so i was all geared up to write a post today about my current tv series obsession, but i'll have to save it, as i have discovered that today the iconic film "the wizard of oz" is seventy one. and gosh, don't she look good for her age... 
the film was one of those that always seemed to be playing on one channel or another when i was growing up. Its images are forever imprinted on my brain. As for the dialogue, Its arguably one of the most quoted films of its time,. (my personal favourite has generally been variations of " toto i don't think we're in kansas anymore" which is useful in all manner of social settings that a girl about town and club kid can often find herself in).
the film was one of those that always seemed to be playing on one channel or another when i was growing up. Its images are forever imprinted on my brain. As for the dialogue, Its arguably one of the most quoted films of its time,. (my personal favourite has generally been variations of " toto i don't think we're in kansas anymore" which is useful in all manner of social settings that a girl about town and club kid can often find herself in).
but my own personal connection with the film deepened last year, when i was invited to perform at a vernissage of a visiting french artist, who had created an exhibition based on queering themes in the film. this invitation led to what was my first commisioned poem, and somewhat by accident. the artist in question had asked me to perform " the affair behind london's back" and somewhere between being sick of that poem by that point, and the charm and professionalism on his behalf, i thought it only right to write something particularly for the vernissage.
it was a fateful event. i ended up writing two pieces , surrender dorothy, my queer shout out to dorothy, and one coffee, a heady journey into a day out in berlin that transformed into higher levels of decadence, that felt oz like somehow. those two pieces are now the biggest crowd pleasers in my set. even when i performed in the least spoken word friendly settings, somehow audiences seem to stop and listen.
as a performer and a writer the wonderful thing about tapping into a universally recognized iconography is wherever you step into the story, whatever your take on the character, the audience is instantly with you . when you choose to twist them, the journey becomes even more enjoyable.
there are some pieces that take days and weeks of rewrites workshopping and feedback. there are some that start and then fester in notebooks for years. and then there are those i love most, that i come out in one full stream as if someone else has written the poem for me, and i am taking dictation. surrender dorothy was one of the latter. i wrote it in all of ten or fifteen minutes.
i had the theme "queer postmodernist oz" in my head, and then watched half a dozen wizard of oz clips on youtube. more than anything what struck me was how lame dorothy was. she was on this wonderful magical adventure and she wanted to escape? the dazzle and technicolour of her setting grabbed me, and she got in the way. berlin felt very much like oz at the time, it couldn't have been further away from my concept of kansas. it was clear to me, she had got it wrong.
i never get bored of that poem....
maybe its time i start mining other iconic films as fuel for subversion and playfulness. any suggestions are most welcome.
it was a fateful event. i ended up writing two pieces , surrender dorothy, my queer shout out to dorothy, and one coffee, a heady journey into a day out in berlin that transformed into higher levels of decadence, that felt oz like somehow. those two pieces are now the biggest crowd pleasers in my set. even when i performed in the least spoken word friendly settings, somehow audiences seem to stop and listen.
as a performer and a writer the wonderful thing about tapping into a universally recognized iconography is wherever you step into the story, whatever your take on the character, the audience is instantly with you . when you choose to twist them, the journey becomes even more enjoyable.
there are some pieces that take days and weeks of rewrites workshopping and feedback. there are some that start and then fester in notebooks for years. and then there are those i love most, that i come out in one full stream as if someone else has written the poem for me, and i am taking dictation. surrender dorothy was one of the latter. i wrote it in all of ten or fifteen minutes.
i had the theme "queer postmodernist oz" in my head, and then watched half a dozen wizard of oz clips on youtube. more than anything what struck me was how lame dorothy was. she was on this wonderful magical adventure and she wanted to escape? the dazzle and technicolour of her setting grabbed me, and she got in the way. berlin felt very much like oz at the time, it couldn't have been further away from my concept of kansas. it was clear to me, she had got it wrong.
http://vimeo.com/10467580 from paula varjack on Vimeo.
i never get bored of that poem....
maybe its time i start mining other iconic films as fuel for subversion and playfulness. any suggestions are most welcome.
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