Ms Davis | Performance Space New York

Speaking from the Diaphragm



WINNER OF THE 2009 ETHYL EICHELBERGER AWARD

“A performance artist of underground legend.” – Guy Trebay, New York Times

A performance piece that re-examines the heyday of 1970s American daytime television chat and variety programs. Taking the format of legendary talk shows like The Mike Douglas Show and Dinah!, which starred lesbian icon Dinah Shore. Ms Davis isn’t interested in assimilating into the mainstream entertainment complex, but instead wishes to dissect a kind of TV staple and reconfigure it by presenting an array of live and Skype guests from the various worlds of literature, dance, theatre, film and art she has intersected in her over 30 year career as a performance and live artist, writer and cultural raconteur. With guest hosts, Downtown treasure Carmelita Tropicana, and Jennifer Miller the famed bearded lady of Circus Amok expect ten days of the unexpected, the unusual and the sublime.

Nightly Guest Stars*:
Saturday, May 15 8PM

  • KEMBRA PFAHLER
  • RICK OWENS & MICHELLE LAMY
  • MICHAEL VELAZQUEZ
  • JAMIE STEWART
  • JACKIE RAYNAL

Sunday, May 16 6PM

  • GLENN BELVERIO & BRUCE BENDERSON
  • PIERROT
  • CAROL POPE
  • GIO BLACK PETER

Wednesday, May 19 8PM

  • JUSTIN BOND
  • GLEN MEADMORE
  • DERRICK ADAMS
  • ED HALTER
  • DANCENOISE

Thursday, May 20 8PM – The Ethyl Eichelberger Award Celebration

  • BLACK EYED SUSAN
  • JOHN E. HEYS
  • JOE E. JEFFREYS
  • JOAN MOOSSY & AGOSTO MACHADO
  • JENNIFER MILLER
  • SALLEY MAY

Friday, May 21 8PM

  • BRUCE LA BRUCE
  • BILLY MILLER
  • ANNIE SPRINKLE & BETH STEPHENS
  • SLAVA MOGUTIN & BRIAN KENNY

Saturday, May 22 8PM

  • MARC ARTHUR
  • JULIE ATLAS MUZ
  • KATE BORNSTEIN
  • MASHINKA FIRUNTS & JEREMY J F THOMPSON
  • NAO BUSTAMANTE

Saturday, May 22 10PM

  • JOSEPH KECKLER
  • MAX STEELE
  • MICHAEL LUCID & AMANDA BARRETT
  • CLAUDIA GONSON
  • JULIE TOLENTINO
  • ELA TROYANO & UZI PARNES

Sunday, May 23 6 PM

  • JD SAMPSON + MEN
  • MARC SIEGEL
  • JOSE MUNOZ
  • SHERRY MILNER + ERNIE LARSEN
  • MARK SIMPSON
  • MICKEY BOARDMAN
  • CASEY SPOONER

Wednesday, May 26 8 PM

  • DYNASTY HANDBAG
  • JOEL GIBB
  • LIA GANGITANO & MICHEL AUDER
  • ROSS and INDIA MENUEZ
  • CARLO MCCORMICK
  • SPENCER SWEENY
  • JAMES RASIN
  • BIBBE HANSEN, ADAM GREEN

Thursday, May 27 8 PM

  • JOHANNA FATEMAN
  • MARCUS PONTELLO
  • MIHO HATORI
  • SUSAN SACHSSE

Thursday, May 27 10 PM

  • SLAVA MOGUTIN & BRIAN KENNY
  • SCARLETT ROUGE
  • GENESIS (and LADY JAYE) BREYER P-ORRIDGE
  • DAN HERSCHLEIN & MARIE CATALANO
  • MICHAEL LUCID & AMANDA BARRETT
  • PENNY ARCADE

*Stay tuned for additional guest announcements – line up is subject to change. Guests will be appearing live or via skype

Design and Production by Jonathan Berger in collaboration with Sarah Marcy Maurer, Joshua Lubin-Levy, Alexander Hollenbach, and Julia Rexon
Sound Design by Jason Martin
Video Design by Jean Kim
Textile Design by Ross Menuez/SALVOR
Garment Design by Nikko Lencek-Inagaki and Arjuna Balaranjan
Couture by Rick Owens

Vaginal Davis was born and raised in Los Angeles, but now lives in Berlin. She is an accomplished experimental filmmaker, visual artist and writer, who Hilton Als of The New Yorker has called “the poet laureate of Santa Monica Blvd.” She has curated programs for many film festivals including Berlin and Sundance. She teaches performance at Lund University’s Malmö Art Academy (Sweden). She is also the subject of academic elucidation by Jose Muñoz in Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics and Jennifer Doyle in Sex Objects: Art and the Dialectics of Desire.

www.vaginaldavis.com

The Ethyl Eichelberger Award was created by Performance Space 122 and made possible with generous support from The Gesso Foundation in honor of seminal performer, landmark and legend Ethyl Eichelberger. The award is given to an artist or group that exemplifies Ethyl’s larger-than-life style and generosity of spirit; who embodies Ethyl’s multi-talented artistic virtuosity, bridging worlds and vitalizing those around them.

Photo copyright Albert Sanchez

World Premiere
Performance Art
Saturday, May 15 – Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wed – Sat at 8pm, Sun at 6pm
Late Shows at 10pm: Saturday, May 22 + Thursday, May 27

Thursday Night Social + Ethyl Eichelberger Award Celebration*
Thursday, May 20

Tickets to Thursday, May 20 include pre-show reception and post-show party celebrating the Ethyl Eichelberger Award and the announcement of next year’s winner!

*The Ethyl Eichelberger Award Celebration is co-hosted by Housing Works, Fourth Arts Block “Pride Goes East”, and the AIDS Service Center NYC

Ticket proceeds to this special performance and event support the Ethyl Eichelberger Award. The evening also features a Designer Dress Drive to benefit Housing Works AND A Canned Goods & Toiletries Drive to benefit ASC’s Pantry program. Meanwhile, Fourth Arts Block will be on hand to stir up enthusiasm for their upcoming Pride Goes East festival in June.

 

Help PS122 Go Green by viewing your Vaginal Davis Is Speaking From The Diaphragm program online!

All rights reserved by Performance Space New York
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