The Plank Panel get taylor mac’d
Your Wood Panel:
*Andrew Templeton:* who likes to drink beer, shoot things and watch UFC with the guys
*Michael J Unger:* who drives a pick up, wears a tool belt and likes to watch UFC with Andrew
Who took in "Taylor Mac":http://www.taylormac.net/TaylorMac.net/Home.html who was performing at Club PuSh, part of the "PuSh Festival":http://pushfestival.ca/index.php?mpage=home
*Andrew:* In thinking about how Plank would approach "Club PuSh":http://pushfestival.ca/index.php?mpage=shows&spage=main&id=89#show, we considered some sort of “in the moment” feedback – in keeping with the cabaret-like ethos of this new Festival series. But having just experienced Taylor Mac this seems somehow wrong. Mac put on such a performance and – as you said afterwards, Mike – he called what we experienced “a play” throughout the evening. As such, this play and this performer deserves more than a drunken toss off (although he also deserves one of those too).
Mac also deftly counters lazy assumptions that reviewers might make. He rants against “comparisons” which he equates to violence, so we can’t say that it’s like watching “Tiny Tim” crossed with “Ziggy Stardust”. I’m not sure comparisons are so much violent as lazy and, in any event, to compare Mac to anyone is just wrong because he is one of a kind. Even calling it a drag show is inaccurate. Mac completely deconstructs the whole notion of being in drag and he’s not frightened to look ugly or vulnerable. He appears on stage for the pre-show announcement (thereby undermining any sort of grand entrance) and is mostly bare-chested, wearing a weird blondy-rasta wig, brightly coloured tights and a skirt made out of surgical gloves. His face is heavily made up and covered in sparkles and bangles (he’s the PuSh poster boy this year if you’re wondering what I mean). He started the evening by making jokes about 9/11 – the central conceit of the piece is the zone of preparedness that America has created for himself. Seeing an other-worldly drag queen make jokes about 9/11 gave me a sudden rush. The 21st century had finally arrived. And I liked how it looks!
*Michael:* To do a review of this show is to talk about Mac himself. His costume was what he "called” conceptual, which may have been a joke, but I believe it. He's taken great care to make it look like he hasn't tried hard in putting together some rags to put on his body, but I believe it was all done with careful purpose. Even the fact that he left his chest hair exposed I found significant. Apparently he is called a performance artist, which he describes as a nice word for "drag", but that doesn't quite describe him either. He said it didn't mind what you called him, guy, girl, or burl, he was just Taylor Mac. I found him quite genuine and engaging. His best moments were when he was just on stage being present in the moment; that's when we got to see the real Beast of Taylor Mac, which coincidentally fit the typo in the program which dropped the "a". His show was about him and meant to inspire us to strive for our own individuality. In fact as I write this review I am wearing a rhinestone thong. The tricky part is not to wear it inside out.
*Andrew:* Must get image of Mike in rhinestone thong out of my head. Maybe if I pull my leopard-print housecoat more tightly around my body and hide behind my feather boa a little.
I noticed the chest hair too! And I’m sure you’re right, the whole look was carefully constructed. There is a suitcase which Mac unloads, dozens of outfits and bits of costume falling onto the stage. A moment of fear strikes: is he going to dress one of us up? There’s some sort of make-shift screen at the back of the stage. Maybe one of us will get pulled behind there and made to change into one of those outfits. I hope it’s not me. And if it is me, I hope he puts me into the blue dress.
Fortunately, Mac is too kind to torture any of us in that way. The outfits are in fact part of the act: he adopts different pieces to go with different anecdotes or one of his lovely songs (he accompanies himself on the ukulele – and he’s got a great voice). And you’re absolutely right, there are moments when Mac drops the persona and smiles and is just himself which just melts the audience’s collective heart. This Be(a)st is perhaps the kindest, least bitchy drag queen ever. She’s laugh out loud funny without being a bitch.
*Michael:* Interesting how you call him "she", where I feel like calling him "he", he said he didn't mind what we called him as long as long as we didn't compare him to anyone, so we'll just continue along on this path. He's kind of a throwback to Storytellers of old. Where you just get up on stage and "play" as he says. Unlike a Drag Queen show, where performers hide behind their get ups, Mac's get up is who he is. When he went behind the screen and took off his wig he told us: "this is what I look like when I get up." Of course the joke is he's still wearing his makeup, but the heart of the statement laid there. Taylor seems like a guy I'd want to have some beers with but also shop for slutty blue dresses with. In fact, Taylor, if you're reading this contact me and let's do it! (I'm suddenly reminded of Philip Seymour Hoffman as Lester Bangs telling the young writer protagonist in _Almost Famous_ "Don't make friends with the bands.")
*Andrew:* The “bed scene” was a combination of hilarious and touching pathos. It starts out as your basic wanking gag and then turns into a meditation on past loves, getting older, making commitments and what it means to be having a wank first thing in the morning. It was followed by a beautiful song about past loves and their shortcomings – including having crystal meth shoved up his arse while he was sleeping – but ends with the refrain “but I loved him”, which had people in the audience responding with “awww”. His songs are probably the best illustration of this birl’s genius. You can taste a sample "here":http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q1-K1ht984. It is a fantastic blending of humour, vulnerability, pop and political culture, all sung with beautiful sadness or longing.
Mac – he or she – is authentic, and I mean really authentic. Kind of the reverse of the agent in _Breakfast at Tiffany’s_ calling Holly a “real phoney”. We seem to be hungry for authentic experience in performance at the moment, and here’s Taylor Mac dishing it up and in the guise of play.
And, Michael, I’m sure Mac would agree with me. Blue is not your colour.
*Michael:* Maybe Taylor will help me pick out a better one then, if I get this one off. I must remember for next time: Rhinestones on the outside.
_Taylor Mac performed on January 28th at Performance Works, Club PuSh, part of the PuSH Festival._