Readings, Rated
Returning From One Place to Another: A Poet’s Theater Showcase
Returning From One Place to Another: A Poet’s Theater Showcase is a four-week, four-program festival curated by poet John Beer. The second program was Joyelle McSweeney and Johannes Göransson’s The Widow Party , parts of which were written collaboratively with Jennifer Karmin and Patrick Durgin), inspired in part by a car crash and infomercials.
Beer introduced the play and its players, then wham! old Westerns suddenly beamed across his face, and out flounced McSweeney and Jennifer Karmin. The former wore a red and denim dress, and the latter wielded a drumstick-like plastic gun.
“Blat!” she said. “Blat!”
The show was ninety minutes and a valentine to the outlaw — Ronald Regan, Satchmo, and Britney Spears; audience participation, soap, and the press. Sometimes, this sort of Thing dissolves into chaos and hero worship, but thanks to Johannes Göransson’s clever pen and an engaging cast of weirdo poets (including Literago’s Jacob Knabb! covering Louis Armstrong!), it worked whiz-bang roller coaster well.
Similarly sharp: Göransson’s A New Quarantine Will Take My Place (Apostrophe Books), which has a pretty blue cover. Favorite Line #1: “the codfish is wrangling.” #2: “I WRITE LIKE I’M A GIRL/YOU READ LIKE YOU’RE IN THE CLOSET.”
This weekend features five new works by poet/performer/Californian Carla Harryman, plus sculpture by Julia Klein and text from Kathy Acker’s Requiem . Performances are at Links Hall, on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. More information here .