The Happiest Medium » Rachel Kerry

Daughters Of Lot – A Lot Going On (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)

Karen Tortora-Lee — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 03:06:27 +0000

“This is not your father’s burlesque show,” intones host Atlanta Georgia (Marlena Kalm) to the assemblage who stare at the three preening women who are outfitted in sky-high heels, racy bodices and flirty skirts of the schoolgirl-gone-bad-kilt and tutu variety. With glittery winks and flicking hips these three women ooze dangerous sex appeal and edgy one-liners (I’m like a happy meal … I come with toys). They are daring and flirty and dirty and in control – demanding that the squeamish leave the building so that they can get on with the show. “We know how you like it …” they taunt, “And we know why you keep it a secret from Wifey.”

Welcome to Daughters of Lot (written by Alexis Roblan and directed by Rachel Kerry) where the Bible Belt meets the Garter Belt, where Feminism has as many meanings as Eskimos have words for snow and where women run the gamut from young and innocent to young and jaded. If you’re looking for a man here you’ll find him only when he’s being channelled by one of the women, when he’s being serviced (unseen) by one of his daughters backstage, or when you look to your left at the guy sitting next to you.

Daughters of Lot (L-R: Naomi Bland, Rebecca Gray Davis, Marelena Kalm | Photo credit: Nicholas Grant)

As Atlanta plays ringmaster to One (Stav Meishar) and Two (Caitlin Mehner) the three women proudly bring forth a daring exhibit: the real daughters of Lot who arrive like relics, wrapped in artifacts, inside big dresses but they are nonetheless excited to be there once they get over the rift in the fabric of time.

There’s a lot going on here so let me boil it down to the most important take-aways. Three narratives are presented and intertwined but they all deal with one theme and all weigh the same issues to see how the scales balance: is Woman a victim or is she the victor? (It should be noted that “Atlanta” means “balance”.)

Story one is the very constructs of the play: burlesque and all its forms – from the theatrical to the modest and reserved. Regardless of attire a woman teases and beguiles — offers up her most private moves and rituals for an audience. By doing so has she conquered them? Or is she theirs to use up and toss aside? Second story: The actual story of Lot’s daughters. There has always been some debate as to who did what to whom after they fled Sodom & Gomorrah. Mother, turned to salt, could no longer service their father. Did the daughters take it upon themselves to “know” their father … to save the human race? Or did the father simply continue a practice he’d started long before they fled? Then there’s the third story of Atalanta (or Atlanta – there are 2 versions which are told to the daughters of Lot). The story is basically one of a young maiden who is not interested in marriage and plays at being a boy to get away from her suitors. A race is held – the winner will get her hand. She enters the race herself hoping to claim herself at the end, only to get distracted by some apples (maaaaagic apples). Long story short, in the end she marries the guy who won the race. Happy ending? That’s a matter of perspective. In fact – it’s all a matter of perspective. Which is the one big theme: victim or victor?

Two (Caitlin Mehner) holds down Atlanta (Marelena Kalm) as One (Stav Meishar) jeers | Photo credit: Nicholas Grant

Throughout the hour Daughter 1 (Naomi Bland) and Daughter 2 (Rebecca Gray Davis) play the straight man, as it were, and allow Atlanta and crew to zip them (and us) through a cliff notes version of what it feels like for a girl, always driving home the point of balance. Bland and Davis do a wonderful job at convincingly portraying newly-hatched women who are window shopping in the Mall of Female Stereotypes where each conceivable brand of woman is, in turn, either celebrated or bashed. However, no matter what lessons Atlanta and her One and Two can provide for the Daughters the story of Lot must play out as it should. While the idea of who the aggressor is - at least from this tale’s context – seems fixed, the question of their perspective having been polluted becomes a weightier question thanks to the new stories that have been interwoven with theirs.

This play was originally longer and cut to fit FRIGID’s 1 hour time-frame, which I knew going in. I’m not sure that Daughters of Lot works best as a one hour show; possibly making it even a bit shorter might have worked, though when taking out important moments it’s difficult to know which will resonate with the audience and which won’t – and ultimately you want to leave the audience with a thoughtful piece of theatre, not a hacked-up poetry reading, so it’s impossible for me to say what- other than the original format -would best serve this play. I would very much enjoy seeing the full, uncut version in order to experience the original pacing and impact.

When these women announce at the top of the show that this is not your father’s burlesque show – and not for the squeamish – they’re correct. I doubt there was a man in the audience who expected to be challenged so directly by women wearing so little. I could tell it made some of them uncomfortable. Frankly, this story should have made people uncomfortable starting a long time ago. Go back and read the original if you need a refresher and then go see Daughters of Lot for a new perspective.

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Daughters of Lot

Company: Brain Melt Consortium

Directed by: Rachel Kerry

Molly Ballerstein

Feb 25, 5:30PM

Feb 28, 9:00PM

Mar 02, 5:30PM

Mar 04, 4:00PM

$15.00

The Kraine Theater

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The 2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL will run February 22-March 4 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 1st Ave and Ave A). Tickets to all shows may be purchased online at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444.

Daughters Of Lot: 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)

The Happiest Medium — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:10:44 +0000

Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?

Daughters of Lot (Marlena Kalm, photo by Rachel Kerry)

Daughters Of Lot

Company: Brain Melt Consortium
Directed by: Rachel Kerry

The evening’s entertainment is a sexy and silly retelling of an ancient story, until the performers do a trick that requires more than flexibility. Arousing and agitating in Biblical proportions, this is not your daddy’s burlesque club… or maybe it is.

Show Times:

Thu 2/23 @ 7:30 pm
Sat 2/25 @ 5:30 pm
Tue 2/28 @9:00 pm
Fri 3/2 @ 5:30 pm
Sun 3/4 @ 4:00 pm

Answers by Alexis Roblan

(Playwright, Producer)

Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Alexis: Daughters of Lot takes place in a burlesque club where the performers conjur up a couple Biblical characters to play with — Lot’s daughters. So in one sense, the title’s pretty literal. It’s also a reference to the fact that Lot, from the story of Sodom & Gomorrah, has a name, but none of the women in the story (including his daughters) are ever given names.

Diánna Martin’s Question
If you were going to invite five people, anyone from past and present, to see your FRIGID show – who would you invite and why?
Alexis:
Lot — to ask him how he feels about the portrayal.
Jean Genet — because the structure for this show was originally inspired by his The Blacks.
Susan Faludi — because Backlash is quoted on the title page.
Leigh Silverman — because I have a huge director crush.
Elisabeth Hasselbeck — to watch her squirm.

Antonio Minino’s Question
What is the biggest sacrifice you’ve ever made for your Art and was it worth it?
Alexis: In January 2010 I moved to New York with 2 friends here, no job prospects, and not much money, having spent a total of 10 days in the city prior to my move. It was pretty nerve-wracking, and I spent quite a bit of time missing friends and my car for that first year, but I also built a great community here and started a theatre company, Brain Melt Consortium. And now we’re in the Frigid Festival! Success story! Totally worth it.

Geoffrey Paddy Johnson’s Question
Was there any unexpected discovery made during the development of this production and, if so, can you share it?
Alexis: This used to be a full-length play, that we cut down to an hour for Frigid. Having worked on the script for a few years, it was tough to figure out exactly which moments could be sliced and diced and leave the show as something coherent and powerful. But some of those painful cuts resulted in moments that really made the play breathe in new ways.

Michelle Augello-Page’s Question
What do you hope the audience receives from the experience of seeing this show?
Alexis: I hope people are entertained in the moment, but also disconcerted. I hope they leave with a lot of questions, and that it inspires them to think a bit more than usual about gender and how sex is used in our society.

Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament of DEAAAAATH

THM Bonus Question – We’re serious this year!
In the THM virtual Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament of DEAAAAATH which FRIGID Show do you take on? And what do you throw?

Alexis: I would take on Stripper Lesbians, because their title makes me feel competitive with them. I would throw scissors. For obvious reasons.

Okay then! Well, the Stripper Lesbians part I get. The scissors, not so much “obvious” to me, but I’m not always the sharpest scissors in the drawer. So I say – good choice! Here’s how you’re doing so far … you’ve been challenged by Love in the Time of Chlamydia who threw ROCK (at everyone) … so that’s a loss. But that’s just round one … there’s more to come!

Thanks Daughters of Lot for participating in The Happiest Medium’s FRIGID New York Festival 2012 Q&A. And for playing our game! You’re officially SCISSORS in any and all challenges. You may win, you may not – who knows! This is how it works in the crazy world of the Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament of DEAAAAATH!

For the rest of you don’t forget to check out Daughters of Lot!

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