Category Archives: Performance

Durational reading series continues… Free Bananas

Last night I performed the 2nd of my durational readings. This time at Velocity Dance Center in Seattle, WA as part of their Fall Kick Off series, the Big Bang. It was a hell of a lot of fun. 30 acts spread across the venue all going off at the same time.

I positioned myself in a broom/liquor closet. I sat on a (false) toilet just inside the door, but mostly out of sight unless you looked in. If you walked up to the door you saw a video I’d made. It consists of my hands in various scenarios: opening doors; buttoning my shirt; drawing; popping a beer… But if you peered in, there I was, on the toilet, pants and underwear around my ankles reading from a book.

To keep people out I positioned a box with 30lbs of bananas in the doorway. A sign near them read, “Free Bananas (enjoy!).” On the floor next to the box lay a towel and that’s where all the banana peels ended up; a sign of detritus, one of the ways you know a performance art piece is in the room.

The book I chose was Samuel R. Delany’s ‘Tales of Neveryon.’ I’d never read it before, but had always planned to. Ostensibly it’s a sword and fantasy text, but it’s actually a Plato meets Socrates fable (at times) that dwells on the nature of language, sign and symbology, slavery, economics, and gender relations. If you know the work of Mr. Delaney then you probably guessed this. What a treat to read this in the bathroom in public.

I had a microphone in front of me wired to a small amplifier to throw my voice out to anyone listening. The reading lasted 3.5 hours. The last one was for 12. This time my throat was ok at the end.

My thinking: black guy in the closet; toilet is a position of vulnerability that’s universal; black bodies are in a constant state of vulnerability as the State and its actors cannot see/treat us as ‘normal’ or ‘regular’ citizens; the video is an act of normalization (“Check it out America. Black people are just like you. We wear clothes, open doors, tie our shoes. Our lives are fucking mundane. Black people are you.”) showing my hands performing simple gestures as an act of normalizing perceptions of Black people.

My favorite part of the action/activity is that the viewer has to actively look into the closet to see me on the toilet. Nothing is sacred or profane when you’re black.

Here’s the video and thanks for reading!
[Direct link to the video at Youtube: https://youtu.be/yzM81z1OT9I]

Gloria’s Cause Revisited

Back in December of 2010 I was part of a stage production that took an abstract look at the American Revolutionary War and American culture in general. Directed by Dayna Hanson formerly of 33 fainting Spells, Gloria’s Cause was a fun and messy assortment of scenes that sometimes appeared to come from nowhere. The show had multiple dancers and actors and a live band that almost all of us performed in. I fulfilled all three roles, some much better than others.

The show was co-presented by Seattle theater On The Boards and they paid for a film crew to document the work. That documentation can be seen at ontheboards.tv.  There’s some small amount of compensation the theater needs for the production work to be cost sufficient so be prepared to pay. I’ve watched the video several times and it’s great; the film crew did a wonderful job!

I’d also like to point out a short feature that appeared on cable TV about us: Gloria’s Cause Short Feature.

And here’s some screen shots from the On The Boards video. Now go watch it!!!

The White Days in Images

We recently shot video of the entire play; not sure what will become of it. If it’s possible to post it here, maybe I will. Our director/playwright, Curtis Taylor, has collected a number of screenshots from the shoot. Here they are in no particular order.

Also, the show has been extended into November. We’ll be performing on the first Friday & Saturday of the month! If you missed it before you still have a little time. The shows have been near sell-outs every single night!

Curtis Taylor’s ‘The White Days’

[UPDATE! Poet Robert Mittenthal has written a short ode on our play, ‘White Days (the after draft) – for Curtis Taylor‘]

Here’s what I’m working on…

The White DaysIt’s been a 6.5 week process of getting this work to come to life. We’ve had two shows so far and both sold out. That’s fantastic and gratifying; a big ‘thank you’ to everyone who’s come so far.

Here’s the press release:

The White Days is a play that explores the nature of loneliness as it occurs across ephemeral modern spaces (the internet, delivery routes and recorded voices). It is also a play about trophy restoration and stealing from vending machines.

This original chamber-drama written and directed by Curtis Taylor (2011 Artist Trust Fellowship/Theater) and produced by John Kazanjian as part of New City Theater’s Resident Artist Program.

The production features Erika Mayfield (Christian Palmer’s ‘William Never Married’), Pol Rosenthal (Dayna Hansen’s ‘Gloria’s Cause’, Implied Violence, Degenerate Art Ensemble), Paul Budriatis (solo performance ‘Instability’/On the Boards), and Richard Lefebvre (‘Calamari Union’, David Russo’s ‘Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle’).

Production design is by LILIENTHAL|ZAMORA (‘STILL’, ‘portrait + landscape’/Hedreen Gallery; ‘The Thin Place’/Intiman Theater), lighting by Jessica Trundy (Washington Ensemble Theater), sound design by Doug Haire (KEXP’s ‘Sonarchy’, Seattle Phonographers Union), with costumes by Nina Moser (Guy Maddin’s ‘Brand Upon the Brain’).

PERFORMANCES: 8pm
Opens: Friday September 30
Runs: Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays through October 22
THEATER:
New City Theater 1406 18th Avenue,
Seattle, Washington  98122
206-271-4490
www.newcitytheater.org

TICKETS: $20 Available Night-of-Performance at Theater & Online at Brown Paper Tickets: 

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/189537
 Telephone ticket sales: (BPT): 1-800-838-3006

More info:
And here’s a cellphone shot of the cast in group hug mode the night of our first show. I’m still giddy over it… That’s me, Erika Mayfield, Richard Lefevbre, and Paul Budraitis. Those people are heroes.