#coil15

Once in a while, very very rarely, we see a performance that universally delights and amazes the contributors to the Maxamoo podcast. That happened this week with YOUARENOWHERE by Andrew Schneider at COIL 2015 from Performance Space 122. We loved it, we couldn’t stop talking about it and that resulted in a lot of giggling. But it is not the only show we discuss, we also saw Taylor Mac’s A 24-Decade of Popular Music: 1900-1920; Reggie Watt’s Audio Abromovic; Timur and the Dime Museum, Neal Medlyn’s Pop Star Series: . . . Her’s a Queen; Mike Iveson’s Sorry Robot; Stan’s Cafe’s The Commentators, and more.

Also, the picture we discuss from the New York Times of Jack at Taylor Mac’s show can be found here.

I've included an image here of myself facedown on the 'puter...because this is what it feels like this morning to approach the task of blogging about Kansas City Choir Boy, Sunken Cathedrals, and YOUARENOWHERE.  I mean, can you know the mighty ocean?  Can you lasso a star from the sky?  But because it is impossible: we must try. (and yes- I just combined Mango quotes and Tadashi Suzuki quotes- deal with it.) 

I'll just go in order, bras.  K.  So first things first: Sunken Cathedrals, by Bora Yoon as part of Prototype (at La Mama).  This was one that I knew nothing about going in, but I purchased the ticket cuz when I see Asian Girls with violins are performing avant garde works, I go there.  The overarching theme in all of yesterday's work was reality/dreams/getting lost/found/space/time, etc.  It was a timey-wimey type of day.  

And yes, I make that Doctor Who reference as whether she knows it or not- Bora Yoon's set was downright Gallifreyan.  Other than that...the best way I can describe this show is that Bora Yoon handles a lot of objects, makes a carrot soup, has a stereotypical Asian mother, is in some kind of dream battle with an impish Korean dancer, she loves her giant diamonds, and she rather rogue-ishly removes articles of clothing each time she goes offstage (but in a very demure, Asian way- I can say this because I am Asian).  There was a kind of (to me) weird and vaguely out of place reference to CUPS?  And while I really enjoyed the projections as a whole- there was definitely one that I think was a live wallpaper from my HTC One M8.  The music and text were haunting and performed with a very cool ease.  The show kept my focus and was rather transportive (some parts more effectively than others).  

AND THEN I GOT ON THE TRAIN AND WENT TO HERE FOR COURTNEY LOVE, YO!!!!! (hahah- saying I went to "here" is really funny.) 

In attendance at HERE were Actual Cannibal Broadway Producer Megan Kingery, Blue Man Group Producer Jennie Ryan, JESSE TYLER FERGUSON, Curator of Theatre and Dance and Director of Theatre Programs at Bard College: Gideon Lester, and Village Voice critic Tom Sellar.  I was also standing in line with a gaggle of parents of the musicians and singers in the show who could not stop talking about how James Franco had been there the night before and their daughters were just going nuts.  Hmm.

The show started about 10 minutes late which gave me the vapors as I had a tiny window as it was to get from HERE to Invisible Dog.  And also because everyone was like, "COURTNEY LOVE PROBABLY KILLED A GUY."  Well okay.  No one was really like that out loud but I know everyone was thinking it, you know like- behind their eyes.  Okay one of the James Franco loving parents did IMPLY this out loud.  Whatever.  Kristen Marting assured everyone it was a mic issue and we held fast- eventually getting in and starting (like I said) about 10 minutes late.

BUT OMG NOW TALK ABOUT COURTNEY LOVE YOU IDIOT.  Okay.  So check it.  Courtney motherfucking Love is a goddamn beast you guys.  I mean...talk about American Realness.  Courtney Love is "the thing you can't fake".  I had heard from someone on opening night that when she made her first entrance, someone audibly gasped or exclaimed, "oh my god."  And that's kind of how it is.  She doesn't look real...or maybe she looks too real?  Being in a small (and i mean small) black box theater with Courtney Love like 5 feet away from you is somewhere between "prothetic hand" and "bunraku puppet" on the uncanny valley.  Seeing Courtney Love standing in a sea of chorus girls who look like they just graduated from Tisch this year is like seeing a Tiger, confused and maybe kind of hungry, in a sea of kittens.  Same species...different animals.

Other thoughts I had while I was watching her: Courtney Love really sees things.  Courtney Love HAS SEEN things...things that the rest of us probably couldn't fathom.  Courtney Love is wearing a lot of make up, but it somehow looks okay.  In the wrong kind of lighting, Courtney Love has a mild case of Iggy Pop.  

Okay okay okay.  So the show?  Does anyone want to hear about the show?  I give the show +1 for use of LED web.  I give the show +100 for it's use of PARTY LASERS (Katie Naka loves a laser like whoa).  There was a fiendishly unfair moment when everyone onstage played a guitar EXCEPT Courtney Love.  The Zach Posen dress: I DIE.  The chemistry between Todd Almond and Courtney Love is laughable and ridiculous and that's like -50, seriously.  The music was good...but newsflash- the show is more about Almond's character than Love's and he has a lot more stage time than she does...

So the last thing I will say (because I want to talk about Andrew Schneider all day and night) is that I think I read that Todd Almond wrote this with Courtney Love in mind- but could someone down the road do this piece as Courtney Love?  And then there's just this crazy stunt casting factor to the whole thing...like what would this piece be with out the real Courtney?  Would it just be some LED web and party lasers?  Deep questions.  Worth consideration.  But you guys:

YOUARENOWHERE WAS SO FUCKING GOOD.  I CAN'T.

Sometimes I see things and I am like, "Why do I even bother trying to make anything?"  This was one of those pieces.  I LOVED this piece.  It was everything.  I want to marry Andrew Schneider.  let's fucking do this- I already planned out the wedding during that Daniel Fish thing.  I'm good to go.  Just tell me when.    

I've got my head in my hands.  I don't even know how to talk about it.  Okay.  Grad School, don't fail me now.  Everything from the incredibly inventive tech, to the direct address/casting of the audience...the incredibly clear creation of a time and place that's not even an identifiable time and place...the bold self referential humor, the extremely technical explorations of quantum mechanics that somehow managed to still be engaging...the inclusion of both SIA and ROBYN.  The extraordinary coup de theatre.  The shirtless menfolk.  My friend Peter Musante.  The perfect use of the very difficult to use Invisible Dog space.  THE CRAFT, the MF CRAFT.  The fact that it took things WAY too far.  The total exploration of a very difficult theme.  The many questions that I left the piece with.  The fact that I SIGNED UP FOR ANDREW SCHNEIDER'S MAILING LIST THIS MORNING?  Do you understand what that means?  That I actually want to get Mail Kimp updates from this person?  THAT is the ultimate compliment.

In the immortal words of Squiggy in A League of Their Own: 

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I have seen enough to know that I have seen too much."

Wow.  What a fucking Saturday.  This is me.

FRIDAY.  FRIDAY.  EVERYONE GET DOWN ON FRIDAY.  

Whatever.

So check it.  I'm gonna do this as one post since it's all UTR, even though these 2 shows probably could each handle their own.  But I have to be on the train to my THREE SHOW DAY in an hour and I don't have time to be elegant.  

So first things first- I was gonna wait in line for Reggie Watts today, but I had forgotten that it was my friend Corey's last day at the Clown Factory and he was having drinks after work.  Corey represented 1/3 of the asians at my job, he always got me the things that I needed, for some reason I threw away most of my trash in his trash can instead of mine and he never said anything- so I needed to go see him off.  Sorry Reggie.  SORRY FOR YOU.  Good bye Corey!  I'll see when I see you.  

Okay. Then it was Daniel Fish's A (Radically Condensed and Expanded) Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again.  I've heard a lot about Mr. Fish over the last few years and I was glad to finally get to see this piece.  I had once signed up for free tickets to see his show House For Sale- which received one of the worst NY Times reviews I have ever read (and I am not saying that to dredge up bad feels, as I think that in this day and age, a bad NY Times review can be something to be really proud of)- but I got there too late and there was no late seating, so skipped off into the night with my friend Brendan and we probably went to get some hot dogs or something.

Any way.  Here's the thing.  I dig nearly all the subject matter that Daniel Fish chooses to engage with, cuz I guess we are the same kind of hipster scum that loves Franzen, Eternal Sunshine, and D.F.W.  I mean I am just assuming.  I also dig "craft" in a way that some of my friends can't get behind.  Like I love nearly everything that ERS does, mostly just because of the way they choose to do it.  I get off on craft.  So with this piece- yes there was craft and there was visual daring-do, but the craft was seemingly purposefully impenetrable.  I dunno.  Maybe I kept thinking about ERS while I was watching this because of the literary ties.  But I feel like the ERS literary interpretations are like a level 1 abstraction and this piece was like a level 5 abstraction.  Like don't even TRY to feel anything, cuz that's not what we're doing.  

Did I feel nothing?  No.  My mind wandered to a myriad of different wonderful places (including sleep for short spells- but I had just guzzled white wine and housed a caesar salad- lay off)...um...I think I planned my entire wedding (bearing in mind that I don't even have a boyfriend) and I did go back to many of the times and places that I had traveled too when I read these same David Foster Wallace essays.  Seeing as both DFW and I grew up in Illinois- I am always transported to those wide, flat, empty, lonely and eternal Illinois spaces when I read him.  So I did go there- especially in the last section- which was the most riveting IMHO.  But is that DFW taking me there?  Or Daniel Fish?  And does it matter?  

This show was more "idea" than "craft" and so I didn't pop a big old boner for it right away...but I couldn't wait to write about it.  And I almost wish I could keep going.  BUT THEN:

I also saw IKE AT NIGHT and there was free beer.  Screw craft.  FREE BEER.  

I had not seen this show at Jack in Brooklyn- but I've been to Jack- and I was like, "wait...is that THE foil wall from Jack?"  And indeed it was.  They brought the GD foil wall!  Wow.  

The first guest (news flash- it's a mock-live-late-night-show-as-theatre, complete with breaks and live guests) was Brooklyn Boro President Eric Adams.  And I was like- wait.  The Brooklyn Boro President is a super cool black former cop wearing an AWESOME blazer (yes it was this exact blazer)?  I need to take a second just to let you know that I have a couple of very close friends who worked at Boro Hall during the reign of Marty Markowitz, so finding out that the new Boro President is someone who oozes REAL LIFE COOLNESS AND ATTITUDE was pretty shocking.  President Adams answered every question positively, beautifully, bravely, boldly, and looked good doing it.  The girls next to me were LITERALLY swooning.  Everyone felt good when this interview was over.  +100

Other guests were: comedian Chris Gethard and singer/composer Helga Davis.  And they were nowhere near as smooth.  Hahha.  I'M KIDDING.  Helga Davis was smooth as hell and is also featured in The Parable of the Sower (which I am seeing Sunday).  And Chris Gethard seemed awesome and acknowledged right away that following Eric Adams was ridiculous- but they smoked fake cigars through out the interview, so it was okay.  

Ike at Night was not a raucous parody, it was not a kookie send up, it was extremely contained and for awhile I was kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop- once I realized it wasn't going to- I really marveled at the restraint and the sincerity of this project.  That's almost a harder thing to do.  He really just like...sits and talks to people.  That's theatre too, man.  

OMG this was a long post.  and I have MINUTES before I have to duck out the door for a jam packed day: Sunken Cathedral at 2:30 (PROTOTYPE at La Mama), OH AND DID I FORGET TO MENTION THAT I PAID MORE MONEY THAN I SHOULD HAVE BUT I GOT A TICKET TO AN ADDED PERFORMANCE OF KANSAS CITY CHOIR BOY AT 5:00pm today????  Courtney Love- wash over me with your crazy.  Then I jump to Invisible Dog in BK for YOUARENOWHERE featuring my good bro Peter Musante (Coil).

Oh hey.  Sorry I am so late in the day with my BLOGGINS but I was watching Broad City at my desk with the door closed.  DON'T TELL ANYONE.  

Last night I saw BeginAgain by zoe|juniper.  This show is part of the Coil Festival and was at BAC.  Love me that BAC space, BTW.  

So first off- what a contrast to Bridget Everett.  Hahah.  I've really come to appreciate the diversity of what's available this month with all the shows I've been seeing.  These beautiful tiny dancers could probably live inside one of Bridget's dresses for weeks with out being found.  But enough about that.  

I do love me some dance.  I really do.  It can be trifling sometimes, but I am always floored by the virtuosity of it.  This show was heavy on (as Anne Bogart would say), "Things you can't fake."  Which is inherent in the craft and part of what I also love about dance (and circus for that matter).  But beyond the technical dance feats, certain design elements of this show really resonated with me: the red dirt on the ground getting kicked up and hanging in the light as the dancers increased their intensity.  The subtle smudges of it that clung to their faces and legs even after they moved out of it.  The physical intimacy.  These aren't effects- it was all there, laid bare.  I love that.  

And by the way- for all the other elements of the show- a really intricate and lovely paper sculpture by Celeste Cooning, the video work by Juniper Shuey (of the company namesake), sound design and music used to great effect- the most gripping moments of the whole thing for me were when the 2 girls just looked each other in the eyes.  There was A LOT going on there.  It really took your breath away.  I was sitting in the second row and maybe I could see it better than most, but yeah- it was like, "DANCE, DANCE, MUSIC, PROJECTION, ALBINO BOY SINGING IN FRENCH, DANCE, DANCE- oh wait...hello.  And then they just look at each other...really beautiful.  Really touching...and kind of erotic.  

Worth noting as well was a great duet between a dancer and a projection.  A great take on "me and my shadow", space and negative space, relationship, etc. It was so simple, but it made you scratch your head for a few minutes, "wait a second...how are they doing that..." and then you just settle into the delightful craft of it.    

ALL IN ALL QUITE LOVELY.  YAAAYYYYYY.  

And just also to note: afterwards I ate 2 hot dogs and got a 30 minute massage at one of those cheapy places on 8th street.  Dude.  So good.  I DID almost throw up the hot dogs about 20 minutes after the massage, but I stand by my decision.  2015: you never had it so good.  And then I went to see my boy Ryan Rickenbach play some tunes at Branded Saloon on my way home.  How can one man be so handsome and guitar-y and yet not at all annoying?  YE GODS ANSWER ME. 

BRIDGET EVERETT.

IS THE TRUTH.  

Like I have mentioned before- I had heard so much buzz from all arenas about Bridget and really had no idea what she did.  And nows I knows, and it's wonderful.  In the past week I have come to learn that she worked for many years with my friends Sarah and Ehren at her "slave job" (which she reports she has now been able to quit thanks to a grant from Joe's Pub).  She is an alt cabaret performer and she has a BFP (big fucking pussy).  And I love everything about all those things.  

Although Bridget is not part of any of the festivals I have been frequenting, my friend Megan invited me out for a late show and I was all up on that.  And let me tell you...it's nice to laugh.  Like really laugh.  And hoot and scream and be joyously terrified that this woman is going to sit on that nice man's face...omg this giant woman just SAT ON THAT NICE MAN'S FACE.  

You know me.  YOU KNOW JANUARY NONSENSE THEATRE BLOGGER KATIE NAKA LOVES ARRRRHHHHHHTTTTTT. And I love 30 young girls singing about war and rape, and I love complicated multi-level stage-bisected pieces of theatre in SPANISH.  And I love MODERN DANCE (I am going to see BeginAgain as part of COIL tonight).  I love experimental Opera!  But guurrrrllll, for my money- nothing beats a great act of cabaret if you want to have a good time.  Everyone rants and raves about "immersive theatre" (I know I do) and how does a piece grab you, how does it hold you, how does it effect you, who are you in relationship to it?  And again- for my money- nothing beats the great nights of Burlesque or Cabaret that can be found in NYC because you are YOU, and you are there and you are doing something- experiencing something- having your expectations broken- and you are yelling and screaming (for some reason I ALWAYS WANT TO YELL AND SCREAM)- this is going to see Bridget.  Or Martha Graham Cracker.   Or pro burlesque.  Or The Box.  Again- for me- it's a great breath of fresh air before diving back down into the deep shit.  And not that this shit isn't deep!  It is primordial performance.  It's performance 101.  And I love it.  

And in the immortal words of Matthew Studivan, "I like it when we all laugh together."  That's the deep truth of LIFE, man.  Big ups- Bridget Everett- bow down bitches.  

Lindsay, Jack, and Nicole have thrown themselves hardcore into the NYC January theater festivals–checking out work at COIL 2015, Under The Radar, PROTOTYPE, and Special Effects all in the first week. From Courtney Love as muse to a pantsless Adrienne Truscott to Temporary Distortion’s rock stars in a box to a David Foster Wallace giant “figurative” asshole, we’ve seen a lot of new artists this week that we’ve loved. Here’s our mid-festival report from Team Maxamoo.

Oh hey- the gang's all here!  Last night I checked out the early show of The Blind Date Project.  Wherein lovely Bojana Novakovic and her equally lovely overalls and yellow shirt, meets up with a different stranger each night for a blind date.  No scripts, no rehearsals, all baller, all the time.  These pictures are of myself, Bojana, and the director Scott (who calls and texts through out the date to you know...direct).

The date for my show was Larisa Oleynik (she is an actor from the TV probably best known for being Alex Mack on that show...she is pictured with the rest of the Blind Date Project team in the other photo- black sweater, dead center).  And yes, this was a proper lesbian date full of white wine drinking, boobie grabbing, overalls, and crying (that's what lesbians do, right?)  Kind of a "whomp whomp" on my part- I brought a friend with me who had just gone through a (lesbian) break up and I assured her that this was a fun wacky improv show and she wouldn't have to feel ANY feelings at all!  An hour and a half later a beautiful women in overalls is sitting mere inches from our table sobbing about how she just wants someone to REALLY love her.  Oops.  My bad.

Since I spent 6 months last year working on a show about dating, The Blind Date Project was one of the pieces I was most looking forward to seeing in Coil.  You know I just can't get enough of the theatre of our crummy lives as we struggle towards love with our devices in hand.  The piece definitely did not disappoint. I love this concept and it definitely shattered my expectations- I really appreciated that our particular date had some darkness to it (re: sobbing woman who just wants to be loved).  If you haven't checked these cats out- CHECK THEM OUT I SAY.  There are shows through 1/17.  Go to the link.  That's why I put there- up at the top.  And look how nice they were about taking pictures!