What I saw last night. Jack Ferver at PS 122. 
A reading with a more irreverent literal take on the movie “The Black Swan”. Like one of the better Saturday Night Live sketches they point up some of the more ludicrous aspects of the script. I am still surprised that the movie was so successful. This performances shows why I thought it was destine for cult classic.
Elements: feathers, fake blood, chairs, water
Titles: “Swan!!!”
Cover:
What I saw last night. Jack Ferver at Performance Space 122.
A show that takes inspiration from the movie “Poltergeist”. I have not seen this film in awhile but I recognized some of the dialog in the performance. It really is used as a launching point for a therapy session that was pretty well acted but rather abruptly ended.
Three shows in a row that take inspiration from film. Weird how these things trend.
Elements: chairs, show in progress when you enter, acting
Title: “Rumble Ghost”
What I saw last night. Iver Findlay and Marit Sandsmark at Performance Space 122. 
A man with bleached blonde hair stomps around a stage and flails on a guitar creating noise and a mess. Two women dance and occasionally speak. This had something to do with Sartre, Beckett and Bukowski. I recognized some snippets of dialogue but that is all. 
Anyway they gave out free PBR before the show so I am not complaining. Beats wearing a cow head.
Elements: beer, guitar, book, computers, film, singing, spoken word, chairs, couch, scrim
Title: “now and nowhere else”
What I saw last night. Cosmin Manolescu & Serial Paradise Company at Performance Space 122. I had trepidations from the beginning when we were given blindfolds to wear before entering. I declined and paid the price later. A hand reached through a curtain that I was forced to hold while I was guided through the space filled with fog. I was embraced for 30 seconds by a girl in a cat woman mask and hot pants and then I was pushed into a seat. I watched as others were guided in wearing their blindfolds and a naked woman walked around smoking a cigarette. Eventually everyone was seated and many fools I mean people kept their blindfolds on the entire show. There were random interactions with audience members, grinding and climbing on people like a cat. At one point one of the performers came over to my seat and put a cow head over me. 
A few others around me got less annoying masks. The woman then reclined naked on the patch of sod and commenced to grind while I as the benevolent bovine was close to hyperventilating from the heat. I abhor participating in shows but endured it for 5 minutes before rejoicing in dry ice filled air again. Any longer and I would expect a check at the end of the night. There was a second act where a man dressed in pink hit tennis balls against the wall that I feared I would have to dodge. At least a 100 people at the show and I got the only cow head tennis ball dodging seat. The performers are from Romania and the show was apparently about loss.
Elements: blindfolds, dry ice, nudity, masks, grass sod, audience participation, knife, tennis rackets and balls
Titles: “Part 1: dreams.land” “superGabriela”
What I saw last night. Amanda Loulaki at Performance Space 122. 
Three women and one man writhe on the floor shake about and deliver monologues on muscle groups and such. Usually I grasp some notion of what things are about but this one eluded me. Perhaps I was just tired.
Elements: skeleton, nudity, spoken word
Title: “I am Saying Goodnight”
Cover:
What I saw last night. Jesse Zaritt at PS 122. 
A solo in which a man flings himself about and displays his abs. He also stretches fabric over himself. Late night. The show started at 9:15!
Elements: fabric, a ramp made of lawn chair webbing
Title: “Bound”
Cover:
What I saw last night. Sibyl Kempson & Mike Iveson at PS 122. 
A play on a rainy December night.
Elements: piano, costumes etc
Title: “Crime or Emergency”
What I saw last night. LeeSaar The Company at PS 122. 
I think this picture makes it look like the 1970s. 
In this show 4 women gesticulate at odd angels to a mix by DJ Filastine. Kudos to the DJ for an extended excerpt of Kirk and Spock discussing society in the hippie episode “The Way To Eden” from the original Star Trek.
Elements: chairs
Title: “Prima”
What I saw last night. Maria Hassabi at PS 122. 
This time it was in the upstairs theater. 
Daylight savings is annoying. In this version she substituted a platform for the rug.
Elements: platform
Title: “SoloShow” the second work of a diptych
What I saw last night. Maria Hassabi at PS 122. 
Some crazy lady filmed the whole show over my shoulder with her iphone. This show was in the downstairs theater and was a solo with only a rug as a prop and a recording of ambient sounds (traffic, dishes clattering etc.)
Elements: rug
Title: “Solo”
