charlieblue@gmail.com
hannah cullen is fantastically amazing.
Hang in there Andy Horwitz — ole’ Rocky Balboa says you need to get to the beach to cure those summertime blues.
The NYC Fringe — or FringeNYC, as they force us to say — may be too “fringe-tastic”, but there’s still a few worthy souls left making a stand (and they’re not all European).
Salt water can cure many ailments.
- SBN
Don’t forget the Philly Fringe is at the same time and host some great philly talent have it out all over the city. An excellent time, I must say. Sad I will be outta town as usual. Looking forward to the fall and new shows in NYC and Philly.
Wow. $700 bucks a week. What a deal.
Maybe they could be honest and upfront and just call it a “curated rental”.
Sadly, the 99-cent performances are all sold out. There’s a $10 code if you buy before Monday, though, on their website.
Entertaining, smart. A bit long, but maybe they will tighten it up by opening night. The use of space (and product!) was fabulous.
Raul is a fantastic person. I highly reccomend him for any occasion.
You are not sure it is problem? Well i guess if you only want to see theatre that reflects your own politics it isn’t a problem. But I think drama whether it is TV, Film or Theatre should be a have a place for all on the political spectrum. If you then find the politics revolting you can engage in debate or simply choose not to engage with the piece at all. But by refusing to even comission or produce right wing plays the theatrical establishment is engaging in a form of censorship even more insidious than McCarthyism. In the last year Channel Four has produced three dramas sympathetic to child molesters, one sympathetic to Terrorists and one to child murderers. If we can question the ‘grey areas’ in these issues why not say Immigration?
The web address for NYC Dance Spaces — the online database of hundreds of rentable dance studios and performance spaces in New York City — is now http://www.nycDanceSpaces.org.
See also:
NYC Music Spaces http://www.nycMusicSpaces.org
NYC Theatre Spaces http://www.nycTheatreSpaces.org
thank you!!! hope you will see it again!!
There’s a great profile of Eric on the Flint Expatriates website:
http://flintexpats.blogspot.com/2008/01/flint-portraits-eric-koziol.html
So you are the man behind Culturebot !!
It is a GREAT video of yours.
Funny – you have it !!! you are performer !!!!
I am sure it will be a Great success !
Thank you for all of your help.
I’ll be happy to send you video soon, when it will be ready.
For now there is one on my website.
Hope to talk soon,
Deganit
I have to say you could not have hit the nail on the head, with regard to Mr Isherwood’s comments, more than if you took a sledgehammer to it.
Thank you for your insight.
Thanks for posting that about Aaron Landsman’s Open House.
That review made me so angry- I am tired of theatre reviewers conceiving of theatre as such a bland and self-enclosed discipline.
That to me is part of why the discipline is so backward in this country. They comment on the text and never the conceptual framework of a performance. Ugh.
ANyway, thanks for posting about site-specific!
Oh my gosh, I could have written much of this post. I, too, saw Kristen in “blah blah” at Room 608 in Seattle, and I, too, was blown away — her shows are implanted in my mind forever, at least the three that I was lucky enough to see because we were both living in Seattle at that time (”Blah”, “Again” and “Slip”). I remember, too, seeing her read some of her work at Bumbershoot, and the mere act of her reading off of postcards was moving, riveting, memorable after all these years. A lot of my impetus to become a solo performer is due to her, and a lot of what keeps me striving to grow as an artist, to make new choices, to find an original and authentic way to get to the core of what I want to say, is the vivid memory of her style, emotion and originality. And I’ve never gotten to tell her any of this. I was always too intimidated to even say hi.
Wish I was in NYC to see “Hello Failure”.
I am that audience member! I was googling again today to see if any of our esteemed press had discovered this play. Not yet, but I once again find you, holding up the torch!
Thanks for presenting kristen’s work.
with joy,
Laylage
I’m totally gonna see it this week.
It sounds fascinating.
You hit the nail on the head, Culturebot. Bravo!
Hi there. I have not checked out the playgoer discussion yet but I will. Saw Hello Failure last Friday night and felt like I was floating the whole time – there is something really special going on there.
Such clear cues given, the staging and design, as to how to listen and watch the play, most notably the evolving tableau / family portrait of women that materializes over the first two minutes of staging. I remember thinking, as they were gathering “oh, they are like specimens, like alien creatures, like a museum exhibit” which immediately made my brain shift into a different mode of experiencing the piece, not as a story but as a concert (of ideas, images and sounds). I too was surprised by the “realist whimsy” tag, in that there is something so SOBER about the piece, so MATURE in the way it both relies on and critiques a kind of contemporary excess of language – language as noisiness. I can’t remember the line exactly, but something about “we are just talking, we are just opening our mouths and these words are coming out”. I’ve been talking about the piece a lot since I’ve seen it, and keep feeling like I lack the words to describe my experience, which I think is a good sign. When I try, I say things like “my experience was trying to hold this whole set of ideas/sounds/people in my head at once….it was about an eerie accumulation of images (painted in sound, bodies, ideas)….i experienced it almost in the way I experience a Richard Foreman piece, where I find myself laughing or gasping in a moment and not quite sure why I am doing so…” See? When I try and put the experience into words I sound like a dumbass. But I am a happier dumbass for going to see the play. OK all for now. I think I will post this on Playgoer too. PS: There is more to say on this whole terms “whimsy” and how it is being attached primarily to women writers. Seems like an easy way out, perhaps a lazy way of categorizing? I need to think more on this…
To me August: Osage County is at the forefront of Realist Whimsy! This is why (I lifted this from my own comment on The Playgoer):
It has all the signposts of a Great American Play (thank you, Eugene): Sprawling family drama in a sprawling family house with the requisite alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, incest, betrayal, parent-child alienation,big family dinner scene, some mystical connection to an earlier America, pedophilia, and poetry readings.
I was entertained every second and yet AUGUST was clearly never taking itself so seriously – every big revelation, every familiar dramatic trope was played and written (I think), ultimately, with a knowing wink for laughs. In fact I might say it almost had a “whimsical” relationship to the standard ingredients that go into a big, serious American play. I wondered watching (and enjoying)this dazzling display – is this perhaps a fanciful and extravagant parody of the great American play? Realist Whimsy, anyone?
There’s a lot worth saying about and defending in “Hello Failure,” but I do think we should avoid anything related to “reviewers coming to see the play too early.” I saw the play on Monday, 3/10 (http://thatsoundscool.blogspot.com/2008/03/hello-failure.html), and as I tried to express, what I react to is that the play is too *AWARE* of itself (the characters are too, though they don’t address the play). I think that’s what leads people to assume that it’s whimsical — it tackles something serious, but not seriously, and the changes in tone throughout the piece (especially the direct address at the end) lead people to try to make connections (or sense) of things that are meant to just be felt. (I forget which reviewer said it, but I certainly found this play to be easier when I read it myself, with a consistent tone in my head.) Lisa grasps a great line though, that I wish I’d paid more attention to, about the use of language — there’s also another great part in the bathroom where they try to speak as economically as possible. I liked “God’s Ear” so much more because it drove that point about language into the core of the piece; with “Hello Failure,” it seemed to just be one more thought.
I thought “Hello Failure,” far more than “God’s Ear,” was an exploration of the ways in which language specifically provides identity and a means of constructing the world in the midst of a painful sense of loss and loneliness. To disagree with Aaron, I think that the primary weakness of “God’s Ear” was in fact that language played only an ancillary role to the story and the use of pop culture icons. “Hello Failure,” with its minimal story (more a situation than a narrative) and resistance to pop culture, was far more a contemplative play about language.
And maybe this is where the problem lies: that “Hello Failure” is in this respect self-consciously musical. Much of the critical comment about the play has had to do with this self-consciousness and the lack of event, but to me this was largely the condition of the play and its characters. I think it was Heidi who said that the true antecedents to “Hello Failure” are “Waiting for Godot” and “The Cherry Orchard,” and I think she’s quite right there — the music of the first, the experience of ennui and duration of the second. The characters of “Hello Failure” are self-aware, brutally so in some cases, and so is their language.
Some theatre critics have lost that ear for the musicality of language (as have too many actors, playwrights and directors in New York), and so the response to “Hello Failure” has elicited a narrow, shallow response, by and large. Lisa’s points here are well-taken.
There’s nothing whimsical about “Hello Failure” — phrasemaking aside (and I’m guilty of that too, and disappointed that nobody picked up on “Surrealism Lite”), it’s firmly rooted in the very real experience of its characters. The musicality of language is something that perhaps we’ve lost in contemporary realism (unlike the poetic realism of Chekhov and Ibsen; nothing whimsical about that work, either). But clearly, it will be harder to recognise with a generation of critics and theatremakers who care more to “tell a good story” (whatever that means) than to dive deeper into the emotions that underlie our situation, and to use that language as the drill.
Thanks, George. To me it is a play about being left to navigate through life alone and how ridiculously hard it is, and the language is written to most accurately communicate that reality. The language isn’t an “exercise” it is a struggle to articulate a piece of reality: to tell people about loneliness, ridiculously self-aware narcissistic suffering in the midst of fragile, lovely lives on earth. That’s what the play is “about”. The language is the means of communication. It isn’t a game.
Only Kristen can tell us what’s what but does this make sense? It seems unfair to say the play is “about” its language just because the language isn’t the way we normally talk. No one says that TS Eliot or Rilke poems are “about language”. Great writing isn’t about its language–it is a wrestling to express inexpressibles in an inadequate medium. Therefore language is heightened, stretched, and extended outside of its ordinary use.
It is curious to me that ariticulate language these days seems so foreign (threatening?) that it must be described as an end in in itself. Some formalistic exercise.
The language is altered because the playwright wishes to be articulate about something in a way our normal speech does not allow us to be.
I like all this talk and thank everyone for it.
I plan to participate! Last year was amazing.
All the best,
Saw Lady
http://www.SawLady.com/blog