The Arts in New York City
On Wednesday October 6th I traveled down to the Brooklyn Academy of Music to see a play entitled “I Don’t Believe In Outer Space”. Before attending the production, I had managed to see a brief snippet of the production done previously. This snippet involved a man pretending to play table tennis with an invisible ball. He even managed to add in his own sound effects to truly create a strange display. So, in a sense, I was somewhat prepared for what I was about to witness. However, my preparation had not trained me well enough for this display of bizarre behavior.
The entire stage was covered with small balls of duct tape, and began with several groups of people randomly prancing throughout the stage. I couldn’t figure out who to fix my attention on, and this caused me to whip my head left and right, trying to understand what was going on before me. The dancing, if you could call it that, was a mix of a what a contortionist would do and the prancing of a traditional ballet. Sprinkled over the play were occasional monologues, most notable one by a woman who may have been possessed by Satan himself. It was almost as if I was in a really bad nightmare, because nothing was making sense and everything was horrifying me. But alas, I knew I wasn’t in a nightmare, because even in my worst dreams, I could at least see what was going on without twisting my body in a yoga-esque pose. Yes, the seats were that horrendous. Adding to my dismay were 2 human giraffes sitting in the two seats ahead of me. It seemed as if the BAM had taken surveillance on me, figured out what would baffle me the most, and put in on stage. However, one element of this….thing was able to salvage my sanity, and that was Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive”. This song, like every other element in the play, had no real reason to be there, but it was almost like this song was the blanket that protected me from the fierce, horrific tundra of “I Don’t Believe in Outer Space”.
Overall, the play wasn’t to my liking. However, I had learned some valuable life lessons and skills after attending the performance. The most important skill I gained was being able to find my happy place. I was scared, and I was petrified. However, I went deep into my brain and entered my new-found happy place, and now when something traumatic is occurring, I can return to my happy place for safety and refuge. I will survive. I won’t lay down and die, but with that being said, if bizarre and random displays of expression for 75 minutes aren’t your idea of a good time, you might as well do so. I salute William Forscythe and all of the performers for their effort, and if it’s any consolation, this isn’t the most disturbing thing I have ever seen (I think it ranks close to 11 on the top 20).
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Yaasen, I’m afraid that I must disagree with most of your assessment of “I Don’t Believe in Outer Space.” Think back to what we studied in class – Nietzsche and the Dionysiac in particular. I, like you, was terrified by what I saw on stage for I was so unused to raw, sublime artistry. But rather than try to escape, as you did, I embraced the chaos on the stage and in my soul. Facing my fear head on I found a consolation for my suffering in the dancers. I do agree on one point, though, those seats were truly uncomfortable. I felt so constrained, so limited, so inhibited…and yet space and freedom were right there in front of me on stage. I actually considered leaping out of my seat and jumping into the performance at times, and honestly, I don’t think anyone in the audience would have realized that it wasn’t part of the act. I must say, this event was truly inspirational, and has caused me to consider taking an Intro to Dance class next semester.
I am glad I wasn’t the only one baffled at what we were watching. I came into the auditorium expecting some kind of order or plot line to the piece. Perhaps some kind of recurring idea. Through out the whole performance I spent all of my energy trying to find this theme that I don’t even remember what the performance was about. When we started discussing Nietzche I realized that the point of the piece wasn’t understanding it but just enjoying it. One part I really liked in the performance was the extremely flexible lady visiting her neighbor. She was really creepy but interesting. I think that if I went to see the piece again, I would enjoy it more and just relax and enjoy the performance.
If you think the seats were horrendous, imagine what I was feeling? Throughout the randomness and anarchy that was going on in front of me, I was forced to place my chin on my knees. Being squashed together like that definitely shifted my focus from the performance, if I knew what to focus on that is. Like you, I was also confused as to what the purpose of the song was, or how it relates to ping pong or space debris or the Jack (of Hearts?) that was on stage. I think I was more focused on understanding the context of the whole performance, and who was speaking at any given moment, than the actions of the performers. That’s not to say I didn’t see what was going on, but I was more concerned as to how everything came together rather than focus on each individual piece.
However unlike you, I have to say I enjoyed it a bit. Considering I didn’t understand what it was trying to depict, I’m surprised that I came out of there somewhat satisfied. Maybe it was the new experience or the challenge of figuring out how it all fit together, but in the end I was glad to see something so random and unorthodox, just so I can add it to my list of unique experiences.
I could not agree more with your thoughts on this play. To me, it was probably the most confusing thing I have ever watched, and I would not recommend this play to anyone. I remember thinking the exact same thing: that I was stuck in a bad dream and could not escape. I wish I was able to discover my own “happy place,” as it would have been very helpful to be able to escape from what I was watching. Also, the seats were an inconvenience for me as well. I agree with you about the use of “I Will Survive” being the only thing that I could take solace in. This was not an enjoyable play for me, and it seems that we are in agreement about that point.