WTF? WTFF?

[drwex]

I'm apparently really out of it, as I have just learned from an ART email that on the 21st of this month a group of "Christianists" (I like that word) decided to stage a protest of Invincible Summer, a monologue currently running at the theater.

As part of this protest, one of the people involved dumped water over performer Mike Daisey's original show outline - apparently he improvs each night from a set of hand-written pages.

Video of the vandalism:
http://amrep.wordpress.com/2007/04/21/video-of-the-disrupted-performance-of-invincible-summer/

Mike Daisey's blog response:
http://amrep.pmailus.com/pmailweb/ct?d=C85I0QGhAAEAAAJuAAEo8w

I'm trying to wrap my brain around this. If the blog comments are true, a group of High Schoolers and teachers/advisers traveled from California and paid money to stage this protest. BUH?

Comments

[bluegargantua]

Can you explain to me, what the show is about? From the website I think it's about 9/11. It's not clear to my why anyone would protest this show and it hasn't been satisfactorily explained by any commentary I've seen.

later
Tom

[drwex]

The show is a monologue on life, the performer's experiences, and society in general. Clearly he uses epithets and talks about topics like intercourse that I imagine some people would find offensive, but really the point about "know what show you're seeing before you buy tickets" seems spot on.

When I think of monologue performances I think of Spalding Gray, who was probably the best I've ever seen. His shows like "Swimming to Cambodia" were nominally about one thing but really that was only a small fraction of what he talked about.

Sorry if that's not a great answer.

[dpolicar]

I liked this review: http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=entertainment&sc=theatre&sc2=reviews&id=6226

[halleyscomet.livejournal.com]

I think you just highlighted the exact reason why protests like this are futile.

The people who conducted this protest have, though the act of behaving like children, gained the very performance they detested more publicity than it would have otherwise received. Hundreds of thousands of people are now asking "Who is this guy?" and "What's this Show About?"

Not only that, but most these people are going in with some empathy for the artist. He was attacked by a collection of cowards who refused to even speak to him while they ran away. Then there's the fact that they paid HIM for the opportunity to soak his notes with some water.

I fail to understand the logic behind staging such a protest. Surely they had to know all they would achieve was to give him free publicity, to essentially give him a few million dollars worth of advertising. If they hated him so much, WHY do something that will benefit him and place HIM in the position of the martyr?

I know nothing about the artist or his show, but now I'm curious. What about his show so angered these "Christians"? Is it something I might WANT to see? I was raised Lutheran after all, and as a result come from a long line of folks with an established history of looking at the established religious order and saying "Well, piss on that, we need to change a few things."