Of the three companies I would want to be on stage with, this one was at the top. If you’re ever in Minneapolis, go see a show by these terrific pranksters. I appeared in an election year satire Ubu for President, based on the Ubu Roi plays by Alfred Jarry. The important thing was that I played Ma Ubu, which meant a lot of stage combat in pumps and a six foot drop onto a wrestling mat wearing a corset. Best three months ever.
Vincent Gracieux was Ubu, pictured here in an earlier production of the piece. Vinny was my husband in the play and my host for most of my stay in Minneapolis and it was an honor to perform with him. We drank a lot of Czech beers late at night while watching Charlie Rose and the Olympics.
The first incarnation of this set of 22 drawings was created for a group exhibition at White Columns in New York, curated by Marisa Olson. The second time around, I made new work based on the same concept for Characters, Scene I and II, (one exhibition, two locations) curated by Helianthe Bourdeaux-Martin. The show also included James Jean, R. Crumb, Cindy Sherman, Philip Guston, and many other giants, and it was a true honor to have work on the same walls with them. The concept was that instead of happening to Bruce Wayne, the Batman mythos happened to me, minus the shooting of the parents and all. But what if I had taken up the mantle of the bat? I tried to portray my own fears and insecurities faced by a super hero, but in the end he ended up just being as vulnerable and threatened by it all as I was.
This project was a tribute to a Philadelphia morning show called Al Abert’s Showcase. With the help of Michelle Dean (director/editor) and Jon Wolanske (actor) I filmed what was the last episode of this fictional children’s show hosted by Gilly G. Grasshopper.Read More
I performed for 4 years in short films and original theatrical productions in various states of dress and undress, mostly involving bear costumes, while in San Francisco. I knew most of the folks from Brown almost all of whom were in a production of Six Degrees of Separation with me my sophomore year. Writing that here makes that coincidence suddenly eerie.
One of the short films is included here, Party Stories. Directed by Jon Wolanske, Party Stories stars Mara Gerstein, Abby Paige, Paul Charney, and Mitch Goldman, and features a very intense recap of a holiday shopper’s quest for an elusive George Foreman Grill. The sketch was first presented as part of KML Circus of Failure.
The International Language was a featured sketch in Killing My Lobster Tales of a Lonely Planet, 2002. It features me, a hot tub, and hearty screw.
Directed by: Kelleth Chinn and Marc Vogl
Starring: James Bewley, Marc Vogl, Gabe Weisert
Written by: Paul Charney
Music: Steve O’Reilly/Glass Records
Edited: Kelleth Chinn
Crew: Michelle Dean
Directed for the stage: Daniel Lee
The film has screened at the following:
NewFest – New York Lesbian, Gay and Transexual Film Festival – June 2002
Out on Film – Atlanta’s Gay and Lesbian Film Festival – November 2004
L’envers MLIF – Lilles, France – 2004
Microcinema/Independent Exposure 2004 Screenings at 111 Minna – San Francisco
21 Grand – Oakland, California
Chaos Studios – Colorado Springs, Colorado
Cleveland Institute of Art – Cleveland, Ohio
The Revival House – Providence, RI
The story of a moth man who fails as an entertainer, a boy who grows up too fast, and a man realizing that his father is there for him. This was created for the roving performance series, Moving Target, curated by Margaret Tedesco. This particular evening was at the Lab in San Francisco, in 2000. The performance started with a man dressed as a moth (me) setting the stage and holding a tiny light singing This Little Light of Mine until he’s embarrassed enough to leave the stage. A performer enters (Jon Wolanske) and tentatively finds the spot light and struggles to tie his necktie due to his large cartoony hands. He’s wearing a white puffy jacket – that covers his entire body and mouth. We watch him make several attempts until he finally completes the knot. I enter again, wearing a tiny lamp on my head to illuminate my face. As I tie my own tie, I talk about a trip to Disneyland and waiting to see Mickey Mouse who only appeared at the last moment. I connect that memory to a moment at my mother’s funeral, when my father took my hand as we walked away from the grave site.
