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Awesomeness Alert: Guerrilla Girls On Tour!

Check out what feministing.com has to say about Guerrilla Girls On Tour!
http://www.feministing.com/cgi-bin/movabletype/mt-tb.fcgi/18952
http://www.feministing.com/archives/020700.html

If you are not familiar with the Guerrilla Girls on tour, get familiar, there work is amazing, you know, if you are into that radical art, street theatre, anti-sexism thing! Check them out in action:

SIZE 2 PANTS LYRICS

For those of you who requested the lyrics to our parody here they are. Feel free to sing them loudly all day long. L ro R Edna Lewis, Julia Child and MFK Fisher

“SIZE 2 PANTS” sung to the tune of Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance” by Guerrilla Girls On Tour!

I want some junk food
A Big Mac with cheese
I want to slip into
My Levis with ease
Fits like a glove
Glove, glove, glove
Fits like a glove

I go to Denny’s
To eat a Grand Slam
I need a waistband
That is gonna expand
Fits like a glove
Glove, glove, glove
Fits like a glove

My pants aren’t too tight
They all fit me just right
And that’s because they’re not size 2 pants

Some women starve and some women will purge
And they still can’t wear a size 2 pants
Adore the size of the body you’re in
You don’t need to wear a size 2 pants.

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Can’t wear a size 2 pants
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Can’t wear a size 2 pants

Fits like a glove
I don’t want to pretend
Fits like a glove
I don’t have a rear-end?
Je veux Size Deux
Et je veux ta pretend
Je veux ton amour
I don’t have a rear-end?
Yes I have a rear-end!
Yes I have a rear-end!
Can’t wear size two pants!
Can’t wear size two pants!
Some women starve and some women will purge
And they still can’t wear a size 2 pants
J’adore the size of the body you’re in
You don’t need to wear a size 2 pants.

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Can’t wear size 2 pants!
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Can’t wear size 2 pants!

Ra ra-ah-ah-ah
Roma roma-ma
GaGa Oh la-la
Can’t wear size 2 pants!

Our parody of Lady Gaga's Bad Romance

Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" is turned into "Size Two Pants" by Guerrilla Girls On Tour in our show about women and food. Here's a clip from a recent performance at Denison University in Ohio.

American Theatre Wing’s Jonathan Larson Grants maintain status quo of sexism on Broadway

What’s wrong with this picture? The American Theatre Wing announced that its 2010 Jonathan Larson grants had been awarded to 4 men. That’s right, not one woman this year or last year received a JL grant. Since 1997 the Jonathan Larson Foundation has given out 104 grants. Only 16 of those have gone to women or to theatres producing a musical by a woman. The grant is described by ATW as “for individual creative theatre artists to turn to for financial support and encouragement. The Jonathan Larson Grants honor the talented creator of Rent and ensure that his spirit continues to inspire the future of American musical theatre.” I guess they believe that the future of musical theatre is reflected in what’s currently playing on Broadway. There are 26 musicals on Broadway – 23 by men and 3 by women. That’s 12% representation by female musical theatre writers. Just 15% of all Jonathan Larson grants have gone to women. I know there are just as many women writing musical as men so why do these grants help to maintain the status quo instead of encouraging more women’s voices? What’s currently playing on Broadway? Discrimination. Note to American Theatre Wing – we need more Broads on Broadway. In 2011 give only women awards. Feel free to steal that idea.

-Aphra Behn
© 2010

Photos from Yoko Ono Courage for the Arts Awards dinner

L to R Julia Child, Aphra Behn of GGOT with Josephine Baker of GGBB and Yoko Ono seated.


Julia and her big hair.


Julia Child and Aphra Behn with Martha Wilson of Franklin Furnace


Courageous artist, Yoko Ono.

Yoko Ono Courage For The Arts Award 2010

Julia Child and I got into our biggest wigs and our highest heels and headed down to the Modern to meet Yoko Ono Lennon and her guests at the second annual Courage for the Arts Awards dinner. We were one of 5 groups being honored and were humbled and grateful to be acknowledged for our work and our commitment to change the world, one sexist city at a time.


There was an hour of wine and yummy hors'dourves in a room overlooking MOMA’s sculpture garden and it was here that we met Yoko. I was struck at how warm and down to earth she was as she immediately put Julia and I at ease as her guests. We gave her a small gift of a hand carved gorilla and baby from the Dian Fossey Foundation dedicated to the conservation of gorillas and their habitats in Africa. While mingling we were honored to also meet Martha Wilson of Franklin Furnace (www.franklinfurnace.org) and the folks from Printed Matter who were also being honored. A. A. Bronson and Max Schumann congratulated us as we toasted to their continued success. (www.printedmatter.org) Just before dinner was announced we met journalist and art critic Edward M. Gomez who was intrigued by our masks and wigs. We were standing with Josephine Baker and Juana Sor Ines de la Cruz of Guerrilla Girls BroadBand (www.ggbb.org) another of the awardees and the five of us discussed activism and art.

After an hour we moved into the dining room and found our places. Julia and I sat at a table with Edward M. Gomez, Kathy Halbreich of MOMA and RoseLee Goldberg of Performa. The food was exceptional and the conversation moved from art to performance to cooking to Japanese culture. It is clear that Yoko Ono has the warmest of friends and only surrounds herself with great people - on this night a few masked ones as well.

It was time for Yoko to present the awards and as Julia and I went up to accept the framed award she grabbed our hands and held them. She spoke about how she felt it important to honor artists for having courage. Courage is bestowed onto soldiers but should also apply to artists who take risks, she said. Yoko mentioned that there was great energy in the room – we all felt it as well. As photos were being taken after the ceremony she whispered “keep doing what you are doing…don’t stop!” I nodded and urged her to do the same. She looked at me as if that idea had never once had crossed her mind. After this night I hope it never crosses mine again either.

We are having trouble adding photos to this post so they will be posted tomorrow. The text of our speech our below. Onward we go armed with courage and some new friends.

Happy Passover,
Aphra Behn March 29, 2010


Happy Women’s History Month! My name is Aphra Behn and this is my colleague Julia Child. We are two of the 26 members of Guerrilla Girls On Tour, also known as the theatre girls. We are honored with this award and thank you, Yoko, for your own courage and commitment to change and peace. As we travel around the world with our performances and street theatre actions, we meet many young women and men who want to channel the passion they have for the causes they believe into action but have very little first hand experience with radical theatre, protest marches, activism and resistance. One of the most important and rewarding things we try to do is inspire the next generation of theatre activists with new ways to effect change. Here is a letter from a student that we received last Tuesday while we were in Tennessee.

Dear Guerrilla Girls On Tour,
Four years ago I moved to Tennessee. All of a sudden I was the only one on campus who wanted to fight for women’s rights. I was immediately the subject of many hateful rumors. I countered this by reading feminist books and getting involved in the Women’s Council but I still felt hopeless. Then you showed up and the moment that your show “Feminists Are Funny” started I began laughing. Smiling AND laughing, for over an hour! Your humor, strength and passion woke me up and reminded me why I have to keep fighting through the tough days. I want to be able to speak out against violence against women and empower others to do the same. Suddenly I felt less alone. Even though I don't know who you are you made a big difference in my life tonight. Thank you for making me smile, and reminding me that every woman is worth it.
Love, "Alice Paul"

This award will help us to work with all the “Alice Paul’s” out there who continue the struggle for equality for all. Thank you.

Aphra and Julia

I HEART FEMINISM

Happy Valentines Day! Today I will love my feminist sisters and my feminist self.

I will love my legal rights. I will learn how to be more articulate about why I feel legal abortion should remain my right.

I will love my art. As a writer and artist I will reject being shoved into the gender-shaped subcategory “women writers” and “women artists”.

I will love my body. I recognize the anti-fat and anti-woman culture of weight in which I live in and will explore and take control of my own health.

Here's to loving feminism.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Guerrilla Girls On Tour!
www.twitter.com/GuerrillaGsOT

Tim Tebow, CBS and the Raging Grannies

The Tim Tebow/Focus on the Family ad that ran on CBS last night during the first quarter of the Super Bowl was so vague and so short that I thought I had missed it. “That was it?” I screamed out to the Girls after it flew by. It seems that both CBS and Focus On The Family succeeded in creating a media stir about an anti-choice campaign on national TV during a huge sporting event viewed by billions and then did not deliver making those of us who protested appear to be just crazy liberals. Maybe this is their new tactic. Never mind. My biggest thrill of the hype leading up to the ad was the video the Raging Grannies posted on YouTube. Their take on what CBS stands for (Corporate Bull Shit) was so on the nose you could smell it. And that’s more I can say for Focus On The Family’s tip-toeing around their issue, whatever it may be. View the Raging Grannies video below. I’ve also included a photo of Guerrilla Girls On Tour at Focus On The Family. We smuggled our way into one of their prayer breakfast’s while on tour in Colorado. They were not amused.
In Sisterhood,
Aphra Behn

SUPPORT THE FEMINISTS

Aphra Behn and Hallie Flanagan recently attended the APAP conference in New York City. Our goal in attending the conference was to shmooze with fellow artists, meet new funny feminists and re-connect with pals from past conferences. Guerrilla Girls On Tour is trying to bring our brand of satirical activism to a new audience. We think that feminist theatre has a place in mainstream theatres across the US. But try convincing presenters that. It was interesting talking to the directors of theatres outside New York City who asked us how they could possibly sell a play with the “F” word in it. We reminded them that over half their audiences were women, that our shows actively engage the audience by making them laugh first and think second and that men and women crave theatre that boldly stands outside the sterotypical idea of what theatre by feminists looks like. Some took our materials and promised to think about that. In the meantime, we’ve added a button to our blog to donate to the cause. If you’d like to help send Guerrilla Girls On Tour to theatres across the US that could use a few women in gorilla masks proving feminists are funny a donation of any amount will be most appreicated.

See you in the jungle,
Guerrilla Girls On Tour
www.twitter.com/GuerrillaGsOT