These women of the arts hail from different disciplines, but they all have an indomitable spirit and a luminescent spark that makes them amazing human beings who are out there every day, doing amazing work.

Today we continue our series with Penny Pollak. I picked this photo above ‘specially for her: “DON’T let your woman announcer be too agressive.  She will antagonize all men, and many women.  She must, however, speak with authority, either form experience or special knowledge of the product.  A woman announcer is always a hazardous risk and few can please all viewers.” (snicker.)

If you’re part of the downtown NYC scene and an emerging artist (or a seasoned artist who just needs a comfortable place to work through some new material) then chances are you know Penny Pollak best as the producer and host of “Penny’s Open Mic“.  Yes, Penny is the ringleader – but she’s so much more. Ms. Pollak welcomes the crowd, sets the tone, supplies the rules (there are very few, but they matter) and keeps the night humming along at a solid pace.  You only need to attend one of these open mics to find yourself hooked.

Hearing each performer refer to Penny’s Open Mic as “Home” before they launch into their own song, story, routine or reverie is to understand that you’ve walked into a sacred space where magic happens week after week  - and while regulars count on the rituals and habits the truth of it is – no two nights are ever the same.  And therein lies the reason people come back time and again.  To rediscover the joy of the first time – every time.

Penny Pollak herself is a gifted actress, a talented writer, but most of all, an all encompassing spirit that moves artists every week to dig deep and hone their craft, share their heart, and sharpen their skills.  The world could use a million more like her, but for now I’m grateful that the one Penny Pollak we’ve been alotted  this time around has been put straight in my path.  I’m honored to showcase her here :

Talk to me about being a woman who does what you do- just overall.

Honestly, I don’t think about it that often. My parents did a really good job raising me to be completely independent; supporting the idea that I could be anything I wanted. But of course the world doesn’t work that way and I still find myself surprised and offended by the double standards and the simple language difference. For example, a man who is in charge and exerts his authority is strong and just doing his job whereas a woman who does the same thing is a diva, a cold princess or just a bitch. I’m very lucky that the men who surround my shows and projects don’t see the world that way, and when I work I feel I’m treated as an equal. But the inequality is so ingrained into our society — and the fight is far from over — which is why I’m delighted you’ve made this issue a feature this month.

Are there days it makes a difference – good or bad?

These days not as much; I’m in a great place in my life now and surrounded by amazing people. The fact that I do more theater now than bartending is the biggest change. A few years ago I used to manage a bar on First Avenue for a short time which is actually where I started my open mic before I moved it to UNDER St. Marks Theater. Managing a bar I was constantly presented with those problems. By patrons as well as management. In fact that’s the reason why I quit working there. I’ve butted heads for months with the owner over the women I hired and so forth. He wanted me to base my decision on the picture they sent in rather than the resume. Oh – and I wasn’t allowed to hire men as bartenders, only barbacks. Then one day he told me to fire three of our very talented bartenders because “They weren’t hot enough”. That was it for me, not only did I quit but I told everyone who worked there. Everyone quit immediately and in protest we all stayed in the bar all night drinking his booze until he came in the next morning apologized and begged us ALL to take our jobs back. It was a small triumph but it felt pretty good at the time.

Are there barriers you fought against in the past that are now becoming easier?

As writers we are taught to above all, write what we know. I am a woman, so my writing reflects that. There have been a few instances where a piece I think is universal and human has been remarked as being ‘woman’s issues’ and ‘Men just can’t connect.’ There may be some truth to that but I think it’s just a lazy way of thinking. My play No Traveler (which will be in the Winnipeg Fringe Festival this summer) addresses themes such as suicide, abuse, self-destruction and control brought together in a very dark humorous way. I think our society allows woman to connect more freely to these subjects but they really do touch everyone in some way, male or female. As I’ve taken it around to different festivals and countries I was very excited to receive those responses. One goal I’d like to achieve with my writing is to express that ‘woman’s issues’ are actually human issues and affect everyone.

Oh, and one more thing about Penny?  My dad is completely smitten with her.

~~~

More about Penny:

“PENNY POLLAK earns major points for her creativity in her dark and fascinating No Traveler” (stagebuzz.com)
No Traveler a comedy about suicide written and performed by Pollak received glowing reviews in this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival and NYC Frigid Festival. She recently starred in Broken Dog Legs a one-woman play by Emily Conbere.

For almost three years now she has hosted and produced Penny’s Open Mic, (featured in The New York Times, New York Magazine, Backstage.com, NY Press and Time Out NY) a weekly show at UNDER St. Marks Theater dedicated to supporting artists of every kind to experiment and workshop in a safe environment.

A past resident of Horse Trade Theater Company she has produced and performed in just about every performance venue, bar and street corner in the east village since she moved here in 2007. She graduated with a degree in Theater and a minor in Sociology. After graduation she studied at the TVI London theater intensive program at Rose Bruford College, UK. She was nominated for Best Actress in this year’s Strawberry Festival and has won awards for her writing as well as been featured in a number of readings in NYC.

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• Following The Path Of Yoga
• Early Risers / Night Owls … Come With Me – Help Save UNDER St. Marks
• Brrrrrr! Temperatures Are Dipping! Must Be Time For FRIGID 2010!
• Interview With Mads Jeppesen: Somewhere In The Dark
• Mike Milazzo — Open Mike

Before anyone calls the ASPCA, let me say right up front that Broken Dog Legs, the one woman show written and directed by Emily Conbere and starring Penny Pollak, does not harm any dogs.  Rather, “broken dog legs” is a metaphor that reflects one woman’s journey (“SHE”) through therapy as she confronts issues dealing with her distant father, her dizzy mother, her lost-to-suicide brother and Citibank.

Emily Conbere is a poet — that’s obvious.  Her poetry comes out in her words, her staging and her direction.  At times Ms. Conbere seems to be channeling Ani DiFranco, so honest and forthright are SHE’s scenes of dispair, of hope, of boredom, of rage … of confusion.    When Ms. Conbere hits the mark, it’s brilliant. There are moments when her imagery is so evocative as to be almost holy — she captures the purity of sentiment and lets it hang there for the audience to absorb. Unfortunately, she doesn’t always hit the mark. And when this happens, the alliterations seemed forced and strained, the metaphors obvious and almost tedious. Ms. Conbere falls into the trap of playing with language and imagery so much that some of her scenes come off more as a recitation than as an unfolding and this doesn’t do justice to the obvious places we could be taken, if we weren’t suddenly taken on a word-spree.  Still, there’s no denying that Ms. Conbere is a talented writer who is palpably in touch with the human schism.

If there was one outright problem I did have with Broken Dog Legs it was the textbook conflict-resolution setup of some of these scenes … Dog Therapist says “Go confront your daddy issues”, “SHE” goes and confronts her daddy issues.  Dog Therapist says “Go confront you mother issues”, “SHE” goes and confronts her mother issues.  The scenes that sing the most are the ones that arrive to us without this setup; where “SHE” simply appears and takes us through her daily personal crusades (enter Citibank).

I also found a distraction in naming the title character “SHE”.  It’s one thing to keep a character nameless in order to keep her more universal, that’s understandable and even applaudable.  But when a sentence starts with “SHE, I have something to tell you …” it actually accomplishes the opposite, localizing her down to a pinpoint … she might as well be named Apple Paltrow.  A technique of throwaway nicknames might have been more effective here, and might even have driven home her lack of identity even more, as the people who meander in and out of her life could simply refer to her as the generic “honey”, or “baby” or the more impersonal “girl” or “now listen here, you”.

Particularly effective in the staging of Broken Dog Legs is the use of projected images along the back wall. Mostly black and white with a splash of red (a color theme echoed on the stage), this device takes us to the few places beyond the stage that are necessary to the movement of the story, effectively transitions us from one place to another, or driving home a stark reality.   Sometimes static, sometimes moving, these images add a dimensionality to the piece, as well as another layer of metaphor.

If I may stretch the metaphor myself here, this is a one-woman show and I think there’s a reason for that beyond simple austerity; an isolated woman on the stage can’t be mistaken for anything more … she is an isolated woman. As with any one woman show, a lot is asked of Penny Pollak and she delivers remarkably well, twisting her way through scenarios, characters, accents, emotions, and props. She is a bit wobbly at first when transforming into her mother; what starts out, at least to my ears, as Long Island Yenta quickly transforms into Frances McDormand in Fargo by way of Edith Bunker. However, once Ms. Pollak settles, it’s consistent. Similarly, her Black Lab therapist starts off Ghetto Fabulous but soon enough is Generic Southern, reminiscent of Colonel Shuffle (“Belvedere! Come here boy!”) — again, once she settles it’s fine. Meanwhile, neither of these small shifts in any way detract from the overall flow of her wonderful performance; she is engaging, charming, and remarkably vulnerable, doing great justice to this play.

Broken Dog Legs is playing at UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st and A) until January 31st, Friday & Saturday at 8pm.

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