(that quote was Yayoi Kusama’s- more on that further)
It’s June! 2nd! The newsletter staff here apologizes for the delay in sending but this month was busy between a big move (!) with Sarah to Bedstuy, and another launchpalooza serving as a doula to 5+ podcasts in 2 months #gr8ful
Movies
I get the worst period depression so last week I took myself out for a solo early movie after work to see Starling Girl featuring Eliza Scanlen as the main protagonist who you might recognize from Sharp Objects or Little Women.
While I won’t go into too many details, Starling Girl is about that weird time in life when you see yourself as an adult- and are still a kid- and feel lust for the first time- and take it as a once-in-a lifetime opportunity, here within a community of religious adults running like headless chickens trying to make sense of it. But it’s also about personal growth, really subtle shifts. If you read the book My Dark Vanessa (which.. I loved), it belongs in the same kind of world.
Sydney Sweeney as Reality Winner
My heart keeps beaming with pride seeing friends and artists I’ve worked for getting the recognition they deserve and Tina (Satter) getting Reality out to the world is no exception to it. I met Tina about 8 years ago and produced her work for two years during which I had the privilege to get to know her on a personal level, her artistic ambitions and aesthetics. A few years back, Tina had the brilliance to make a play out of Reality Winner’s story- an unusual suspect seen as a national threat. Her name (yes it’s real) along with her knowledge of Arabic and passion for crossfit made her destined to become a part of US Intelligence which all came crashing down when she leaked a report on Russian interference in the 2016 elections. This film and Tina’s play prior to the film, solely use the FBI recorded interview as a script. Touches of Tina come across in both though- strange/haunting/funny animal imagery, references to girlhood, pop music and “normal” small town characters turned haunting. And yes, both were a collaboration with Reality and her family, which they were both happy with- Reality sent Tina to the White House Correspondents Dinner in her place. It’s currently streaming on Max.
TV
While we say goodbye and shed tears for the last great show (Succession), here are some insane reality shows that might make you bang your head against a wall or scream.
At this point 99% of people on here have likely watched Jury Duty but I will share this gift with the person who hasn’t yet been exposed to this insane premise of one person being fooled into thinking they are on Jury Duty witnessing the most insane trial- and in a documentary about said Jury Duty and trial- while they are in fact surrounded by actors. Somehow they managed to find both the most gullible and morally sound person in the United States and it’s fascinating. If you’ve watched The Rehearsal it’s along the same lines but with a “happy and moral ending”.
Mal and Yoli from Queer Ultimatum
If you really want something that will drive you insane- and I apologize to the 3 lesbian friends I forced to watch this just within this past week- but The Queer Ultimatum will throw a wrench to your mental equilibrium. The subjects are lesbian/queer couples featuring one person who wants to get married and one who doesn’t (hence they are presented with an ultimatum). What’s the ultimatum? To pick another partner within a pool of equally troubled couples with said ultimatum and live with them as their fake spouse for 2 weeks. After which they need to decide if they a) stay together and get married b) get married to their fake spouse? c) break up and be alone.
Performance
Miguel Gutierrez feels like the most successful downtown dance figure at this point as shown by his three simultaneous and completely different shows at BAC, Danspace and N.Y.U Skirball. I saw his show at BAC and though I wasn’t blown away there was something really moving about seeing him, as his 51 year old self, still dancing and doing the work. And to see his body again on stage which I hadn’t seen I think in maybe since Age & Beauty.
I revisited a piece about a podcast he made for a while about the finances of dancemaking and was horrified to remind myself that in his heyday, he is/was making $38k a year. And again Miguel is one of those who I think of as having made it. In contrast, my first full-time job, 10 + years ago working as a group sales person for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (so in the admin side of dance) was over $40k.
Jennifer Kjos in Walter Dundervill’s Alien Affairs
Last weekend I creeped into Walter Dundervill’s home (?) to see his latest work in a while, Alien Affairs and it felt so good to similarly see so many folks I hadn’t seen dance in years move again (Jennifer Kjos, Joey Kipp, Anna Adams Stark). Walter’s work involves creating spaces for his audiences to be in and outstanding costumes for his performers to transform throughout. Experiencing a house show made me nostalgic of a time when that used to happen more, with the same folks over and over, and you felt like everything around you mattered- object placement, sounds, who you were seated next to. The last time I experienced this was when Storm did a show in her apartment- her parents were given balcony seats which were the fire escape <3.
Photo of Dimanche!
Could be dance, theater, puppetry- CIE FOCUS & CIE CHALIWATÉ brought Dimanche! To BAM from Belgium, an immense undertaking featuring video, dance theater, puppetry and effectively made us laugh and cry, without spoken or written language, around the absurdity of how we are approaching global warming. I had never seen any comparable performance work prior, to be honest, and found it so powerful as well as a huge undertaking for the performers. One minute they were a reporter fighting to keep reporting on a melting block of ice, and another minute they were the road for the van the characters were traveling in.
Another performer who is truly physically and personally challenging herself in her work right now is Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer in Prima Facie. My mom was in town and treated us to tickets and it was deeply moving to witness such an uncommonly told story of sexual assault from a loved one/acquaintance, that is actually quite common (ie mine). It was quite hard to watch, and might not be for everyone, but it was really personally meaningful and I couldn’t believe- no spoilers- that Jodie is alone on stage for around two hours to tell this story, without much of a break or shift in set design. It’s quite something.
Visual Art
Photo by Ricarrdo
Ricarrdo (Valentine, who was also a member of JComm with Dance NYC!) and Orlando (Hunter), lovers and also known as BrotherHood Dance, spent some time in Mexico while Ricarrdo was getting his MFA and they both started retracing afro-diasporic connections and heritage in the United States and Mexico through photography, video and movement. The show is at Five Myles and is free!
Yayoi Kusama’s pumpkins
Yayoi Kusama has her largest gallery exhibition to date at David Zwirner right now, which is probably the hottest free ticket in New York. If you can only go on a weekend- skip the infinity room if the line is too long- it was only a 15mn wait when I went but I wouldn’t say it’s worth waiting more than 30mn for. I had actually never seen paintings by her before and was enamored by her color palette- as well as her giant pumpkin sculptures. She explains: “Pumpkins have been a great comfort to me since my childhood; they speak to me of the joy of living. They are humble and amusing at the same time, and I have and always will celebrate them in my art.”
Yayoi who is 94 (!) has been living in a mental health facility since the 1970’s that she leaves to go to her studio every day. Her work is reflective of what haunts her, repetitive patterns also heightened from childhood trauma including having to spy on her father’s extramarital affairs for her mom.
Audio
Stella’s <3 latest album!
Speaking of mental health, there are a LOT of headlines/articles right now about teens and mental health. Teenagers have always been depressed (HIIII IT’S MEEE!!) but I’ve always been wanting to hear more about the generation that has entirely existed online. Specifically influencers. What happens when your childhood is taken away from you, when your parents leave their professional lives to make money on you- how do you grow up? All these questions were dug into in my previous colleague Kaari’s last work for the NYTimes’ First Person Podcast in which Lulu Garcia-Navarro catches up with Whitney Bjerken who became a quickly famous child after her dad posted videos of her doing gymnastics on YouTube for her extended family- little did he know how far that would go.
Another fascinating conversation is this week’s On The Media x Death, Sex & Money Crossover with Tasha Rhodes, the ex-wife of one of the Oath Keepers who led the Insurrection on January 6th and Kelly Jones, ex-wife to Alex Jones (far-right radio host who brainwashed his followers to think Sandy Hook wasn’t real).
Again- I am stirring away from sharing the shows I work on but Blind Plea is reallllyyy good.
Want something less- sad? Stella, my French high school classmate Ava’s little sister, collaborated on a new album that is heavily influenced by Zouk and the French 80’s Underground. Détends-toi :)
HAPPY PRIDE MONTH <3/SEE YOU END OF JUNE!