welcome to NYC: performances that blew my mind
February marks the eighth month of my new life in New York City as a Mistress (MA) in Performance Studies at NYU Tisch. In the words of my professor and Performance Studies forefather Richard Schechner, “everything is content” here in the Big Apple. And because lists are so satisfying, here’s some of my most mind-blowing NYC performance experiences of 2011. You can be sure I’ll be looking out for more from these artists/companies/venues as 2012 matures.
1. Useless Magazine Release Party featuring performance artist Jibz Cameron performing as Dynasty Handbag. Deemed a “crackpot genius” by The Village Voice, DH is as smart as she is weird/funny/tragicomic.
2. New York Neo-Futurists’ Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind and The Complete and Condensed Stage Directions of Eugene O’Neill, Volume 1.
neo-futurism is the new improv.
3. Ann Liv Young’s “Sherry is Present.”
photo: michael a. guerrero
Click here to sign up for your own Sherapy Session with Ann Liv Young.
Nudity, doodoo, peepee, discomfort. This lady is crazy and I love her.
4. Performance Studies Lecture Series: an evening talk with Ron Athey and Julie Tolentino
Artists who push the body’s boundaries.
5. Performing at the Body’s Edge with Rebecca Schneider and Shelley Jackson
Jackson’s project “Skin” involved having volunteers get individual words and phrases from her short story tattooed onto their bodies. Her “words,” as she calls these volunteers, bring her writing to life in the flesh. SKIN.
6. Sleep No More by Punchdrunk
photo: sara krutwich the ny times
I’m over it, but there was a time when I was all over it. Too sexy.
7. Elevator Repair Service’s The Select (The Sun Also Rises)
Stunning performance of Hemingway’s book.
Which brought me to my favorite YouTube vid of the year, the music video for Dominique Walter’s song “Les Petits Boudins” (1967). The Select’s choreography is ripped straight from it.
8. Ryan Trecartin’s video art The Re’Search at MoMA PS1
The Re’Search (Re’Search Wait’S), 2009-2010 from Ryan Trecartin on Vimeo.
Preteen nightmare
