1) What is your role in THE AЯTS?
I
conceived of THE AЯTS and the wrote the text. I am co-directing with Mike
Carlsen, while also wearing a few other hats.
2) What do you think about "general standards of decency and respect for the diverse beliefs and values of the American public" mentioned in relationship to the NEA?
I
think this sentence actually might be language from the Helms Amendment that
was passed to serve as an addendum to the original 1965 NEA/NEH legislation.
This language -- at first glance -- seems like a noble sentence, but when you
recognize who crafted it, and how it was implemented during the 1990s -- you
begin to understand this sentence was wielded as a weapon to not fund artists
or works of art that might offend the “beliefs” or “values” of some groups of
Americans. This language actually goes against not only the original spirit of
the 1965 legislation, but contradicts the law itself and established free
speech law. One could argue that our public funding of the arts in America has
been living within the confines of this contradiction ever since.
Once
upon a time, I think just good art had the potential to be controversial --
based upon the rigor or commitment of the artist. Now, I think what makes an
artist “controversial” can be attributed to two factors -- 1) The artist’s own
PR and marketing team baking the “controversy” into the artist’s profile,
persona, and work. -- 2) Right-wing ideologues who continue to attack the arts
and culture as a tactic to manufacture controversy in the short-term and
distract the public from other policy decisions being made elsewhere in
government. I don’t think very highly of either
approach these days.
What
excites me are artists who have departed from MFA Island or PhD Prison and are
actually making work that sacrifices this weird pursuit for “aesthetic purity”
-- and instead are actually taking a chance to engage in an honest examination
of some of the underlying structures of our world. (To paraphrase the late
David Wojnarowicz.) We have been living with these underlying structures for a
long time -- and they’ve been fucking us over gradually in unseen ways, or
manifesting suddenly in sharp and brutal bursts. What excites me are artists
who are making work not just for an audience of their peers, but are attempting
to reach audiences who do not regularly attend theatre, dance, or exhibitions.
I think the Swiss director, Milo Rau, has been leading the way in this. The
work of choreographer Amanda Pina comes to mind, as does Quebecois theatre
company, Les nuages en pantalon --
who have a show running in Montreal right now -- L’art
de la chute -- which I suspect confronts the incestuous nature of the art
market and the financial crisis in ways I could only dream of. The Bangladeshi
photographer and labor rights activist Taslima Akhter -- she is the real deal.
I am stunned by what she is accomplishing via the blending of her photographs
and activism. It’s astonishing. She just had a major exhibit in New York at the
Magnum Foundation. The Norwegian choreographer, Ingri Fiksdal, always excites
me. Every time I see her work -- I can’t take it.
I am genuinely excited by the actors
and artists I am working with on THE AЯTS. There are some major people working
on this project -- and my god -- it is totally a joy to watch them work. I
think these actors are each delivering breakout performances. And to see Mike
Carlsen grow as a director, to hear how Jesse’s music rises to the occasion,
for example -- this is exciting shit for me. I love it.
I
learned that many segments of the “Presenter Class” and the “Funder Class” in
New York City and across the United States harbor real disdain for the National
Endowment for the Arts. For them, I think, that ship has sailed and will never
return. The levels of condescension I’ve received on applications during the
last several years would make your head spin. There is literally an entire
industry devoted to chasing down private philanthropy these days. Every
dramaturg I knew in grad school, doesn’t work in theatre anymore -- they work
in Development writing grants or soliciting donors. I’ve learned a hard lesson
that segments of the arts and theatre establishments are perfectly happy with
the way things are.
I’ve learned that we do not know our
own arts funding history in the United States. I’ve learned that we are not
living within the arts funding system that was intended by the authors of the
original 1965 legislation.
6) What does working at La MaMa mean to you?
I
was not raised in an arts family. We never went to the theatre. Even though I
grew up in New York. I only learned about theatre by reading plays on my own.
Eventually, I figured out that I could actually go see the things I was reading
performed live on stage. But I couldn’t find any listings for the playwrights I
liked. The only name I recognized was “Kafka” in a listing for a puppet-theatre
production of The Metamorphosis that
was playing at La MaMa. So I came to see that. I think this was 1994 or 1995. I
don’t know. It was literally the first thing I saw downtown and it was at La
MaMa. I remember Ellen Stewart making the pre-show speech on that show and
saying the words -- “La MaMa!” -- and I was like: “Where am I?” But it was a
great feeling. Not knowing where I was. Not knowing what was going to happen
next.
So for me -- I actually cannot
believe that something I worked on is here. My college professor came the other
night to see THE AЯTS -- and I said to her, “Lenora -- I’m at La MaMa?” It’s
pretty cool. And I’m grateful for the opportunity.
La MaMa presents
THE AЯTS
Sponsored By Nobody
Written & Directed by Kevin Doyle
Co-Directed by Mike Carlsen
Sponsored By Nobody
Written & Directed by Kevin Doyle
Co-Directed by Mike Carlsen
September 13th - September 30th, 2018
$25 Adult Tickets; $20 Students/Seniors; $10 Tickets
Ellen Stewart Theatre
66 E 4th Street; 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10003
For tickets and more information: CLICK HERE
