Out of Character: Rants, Raves, and Monologues from Today's Top Performance Artists
Miller, the artistic director at Performance Space 122 in New York, has seen plenty of "performance artists," and here he collects the work of 32 solo performers who draw on theater, dance and stand-up comedy to push the boundaries of storytelling. While many well-known practitioners of this amorphous genre are included, such as Eric Bogosian, Holly Hughes, John Leguizamo, Spalding Gray and Reno-others, like Karen Finley and Ann Magnuson, are absent. Miller acknowledges that since the essence of these artists' work is live performance, this book-script excerpts plus introductory notes for each performer-can't fully capture the subject. Some of the material here still shines: Lisa Kron's hilarious narration of humiliation; Tim Miller's poignant evocation of the death of a lover from AIDS; Danny Hoch's take on a white boy channeling hip-hop rhythms. Then again, some work comes off as self-indulgent or obscure, and some of the most boundary-pushing performers, like transsexual Kate Bornstein, or Ron Athey, the tattooed, HIV-positive performance artist who sometimes bleeds during his show, probably need to be seen, not read. Some contributors offer useful reflections on the creative process; David Cale compares his work to songwriting; Gray calls his work "oral composition." Unfortunately, editor Miller chooses not to explore trends and themes here and the reader must wade through a certain amount of dross to glean insights. Photos.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.