Saturday, July 28, 2012

Upcoming workshops at Au Papier Japonais!!

I'l be giving 2 night class workshops this fall and winter at Au Papier Japonais on Fairmount in the Mile end of Montreal. The workshops are introductions to needle felting and papercutting, both are INSANELY FUN
and you will create marvelously pleasing things!! Please check out their website for the schedule. It will be a small group so register early!!

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Real Eyes by Rebecca Patek

This creepy as anything dude was commissioned by my fabulous friend and dancer Rebecca Patek for her Real Eyes performance at The Chocolate Factory Theatre on Long Island, New York from May 31st to June 3, 2012. Rebecca was reviewed by the New York Times! You can read it below or at the site here. A Sly Take on Creativity Rebecca Patek’s ‘Real Eyes’ at Chocolate Factory By GIA KOURLAS Published: June 3, 2012 When you’re sitting before Rebecca Patek, you must be patient. “Um,” she said at the start of her performance, “Real Eyes,” at the Chocolate Factory on Thursday night. “Hi. Um. I’m Rebecca. Um.” Ms. Patek, a waif in a short black dress, seems to drift aimlessly from her point, but there’s nothing careless about her. She is in control; she knows when to fire. “Real Eyes,” a performance merging stand-up comedy and contemporary dance, is a sly sendup of many aspects of the dance world that include talking about the choreographic process and pitching work to potential donors. The piece, as the title hints if you string the words together to form “realize,” is something of an artistic awakening. The eyes are a key too. Just as Ms. Patek invites your gaze, she is also asking the audience: What do you really see? In Ms. Patek’s opening monologue she is a feckless choreographer trying to give her work context. (Her affected confusion is such that it takes several attempts to get out the word “contextualization.”) Even though making a joke out of artistic process is easy fodder, Ms. Patek’s mumbling is both precise and musical. Later in the same monologue she announces that she will show rehearsal images and read her artist statement, and then offers $2 for a nondancer to join her onstage. The only requirement is that the person must be comfortable with contact. When a man in the audience agrees, she gives him a ski mask to wear, and in an instant, the comedy routine turns into a sadomasochism scene. Ms. Patek explains the rules: whenever she reads a line from her artist statement, which the audience must repeat, the volunteer is to knock her to the floor. The statement is her own, but the video of her rehearsal process turns out to be Yvonne Rainer dancing “Trio A,” a work as famous as that postmodern choreographer’s “No Manifesto,” which Ms. Patek also lifts. The Rainer material is the most obvious punch line she delivers all night, yet a more sinister twist occurs when a voice-over, identified as Ms. Rainer, admonishes Ms. Patek for her thievery and, like a dominatrix, begins to order her around. Ms. Patek engages in sexual acts, one involving a masturbating man who wanders onstage and later, a candle, but the scenes are more embarrassing than shocking. The sense is that Ms. Patek is willing to put her body — the real thing, not the dressed-up dancer’s version — on the line, living out the awkwardness she creates for everyone in the room.

Monday, July 9, 2012

An invitation to The Thing about George

Ѿ§**For the first time in North America**§Ѿ As part of the Home Theatre Festival of California Studio One.Two.Three presents The Thing about George A show for very small audiences featuring the lovely and extraordinary Kyla Gilbert
An existentialist androgyne and a candybutcher walk into a bar.... O George!! What are you up to? And what exquisite eye makeup you have!! Come and see The Thing about George featuring a quirky circus ticket seller and a peppy candybutcher. This performance art piece explores the nebulous delectability of language, context, culture and meaning. yummmmmmmmm For one night only! Friday the 13th, July 2012 Doors open at 8 and 10 pm Show is approximately 20 minutes Unit 32A-999, rue Du College, Montreal, H4C 2S3, a 5 minute walk from orange line metro stop Place St. Henri N.B.: This show has a very limited audience size. ONLY 9 spots per viewing. Tickets are $7 each and mustmustmustmustmustmustmustmustmust be reserved beforehand by contacting Anna at annajmcintyre@gmail.com