Saturday, January 16, 2010
For Melanie Joseph’s Foundry Company, the City Is the Stage
NYTimes.com: "THE restaurant Veselka, in the East Village, has featured Ukrainian borscht on its menu, individual banana cream pies on its daily specials board, and, in 2008, at the fourth table from the entrance, “Etiquette,” a performance piece in which the ticket holders were also the actors. Presented by the Foundry Theater and its artistic producer, Melanie Joseph, the work called for two people at a time to play the parts of a young woman and an elderly philosopher, with the dialogue fed to them through headphones."
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3 comments:
WOW. Both this woman and her company seem to be doing some pretty interesting things, none of them ordinary. The first thing that struck me about this woman was the statement that Joseph does not only produce art, but artists. I my mind, this approach to producing has all but been lost by the American entertainment industry. Growing an unknown into a start with actual talent is something very few people have time for (and if they do, they don't have the resources). The second things that impressed me about this company was the type of work they are doing. Not only are they doing theater that very few people would touch, I am not sure they are doing theater as many people would think of it. The company's concept of "every performance being a special event" is very intriguing to me because it touches on the transient nature of drama and how each performance is special and individual. In an industry that values repeatability, this is an interesting approach.
This is the type of performance that I really value because it is being produced in an environment that is unexpected and if you aren't paying attention you could miss it completely. It's interesting to know that nobody has walked out of the "performances" and that it's somewhat disappointing to the producer. I find that dedication and purpose so much more fulfilling than something valued for its repeatability, as Chris mentioned. I would love to catch this at some point and see what it's really like to sit there and realize that most of the people there have no idea that it's a performance. What an amazing concept.
I love this kind of performance art. I suppose being surrounded by it all day can make you jaded and blind to it. Wherever you walk in Purnell, someone is rehearsing a scene, memorizing lines, or learning a new song. It's all become old hat to us. But I suppose if I sat down for lunch and a performance just 'began' in my immediate vicinity, I wouldn't walk out either. There's something about being caught off guard by art that makes it even more valuable.
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