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Friday, December 8, 2017

In Context: Farmhouse/Whorehouse: An Artist Lecture by Suzanne Bocanegra Starring Lili Taylor

Suzanne Bocanegra returns to BAM Dec 12—16 with Farmhouse/Whorehouse, a performance piece inspired by her grandparents who lived on a farm across the road from the Chicken Ranch (better known as the “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas”). Starring Lili Taylor, the piece uses text, costumes, video projections, and more to consider the American myth of rural utopia.

Context is everything, so get even closer to the production with this curated selection of related articles and videos. After you've attended the show, let us know what you thought by posting in the comments below and on social media using #BAMNextWave.

Program Notes

Article
Breaking Through Categories and Conventions at BAM (The New York Times)
"The discovery of the strangeness in the ordinary and the ordinary in the strange, through juxtaposition, repetition and translation: that is Ms. Bocanegra’s continuing artistic quest."

Article
Interview with Suzanne Bocanegra (BOMB)
"My lecture performances are not an imitation of me. The actor performs a more effective, funnier me, a more compelling me. An enhanced Suzanne Bocanegra."

Article
Artist Words: An Exclusive Interview with Suzanne Bocanegra (Counter Current Festival)
"Part of the whole idea of this piece is to examine how my grandparents’ farm was ending at the same time that urbanites started becoming fascinated by an idealized agrarian life—the hippies, the back-to-the-land movements, the organic farming movement."

Article
The Chicken Ranch (La Grange, TX, Visitors Bureau)
Brush up on the history of the infamous brothel across the street from Bocanegra's grandparents' farm.


Watch & Listen

Video
Suzanne Bocanegra on Translating Paint to Performance (Art Babble)
Bocanegra describes how “a tiny little Seurat painting” inspired her performance piece Little Dot.

Video
"The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" (YouTube)
The eponymous brothel inspired another piece of performance—the 1979 Tony Award-winning musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

Video
A Little Bitty Pissant Country Place (YouTube)
Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds starred in the 1982 film adaptation of Best Little Whorehouse.

Listen
"La Grange" (Spotify)
ZZ Top's famous song is also about the Chicken Ranch brothel.


Now your turn...

How did you enjoy the show? Likes? Dislikes? Surprises? Tell us what's on your mind in the comments below and on social media using #BAMNextWave.

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