Holly is Hot!

It's so great to be in the presence of Holly Hughes again that the simple awareness that she has stepped into Dixon Place's darkened space gets some wolf whistles going even before we actually see those lemon-yellow, open-toed spike heels she's rocking. When the lights finally go up, there's our free speech hero, our culture warrior, sporting a multi-colored, feathery haircut that only underscores how much of a voluble, little tropical bird she is. A wound-up, high-pitched, smart-as-hell and very funny tropical bird and one who works her butt off over the hour-long course of her demanding monologue, The Dog and Pony Show (Bring Your Own Pony), directed by Dan Hurlin.

My best guess is that, just as last night's Hot! Festival performance took some moments to heat up and make sense, the entire multifaceted monologue took a while in development to shape into some semblance of direction and coherence. I've seen different blurbs forecasting the piece, and none of them exactly square with the others or seem to have much to do with what turned up at Dixon Place. But what turned up--a meditation, by way of barely-controlled chaos, on the close relationship between humans and dogs--is both entertaining and, in the end, touching. Go and see it, even if you're a cat dyke or if you're allergic or irritable or you think you don't give a damn one way or the other.

If you can still get a ticket, visit with Holly tonight, 7:30pm, at Dixon Place.

Hot! Festival at Dixon Place
161A Chrystie Street (between Rivington and Delancey Streets), Manhattan
212-219-0736

Toying around with theater

Last evening, the good folks from Great Small Works--hosts of the 9th International Toy Theater Festival--devoted time to teaching their audience the fundamental qualities of Toy Theater. It seemed critical that we actually absorb these fundamental qualities in a visceral way. Unfortunately, I cannot recreate that experience for you here, but I will list them.

Toy Theater is:

1. performed within a proscenium arch
2. small
3. made of paper
4. flat
5. something you can do yourself

Well, from what I saw at St. Ann's Warehouse--where the fest runs through Sunday--that definition doesn't always hold true. You can break free of the frame, use other materials besides paper and go 3D to the max. But the part that really gets me is this nice, democratic notion that you and your kids can do this at home.

Oh, sure you can.

Okay, maybe you can...do something...somewhat...like this. But, I can tell you, it will not be easy for the vast majority of us to recreate the visual wonders, heart, wit and surprising sophistication of this theater form at its most effective.

For inspiration, though, go tonight, your last chance to see Who's Hungry--West Hollywood, three lovely, poignant puppet plays by Dan Froot and Dan Hurlin, derived from interviews with homeless LA residents from their Who's Hungry project. The Froot/Hurlin pieces are running in a long, awkwardly-arranged and intermission-less program with works by Concrete Temple Theatre and Marsian, but they're worth the bother.

The Toy Theater Festival's Program 3 (with Froot and Hurlin and others) concludes tonight, with a 7:30pm curtain, at St. Ann's Warehouse, 38 Water Street, DUMBO, Brooklyn. The festival continues through Sunday.


Also, go early and view THE TEMPORARY TOY THEATER MUSEUM:

"the finest examples of historical and contemporary toy theaters, representing visual artists reinterpreting the Toy Theater form, and collectors, including a group of classic Spanish stages from the collection of Lucia Contreras of Valencia. FREE and open to the public one hour before showtimes."

Complete festival information and schedule

Ticketing or (718) 254-8779

Directions to St. Ann's Warehouse

Vandenbroucke reflects on Hurlin

Disfarmer by Dan Hurlin
by Aynsley Vandenbroucke, Reflections on Dance, February 6, 2009