Brian Asawa, 49

Brian Asawa, Celebrated Countertenor and Pathbreaker at the Met, Dies at 49
by Margalit Fox, The New York Times, April 23, 2016

Enrico D. Wey presents new solo at Danspace Project

Enrico D. Wey performs his new solo,
to warring states, a useless tool,
at Danspace Project.
(photos: Elyssa Goodman)

In his third Danspace commission, Enrico D. Wey presents a deeply personal examination of Asian male identity and embodiment. Wey explores clichés such as the Asian body as a fetishized and invisible minority, asking, “Can I reclaim my own physical body from the gaze of others and from my own embedded prejudice?”

--from promotion for Enrico D. Wey's to warring states, a useless tool

At first sight, the set-up of Enrico D. Wey's solo at Danspace Project--to warring states, a useless tool--first resembles an improvised boxing ring. Audience seating lines all four sides of a large, square space covered in a white, illuminated plastic mat, its parameters neatly defined by festive, tricolored tape. A pink ribbon, anchored in the air by cords extending from the sanctuary's columns, encloses this area like the ropes of a boxing ring.

We enter, claiming chairs or cushions, to find Wey already stationed at the square's center, standing as still as a rubber doll, his long, black hair completely veiling his face, his chest, legs and feet bare. Oksana Meister's costume--largely front and back panels of multicolored fringe--wraps his lower body from waist to knees. Although the set suggests a competitive match of some sort, the costume introduces a different association--cultural ritual. As we will see, both associations are fair entry into the work.

The solo moves through an hour--most of that time, astonishingly glacial in pace. It takes a while at first, and close observation, to even detect change in Wey's body. But, yes, those arms are slowly rising and spreading. That might not register until the positional change becomes obvious. Fifteen minutes, at least, have passed before the arms find an arch like half-unfurled wings. As if to (sort of) highlight the moment, Elliott Jenetopulos's lighting gives the tiniest, fleeting uptick that seems almost like a hastily-corrected mistake.

Wey's arms begin a descent, his head and back dipping forward, folding downward at the same pace. A half-hour has passed, and he is suspended above the floor, nearby shadows tinted strawberry and green. Abruptly bursting into motion, he rapidly pumps, thrashes up and down, over and over, sharply exhaling, panting, snorting, shifting from one to all four directions. About forty-five minutes in, there's humming, sudden panting, something that sounds like yodeling, scatting, muttered gibberish and then ritual chant. Never, though, the revelation of his face. We're not granted that. The lashing motion blurs whatever we might have been able to see. He is there and not there. Or there in some form of absence that removes his actual identity from easy access. Forced or deliberate. Negative or positive. Make of that what you will. Make of him what you will.

In the post-show Q&A with writer Jaime Shearn Coan, the Taiwan-born performer spoke of sourcing material from traditions ranging across several Asian cultures--including, in his furious, ecstatic lashing, an aboriginal tribal dance of Taiwan performed solely by women. He was driven by a need to put himself at the center "and always at the center," embodying what appears to be stuckness but, as he sees it, is truly "activated space."

"I'm going to place that at the center of my work and see what spins out from it," he said. "That gray space in between, I want to be able to sit in that space and take from it."

Multitalented Wey has also worked in puppetry where, he noted "the idea is to make the puppet breathe" thus changing the nature of the puppet's movement and the audience's perception and understanding. The dancer in to warring states inhabits a space between inertness and dynamism, between being acted upon and acting, between being object and subject. He might be oppressively obscured or protectively hidden. He might be invisible or visible and apprehended and known in multiple ways. The states war. He is a vessel, useless or otherwise, in this adroit and fascinating performance.

to warring states, a useless tool continues tonight and tomorrow with performances at 8pm. Seating is limited. For information and tickets, click here.

Danspace Project
St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery
131 East 10th Street (at Second Avenue), Manhattan
(map/directions)

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James Shigeta, 85

James Shigeta, 85, Leading Man in ‘Flower Drum Song,’ Dies
by William Yardley, The New York Times, July 29, 2014

Fred Ho, 56

Fred Ho, Saxophonist, Composer and Radical Activist, Dies at 56
by Ben Ratliff, The New York Times, April 12, 2014

Kauffman Center's Jane Chu nominated to chair the NEA

Jane Chu
(photo: Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts)

Obama picks low-profile arts center executive to chair the NEA
by Mike Boehm, Los Angeles Times, February 12, 2014

La MaMa plans fundraiser for theater journalist Randy Gener

Randy Gener

La MaMa's February 12 presentation of Lloyd Suh's The Wong Kids, performed by Ma-Yi Theater Company, will be a special fundraiser to help cover medical expenses for Randy Gener. The theater critic suffered severe head trauma in an attack in midtown Manhattan on January 18 and has been recovering in the Neuro ICU. All net box office proceeds will go to The Randy Gener Fund.

Read more about The Wong Kids (full title: The Wong Kids in the Secret of the Space Chupacabra Go!) here.

Activate your own superpowers by getting tickets for the February 12 (7pm) performance! Click here.

La MaMa (Ellen Stewart Theater)
66 East 4th Street (between Second Avenue and Bowery), Manhattan
(map/directions)

Speakers advocate for Asian-Americans in theater

Advocates Ask: Why Do Asian-Americans Go Uncast in New York Theater?
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YouTube makes a way for Asian Americans

Unexpected Harmony

by Josh Kun, The New York Times, June 15, 2010

Ancient days and modern snack food

A quick note of recommendation for Michi Barall's colorful, amusing romp, Rescue Me (a postmodern classic with snacks), directed by Loy Arcenas and presented by Ma-Yi Theater Company at SoHo's Ohio Theater. There's much fun in this nutty, century-crossing, meta-adaptation of Euripedes's Iphigenia in Tauris--and I'm not just talking about the pop music and half-time snack food. (But thanks for the goldfish crackers!) Eighty minutes fly by in a haze of fun.

Among Barall's fine, eight-member cast, David Greenspan (a droll/imperious Artemis/Athena) and Leon Ingulsrud (as an Elvis-like King Thoas) give outstanding interpretations as playwright and company blur the line between then (ancient Greece) and now. Our Iphigenia, Jennifer Ikeda--who is 34, single and hates her job--works too many distracting Meryl Streep mannerisms, perhaps. But her open, childlike chemistry with her courageous brother Orestes (played by dancer-actor Julian Barnett, the production's choreographer) is convincing and heart-melting. Barnett's choreography, by the way, and his own whirlwind dancing in this show are among his best career achievements. Both are aptly versatile and expressive.

Rescue Me through April 18 at Ohio Theater

66 Wooster Street (between Prince and Broome Streets), Manhattan

Information

Tickets