[smygo] The Art of Party Crashing
Dan Clore
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
The Art of Party Crashing
Artists and activists stockpile Dick Cheney jokes, Dubya
drag, and phalluses in preparation for the Republican invasion
by Trav S.D.
August 3rd, 2004 9:55 AM
Later this month, when 5,000 Republicans and their families
descend on the city for their national convention, they will
likely be greeted by tenfold their number of Bronx cheers.
Scores of theatrical productions, festivals, and street
actions are planned in response to the RNC's four-day
invasion. In keeping with its ancient beginnings, theatrical
satire will play a leading role in the symbolic dethroning
of the powerful. And while authorities scurry around to
prepare for 1,000 arrests a day, they might just be missing
the point: The most lethal force to emerge from the RNC
protests this summer could well be ridicule.
During the week or so of activism, look for groups like
Reverend Billy and his Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir,
the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (a gaggle of men in
nuns' habits), and the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown
Army (a squadron of George Bushes in "mission accomplished"
flight suits). Meanwhile, so-called "people's acoustic
orchestras" like the Hungry March Band, the Infernal Noise
Brigade, and the Rude Mechanicals Orchestra will provide a
rousing soundtrack, as will the Radical Cheerleaders, who
shake their pom-poms to an anti-Bush-Cheney refrain. In a
class of their own are the Missile Dick Chicks -- an a
cappella singing group purporting to be from Crawford,
Texas, who wear missile-shaped phalluses and sing songs like
"Shop! In the Name of War."
Except for the phalluses, a cursory observer might be
forgiven for mistaking such an assemblage for a Republican
rally. With 65 chapters and hundreds of members nationwide,
Billionaires for Bush will perhaps be providing the largest
costumed contingent at the protests. The tuxedoed and
tiaraed Billionaires plan a week of merry pranks, including
a croquet game in Central Park, a "vigil for corporate
welfare," ballroom dancing in Penn Station, an attempt to
privatize the New York Public Library, and a "coronation
ball" for George W. Bush.
The use of humor and entertainment, says founder Andrew Boyd
(a/k/a Phil T. Rich), is vital for making their message
accessible to a large audience. The use of Republican drag
and the just-short-of-plausible "pro-Bush" sloganeering
("Small Government. Big Wars.") also help generate interest.
Says Boyd, "the costumed approach gives us tactical room to
maneuver. There is often a moment of uncertainty, when
spectators don't know if we're serious or not."
It is that priceless moment that allows the Billionaires and
similar groups to hold the attention of the uninitiated long
enough to make their point. Boyd cites an example of recent
Bush campaign stops in Pennsylvania, where the group was
placed in close proximity to actual pro-Bush demonstrators.
The Billionaires managed to get the Bush supporters to
change their chant of "Four more years!" to "Four more
wars!" before the ruse was discovered and the pranksters
were shooed away.
At the other end of the spectrum in terms of scale is the
outfit known as the Yes Men, whose core consists of just two
members, Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno. Where the
Billionaires use a sledgehammer to get their point across,
the Yes Men use a precision-tooled stiletto. The group was
founded by accident in 1999, when their satirical WTO
website began to be mistaken for the real thing. The
partners were soon invited to actual corporate and
right-wing political events, which they attended in full
conservative camouflage. On numerous occasions, the pair has
made Swiftian PowerPoint presentations at such gatherings
(advocating the sale of votes to the highest bidder, and
defending Hitler's economic policies at a conference in
Salzburg) -- sometimes with no one ever catching on. During
the RNC, the Yes Men plan to clone themselves in a special
"makeover booth," handing out free suits of clothes,
haircuts, and "special buttons that will confer extra
authority, so that the wearer will look like someone the
out-of-town delegates ought to follow."
Where the Yes Men take a stealth approach, the group known
as Greene Dragon is all about calling attention to itself.
Dressed as Revolutionary Warera patriots, Greene members
have been re-enacting some of the major events of the
American Revolution, a timeline that will accelerate during
the days of the RNC. On August 24, they will stage a parody
of Paul Revere's ride ("The Republicans are coming! The
Republicans are coming! One if by charter jet! Two if by
SUV!"). On later days, they will re-enact the Boston Tea
Party (with "Texas Tea" -- oilas the dumped substance) and
Washington's crossing of the Delaware, which will consist of
a trip on the Staten Island Ferry, after which, says Greene
Dragon Elana Levin, "we'll regroup our army at Fresh Kills
and have some beers."
Even more than the Billionaires, Greene Dragon's "patriotic
burlesque" is about reaching out to a broad audience. "Some
find the left intimidating," says Levin, "but we're not
going to throw a pie in your face. We're not mimicking
Middle America -- the right doesn't have a monopoly on the
Stars and Stripes. They're the narrow ones; we're the big tent."
While these costumed characters run amok during the RNC, a
number of other performers will be taking their political
wit to the stage for special performances timed to make
maximum hay out of the citywide ferment.
The Imagine Festival (http://www.imagine04.org/ ), a
"nonpartisan" citywide festival of over 100 RNC-related
performance events at dozens of city venues, will have
several notable comedy events, including Patriotic Acts, a
September 1 show at P.S.122 hosted by Taylor Mac and
featuring burlesque dancers Julie Atlas Muz and Dirty
Martini, and performance artist Mike Albo, whose targets
include the Christian Coalition and the inherent
ridiculousness of consumerist culture. Comedy writer Andy
Borowitz, mastermind of the award-winning website the
Borowitz Report, will host a special RNC edition of "The
Moth" on August 30. Twisted country star-performance artist
Tammy Faye Starlite will be performing at Joe's Pub on
September 2.
Comedian Scott Blakeman (who calls himself "one of the five
stand-up comedians left who still do political satire") is
producing a series of comedy nights called "Laughs From the
Left" at HERE's American Living Room Series (August 23), as
well as the Society for Ethical Culture (August 26). The
lineup will include fellow comics Barry Weintraub and
Palestinian American Dean Obeidallah, and will be followed
by panel discussions and Q&As.
Just as American street theater enjoyed its first great
flowering in the days of the yippies, the Living Theatre,
and Vietnam, Blakeman and company are resuscitating a comic
style that was last popular in the days of Mort Sahl and
Lenny Bruce to tackle the current war and other injustices
perpetrated by the Bush administration. According to
Blakeman, audiences are responding: "I've been doing this
kind of comedy for years, and I've never seen audiences
revved like they have been the last few months. This
president has everyone completely energized."
Perennial provocateur Margaret Cho, who will launch her
State of Emergency tour at the Apollo Theater on August 28,
agrees. "Everything political is personal right now," says
Cho. "This level of upheaval hasn't existed in my lifetime.
It's both terrifying and exciting."
But above all, what drives Cho up the wall is the fact that
the Republicans were dumb enough to choose New York, a
hotbed of protest, for their convention in the first place:
"It amazes me! There are no Republicans here! They're going
to have to import them all. And all the people here are
against it. It's going to look like that movie The Warriors.
The Republicans are setting themselves up for a terrible
time. And we should bring them one!"
For a guide to the most interesting protest activity,
theatrical and otherwise, check out Voice Choices' RNC
Supplement, coming out August 25.
Research: Lisa Ferber
--
Dan Clore
Now available: _The Unspeakable and Others_
http://www.wildsidepress.com/index2.htm
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1587154838/thedanclorenecro
Lord Werdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
"Don't just question authority,
Don't forget to question me."
-- Jello Biafra
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page
http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/2bSolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
smygo-un...@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/