I Only Perform To The Mountain Goats by Anja Keister (review)

In January 2021, she produced a live virtual iteration of D20's charity fundraiser, I Only Perform to the Mountain Goats, a show featuring burlesque, drag, and circus arts, all performed to songs by the American indie-rock band the Mountain Goats. While burlesque on Zoom suffers the same pitfal...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Theatre Journal 2021-09, Vol.73 (3), p.412-414
Main Author: O'Dell, Carrie Lee
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Audiences
Burlesque
Cameras
Goats
Intimacy
Live performance
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In January 2021, she produced a live virtual iteration of D20's charity fundraiser, I Only Perform to the Mountain Goats, a show featuring burlesque, drag, and circus arts, all performed to songs by the American indie-rock band the Mountain Goats. While burlesque on Zoom suffers the same pitfalls of much virtual theatre, I Only Perform to the Mountain Goats showcased the advantages of virtual productions while also maintaining some of the intimacy of live performance. Because we experienced the show in real time, performers could trip, fall, or pop a pastie, and the audience would be there for it, even if they were two time zones away. Oregon-based fire-dancer Emerald Fire, dancing to "Up the Wolves" outdoors at night, closed the show with the lights of Portland twinkling in the distance. Because of the daunting logistics of live-streaming fire dancing, this was the only prerecorded act in the show.
ISSN:0192-2882
1086-332X
1086-332X
DOI:10.1353/tj.2021.0077