The Grand Guignol

Grand Guignol event on Staten Island - April 1, 2 and 3, 2016 was inspired by the theater that was popular in Paris 100 years ago. Doug La Tourette and Kimbra Eberly produced a local version with 5 short plays on themes similar to the original horror plays, featuring study of bleak human behavior with gory special effects and makeup, all written by Staten Island authors. The original theater was considered small with 293 seats but the Hub 17 space where this Grand Guignol took place only accommodated 25 people at one time.

The first night opened with a severed head accomplished with up to date technology. He asked the audience to “turn off your cell phones”. Was hoping he would ask if there was a doctor in the house, but enjoyed the final plea to “vote for me!” The other two dates the head was outside interacting with the audience.

Plays began with a drama based on the Lizzie Borden story. Kimbra Eberly, with a long interest in Borden, had researched the details of the case over the years and created a short drama. A final throat slitting scene drew on the Grand Guignol feature of lurid special effects.

Other plays on the themes of ghost hunting, deals with the devil, zombies and frustrated revenge killing exploited contemporary fears and weaknesses

"Inadmissible" cast - Emma Borden- Mary Campbell, Lizzie Borden- Viv Vassar, interviewer- Margaret Chase and the severed head.

Day de Dada "Dream Inscription" at new Staten Island Artist Building

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/13/nyregion/art-on-staten-island.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0

had a small posting on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2013 

for some of the Second Saturday Art events, 

but missed the grand opening of the SIABC 

Staten Island Artist Building with the event I-Land 

(artists, musicians and performers offer self portraits 

that reflect on their relationship to Staten Island) 

curated by Melanie Cohn, Executive Director of SI Arts.

Despite the stormy weather a good crowd showed up.

Day de Dada Performance Art Collective presented 

a new piece "Dream Inscription" in which 

Milenka relaxed people- gave them a spot of "eyebright" tea 

and a dab of Keith Jacobsen's Berryzflow vision oil. 

Then they lay down and closed their eyes, 

Viv de Dada drew out their dreams of Staten Island. 

Words from this were added to a map of Staten Island.

The exhibition will be on display until Jan. 3, 2014. 

And can be viewed Monday-Friday 9am - 5pm 

Ring the bell at 73 Wave Street.

Nevermore Evermore, a Day de Dada Poe event

OutLOUD, a Staten Island group that organizes public reading of literature received a NEA Big Read grant to produce a series of the "Stories and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe". They asked Day de Dada performance art collective to produce one of the events and it occurred Sunday Sept. 29, 2013 at the Unitarian Church of Staten Island in conjunction with the church's Arts Committee programming. 

The event began with the audience entering through the garden gate greeted by Day de Dada artists who read poems, invited them to wear raven wings and create their own mad lib version with sections of the Poe poem "The Raven". A group of Butoh dancers then entered the garden and executed an extremely slow, meditative walk along the path that encircles the memorial garden. Eventually the dancers made their way into the church parish hall and the audience was invited to join them, which many did. A version of another Poe poem "Dreamland" was read at that point and the group then moved into the church sanctuary where "the Raven" poem was recited completely, with the audience invited to say the Nevermore raven lines.

Monica at Staten Island Arts created an infographic from the data that Day de Dada Illuminating Inquizitors collected at Lumen Festival in June.  

Here is a part of it, you can see it all in their blog post- 

statenislandarts.org/who-came-out-to-lumen-festival-2013/#more-5461

Kristopher Johnson photographed people at Lumen andhere is his great photo of the Day de Dada Illuminating Inquizitors.