Performa 13, the biennial performance arts consortium, has 56 remaining events that will take you on a veritable scavenger hunt all over the city. With only five days left to see all of the acts, you’d have to be a serious performance-art-junkie to see them all. If you have to limit yourself to one performance per day, we wouldn’t miss the following amazing events…or else live with yourself until the next Performa rolls around in 2015!
#1 SHANA LUTKER: THE NOSE, THE CANE, THE BROKEN LEFT ARM @ THEATER 80 (WED 6:30PM, $15)
Lutker’s play draws inspiration from a riot incited by Surrealists Pablo Picasso and Andre Breton in a Paris theater in 1923. Noses and various broken body parts spawn a life of their own in order to flee the fighters. Curated by the brilliant Summer Guthery, this is not to be missed!
#2 MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY: SURREAL GRAHAM: HERODIADE AND SPECTRE 1914 @ MARTHA GRAHAM STUDIO THEATER (THURS 6:30PM, $20 includes a glass of wine)
Mother-of-modern-dance stars, Miki Orihara and Katherine Crockett, will dance the scarcely performed Herodiade (1944) alongside Crockett’s solo performance of Spectre-1914 (1936). A whimsical set by the infamous sculptor Isamu Noguchi, music by Paul Hindemith, and archival footage of Graham accompany both dances.
#3 MARIANNE VITALE: THE MISSING BOOK OF SPURS @ 5-01 46TH ROAD, LONG ISLAND CITY (FRI 8PM, $20)
I’m basing this recommendation purely off of the description on Performa’s website: “Vitale’s structures will be the physical set for a string of hallucinatory vignettes depicting rattlesnake-bitten ranchers, wisecracking astrologers and burlesque movers and shakers.” Sounds like a pretty good time to me!
#4 CHRISTOPHER KNOWLES: THE SUNDANCE KID IS BEAUTIFUL @ WHITEBOX ART CENTER (SAT 7:30PM, FREE)
Multimedia artist and language enthusiast, Christopher Knowles, will perform The Sundance Kid is Beautiful along with texts from Robert Wilson and Phillip Glass’s Einstein on the Beach. Recently performed at the Louvre Museum, this is New York’s chance to see this inspiring autistic polymath in action.
#5 BLOWFLY AND MICHAEL SMITH: AN AFTERNOON ON HUMOR PRESENTED WITH MOMA PS1 @ THE VW DOME, MOMA PS1 (SUN 4PM, $12 in advance/$15 day-of starting at noon)
In 2009 I saw Mike Kelley and Baby IKKI (Smith’s alter ego) perform at the Sculpture Center inspired by their trip to Burning Man. Sadly only Kelley’s work will be present this time, but it seems a fitting tribute to a dear departed friend for Smith to pull out Kelley’s favorite personae, Baby IKKI, in order to perform with Kelley’s favorite Original Dirty Rapper, Blowfly. Before the performances, Smith will discuss humor in Kelley’s work with badass curator Mark Beasley and Jayson Musson. Needless to say, this is also a good excuse for you to check out Kelley’s retrospective while you’re at PS1 (for the 3rd or 4th time).
To view the full list of performances, look on the calendar on Performa’s website.
