Google's Superbowl Ad
Simple Rules for Watching the Super Bowl
Pullin' Shots: Soulfood Books, Music and Organic Coffeehouse in Redmond
You Live By The Sword, You Die By The Sword
Seattlest Pix 10Feb08
K. Brian Neel in Helsinki Syndrome's "My Body Lies Over the Ocean," at NW New Works Fest. Photo by Tim Summers.
Saturday at five o'clock we went down to On the Boards to catch the first week of the Studio Showcase, part of the Northwest New Works Festival. The festival closes up next weekend with entirely different lineups in both the Mainstage and Studio showcases; more info here [PDF]. Tickets $14.
Byron Au Yong, Stuck Elevator. Byron Au Yong's short opera about a Chinese delivery guy stuck in a New York elevator manages to be both moving and funny. Performed by Yong and musical collaborator Paul Kikuchi on a non-traditional set of percussion instruments, the action unfolds on a tiny platform representing an elevator, where Kuang has become trapped after delivering Chinese food to an apartment. Lacking good English and a proper work visa, as the hours unfold, Kuang is tortured by self-doubt and emasculation--he's afraid of being mocked, afraid of being deported, and frightened of having to return to his wife a failure. But the painfully emotional parts are interspersed between comic bits, such as the hip hop song his bladder sings him in his sleep as he struggles not to piss himself.
Helsinki Syndrome, My Body Lies Over the Ocean. Helsinki Syndrome produces experiences, not just shows, performances that actively engage (and frequently trip-up) their audiences. Taking inspiration from the fact the co-founder Rachel Hynes is now living in London, the Seattle troupe produced a work exploring distance and place, and the disjointed experience of them that modern technology allows. Mixing video and movement, with a live performance by Hynes from London via Skype, Helsinki Syndrome created a weird, disorienting performance piece that ends with a brilliant dance routine by the Freedom Dancers to Styx's "Come Sail Away."
Umami Dance, Home Bodies. Semi-improvised dance about relationships. Or something. It's sort of like, there are two Siamese fighting fish, who've fallen in love, and in order to resist their natural temptation to fight, they practice Tai Chi. We're not saying that's bad. We're just saying.
Queen Shmooquan, I am a Promise. Holy fucking Christ...this is sheer genius. Jeppa K. Hall's Queen Shmooquan routine has been around a while, but this is the first time we've seen it and it may well be the funniest thing we've ever seen. PR materials claimed the show as somehow about "the Muse," but the only sign of one we could see was cocaine. Queen Shmooquan suffers worse and worse nose bleeds as the show progresses, from her entrance as a Prince impersonator to her close as a washed-up never-was. In between, she does a brilliant rendition of The Vagina Monologues (involving mispronunciation and family trees that loop back on themselves, as well as nasal birth) to an imitation of Shirley Temple in Annie, while wearing a male appendage constructed of a fuzzy bra, maracas, and a dildo. Seriously, if you ever the chance to see Queen Shmooquan, take it--this is amazingly hilarious stuff.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
Post a comment (Comment Policy)