Grrl Action - Austin, Texas

L to R Edith, Kate Roark of UHD, Aphra, Josephine

First off, I have to give a shout out to Kate Roark, theater history professor at UHD. I loved meeting you. You are smart, funny, intelligent, athletic (rides her bike to work everyday), and great with your students (even sleep deprived). There's always room on a GGOT road trip for you!

Now, (make your reading in your head voice light and mystical):

The Apocalypse of Feminism (dun dun dunnnnnn):

"You're making a spectacle of Feminism" - angry female,

"I'm playing devil's advocate, I'm from a Christian family (Happy Easter), and with all these liberals coming out, have you seen a trend in discrimination against conservative white men?" - calm female

"I'm a size 0 and I have a rear end!!!!!!!!" - happy with her body female

"If you are a feminist and you define it by equality, doesn't that mean you are looking to discriminate against men?" - sincere male

Just bill yourselves as comedy!!!!! - laughing male

The ERA never passed??????? - female

(return to your natural reading in your head voice, unless you have an Edith voice you use when you read my diary entries, you can use that voice now!)

At least once during every Q & A "The Apocalypse of Feminism" would ring through my head and root me to the spot, and start a little sweat dripping down my back if it wasn't all ready there from doing the traditional feminist dance (see the show or stay ignorant). These statements (Apocalypse) mean two things to me. Feminism has accomplished so much we don't need it anymore or we've done what we could and this is it.

Read them again, I'll go pee. Too much information? I apologize. Now set them aside a moment, I have to finish the tour and there'll be a big Texas round up at the end.

It was a weary Edith (and Aphra and Josephine) that pulled into Austin, Texas for the last stop on the tour. And what a beautiful sight for sore eyes. Not the four horseman re-imagined as a female Tony winning playwright of 2011, a female Tony winning director of 2011, a female Oscar winning director of 2011, and a female Oscar winning screenwriter of 2011; not the four horseman re-imagined as a female President and female First lady, a female Vice-President and a female Vice-President's wife - on horses cause it's Texas; not the four horsemen re-imagined as a female professional, a female primary caregiver, a female librarian and a female cowgirl who all walk into a bar and respect each other - ouch -no no no.....It was the Kimber Modern Hotel who donated our rooms for the night. Yowsa. They were swell. And complimentary happy hour drinks and snacks!

After a short break we went off to a poster making workshop with Grrl Action at the Rude Mechs. (Rude Mechanicals of Austin Texas Theater Company). We did get lost, but that's not because Edith the navigator has no tolerance to alcohol and had half a beer, or because Edith sober or tipsy has no sense of direction, but because google maps was wrong. HA! So we were a little late. I apologize.

Grrl Action is a program run by the Rude Mechs and a more incredible group of young women I have never met. WHY?

They were articulate.

They were willing to participate.

They were generous with their ideas and their creativity with each other and with us.

Their concerns: deforestation, feeling wanted, Israel, teenage dating, Lesbian and Gayism, violence against women, body image, not as strong as boys, and about 30 more topics. In about 4 minutes.

They thought over everyone's ideas before voting.

They asked whose idea a topic was if they didn't understand it and asked if she could explain.

They explained their ideas and took all questions seriously.

They stopped for snacks.

They had focus.

They rescued grasshoppers from inside and brought them outside.

They stood up and shared their work process.

They listened to each other.

They gave positive feedback to each other without any hesitation.

They were supportive of their community.

They were able to express their strengths and insecurities as individuals and as women.

We the aging women of America are in good hands. I did not want to leave.

The next day we had lunch with Women and Their Work. ( A visual and performing arts organization that serves as a catalyst for contemporary art created by women living and working in Texas for over 30 years). We got into a fabulous discussion about feminism. The word. Not the concept, principles, or movement. The actual word itself. One of the women at the table (there were 6 of us) won't use it. So here we are. The Apocalypse of Feminism. (Now I've got Ted Baxter's voice - Mary Tyler Moore Show - in my head and he's trying to sound really ominous. Rhoda would be more appropriate). Has it arrived? or do we just need a new word? Do we need to fix the old word? Are we done? Have we done all we are ever going to do? We have come a long way. One of the women at the table went to law school back in the day and remembered being told she was taking away the place of a man. That wouldn't happen today. Not out loud anyway.

Are we equals now? Are the discrepancies experienced today not the result of discrimination but the natural differences between men and women. Is that what we are struggling through now? Will we ever be able to define equal when men and women are so different? This is not new. But it's what I'm thinking right now.

xoEdith Evans, feminist.

April 8, 2011

Deep in the heart of Texas!

Howdy, GGOT Diary!

We just spent an amazing week in Texas! We kicked this tour off in Houston, where the most fabulous tour guide/professor, Susan, drove us everywhere we needed to go, including an emergency Starbucks run and out to a delicious Vietnamese lunch!

At noon, on our first day Aphra, Edith and I we were scheduled to speak at KUHF, a Houston public radio station, about the life of a Guerrilla Girl On Tour! and the ongoing struggles of women in theater. I had never been in a sound booth before so I was excited. As we sat in the green room we joked about what we were going to say and the section from “Feminists Are Funny” that we were to perform. I felt so ready and empowered but then, of course, as soon as we went on air, I got so nervous! St. John, our host, turned to me and asked me the question, "Has the need for feminism changed over the years?" Of course I knew the answer! Had I been in my right mind, I would have said, "Yes, it has. Women have newer things to contend with. The media is constantly in our face, telling us how we should look and smell; how much we should weigh. We don't protest with picket signs. Instead we create performance pieces, or raise funds for women who have been victimized. Today, we have to speak out about women's health care rights, and equal opportunities in the work place..." Had I been in my right mind, I would have gone on and on and everyone would have applauded the brilliance of my answer. Instead, I was stuttering like Porky Pig up in there! I stumbled, and floundered, and finally squeaked out some weird answer, that I'm sure made no sense at all... uggghh... That moment will forever haunt me!

Later that night we performed “Feminists Are Funny” at the University of Houston Downtown, where we were greeted by a warm, welcoming faculty and student body. Frank, the school’s Technical Director, led our tech and he was amazing! Sort of a jack of all trades Frank not only kept our tech running smoothly he was also there if we needed anything.

We also received a huge Texas welcome from Kate Roark, the professor of theatre who organized our tour to Texas. She was helpful and open and she's one of the only people, ever, to identify our slide of funny feminist Charlotte Cushman on sight! Lastly, we met Dr. Lyttle, the head of UHD's theater department. He was so jovial and happy to meet us. It really made us feel welcome (Although, I think I may have upset him a little when I revealed the UHD theater stats :{ It wasn't the worst theater department we've ever been to, but there was definitely room for improvement when it came to opportunities for women. I'm just sayin'.) We gave a great performance, and the audience was really into it. I just love when the audience get's all of our puns, one-liners, prat falls and feminist humor.

The following day, we hosted a poster-making workshop for the combined interdisciplinary arts department. Initially, turnout was good. They were into the warm-ups and our theater games and everyone had great poster ideas. But when it came time to actually create the posters, everyone except for four women, left! Apparently each class unit is an hour long and everyone had an exam to run off to. Oh well, we made some great posters with the few remaining students and got to chat more with Kate about theatre.

Next stop, Austin!

The following day, we jumped in the car, and drove over to Austin. Now, I love Austin. It's a little funky and a little hippy dippy. It's forward thinking but still has that southern feeling. We arrived at this smallish, colorful building and I would have never, in a million years, known that that was our hotel. We entered the Kimber Modern, and were immediately impressed with its architecture, colorfulness and cleanliness. It was also happy hour, so we went straight for the snacks! It was a beautiful day and the three of us sat outside in the lovely courtyard and read newspapers, surfed the Internet, and chatted until it was time to go on to our next workshop.

The workshop that night was sponsored by the awesome theatre company, Rude Mechanicals and their group Grrl Action -- one of the most incredible groups of young women and mentors I have ever seen. It was one of the most exciting experiences of my guerrilla life. We worked on making posters with teenage girls between the ages of 13-16. They were all so bright, and funny, and positive. They had so many ideas for important poster-worthy matters that we could barely fit them on the board! In the end they narrowed their ideas down to Plus-Size Models, Homosexuality, Violence Against Women, and Feeling Wanted. As we walked around the room listening to each group brainstorm we heard all sorts of talk about violence that's happened to them and feelings of rejection. It made me think back to when I was their age and how confused and lonely and all over the place I felt. They produced some brilliant, telling posters. During critiques, they were all super supportive of one another. No one said anything negative. Every sentence began with “I like the way....” They were so funny, and wanted to know if we were wearing wigs, and what our hair really looked like. I loved every second of it!

After the workshop Edith, Aphra and I chowed down on some awesome Austin food and the next day our spring 2011 tour officially ended. Diary, it was a great season. Until next time...

Monkey love,

Josephine Baker

April 7, 2011

Canada diary #3

Dear book,

This tour had tons of driving; all by me because who else but a 17^th century feminist playwright can drive long stretches in a rented Avis full size white Impala? Up the coast of Lake Superior after flying into Duluth, Minnesota, to Grand Marais – a place I spied on the AAA map and decided it would be a good place to stop for the night before we head into Canada. We arrived at sundown into funky old Grand Marais and low and behold the Best Western had every single room right on the lake! We ask about where to eat and expected to hear the usual…”there’s is a subway up the road.” But surprise...we stumbled into a home style cooking joint aptly named My Sisters Place! It is here that I discover we are not just in any red state small town. On the back of one bar stool at My Sisters Place I spot a pro-choice bumper sticker slapped up and visible. Whoa! We are home! The chili, onion rings, grilled cheese and broccoli cheddar soup hit the spot and we settle in for a night of hard sleep on the shores of Lake Superior. OK so there are no whales to watch, no fish jumping, just vast amounts of ice and sky. But it’s beautiful.

Day two we head up to Canada…I warn the girls not to make ANY jokes at the border, remembering the time when Coco Chanel quipped something and got us all stopped for an hour and interrogated when we arrived in Winnipeg a few years back. We sail though the border and head up to Thunder Bay and Lakehead University. Deer, deer and more deer line the road as if to welcome us to Canada. (None in gorilla masks) And we spot many bald eagles flying overhead as if they are our American escorts into a new frontier.

Our venue is an older auditorium, a wing of the college that used to be an elementary school. Our dressing room is the old girls locker room right off the gym. We practice the cheerleading part of our show…splits and back springs. Tech crew is great…Kate Bornstein had warned ups that they were not together but they got it together since her show and therefore we are in good hands.

The show rocks but the audience rocks more and our Q and A is filled with fantastic questions. My favorite is the last one “When can you come back?”

Soon, Canada, Oh so very soon…”!

Until we meet again…

Aphra Behn

March 31, 2011

CANADA Diary #2 or how to create theatre

Dearest Diary,

What a muggy day! It's 76 degrees outside. And how inappropriate of me talking of fahrenheit when I am about to sit down and write about Canada. I'm such a dork.

I had a great time being in Thunder Bay. It seems to be a city which will very soon be on the brink of opportunity. It brought back a lot of memories for me of when I started out creating theater on the Lower East Side of NYC and Williamsburg, Brooklyn. There was lots of space - both free and cheap (and unclaimed) and not too much Disney to get in the way. What I'm trying to say is, IT'S A GREAT TIME TO CREATE SOME THEATER COMPANIES IN THUNDER BAY!

First off, you want to find a great group of people. Everyone should be passionate about the work you are about to do.

Free or low cost rehearsal space - parks; parking lots; NOT the steps of the Farley Post office in Manhattan - they will insist on asking if you've checked with marketing, and no you have not; unused classrooms; bars in the afternoon when no one is there and be nice and order a few cokes or something; loft apartment of a castmate whose father bought it for tax purposes which she painted aqua with mermaids and bubbles on the walls; a friends' art gallery during the evening hours when it is closed (and be careful not to damage the art or you will probably have to buy it). My favorite free space though was The Roxy nightclub (Do nightclubs even exist anymore or is it that I've just gotten older?) They used to distribute postcards for free admission and open bar from 9-11. No one would be there. We would have this huge dance floor all to ourselves and free drinks. Of course with all the music and few stranglers it wasn't ideal. But we got the basic outlines of a few pieces done there. Ha!

Performance spaces - Back then, you could get away with performing in apartments, abandoned warehouses, storefronts etc. I'm a little fuzzy on exactly how it worked but there was a phone number passed around that you could call that would leave info of performances at these unclaimed spaces on the outgoing message. But nowadays, everyone is so aware of real estate and its worth that that would be too difficult to pull off without any fines or consequences. So try - being creative with site specific theater; or bars on nights there are no scheduled performances; theater spaces after hours - my first self produced show was a midnight show in a tiny 30 seat theater; churches, community centers, bookstores, libraries - any kind of place like that you may be able to negotiate something. And theaters are good as well!

Subject matter - pick a topic and start talking, interviewing, reading, researching. One of the first pieces I was involved in got the text from the creator taping her friend ranting about eating disorders, feeling fat, overeating, and body image. She then transcribed the text and did a little editing. It was about fifteen minutes long. She then put me in a refrigerator, had me recite it at top speed (finishing most nights in under 7 minutes) while fishing for Barbie dolls as she danced around the stage (she was an amazing modern dancer) while cooking (microwave popcorn) and eating tons of food, which ended up in a bag under her shirt that she 'threw up' at the end of the piece. It's a heavy subject matter, but it came off as very tongue in cheek and humorous. The other fun thing about that piece was there was no storage space at the theater, it was too small, so we had to find and discard a refrigerator from the streets of Manhattan every evening!

Fundraising - From the beginning you should look into grants or funds from local, regional 'council of the arts' groups. In NYC there are rules (like you must be in existence for three years) but they were always wiling to tell us what the rules were, and to make suggestions as to where to get money NOW. Hee Hee. Seriously though, you want people who can help to know you exist from the very beginning.

Some books by people I think are cool - The Viewpoints Book - Anne Bogart, Tina Landau; Writer's Block Busters - Velina Hasu Houston; The Invisible Actor - Yoshi Oida; A Practical Guide to Working in Theater - Gill Foreman.

Break a leg!!!!!!

xo Dame Edith Evans

March 31, 2011

Canada Diary #1

Oh! The joys of Thunder Bay Canada!

We spent the night between our Iowa and Canada shows in a cool Best Western overlooking Lake Superior in a town called Grand Marais, Minnesota. Leave it to Guerrilla Girls On Tour! to find a feminist restaurant on our overnight stop! Called “My Sister’s Place” - the RESTAURANT had an anti-discrimination theme and some of the best comfort food I’ve ever tasted!

The next day we crossed through the Canadian border to perform at Lakehead University. The theatre we performed in was a 70s style theatre with limited lighting effects, but we still managed to have a great tech, with yet another fantastic student volunteer, who learned very quickly. We retired to our dressing room, a gym locker room, and got pumped for the performance.

After an 70 minute laugh filled show, (including lots of enthusiasm from our audience), we had another great Q&A. When asked who we thought was a great contemporary role model for young women, I paused until the answer came to me - Guerrilla Girls On Tour!!!

We actually had several children in the audience, including two 10 yr old girls who posed with us and asked us lots of questions. They wanted to sing “Size 2 Pants” with us, despite not knowing the words, so we sang along with them as they stumbled through the lyrics. They gave me hope for the younger generation of future Guerrilla Girls On Tour.

My Gorilla self loved the drive along Lake Superior, even thought it was cold and snowy on the way back. When we hit the Canadian/US border not only was our rental car searched but something in my suitcase set off the alarms at the airport and I received a full patdown from the TSA. In addition, our last flight was delayed, so we had a cast party in the Minneapolis Airport, drinking flights of wine in the wine bar in our concourse.

The wine made my head spin and recall the warm, appreciative audiences in both Iowa and Canada. Ican't wait to see what's next!

Lots of monkey love,

Audrey Hepburn

March 31, 2011

IOWA DIARY #3

Cedar Falls Iowa! I'm trying not to smile too big right now as I think of it, as I am in a lecture hall with a law professor learning the basics of special education law. I am not going to law school. Sometimes feminists who are actresses who are not Meryl Streep work for law schools as pretend clients for law students to practice interviews, counseling sessions, and negotiation sessions (which by the way everyone nowadays should learn how to do - negotiate, learn it now, practice with your friends, your mother, your father, your cousins - you get the point.). It's actually really heartbreaking work. I think of it as my yearly lesson in compassion. Many students have started law school right after undergrad and have never run a meeting. Their hands are cold, their voice shakes, they have no idea how to start or end. Thankfully, after all that awkwardness, they get to talk about law, and that they know.

Gloria (our Iowa grad student assistant extraordinaire), I love you. Your feedback during rehearsal, your bright colors, and your cookies were all terrific! Professor 'M' never gives us cookies and wears a typical beige or grey toned business suit. And I've never looked down to see Professor M's shoes. Probably those comfortable and worn in kind. Who needs that. I mean, if you are going to go that route at least wear sneakers and pretend you've just come from the gym.

Tech! Tech! The tech was fantastic! Thanks guys. I really appreciated it. Not even at this newly renovated top of the line lecture hall is the tech handled so well. Professor M is always pausing to figure out how the computer turns up the lights and dims the sound while we are trying to watch a practice interview. IT is always stopping by to help out. Like now. Excuse me as I check my emails. Ooh. Aphra printed her diary entry of our tour de force de Walmart. Hee hee.

Ah, working with the incredible Lucille Ball (our student volunteer). I loved the physical comedy the most (wasn't Jessica the incarnation of Lucy, I hope you don't mind if I call you Lucy). I've never had so much fun playing 'Machoswine' as I did with you as 'Chauvinisto.' You just jumped right in and made such bold choices and were so humorous. I think that was my favorite part. Mostly because, while I am a feminist, it's really all about everyone being able to be who they want to be and be respected for it as much of their lives as possible. And for me, that's being an actress. Thanks Lucy for a great 'scene.'

All righty, off I go...heading to Canada. More later. See you on the other side,

Dame Edith Evans

March 30, 2001

Iowa Diary #2

Yo diary!

Our journey to Iowa began with two warm tropical plane trips and a short drive to our hotel. What else was there to do but go to Aphra Behn’s favorite store, Wal Mart?

We went for a wonderful dinner in Downtown Cedar Falls called Bourbon Street, and although they didn’t have bananas, they did have some lovely New Orleans food, including Pickle Chips, which were a delight.

The day of the show, we returned to Wal Mart for a lovely photo shoot, where we danced around the aisles looking for as much interesting food as possible. Aphra also got several bras on sal for our opening "sunrise" bit in "Feminists Are Funny". Mine is a left over Valentines Day bra and the women in the check out line in front of us exclaimed "Oh, that's too pretty to hide!" Guess what? I'm not planning on hiding it!

Before we knew it it was time to go to the University of Northern Iowa. It was a fantastic theatre, and to my pleasure and surprise the tech went extremely well. Our student volunteer, Jessica, was very excited and she did a great job at the rehearsals.

Suddenly it was showtime and our audience was hot! We could feel the enthusiasm bursting onstage. My favorite ad libs were when Aphra described pulling the topics out of the hat as “Avant Garde” and when I had the audience all applaud for “yay, discrimination!”

The commedia skit was hilarious, as our super enthusiastic student volunteer almost stole the show. She made Edith Evans drop her cigar twice during the skit, which I thought was a slapstick routine but turned out to just be an accident. Talk about upstaging. Who knew we would have met our improvizational match in Jessica!

The Q&A was thoughtful, poignant and hilarious. Almost everyone in the packed house stayed which made it comfy and cozy.

Edith, Aphra and I headed back to our hotel exhausted but not too tired to have a cast party in Aphra's room complete with Wal Mart wine and snacks courtesy of Gloria our grad student cohort. Until we meet again Iowa...I will dream of you.

Monkey love,

Audrey Hepburn

March 29, 2011

CALLING ALL Feminists - listen to Guerrilla Girls On Tour in Houston, Texas on KUHF at 12:15 CST TUESDAY APRIL 5, 2011!

http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-the_front_row.php

Iowa Diary #1

Dearest book,

I’m going to give you our tour of Iowa in FOOD, since that seems to be part of the focus of our latest version of “Feminists Are Funny”. We arrived in Waterloo, Iowa on Monday March 28^th where the snow lay in huge, dirty piles all along the road to Cedar Falls. Since Subway has overtaken McDonalds as the largest restaurant chain in the US, Subway is our new favorite lunch spot and Cedar Falls did not disappoint with 3 of them! Our first day here we didn’t really have much to do so we decided to check out Wal Mart – especially since the Supreme Court was hearing arguments the very next day in the class action suit brought by women against Wal Mart for discrimination. There is no Wal Mart in New York City – we’ve kept them out so here we go, a little exploration of just how much can we buy in Wal Mart for how cheap.

Audrey and Edith don shopping sacks and away we go down the gia-normous aisles.

First of all, it appears that everything is a dollar! That’s right, those prices are truly slashed and everything is a great value!

You don’t have to buy your vodka and cranberry in separate boxes, they come together.

Found a huge sack of honey buzzers, whatever those are.

Whipped cream for all those pies we throw in our new food show.

Laundry detergent that will last a few years.

OK, enough with the Wal Mart.

We’re hungry. Off to downtown where we had a swell meal at Bourbon Street – another chain, though not as well known – with yummy New Orleans inspired entrees and fried pickles to start. Never had em, now I crave em everywhere I go.

Tuesday, March 29^th is show time day. We check into the University of Northern Iowa where Gloria, our grad student assistant brings us peanut butter cookies with M and M’s! Awesome. The tech crew is one of the best we’ve ever had and we have plenty of time to spare to dip into our back stage snacks.

The show is awesome…! Edith Evans, Audrey Hepburn and I rocked the rockin’ packed house of on your feet feminists! OK, so I was wearing my brand new yellow shoes and I did fall off the stage. But hey, anything for a good laugh and my follow up was funny. We head back to our favorite Quality Suites hotel and share a bottle of wine (that we got for cheap at, you guessed it, Wal Mart). Edith, Audrey and I have good laughs over some of the ad-libs we did during the show. The next day is a travel day – flying to Duluth and the driving to Canada – to Lakehead University at Thunder Bay! To be continued….