Join us for FREE pre-show presentations on topics ranging from the intersection between queer female bodies and horses to Victorian stage effects and magic lanterns.
Friday, February 27th, 6:45 pm
Denny
Daniel from the
Museum of Interesting Things will do a presentation using items
from his collection on Victorian stage effects, photographic equipment, and
magic lanterns. Adah Isaacs Menken was one of the first celebrities to seize
upon the potential of the then-new medium of photography to further her career.
Denny
Daniel is the curator and
founder of The Museum of Interesting
Things, a traveling interactive demonstration/exhibition of antiques and
inventions inspiring innovation and creativity, that goes to schools and events,
and inspires kids and adults to be curious and experimental, learning
from the past to invent a better future.
Saturday, February 28th, 6:45 pm
Scholars
Kim Marra,
Joe E. Jeffreys and
Karen Karbiener will examine Adah Isaacs Menken’s
theatre and literary practices. This lively discussion will focus on the
intersection of queer female bodies and horses; women cross-dressing as male
characters in American popular entertainment; and the bohemian literary scene around
Pfaff’s Cellar of the 1860s that Menken and Walt Whitman were part of.
Kim Marra is a professor of theatre and
performance history, and the Director of Graduate Studies in the University of
Iowa. She holds a quarter-time appointment in the American Studies Department
and is affiliate faculty in Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies. Her book Strange
Duets: Impresarios and Actresses in the American Theatre, 1865-1914 won
the 2008 Joe A. Callaway Prize for Best Book on Drama or Theatre
conferred biennially by NYU’s Department of English. Her new book project is
entitled Fashioning the Thoroughbred
Ideal: Show Women and Show Horses on American Stages, 1865-1930.
Joe E. Jeffreys is a professor in the Tisch School of Arts at
New York University, and theatre historian. His work has been published in
journals including The Drama Review, Women &
Performance, Theatre History Studies, and biography.
His theatre and book reviews have been widely published in periodicals
including The Village Voice, TheateWeek, The Advocate and
The Lambda Book Report.
Karen Karbiener is a master teacher in
the Liberal Studies Program at New York University. She is a scholar of
nineteenth century American literature and culture with a special interest in
Walt Whitman and his beloved New York. Karbiener holds a Ph.D. from Columbia
University and taught at Colby College. She has curated public exhibits on
Whitman and organized Whitman-related events in New York.
Sunday, March 1st, 2:45 pm
Authors
Michael and Barbara Foster will be doing a presentation on the fascinating life
of Adah Isaacs Menken. They wrote the book on her. Literally. From the pages of
their biography
Dangerous Woman: The Life, Loves, And Scandals Of Adah Isaacs Menken,
they will shed light on the elusive
story behind “America's Original Superstar.” As part of
their talk, they will show images from their extensive collection of Menken
photographs—one of the most photographed personalities of her time.
Michael and Barbara Foster married at 20 and ever
since have lived and worked together co-authoring several books, including: Dangerous
Woman: The Life, Loves, And Scandals Of Adah Isaacs Menken, 1835-1868; The
Secret Lives of Alexandra David-Neel: A Biography of the Explorer of Tibet and
Its Forbidden Practices; and
Three in Love: Menages a Trois from Ancient
to Modern Times with Letha Hadady.
La MaMa in association with Theatre Askew present
HORSEPLAY:
or, The Fickle
Mistress
by Trav S. D.
directed by Elyse Singer
February 13 - March 1, 2015
The Ellen Stewart Theatre
66 East 4th Street
(between Bowery and 4th Street)
New York, NY 10003
Tickets: $18 Adults; $13 Students/Seniors
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