Room of Meat

click to enlarge

Just wanted to post this image since it semi relates to the Vision Into Art from the last post. Around the turn of the millennium I was working with my buddy Ian Belton, fellow Skidmore College grad and master of disaster, on a series of weird little plays based around Lorca, the Spanish surrealist poet. Ian directed, I acted, along with Holter Graham (also from Skidmore) and Jesse Perez. Ian and Jesse were in Julliard at the time, along with a lot of the folks who created Vision Into Art. In fact, their producer/director Paola Prestini was producing shows that our pieces would appear in. At any rate, this show, Amargo, the Lorca Trittico was the culmination of 3 shorter pieces we had created, one of which we were working on the day before the World Trade fell. Definitely some cool, F-ed up theatre. In this image, we are three surrealist creators. Holter on the left is Luis Bunuel the filmmaker, Jesse in the center is Lorca, and I am Salvador Dali. And all the meat symbolized meat.

As far as I remember, it is early in the day, the meat locker is damn cold, and I am most likely hung over. I think my face looks very strange in this image, almost like a mask that needs adjusting. Somehow that seems appropriate to the subject matter.

What I remember from this show:

1. I played a goat at one point, I remember climbing into the audience and grabbing someone's shoe with my mouth, and throwing it behind me (with my mouth) about 20 feet and hitting someone else on the other side of the audience.

2. Holter swung in on a rope as the Hunchback of Notre Dame, wearing a football helmet and acting extremely retarded.



postcard above: Jesse aghast and me as Spanish officer with cap and cigar.

3. We did a full reenactment of a scene from some Selma Hayek movie, (can't remember the name) but she's a gypsy and tells this guy he will be a juggler. There is a series of shots where she is supposed to be juggling, but its a. somebody's arms juggling b. her face looking at the balls as if she's juggling c. cut to her catching the juggling balls as if she's done juggling. Extremely fake. In our version, Jesse plays Selma, Holter,the guy, and I'm her goat. Jesse pronounces "juggler" with a "y" as in "yuggler," which, according to him, is "espanish." Pronounce that last word to yourself and you'll get it.

4. Me throwing a wine bottle to Holter across the stage and him catching without fail while he looks away from it--harder than you'd think. It always amazed me.

5. The performance from the card just above is of note simply because some rocket scientist from the New York Theatre Workshop gave us envelopes containing a subway token and the words "A token of our appreciation" which, in lieu of actually getting paid for the performances, is about as offensive as getting a flaming bag of shit after winning the lottery.

6. Getting to do the "Happy happy joy joy" dance like Wren and Stimpy.

7. Pretending ants are climbing up our arms.

8. Ian yelling at us. I actually don't really remember this, I'm sure I've blocked it out, but it had to have happened frequently. Also, I'm quoted as saying in rehearsal "I hate you all, but we really should rehearse."

I think I almost got laid a few times because of these shows. And probably almost got paid, too.
Ahh, theatre....