837 Venice Boulevard
“837 Venice Blvd., confirmed Ms. Driscoll as one of the most original talents on the contemporary dance scene. Evoking the raw intensity of childhood experience by way of showbiz razzle-dazzle, she suggests — through movement both virtuosic and clunky — that we are only a scary hairsbreadth away from our past.” - The New York Times
In 837 Venice Boulevard, Driscoll revisits her childhood while examining the construct of identity and how we blame the world for our problems. The act of looking to her childhood for answers became a metaphor for the human compulsion to place blame -- whether with parents, lovers, society, or ourselves. This dance theater piece uses text and song generated in collaboration with the three performers, who throughout the work manipulate each other like puppets, poking fun at how we are all constantly telegraphing who we are, based on who we think other people perceive us to be. Using physical manipulation and humor, 837 Venice Boulevard paints the lonesome emotional landscape of a neglected kid left to her own fantasies and fears, while exploring universal themes of identity, blame, and how exhausting it is to have to “be somebody" all the time.
Created by Faye Driscoll
Performed by: Michael Helland, Celia Rowlson-Hall and Nikki Zialcita
Set: Sarah Walsh
Lighting: Amanda K. Ringger
Costumes: Normandy Sherwood
Music: Jacno, New Order and Philip Glass
Upcoming and Past Performances
Choate Rosemary Hall
New Haven, CT
February 2010
HERE Arts Center
New York City
Premier
November 13- 22, 2008
Key City Public Theater
Port Townsend, WA
Preview performance
August 14 – 16, 2008
The Unknown Theater
Los Angeles, CA
Excerpt
July 3-6, 2008
Press for 837 Venice Blvd
NY Times - Chopping Through The Boundaries of Growth
NY Times - Drama, Razzle Dazzle, and How To Survive Them
Village Voice - Faye's Driscoll's California Sideshow
Arts Journal - Being Somebody (slightly revised)
Stage & Cinema - Childhood Revisited