Performance Art In Front of an Audience Ought to be Entertaining

Check out a video excerpt from the first reading on 10/24/08

2008-11-10T20:59:00.000-08:00

Images from reading

2008-10-29T20:09:00.001-07:00

Thanks to all who attended and contributed their insights.

A special thanks to Albert and Francesca Pastine for hosting this event at their beautiful home, hooking us up with mouth-watering nosh, and letting us rearrange your living room.

And to Patricia Diart for playing the role of fast-food delivery person.

And to Heike Liss for taking photographs.

And to Marta Sanchez Vasquez for translating English into Spanish.

And to Stephen Pawley and Doris Huaman for acting your hearts out.

Very warm regards,

Sean and Isabel

Special Invitation: World Premier Reading

2008-10-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

You are cordially invited to attend the Premier Reading of Sean Fletcher and Isabel Reichert's play, a tragedy called: “Performance Art in Front of an Audience Ought to be Entertaining” at the private residence of Albert and Francesca Pastine.

Fletcher and Reichert continue to collaborate on projects that blur the line between art and life. For their newest endeavor, "Performance Art in Front of an Audience Ought to be Entertaining", the artists researched the relationship between minimalist sculpture Carl Andre and his wife, Cuban-born performance artist Ana Mendieta. The play is an attempt to re-enact the last argument these two historic figures might have had on September 8, 1985, the night Mendieta fell to her death in New York City.

The private reading will take place on Friday, October 24 and start promptly at 7:00 PM.

The Pastine residence is located at 1183 Shotwell Street in San Francisco, CA.
This performance is by invitation only and seating is limited.Please RSVP by October 18th.Refreshments and hour d'ouvres will be served.The veteran actors reading for this evening's performance are:

Stephen Pawley was most recently seen as Maurice in American Musical Theatre/San Jose’s production of Beauty and the Beast. Over the past few seasons, he has been seen at theatres across the Bay Area, including San Jose Stage, Aurora Theatre, TheatreWorks, Word for Word, Thrillpeddlers, Porchlight Theatre, 42nd Street Moon and San Francisco Shakespeare Company. Also active in the local film community, he is featured in the multi-award winning short, Back Issues – a favorite at both film festivals and comic book conventions worldwide – and the upcoming features The Confessional and President’s Hotel.

Doris Huaman trained with The Phil Bennet Acting Lab in San Francisco. Her latest projects were playing Juanita in a film entitled Victor and performing as part of the dance group The Oakland Salseros. She expresses her creativity between acting and performing opportunities by doing face painting and body art.

Hope to see you there.

Sean Fletcher and Isabel Reichert
http://www.life-art.org/

Except from play in which Ana comes up with a bright idea for a piece and Carl is less than enthusiastic.

2008-08-08T15:22:00.000-07:00

“PERFORMANCE ART IN FRONT OF AN AUDIENCE OUGHT TO BE ENTERTAINING”
A One-Act Play by Sean Fletcher and Isabel Reichert
Except from play in which Ana comes up with a bright idea for a piece and Carl is less than enthusiastic.
SETTING:	Ana works at the drafting table while she eats. She uses the towel to wipe sweat from her forehead while sketching. With a grimace, she realized that some sweat has dropped onto the paper. She wipes the sweat off the paper, touching her head to show that she has realized where the droplet came from. Then she has an epiphany. She wipes the paper again. She wipes her head and then dabs it onto the paper. And then she starts to laugh. Wadding up this piece of paper, she starts fresh with a new piece. She takes sweat from her forehead, her neck, her armpit, wiping it on the paper, making haphazard marks. She laughs some more.

CARL
What are you doing?
ANA
This is so cool.
	(Naturally, Carl is curious, but would rather be involved in the program he is watching. Maybe he takes a drink of his Champaign and crosses his arms. Ana laughs some more).
CARL
Ok, explain yourself already?
ANA
This is cool. You gotta see this.
	(Reluctantly, Carl gets up. As he does so, it is revealed that he has been sitting on half a dozen glossy postcards. They fall to the floor. Carl scrambles to pick them up, glancing at Ana to confirm she hasn't seen this. He spends a fraction of this moment looking for another hiding place).
ANA
	(without looking up from the drawing.)
Are you coming?
	(Carl stuffs the cards into the bib pocket of his overalls.)
CARL
Just a moment.
	(He turns down the volume on the television set and walks over to the drafting table, stumbling once near the coffee table.)
What is it?
ANA
I just discovered something.
	(Taking some sweat from her armpit on the towel, she demonstrates her sweat drawing to Carl. Carl looks puzzled.)
CARL
I don't get it.
ANA
You of all people should see.
CARL
That's just it. I don't see anything.
	(She takes more sweat from her forehead and smears it onto the paper.)
CARL
Maybe for a moment, yeah.
ANA
I think it's interesting. There's something really intangible, efímero... something... oh, what's the word in English?
CARL
Ephemeral?
ANA
I really like this. I could do a wall piece with it. Like the drawings I did with blood? I just press my body against a white wall... after I exercise, of course, so I'm sweating. It would be like a body print, so you would only see it for a moment, and to experience the piece, after that, you would have to know it's there.
	(Carl stands motionless keeping a hand on the bib of his overalls. He appears to be thinking, but doesn't seem excited yet.)
CARL
I have to ask you a question, though.
ANA
	(preparing for something)
Yeah?
CARL
There is a lot of work happening out there, right now, that would appear to be... "ephemeral".
	(He hesitates, trying to choose words carefully.)
You aren't moving toward this kind of work because, you're trying to be part of a movement, are you? There's the kind of work Sieglaub was promoting a few years ago. The anti-art movement. With Larry and Joe and so forth. Ana, I told you what I think about that kind of thing happening. This is a fashionable means of propagandizing art to improve the image of America... this is--
ANA
	(Dismissive but also a bit upset by this reaction.)
No! This is a poetic piece! I think it is a great metaphor! You know... the Cuban girl is pressing her body against a white wall, making her momentary mark. And when it's gone, it can't be wiped off.
CARL
Ok. Ok. I'm sorry. I think you need to work on this idea some more.
ANA
	(Beginning to get angry)
Oh Carl! Why don't you just tell me what you really think for once.
CARL
I am!
ANA
You don't like it! That's what you mean.
CARL
I'm not trying to tell you I don't like it. I think you should formulate this idea a little more so it becomes a work of art. That's what I'm trying to tell you. I mean, it's not finished. I haven't seen the piece yet. What do you want me to say?!?
ANA
You can't imagine the piece?!? I mean, it's crystal clear in my head!
CARL
I don't even know what it is yet! Is it graffiti? How is it different from spray-painting on a red line? Now, there are some Cuban artists making their mark!
ANA
That's bullshit.
CARL
Is it drawing?
ANA
Yes.
CARL
Is it a performance?
ANA
Yes, it is performance too.
CARL
Ok, if it's a performance, where is the audience?
ANA
Wherever! What do I care?
CARL
You ought to care. Every detail matters.
ANA
Carl, just see it for what it is!
CARL
I think if you're going to give a performance in front of an audience like this, it ought to be entertaining. You're not Allan Kaprow.
ANA
What are you saying? Why do you have to cut it down like that?
CARL
I didn't cut it down! I'm trying to tell you that you're going to lose people if you don't give them a little more to work with.
ANA
Why do you always do that?
CARL
Do you want feedback from me or not?
ANA
Feedback, sure! But, why can't you be supportive for once?
CARL
I was supportive. I always was supportive. I was supportive since the first time I met you.
ANA
I can never get through to you with my work.
CARL
Why must I always feel something when I'm looking at art? You made it for you, not me.
ANA
That's not true! The fact is, I make it for everyone.
CARL
The fact is, you can't make people feel. You do it for yourself. If I acknowledge your feelings, it's only to let you have that moment of self gratification. Don't fool yourself into believing that there is such a thing as being selfless. You make art in order to make yourself feel. Success in art is measured by those who are able to find others that will allow them a self-gratifying moment. Is that what you want from me, Ana? A self gratifying moment?
ANA
No! Of course, I want you to be honest with me, but I want you to be faithful, too. I want you to be inspired by what I do! That's how I measure success. Not by self-gratifying moments. Christ, Carl! Sometimes you talk like you're writing an artist statement for a coffee table book. What the hell are you saying?
	(The phone rings, loudly. Both Carl and Ana look at the phone, letting it ask until the third ring before giving in. Carl moves first, turning away from Ana to answer.)
Copyright 2008, Sean Fletcher and Isabel Reichert

Ana's "I Believe..." statement

2008-07-03T16:14:00.000-07:00

I believe in honesty: I would rather say something that a person does not like to hear than being dishonest. I often tell things the way they are.

I believe in art as the engine that drives my existence. Art should be inspiring, investigate a deeper meaning of existence, confront, inspire, heal and at should make us feel loved.

I believe in being faithful and reliable. It is important to stick with your convictions and to be truthful to the person that you love.

I believe in the power and sacredness of the earth. The earth gives lives to all creatures.

I believe in the importance to respect all living things.

I believe in the search for an understanding of life’s deeper meaning.

I believe in kindness.

I believe in the equality of all people, no matter what race/gender/religion/cultural heritage they come from.

I believe in the power of the people of Cuba. They have survived a great deal of suffering and they will prevail.

I believe that I will be reunited with Cuba one day. Cuba is my home.

I believe in Poetry and the potential of the written word.

I believe in family.

I believe in the power of religion both the traditional and non-traditional rituals such as Voodoo, Tarot and Palm Reading.

I believe in a healthy way of living. I’m a vegetarian and runner.

I believe in hard work and that it is possible to become a famous artist if I continue to dedicate myself.

I believe in interpreting dreams.

I believe that life is full of obstacles and that we are meant to find ways to overcome. I believe that it is important to stand up and fight for your ideals.

Carl's "I Believe..." Statement

2008-07-03T16:10:00.000-07:00

I believe that art is as much about what isn’t there as what is there.

I believe that organizing objects in a pattern can be a way of discussing the uniqueness of the individual parts. I believe that this is as true for people as it is for art. Where people are forced to be a part of an organized structure, their individuality becomes more acute.

I believe that organizing brings us closer to social justice, and I believe in justice.

I believe that language is a tool that can be used for more than just communicating.

I believe in a command of a language. Commanding language is power, just as education is power. Thus vocabulary can be used as a surreptitious weapon in the fight for success or the battle for one’s personal independence. It can also be used to woo the opposite sex.

I believe that artists are doomed to fail. Not because all do, but because the intention of the artist is never fully realized by the patron or the visitor of art. So, as an artist you can yell, you can scream, you can use funny puppets to describe what you mean, you can even bleed… but only a fraction of what you are saying will ever reach another’s ear. The pain of this reality is the reason artists fail.

I believe the only true gratification is self gratification. That is to say you gratify me in order to gratify yourself and I acknowledge what you are doing in order to let you feel that gratification, but I am the only one who can allow myself to feel. This is as true for lovers as it is for artists. There is no selfless art just as there is no selfless love. You make the art in order to make yourself feel. Hence, success is measured by those who are able to find others who will allow them a self gratifying moment.

I believe in simplifying the complexities of my thoughts so that others can find them more accessible. I have found over the years that people frequently misinterpret this behavior as patronizing in nature.

I believe that generosity can have its own rewards.

I believe that someone is innocent until they are proven guilty.

Welcome!

2008-07-03T15:44:00.000-07:00

Performance Art In Front of an Audience Ought to be Entertaining
a play by Sean Fletcher and Isabel Reichert

This blog will provide regular updates and periodic excerpts from the actual play. We'll also provide you with dates and venues where you can catch a LIVE reading or performance of the play.

Can't wait to find out more? Please contact us at:
info_at_life-art.org