this was the only place i knew to go

Title: This was the only place I knew to go
Artistic Directors: Permiso (Todd Shalom & Niegel Smith)
Associate Director: Andrea Williams
Performers:
     Jarah Moesch
    David Shaenfield
    Shannan Shaughnessy
    Andrea Williams

This was an invisible performance in public bathroom that investigated social codes, rituals and rites. We performed in the semi-public space of a bathroom inside a bar/performance space. I disrupted normalized bathroom codes by interacting with users of the restroom by encouraging them to use my ‘better’ toilet paper, choosing music to listen to while using the facility, and asking them for assistance in washing my face, applying lipstick and eye-shadow.

By requesting help from feminized bodies with rituals that all ‘women’ are supposed to know, such as how to apply lipstick, people were forced to decide whether to help or not, to ignore or assist, and perhaps think about the ‘normalcy’ in following these rites of womanhood.

performed at:
ThirstNY
Galapagos Art Space
Brooklyn, NY
2008