PARTS OF ME FUNCTION LIKE A DREAM
Spin 1/2 at the Neo-Futurarium, through April 23
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Especially today, when more is expected of performance artists by audiences and critics because we’ve seen more performance art. Renaissance types like Laurie Anderson and Karen Finley not only use a variety of media well but write texts that can hold their own on the page. Unintended discordant elements, like bad writing, can dismantle an entire show. Consider Parts of Me Function Like a Dream, by Spin 1/2 performance conflux. This surreal, Dada-esque variety show contains some sketches that are very good, funny, cleverly written, and beautifully executed, and some that could be dropped altogether because they are written so badly. Not everyone who performs should write his or her own material.
It’s not clear whether or not Spin 1/2 functions as a democracy the way other cooperative performance troupes do (Maestro Subgum comes to mind). But at any rate it’s not necessary to include everyone’s material in a given evening. There’s nothing wrong with developing the writing outside the performance space–because the poor writing here tends to weigh down the entertaining, funny, and thought-provoking writing.
BITE ME!!!!!
Denise LaGrassa at Center Theater Studio, through May 7
