Performance Art

To be totally open and above waterboarding, this is an open plug for the new theater Lotta just built on the Paramount Parcel in our sim.  :-)

I read with great interest Kat Feldragonne's entries late last week which mentioned "Performance Art."  It is definitely a term we use to describe one of the things we are aiming for in the new "Night Players" Theater.

Interpretive Dance is also an excellent term.  :-)  One term we won't use is "Burlesque".  In the very recent past I've come to learn that for some people the term "Burlesque" is almost sacred - probably the best (? that's a questionable term but i hate to use "worst") example was when Lotta was dancing at a venue recently - she was doing a very good act which I love and going from audience and co-dancer feedback I believe many other people love it - or like a lot - as well.

One very rude patron made a very rude comment in the open chat, that she wasn't seeing "Burlesque" she was seeing "stripping" and she appeared to not want to (see stripping).  Blinks.  I can't imagine who not, but sl is like most things - if you don't want to see it - then by all means don't.  Rudeness is not required to depart a venue presenting something one would rather not see.

At movie theaters don't buy a ticket.  On Cable or Satellite TV - change the channel.  Don't read the book, and do not go to adult venues in sl and expect to see . . . what?  a nursery rhyme?

Our shows at the Paramount, while tending to be risque, have, until very recently, never crossed over the boundary of an R rating in a USA movie theater.  We've done plays which included "sex" - but even in sl - it's been simulated.  And while we have portrayed some violence, we never have, nor will, present violence as something wonderful to see, violence for it's own sake.  You see, to me - "Gratuitous Violence" is the worst kind of pornography.

A couple of months ago we added a series of acts to our Paramount Line-up which was intended to be open for experimentation by all our dancers.  I wanted a performance platform for dancers to do their most out-there ideas.  Not just "raunchy" (although raunchy acts are certainly welcome), but - "Art for Art's Sake."  Dance as Art.  Performance as Art.

On the 24th of April we presented the third in our Night Players series and, as I mentioned in a previous blog post, I presented the second in what I hope to be a series of acts that are definitely best described as Performance Art.  And there was some controversy.

While I actually welcome . . . well "controversy" in the form of discussion, I am also very protective of the Paramount.  Some people will definitely not like some of the things we do under the banner of Night Players; therefore Lotta built a brand new theater, which we named "Night Players."

The Paramount will continue to present the same sort of entertainment that we have all along.  Fun, entertaining acts which feature dance, great sets, amazing choreography and - usually - a lot of skin.

The Night Players Theater will present some of the same material we do at the Paramount, but also other acts that we - - - I - - - don't feel comfortable having on the Paramount Stage.  I think these acts - and their creators - need a venue to present them.  Uncensored.  Sorta.

I don't want or intend to ever have hard-core porn on any of our stages.  I understand that there are venues where such is available in sl - and I'm not putting anyone down.  I believe I am one of the most open-minded persons on the planet.  I just know what I want - and don't want - in a theater venue operated by Lotta and myself.

I think the best way to describe the difference between the Paramount and Night Players is - notwithstanding the fact that all of us who perform for audiences like to please our audience, Paramount's purpose is to entertain the audience.  As I often say at the end of Paramount shows, "You the audience are as important as we are.  More important actually because without you - we don't have a show."

I believe with all my heart that to be true.  About Paramount.

Night Players is for the performers.  Think of it as an Art Gallery.  In an Art Gallery you find things that are, to different people, dull, boring, wonderful, stimulating, beautiful, sometimes disgusting - again depending upon the perception of the viewer.

Sure we want an audience.  Just like Art Galleries want viewers/customers.  Night Players is for performers to present their works for the sake of the presentation.  Again, "Art for Arts' Sake."

Art is Art.

The Night Players Theater is located near the Paramount, accessible via the same master Landmark, and the opening performance will be on Tuesday May 10, 2015 at 6:00 pm, sl time.  We will present a repeat performance of the show we did at Paramount on April 24.

Night Players will present a brand new program on Friday May 29, at 8 pm.  Hope we see you then!!!

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Lightning Tornadoes and Wind! Oh My!

Oklahoma! Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain. Oscar Hammerstein II

If you don't like the weather in Oklahoma, wait a minute.  It will Change.  Will Rogers.

)_(&*(&$&%^$#W^)(&*_&)^{|}{|?|&%^&%$!!!  Path.

The Return of Silly Muse

One of my (very few) blog posts was titled "Silly Muse" in which I talked about how my "artsy thoughts" had turned from humor, comedy and silliness, to some very serious stuff.  I felt like my "Silly Muse" had abandoned me, leaving me at the mercy of the "Dark Muse" who was heavily influencing my projects for Second Life.

Well I'm happy to announce that Silly Muse has returned, and the results of which will be on display at the Paramount on the three performances of "Fantazmagoric" on 9, 16 and 23 May at 7 PM Second Life Time.  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Paramount-Grand-Theatre/480138692073462?sk=events&event_action_context[ref]=105  I pretty much let Silly Muse run rampant and - - well what we've done involves a pirate ship and Peter Pan and Captain Hook and . . . so on.  :-)

The Dark Muse is still with me and anyone who would like to see an early result of that collaboration please attend the repeat showing of "Night Players" at the new Night Players Theater on Tuesday, May 12 at 6 pm slt.

It took 3 months to get my Dark Performance Artwork "Primal Instinct" on stage.  No I'm not satisfied with it.  It debuted at the Paramount "Night Players" show on April 24th.  It did cause some controversy.  I'm not sure how much - I definitely received both negative and positive feedback - but I have no way of knowing what people are saying to each other about it (if indeed they are saying anything) . . . only what is said to me.

I SO welcome discussion.  About anything.  :-)  I know that the Paramount has never pleased everyone.  It was never intended to.  I've been told many times that "not every act (dance) requires (needs, fits-with) nudity.  To me that is kinda missing the point.  The Paramount was created first and foremost out of a desire to have a performance venue where my sl family and I could choose what we wanted to create and not be crammed into someone else's "vision."  In dancing "for other folks" I enjoyed most of the acts I was in, kinda didn't care for being cast in the role of "bad guy" (although some wonderful, kind and moral people (Gert Frobe, Dan Duryea for example) had very successful careers playing bad guys).  There was also an act that I was given no choice but to do - one in which I not only was a bad guy but I also hated the song.  That turned out to be my last performance at that venue - and the only act I have performed in sl that I totally sincerely regret doing.

The Paramount is a Labor of Love.  Quite literally.  In the 29 months Paramount has been in operation it has "paid the rent" exactly one month.  That's a lot better than I ever expected.  The important thing about the Paramount, to me, is that the dancers - ALL of us dancers - please ourselves.  If we please ourselves there will most likely be people who come because what pleases each of us pleases them.  Certainly people who enjoy the sight of nude avatars performing, enjoy the Paramount.

I happen to very strongly believe that God's most beautiful creation is the human body.  ALL human bodies.  Second Life gives us the chance to create avatars which might or might not resemble our real life human forms; we can regress to a time when we were younger - advance to a time when we are older - become anything we want, which often is idealized, lovely humans.

Nudity is highly encouraged at Paramount - in acts.  I don't care whether nudity "enhances" an act; I don't care that the "official" definition of Burlesque does not include full nudity; If someone wants to perform Dr. Zhivago totally naked, I'm all for it, snow, goosebumps and all.  To me "Burlesque" as a general term within the sl dance community covers stripping and/or nudity.  "Old School Burlesque" means something very different, and certainly is never used to describe the entertainment at Paramount.

The main limitation on creativity at the Paramount is that we have always wanted the Paramount to be "Classy."  Our acts to be classy.  Whether we succeed or fail in that endeavor rests in the perceptions of our customers.

It seems to me to be an unwritten unspoken rule within the "Burlesque/Cabaret Community" that no act goes beyond the limits of an "R rated" movie.  That's pretty much how the Paramount has been, and will continue to be.

Which leads to why a new Theater called the "Night Players" has come into being.  It's located just around the corner from the Paramount, and has the appearance of a smaller, younger sibling of  the Paramount.

Night Players is for performers who want to Stretch Our Wings.  To me there is a large area of Art that falls between the bounds of an American R rated movie, and Pornography.  My intention is that performers who want a venue where they have the same creative freedom as, say European Filmmakers, will have that opportunity at Night Players.

I'm going to save more about this Philosophy of Performance for another day.  The latest show in the Night Players Series contains a couple of examples of going beyond the "R Rating" of most Dance Venues (not including the sex/porn clubs). Night Players is not nor ever will be a sex/porn club.  At least, not by my definition of pornography.

Anyone interested, please come check out Night Players, 6 pm, Tuesday May 12, 2015.
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Silly Muse

Those who have seen many of my acts have probably come to the conclusion that I love comedy.  Which would be an accurate Judgement.  I love to make people laugh.  And the majority of the acts I have performed in Second Life have been - or at least to have been intended to be - humorous.  The first original play that I wrote to be performed in SL was a hilarious piece of satire called Cleo and the Czar.  I claimed that I plagiarized George Bernard Shaw and William Shakespear, but that was part of the humor.  I used a couple of lines from each but mixed in with the silliness was a story that was based upon a lot of research into the "true" - or at least accepted - history of the events surrounding the romance of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra.

Yes I'm bragging.  It's funny.  Even if I wrote it, anything that I can read for the hundredth time and still burst out laughing . . . must be funny.  Unfortunately two years ago it opened at Paramount and was closed after two performances.  Significant by it's absence was . . . an audience.

And yes I would love to update it with the movement and choreography tools we now have available.  Except for one thing.

My Silly Muse quit singing to me.

I have created and performed in non-comedy acts in these three years that I have been performing on stage in sl, but they have been exceptions which didn't follow the rule.

I have noticed that the response I get from other dancers and performers is best for my most serious acts, namely "Sacred Ground."  My Silly Muse was mercifully silent when I was dreaming that one up and I'm glad.

Starting in January of this year my Silly Muse seems to have taken a holiday.  Other, more serious muses have taken her place.  Serious, dark acts are making a lot of noise, wanting to be heard (by me) and translated into on-stage performances.  Also by me.

The serious ones are much more difficult.  To be totally honest, for a long time i have accepted the ability to make people laugh as a Gift From God.  Humor is Easy.  Serious is Difficult and Dark is Very Hard.

My output of acts has gone down, seriously.  I have been working on one that is 10 minutes long, which I started in late January.  It's due to be performed in 3 days (this coming Friday) and I'm still working on it.

Along the way I have come up with a few "regular length" acts, some by digging out old acts and updating them using some of the modern tools available.  A couple from scratch; one goofy, one serious.  The serious one got a good reception.  The bad one - I mean the non-serious one - received some very negative criticism.  Negative criticism is something I take to heart deeply, especially when coming from someone whose opinions I respect.

I'm close to "finished" with the current project and I have two very dark and very long projects waiting in line.  All three of these projects are intended to be "My Art."  How others view them will be - - :-) of course -  up to them.

Oklahoma City Bombing

Other than the families who lost their lives in the Oklahoma City Bombing twenty years ago today, those who were in the building and the Journal Record building nearby, and the first responders, I honestly believe no one was affected by that crime than my rl wife.

I was affected - to a much lesser degree - I wasn't downtown.  I wasn't at Ground Zero while the firemen were carrying babies out of the rubble.  She was.

The effects it had on both of us - primarily her, but also to me because what affected her affected me through her, were more significant than any event in either of our lives, ever.

I post this to make an effort - a bad one I'm sure - at explaining why she and I ignore this date as much as possible - April 19.  There are some emotional tar pits that are better ignored.  I'm deliberately trying to shut out all the things that want to bubble to the surface and be typed about.

This isn't comparing a tragedy with any other tragedy.  The ability of humankind to embrace evil and to do evil deeds truly amazes me, in addition to the tendency to wrap evil deeds in a cloak of some kind of "cause" religious or otherwise.  My heart goes out every day to people who have survived all manner of tragedies, both accidental, health, and terrorism.  The OKC bombing did lasting damage to my wife . . . I just saw her change the channel on the TV away from a memorial service . . . those of who you who pray, if you want to say prayer for my wife, her name is Ann.

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Lhasa a Shih Tzu

There are so many things I want to write about - - if i am not careful I'll wind up writing an incomprehensible run-on sentence about 10 yards long, and then have nothing left to say.  So tonight I will talk about a dog.  In my experience I have yet to read a magazine article, book, or online post about the Lhasa Apso breed that doesn't include a statement that "Lhasa Apso's can be trained, provided you can find something the dog wants to do.  To call them stubborn is an understatement."

A few years ago, newly single, I decided I wanted a dog.  As a kid I had had a Cocker Spaniel, and then my family, as my kids grew up, had mostly dachshunds.  I had no idea what kind of dog I wanted, at first.  Then I met a Shih Tzu.  A Lady Friend had one and told me lots of stuff about Shih's - the one that impressed me the most is that they are the only breed of dog originally bred to have no job.  They don't herd cattle or sheep; they dont catch moles or pull cart.  They don't do much of anything really except LOVE.  They were specifically bred to be lap dogs - to be sweet and loving.

Well I wanted one.  I was very impressed with my friend's little dog and I was checking out the possibility of buying one when a friend called me and said, "I have co-worker who is a real s.o.b. and he says he is going to take his Shih Tzu out in the country and turn him loose if he can't find someone to take the dog off his hands."  The next day I became owned by a ball of fluff whom I named "Pau Ling" - in honor of his Oriental origin.  He was "about a year and a half old" - and seemed a little large for a Shih Tzu so I assumed he was a mix with strong Shih Tzu heritage.

Pau, pronounced "Pow," instantly transferred his affection and allegiance to me.  It was uncanny.  I picked him up at noon on the day before Thanksgiving.  I had driven my most disreputable car (see "The Motor Pool" in some future blog) to get him.  Took him home.  Drove into the back yard.  Left him in the car and closed the gate.  Then let him out of the car.  He immediately jumped out and sat up and begged.  Poor cute little guy - he was a mess.  Long matted hair - the same hair that on a "show Shih Tzu" would be brushed and glowing and hang down straight so that the dog looks like a living dust mop - well Pau looked like a dust mop that was about 40 years old and had never been cleaned.

Over the next few weeks he got all his shots - and his surgery - and trimmed and trimmed again and groomed - once he grew out from being bald.  And for the record he was well groomed always after. :-)

I began to learn about Shih Tzu's, about how they are basically the result of breeding Pekingese with Lhasa Apso.  I'd never heard of Lhasa's.  At that point in my life I'd never met a Peke I'd liked and Pau didn't appear to have much Peke in him.  So I studied up on Lhasa's.  I began to suspect that Pau was maybe half Shihz and half Lhasa.  The shape of his head, his temperament - - (more about that later) he really came across more like a Lhasa than a Shih Tzu

A year later I rescued a Shih Tzu show dog whose fortune had resulted in in him being trained - he knew how to strike a pose - but his teeth were very crooked and he was thrown away.  A rescue service saved him and I drove to Elvis' birthplace (Tupelo, Mississippi) to get him.  His name was Gizmo and he was pure Shih Tzu and as different from Pau as night and day.

Later on a vet who had much experience with Lhasa's told me that Pau was almost certainly a pure bred Lhasa.

Most dog stories are sad, and this one is sad so I'm not going to tell it to the end.  Pau was the best Friend I'd ever had in my life.  He was totally focused on me.  He was very protective.  Lhasa's were originally bred to be small guard dogs to serve in temples - - .  Little dogs with a huge bark.  And Pau was so protective of me - - well - - I'm lucky I didn't get sued by a few people who were unfortunate enough to cause Pau to think they were going to harm me.

I will probably write another blog about Pau - because if I triew to tell the whole store of his "Pausonality" - it would read more like a novel.  He was not a very good dog . . . . in the way that some dogs are "good."  But OMG he was scarily intelligent.  Not Border Collie intelligent but LASSIE Intelligent.  Uncannily intelligent.

To be continued.  :-)

The Paramount Players

Lotta and LeAnn and I started the Paramount in late November 2012.  LeAnn and Lotta were my wives at that time.  Star came with us.  :-)  Star is still with us and I think LeAnn may start doing an act every now and then.

Our current roster includes:  (Lawd help me to not skip anyone)

Paramount Dancers: In the order they appear in the Group List:

Nova
Queenie
Ariel
Coco
Chrissy
Kyshra
Lotta
Maar
Path
Rebecca (She's the DJ)
Shannon (Hostess)
Star

Paramount Guest Dancers:

Rina
Myth,
Kyra
Alex
Amenhotep
Annie Panties
Indy
Tirza

I have not listed Alts - most infamous of whom is my twin brother Trail, who is our bank robber in residence; he's the one who passes the tips on to the dancers.  :-)

That's all for this episode.  Whomever I left out of the list please send me a big bag off Cashews.  :-)

Adios!  Path