It was another fairly packed night at THE WORKS last night which I’m sure TBA organizers were happy to see. Part of me was wondering if the good turn out for opening night might have had mostly to do with the free price tag, but night number dos had a similarly good number of kiddos […]
TBA
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An Evening with Taylor Mac
It was undoubtedly clear from the get-go: to see Taylor Mac live on stage, is to be placed in the hands of a master performer. Even before the actual beginning of Mac’s TBA contribution, Comparison is Violence, or The Ziggy Stardust Meets Tiny Tim Songbook, his charisma and charm were on display as he escorted […]
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Rude Mechs, The Method Gun
Alan Simons The premise of The Method Gun is so convoluted and navel-gazing that it creates the understandable impression that the production itself will be those things. On paper, it sounds like an indulgent exercise in theater people justifying their own questionable life choices. In fact, The Method Gun is anything but: The show, from […]
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Opening Night at The Works: David Eckard
“There’s a supernova on the handle of the big dipper,” says PICA communication director Patrick Leonard. Tonight, he explains, the exponentially expanding star will reach peak brightness. We’re talking in the beer garden, thick with opening night attendees— all ready for TBA’s nighttime programming, The Works. Everyone looks unintentionally glamorous in the moody blue and […]
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Want to Win a TBA Pass?
Good for entry to any show (except the Mike Daisey monologue) as well as all the late-night Works programming? Goes for $250 if you buy it yourself? Clicky clicky.
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Win a TBA Immersion Pass
I wound up with an extra pass to this year’s festival. Gets you into any show (except Mike Daisey). Best art-critic review of this picture of my cat’s head on William Adama’s body wins (keep it short, for the love of god). Contest closes at 2 pm tomorrow—caveat being, the winner will have to figure […]
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Today In TBA: Taylor Mac, Rude Mechs, Bouncy Castles
There’s some action over on the TBA blog today: I write about last night’s fantastic opening night show (which included some a very sexy bonus dancer during DJ Beyonda’s set), Virginia Thayer considers the big public art piece The Hidden Lives of Bridges, and intrepid gal reporter Sarah Mirk takes on the CASE OF THE […]
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Finding Unintentional Art in Juggalos and Bouncy Castles
It’s funny wandering around at the Works because, with art stuck in hallways, classrooms, and trophy display cases, I’m never entirely sure whether some things in the old Washington High School are actually TBA-related art. Take, for example, this anti-Juggalo tag outside the room housing Missouri art collective Whoop Dee Doo: Teenage Sharpie graffiti expressing […]
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The Works: Hydration Situation
So last night’s opening party at The Works. There’s a lot going on. Dancing, bouncing, eating, mingling, drinking, art viewing, unisex (omnisex?) bathrooms, more bouncing… One works up a thirst. Personally, my thirst knows no bounds. I’m a big fan of water. I can’t pass a drinking fountain without stopping for a sip. But lo! […]
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The Hidden Life of Bridges is Open
By now, if you’ve been paying any attention, you’ve heard about The Hidden Life of Bridges. Or maybe you noticed something going on while crossing the Hawthorne Bridge last night. Either way, the installation is finally open, and it turned out to be just what I expected: a thought-provoking spectacle. There’s life in there! We […]
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Opening Night at the Works
Typically opening night of TBA is kind of overwhelming and terrible. It’s free, and overrun with intimidatingly young, pretty art-school hipsters (which is probably awesome if you ARE one, but sort of horrid otherwise), and usually so packed that it’s impossible to see the mainstage action, much less get a spot on the dance floor. […]
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Yes, It’s the United States Made of 100,000 Matches
I’m gonna go ahead and say that my favorite piece from TBA On Sight is US Burnt/Unburnt, a map of the United States French artist duo Claire Fontaine constructed from 100,000 matches. It’s structurally amazing—those perfectly placed matches are mind-blogging—but also provokes an immediate reaction. I heard a couple people walk into the room, stare […]