May 29-June 4, 2008
By Alfred Lee
Getting Wet
The creator of Wet Spots: The Story Project, happening this Friday and Saturday, aims to shed new light on the mystery of the female orgasm and even encourage an open dialogue among participants – both the audience and the performers.
Says Christine Suarez, “People will be coming and going the whole night.” And, in more than one sense ... she couldn’t be more accurate.
“It’s pretty fabulous to be in a room full of women of different ages, nationalities, and color and share this common language,” she says. “But this is not geared towards only men and women. I would also like it for both men and women, and it’s not necessarily just for women of a certain sexual orientation either.”
So have men signed on to participate in this project as well? “Looking at who has made reservations, it’s pretty 50-50,” she says with a sense of accomplishment.
Suarez says the inspiration for this work came from her own personal sexual awakening, which she compared to the scene in Pleasantville where Joan Allen’s character experiences an orgasm for the first time, transforming into a Technicolor individual amongst the grayscale denizens. No, seriously. “It made me think of the role of women and how women are highly sexualized, or not sexualized. How we straddle being a ‘black & white’ person or being a ‘color’ person and the danger it inhabits.”
Wanting the venue for this project to be an intimate and comfortable setting, Suarez searched Craigslist for a home that was willing to accommodate a certainly unusual event. She stumbled across the Venice Beach Eco Cottages, three solar-powered, green-friendly houses merely a short walk from the ocean, whose overseers were more than happy to host Wet Spots. “They’ve been wanting to bring art to their place, and they were on board,” Suarez says.
Participants are led through the three cottages by a tour guide, as they witness presentations of dance and micro-theater by female performers, ages 19 to 51, and have their senses engaged through audio installations and food. The pieces encompass a wide range of emotions associated with the female orgasm, from the pure sensational joy to the guilt and pain of what is still a taboo subject to some.
Despite the subject matter involved, the performances should still be palatable to more sensitive audience members. “There’s explicit language, but it doesn’t veer toward [the work of] someone like Annie Sprinkle. There’s no one publicly masturbating.”
–Carman Tse
Wet Spots: The Story Project. Fri.-Sat., 7-9:15 p.m. $15, $10 students. Venice Beach Eco Cottages, 447 Grand Blvd., Venice. Info: Suarezdance.org/wetspots.html.
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THIS WEEK IN THE CITY
THURSDAY 29
IT’S A MYSTERY
The story of the gentrification of the American city – and specifically of Los Angeles – is not usually the stuff of mystery
novels. But that’s the hook for Strategic Actions for a Just Economy’s “Write to the City,” which bills itself as a “writers’ slam on gentrification,” and pairs noir and mystery novels with local community leaders. Slated authors include Sara Paretsky, Luis Rodriguez, Nina Revoyr, Denise Hamilton, and the wonderful Gary Phillips of The Cocaine Chronicles. 8-11 p.m. Free. g727, 727 S. Spring St., downtown L.A. Info: (213) 745-9961 or writetothecity.org.
FRIDAY 30
RETURN OF THE BLOB
Local architect Greg Lynn is going back to basics by quite literally reinventing the building block. His “Blobwall Pavilion” exhibit, opening today at SCI-Arc, has developed a new concept for the brick, stretching it out into a blob unit made of colorful, low-density plastic that can interlock with others to form a wall. The exhibition itself is of a freestanding wall system; Lynn will discuss his work with fellow architect Eric Owen Moss on June 16. Opening reception 7-9 p.m. Free. SCI-Arc, 960 E. Third St., L.A., (213) 613-2200. sciarc.edu.
SATURDAY 31
THE LATEST
If you’re looking to get your design kick on a larger scale, there’s West Hollywood’s “11th Annual Art & Design Walk,” over in L.A.’s design nexus this evening. Ninety different free events take place along the one-mile stretch on the Avenues of Art & Design, with everything from fashion to fine arts on display, and Urth Caffe providing free coffee and tea. The event benefits Inner City Arts, a downtown nonprofit arts education center. 4-8 p.m. Free. Robertson Blvd., between Melrose Ave. and Beverly Blvd., West Hollywood. Info: (310) 226-7182 or avenuesartdesign.com.
SUNDAY 1
FLIGHT OF THE COOL KIDS
Both supporters and detractors of the Cool Kids tend to overdo their side of the argument: The ’80s-cribbing Midwestern duo is neither the embodiment of rap’s party-centric future, nor a pair of tight-pants-wearing inauthentic gimmicks. They perform tonight for those who will allow themselves to enjoy passable rapping over clean, hard-hitting beats (Doors at 7:30 p.m.; $15; Key Club, 9039 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, 310-274-5800; keyclub.com). Flight of the Conchords, on the other hand, is a musical duo that knows it’s a gimmick, and you love them for it. The comedy-folkers from the HBO show of the same name charted as high as third with their most recent album (8 p.m.; $35; Orpheum Theatre, 842 S. Broadway, L.A., 877-677-4386; laorpheum.com).
MONDAY 2
LARGONE
The Largo on Fairfax was just too good to last, and now Angelenos are collectively crossing their fingers in the hopes that its new location at the Coronet Theatre retains some of the old magic. Breaking the place in will be Aimee Mann in all her acoustic glory, although who knows what other Largo regulars will make an appearance. It’s true that prices at the door have gone up, but rest assured that the food and drink minimums are gone. 8 p.m. $40. Largo, 366 N. La Cienega Blvd., L.A., (310) 855-0350. largo-la.com.
TUESDAY 3
THE KING AND I
At first blush, an Elvis Presley film screening doesn’t seem to have much to do with the Skirball’s ongoing Bob Dylan exhibit, but the idea behind the center’s “Imagining Dylan” film series is to highlight the rise of 1950s films that portrayed a separate youth culture to Dylan and millions of other American teens. 1957’s Jailhouse Rock, with its famous title track dance sequence, launched Elvis’s movie stardom. Screening the following week is Muscle Beach Party, which featured the film debut of a 13-year-old Stevie Wonder. 1:30 p.m. Free. Skirball Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., L.A., (323) 655-8587. skirball.org.
WEDNESDAY 4
FREEVERSE
There was a time when you did things because you liked to, and though the young poets of UCLA may not all end up writing verse for a living, tonight some of them get to celebrate the freedoms of self-expression. The student recipients of honors from the Academy of American Poets and the May Merill Miller Poetry Awards are to read at the Hammer; among the award winners is actor (and creative writing student) James Franco, though it’s unknown whether he’ll present. 7 p.m. Free. Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., (310) 443-7000. hammer.ucla.edu.
Published: 05/28/2008
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