Performance Lecture
The performance will take place at MATCH-BOX 1 at 7pm on April 21 and at 3pm+7pm on April 22.
"My grandparents' farm and the famous brothel, the Chicken Ranch were right across the highway from each other in La Grange, Texas. A small farm and a rural whorehouse hiding in plain sight—both were historical anomalies in the late 20th century. I couldn't tell the story of my grandparents' hard scrabble farm without telling the story of the Chicken Ranch." - Suzanne Bocanegra
Lili Taylor performs Suzanne Bocanegra’s newest lecture as Suzanne Bocanegra. Using text, song, costume, film, and projections, Farmhouse/Whorehouse looks at the lives of Bocanegra’s grandparents on their small farm in La Grange, Texas, which existed across the road from the Chicken Ranch, better known as “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.” Through the lens of the farm and the brothel, a story emerges that considers the invention of the pastoral in art, the homesteading movement, hippie communes in the 1960s and the idea of the prostitute in art and theater.
"Farmhouse/Whorehouse" is Bocanegra’s third in a trilogy of performances that uses the traditional artist slide lecture format to tell a larger story, creating a performance that is part memoir, part social history, and part cultural essay. The Mitchell Center presented the first and second performance in this trilogy: "When a Priest Marries a Witch" (CounterCurrent16) and "Bodycast"(CounterCurrent15), as well as Bocanegra’s theatrical performance "Rerememberer" (CounterCurrent14).
Suzanne Bocanegra's artist lecture series examines the theatrical possibilities of a traditional artist slide presentation, using a trained actor to deliver the lecture as herself, like live sculpture, animated by her text. Her other recent work involves large-scale performance and installation, frequently translating two-dimensional information, images, and ideas into three-dimensional scenarios for staging, movement, ballet, and music.
All CounterCurrent events are free-of-charge and most events are ticketed. Please honor your reservations by showing up! In doing so, you help us keep tickets free and open to all. Many events have limited seating and advance reservations are required. Visit countercurrentfestival.org for more information.
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