The Bitter Poet: Finding Irony In All The Right Places (FRIGID New York 2011)

Stephen Tortora-Lee — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 23:13:52 +0000

According to The Bitter Poet (real name, Kevin Draine) when the audience first meets him, he makes it clear that this is no “show”, and that he has no “narrative”. He has no pretenses, just poetry. He also has a ruffled red shirt as well as a beautiful and rich perspective and the “luck” to “live in interesting times”. He warmly invites us into his life for this hour to hear of everything from a purging of crazy self-help books to a quest to woo many unavailable women who just pulled his heart-strings the wrong way.

Drawing off of the history learned in the poems (some spoken word but many etched into our collective unconsciousness as folksy ballads paired with catchy tunes) we see backwards to at least 1999 as The Poet tells of making his way as an actor and poet in life and love (and the misadventures thereof). It all served to make him a fixture in the New York alternative scene and as he recounts stories of playing at the Sidewalk Cafe it all seems like a different age. His stories resonate to the present in what seems almost as a post-theater performance that encapsulates yet transcends the scenes of the beautiful off-off performance art of New York.

A magic happens when hearing these stories. They sound like Draine’s catharsis of being a modern minstrel and by sharing his Truth with many an audience he has perhaps made himself less Bitter and more Wise; generous enough to share the jokes that life has played (and at times is still playing) on him. He doesn’t so much give it to us straight as much as along a delightful road of irony to teach us the ways the world can ebb so we may better flow.

In his guise as the Bitter Poet, Draine will often play The Fool, but not merely a jester to make us merry. We see how he uses his creativity as a poet as well as a practiced performer like The Fool -hero of Tarot- whose journey is interpreted in so many guises but whose core remains to keep being willing to put himself out there for whatever transformation the world may have ready for him.

He could have all the secrets of the universe built into the nooks and crannies of his poetic english muffin of darkness, but transmission is an important part of the experience of learning, so take the opportunity to take in The Bitter Poet while you still can. You won’t regret it.

~~~

The Bitter Poet: Looking for Love in All the Wrong Black Box Performance Spaces

Presented by The Bitter Poet New York, NY

UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place) $10

Thu 3/3 @ 9pm, Sat 3/5 @ 4pm, & Sun 3/6 @ 5:30pm

FRIGID New York Festival 2011 will run February 23-March 6 at The Kraine Theater & The Red Room (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1sr Ave and Ave A). Tickets ($10-$16) may be purchased online at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444. All shows will run 60 minutes long or less.

FRIGID New York Festival 2011 – Five Questions For: The Bitter Poet: Looking For Love In All The Wrong Black Box Performance Spaces

Karen Tortora-Lee — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 21:00:36 +0000

Welcome back to another installment of FRIGID New York Festival 2011 Q&A! We’ll be running these throughout February, so be sure to check back to read all about the great shows that will be taking part in the festival. Also – don’t miss the winner-take-all game of Rock Paper Scissors! Today’s Q&A is with The Bitter Poet himself who is the poet and performer of The Bitter Poet: Looking For Love In All The Wrong Black Box Performance Spaces

New York City’s comic performance artist, The Bitter Poet, performs his guitar-driven poems in this darkly humorous and satirical one-man show about searching for True Love and the contortionists you meet along the way… A high-energy, irreverent celebration of the crazy things we do for love.

answers by The Bitter Poet, poet and performer

Antonio Asks: What makes FRIGID such a warm and welcoming experience for your production?

UNDER St. Marks is the quintessential black box theater. There’s a bar, a cramped dressing room, a street person wandering in, a lonely staircase, a place to hit your head, a place for cool kids to smoke, and best of all: it’s in a basement.

Diánna Asks: What about this play do you feel most drawn to personally, and because of that, what message do you hope the audience walks away with?

It’s a poetry reading concerning the pursuit of True Love and the contortionists you meet along the way. It’s not a play, but a poetry reading mixing red shoes, black leather pants, a gold tux jacket, angst and a electric guitar. I have an intimate relationship with each and every poem presented, but there is no narrative from which to glean a message or moral. For the audience that comes and stays, I hope they recognize some of the words and sing along, walking away humming a favorite line or two.

Karen Asks: That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?

Poetry has never been this hot, angry, desperate, loud, sweet or true. I needed a title that covered it all. It doesn’t have a meaning, so much as it describes the subject matter of the poems. It may help to know that this title has been shortened. The original title is: “Looking For Love In All The Wrong Cafes, Strip Clubs and Black Box Performance Spaces.”

Stephen Asks: You must have a favorite part of your show. What makes it your favorite?

The beginning. Walking out and saying hello. Anything can happen.

Lina Asks: How much of your show was inspired by true events?

All of it.

THM Bonus Question: If you could play a virtual game of Rock, Paper, Scissors with another FRIGID Show which show would you take on? And what would you throw?

The Bitter Poet, in a gesture of supreme Bitterness – Poetry – or both didn’t just abstain but SKIPPED THIS QUESTION entirely. Ahhh, I see what you did there, Bitter Poet.
Well, you were challenged by I’m Not Sure I Like the Way You Licked Me! who threw good ole Paper. Upon which I’ve decided to write a poem for you:

Bitter Poet – Touche
Decided not to play
Got beaten by a lick
Though her win is pyrrhic
Since you didn’t throw.

See – I can write staggeringly good poetry too!

This is how it works in the crazy world of the VIRTUAL ROCK PAPER SCISSORS TOURNAMENT!

Meanwhile, for the rest of you – don’t forget to check out The Bitter Poet: Looking For Love In All The Wrong Black Box Performance Spaces