Survival Postures (A Dinner & Exhibition)
Sunday, March 20, 5:30 PM
SPACES
2220 Superior Viaduct
$10 admission.  Please reserve tickets here.

On March 20, SPACES will host Survival Postures, a dinner and exhibition of what happened when twenty people took artist Mierle Laderman Ukeles’s idea that “Art begins at the same level as basic survival systems,” as inspiration for a one-month social experiment. They had one simple assignment: choose a task essential to your survival or well-being that you don’t know how to do, and within the month of February, learn how to do it. 

So, what essential task did Whisper to a Scream's Maria Miranda take on? Beauty and femininity. The theory: All women need to maintain a standard of beauty compliance and feminine behavior in order to survive the heteronormative society in which we live. The practice involves costly, painful and inconvenient measures that alter one's natural appearance to conform to a standard of beauty that all women must achieve. Every. Single. Day. By adhering to these rules and guidelines, women are rewarded with access, companionship, peer acceptance and inclusion. At the same time, women who follow the rules also suffer from low self-esteem, poor body image, physical discomfort, unwanted attention and harassment.

Women who outright refuse to conform are often ostracized from mainstream society and face similar incidences of harassment, low self-esteem and unwanted attention. Furthermore, several studies show that being beautiful positively impacts one's ability to gain employment. If a woman is deemed ugly by heteronormative standards, how does this impact her ability to be economically viable? And if she isn't financially thriving, how does she survive in a capitalist society?

For the entire month of February, Miranda consumed beauty techniques, lessons in femininity and the art of pursuing of male attention. The results of this work will be shared on March 20 at SPACES.

More About the Exhibition:
Cleveland puppeteer Diana Sette worked with a master weaver to learn how to process and spin wool, and built a large-scale “human loom” made out of people.  Emelio DiSabato and Joel Solow shoveled snow on the Abbey Bridge, in order to clear a path on one of the few walkways into Tremont that becomes unpassable to pedestrians and cyclists after snow.  Maria Miranda, of Cleveland’s performance art collective Whisper to a Scream, spent the month being “beauty-compliant,” wearing makeup and fashionable clothes, processing her hair, and consuming the media and products marketed to her to craft a “successful look”.  Carmen Tracey learned how to sew for the first time, making homemade menstrual pads after researching the toxicity of feminine hygiene products.  Daniel Bellinger built a homemade water filter.  Simon and Giulia, members of a New York state farm collective, began the process of brewing a cup tea from scratch and spent the month learning how to decide what trees in a healthy woodland can be harvested for firewood and how to use chainsaws.  

Their resulting survival postures will serve as the centerpiece for SPACES’ first community dinner fundraiser in the style of Chicago’s alternative arts-funding collective, InCUBATE.  The meal will be locally sourced from City Fresh, Green Corps and Erie’s Edge Farm.  Funds will be split among the participating artists.

Organizer Kate Sopko explains the inspiration for Survival Postures.  “We’ve seen a huge growth in interest lately in Cleveland in growing our own food, and generally re-localizing work that provides for our city’s basic needs. That means that a lot of us are confronting head-on how disconnected the work we do to raise income is from the work it takes to produce what we need to live.  It’s become pretty clear that as a culture, we are very much in infancy when it comes to being actors in our own survival.  Survival Postures is about practicing a culture that can take care of itself.”

Saturday, October 23 | 7:00pm | Visible Voice Books | This month only: $3 admission 
For more info contact: shelly@whispertoascream.org 

We are pleased to host She Speaks, a monthly, themed spoken word and works-in-progress event. The purpose of She Speaks is to give women an opportunity to network, commune and test new and first time work in a public forum (including first time writers). We are all writers! We have all kept journals, diaries and written letters. Some of us may be songwriters testing out new lyrics. It is about the power of the written word being spoken, heard and enjoyed.  

Our featured poet, Abigail Carney, will begin at 7:00 and be followed by an open mic at 7:30. All are welcome.  No experience necessary.

NEW for October!
After the open mic, a slam competition hosted by local slam sensation, Akeem Jamal Rollins, will take place, all are welcome to participate.  Here are the rules:  Contestants write their name out on a piece of paper that gets thrown in a hat.  Two names will be chosen and they than flip a coin. The woman that wins the coin toss decides who goes first.  The two poets then perform.  There will be 5 judges and each judge will hold up 1 or 2. There is no 1-10 here, no ties. The poet that loses is then eliminated (or we'll use tally marks depending on turnout) We do this until there is only one poet left standing.

Abigail Carney is October's Feature

Abigail Carney is seventeen and attends Midview High School in Grafton, where she resides. She started slamming a few weeks ago when she happened to have her notebook with her at the first slam she ever attended, at Visible Voice Books. Abigail had been filling up notebooks for a long time and feels being given the opportunity to share her poetry through slamming is amazing. Abigail writes poetry about people and life and death and the ending of things. She also writes prose and drama. Her second play, about a hostage situation, will be produced by her high school this winter. Next year she would like to attend Brown University and study creative writing. Indefinitely, she would like to write.

Stand up. Speak out: Take Back the Night 2010

Click here for the printable pdf.

QWERTY Observation #1
Improvisational dance is a conversation. It is an unedited flaws-and-all dialogue that permits vulnerability and honest exploration. It provides space for a certain sort of consciousness that makes us look inward without judgement. It is perhaps the most freeing of art forms: the use of the body to convey an idea, a feeling, an expression....raw.

QWERTY Observation #2
In terms of non-verbal communication, eye contact is probably the most significant and impactful. Humans of all cultures place value of some kind on the eyes. Eyes are windows to the soul...beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

In Western culture, we consider eye contact a signal of strength, a means of connection, initiation of challenge. It takes on the quality of masculinity and in turn gives credibility and the spoils of victory to whomever can hold the contact the longest. Lovers gaze into each other's eyes, opponents use eye contact for mind games, handshakes are sealed with locked eyes. In situations with power differentials, eye contact from the subordinate is not encouraged because eye contact elevates one's position. Averting one's gaze when confronted with a direct stare is read as a form of surrender.

Lies are often discovered when one feels the speaker did not meet eyes. It's been shown that we can't tell lies while maintaining eye contact and therefore, good liars can tell a fib and stare you in the face. Overall, while we value eye contact, there is often discomfort with direct eye contact. Perhaps this is because it intensifies, for good or bad, the conversation.

So, what happens when we communicate screen-to-screen rather than face-to-face? How do we know that "I love you" is sincere? That the agreement is sealed and transparent? That we're not being deceived? Do eyes lose the value humans have given them for thousands of years with technology's growing role in our communication? Between blinking cursors and LED displays, what becomes the "window to our souls"?

QWERTY Observation #3
There is a lot that is said when nothing is being said. Awkward pauses and dramatic silences fill the space between listener and speaker in a way that embellishes the conversation. One is left to ponder what was just said or what is not being said or what one is about to say. When the silence is an unreturned email or a text that has not been reciprocated, our feelings change. We fill the void with panicked thoughts and assumptions. We draw conclusions based on our worse fears. We make up situations to explain why the recipient hasn't responded. We are wildly creative in these circumstances. These silences become voids, which become gaps in communication...incomplete discourses....

QWERTY Observation #4
Touch in and of itself is an expression. We touch or avoid touch to underline a mood. Contact elevates reinforces an exchange. As children we are often taught to distinguish between "good touch and bad touch" and as we become adults, we carry this distinction with us into our daily interactions. Touches can be comforting, threatening, reassuring or an initiation. We haven't quite figured out how to substitute touch despite being able to do just about everything else with our technology. Have we become so eloquent that our words can create visceral reactions in our audiences? Do our words lose value without the opportunity for contact?

QWERTY premieres September 24-26 at Ingenuity Festival. See you on the bridge.

Saturday, August 14, 2010 | 7:30-10pm | Visible Voice Books, Tremont | FREE

Whisper to a Scream is pleased to host the fourth installment of She Speaks, a monthly, themed spoken word and works-in-progress event at Visible Voice Books. The purpose of She Speaks is to give women an opportunity to network, commune and test new and first time work in a public forum (including first time writers). All levels of experience (including none!) are welcome. The event is FREE and open to the public.

This month's theme is 'music'.

We will feature live music to start off the evening. The evening will begin with a feature performer at 7:30pm followed by an all female open mic. Please use the theme "music" as an inspiration for creating your work, you may also share work outside the theme.

Angelisa Crognale of Early Girl & Maura Rogers are August's features.

Angelisa Crognale

Angelisa Crognale has been singing for Cleveland audiences since 2004. Starting solo with just an acoustic guitar and a small repertoire of humorous songs she began her musical journey. Looking for a band all along, she and two friends created a folk trio in 2005 called Slackjaw. The trio was a hit thrilling audiences citywide with harmony-rich sweet Americana cover songs and folky, yet raunchy original material. Then in 2007 the group morphed into local rock band, Early Girl, with an all electric line-up and a larger than life sound. The band has gone through many changes over the past few years, but is now stronger than ever with a grab bag full of unique original material. Angelisa still enjoys getting back to her roots and performing solo as a singer-songwriter. It is a fun way for her to refine her skills as a singer, performer and guitar player.

Maura Rogers

Born, raised, and surviving some brutal Cleveland winters, Maura Rogers has gained a reputation of being “five pounds woman, eight pounds voice.” Her appeal lies greatly in her commanding vocal abilities, her knack for turning a phrase, and her delicate acoustic finger-picking.. Threads of Stevie Nicks, Amy Ray, Bruce Springsteen, Ani DiFranco, and Patti Griffin are heard in both her lyrical phrasing and vocal styling. 

She’s drawn in a generous local audience over the past two years, opening and sharing stages with the talented Erin McKeown, Ember Swift, Rosi Golan, Michelle Malone, Alec Stewart, Nina Camps, Steph Taylor and Cleveland’s own Anne E DeChant, Early Girl, Alexis Antes, and Robin Stone.

Maura Rogers’ first full-length album, “Get Up Girl” was released in June of 2010. Jeff Niesel, of Cleveland SCENE, writes “the album features a sparse Cat Power-like sound, showing of Rogers’ quiet, but powerful vocals.”  

Maura spent her summer traveling the East Coast, hitting coffee shops and open mics along the way in an effort to share her music outside of Cleveland. She is currently in the process of planning a MidWest Tour this Fall/Winter.

Saturday, July 10, 2010 | 7:30-9:30pm | Visible Voice Books, Tremont | FREE

Visible Voice is pleased to host Whisper to a Scream: a feminist performance art collective, as they present She Speaks, a monthly, themed spoken word and works-in-progress event. The purpose of She Speaks is to give women an opportunity to network, commune and test new and first time work in a public forum (including first time writers). We are all writers! We have all kept journals, diaries and written letters. Some of us may be song writers testing out new lyrics. It is about the power of the written word being spoken, heard and enjoyed.

The theme this month is 'renewal'.

All levels of experience are welcome. The format will be open mic: come early and sign up for a time slot. Also, take advantage of several in store promotions including discounted books and a raffle for wine and/or a gift certificate!

Denise Astorino is July's feature. She will be performing Her Mind's Eye:

Denise Astorino is an ALMOST graduate (6 more weeks) from Cleveland State's Theatre department with a concentration in Directing. She will hopefully be attending graduate school in September at East 15 School in London.  For the past 18 years she has been an actor, director, writer and teacher in the Northeast Ohio theatre community working with companies such as CPT, convergence-continuum, The Beck Center, and as Co-Artistic Director of the LGBTQ theatre Wild Plum Productions. She lives in Cleveland Heights with Jay, their two cats and a dog. 

Her Mind's Eye
The name of the piece Astorino is doing is a bit from a one woman show about the lesbian actress Charlotte Cushman. This is a fictional adaptation of her final performance where she did monologues of her famous portrayals of  Hamlet, lady Macbeth and Romeo.  Mixing this with talk about her life and the women she loved.

A Dozen Things I Want To Do On Stage is a new one-woman cabaret by Rebecca Nagle.  Of the dozen, Nagle will undress to "Wenn Ich Mir Was Wünschen Dürfte", fit in a small box, tell your secrets, discuss why something is racist, fall in love, read her fantasies, act out your fantasies, induce a tragedy, fall down, take truth serum while letting the audience ask her questions, tell a tall tale, and disembowel herself.

Using the format of 1920’s political European cabaret, A Dozen Things combines contortion, burlesque, poetry, games, lecture, ritual, confession, audience participation, science experiments, real-life moments and staged performance to deliver hard truths, half-truths and straight up lies.  The cabaret plays with the familiar themes and tropes of the human condition, namely: sexuality, violence, fantasy, love, tragedy, ecstasy, history, and death.  Nagle pits reality and action against fantasy and performance for an all out social deconstructionist battle.

Visit Rebecca Nagle's website for more information.

Saturday, May 29, 2010 | 7-10 pm | Visible Voice Books, Tremont | FREE

Whisper to a Scream: a feminist performance art collective, is pleased to present She Speaks, a new monthly, themed spoken word and works-in-progress event.  This event will be held at Visible Voice Books in Tremont, located at 1023 Kenilworth, from 7-10 pm in their outdoor courtyard.  The format will be open mic: come early and sign up for a time slot (about every 5 minutes).  All levels of experience are welcome.  Wine, coffee and hot tea will be available for purchase.  Seating is very limited and will be mostly standing room.  For more information please contact the organizer, Shelly A. Gracon-Nagy.

The purpose of She Speaks is to give women an opportunity to network, commune and test new and first time work in a public forum. This month's theme is 'soul'. Bring your own poetry or short stories about 'soul' to read aloud, or those of a favorite author. Or come to simply relax and enjoy the experience.

Celebrate Mother’s Day with Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Letters on Motherhood

If you could write a letter to anyone about the subject of motherhood, what would you say and who would you write to? Whisper to a Scream: a feminist performance art collective invites you to a free Mother’s Day event that will attempt to answer these questions!

Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Letters on Motherhood
Sunday, May 9, 2010
2:00pm – 5:00pm
Prosperity Social Club
Free of charge. Donations accepted.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered is a staged reading and advocacy event. Throughout March and April, Whisper to a Scream collected letter submissions from women. The submitted letters were written to real people in the women’s lives and speak honestly about their perspectives and experiences as they relate to motherhood. Some funny, some melancholy, the letters address topics such as why not to have kids, how having children changes one’s life for better or worse, what it means to be a stepmom and the politics of motherhood in America. Selected letters will be read by local actors Denise Astorino, Sheffia Randall Dooley and Elaine Feagler as well as some of the actual letter writers.

Event attendees will also have the opportunity to write letters of their own to decision-makers about topics ranging from birthing rights to safe sex education in schools. All letters will be delivered by Whisper to a Scream after the event.

Prosperity will open early for this event – come on out and take advantage of a Sangria special while relaxing on the patio (weather permitting). Signed, Sealed, Delivered is free to attend and donations will be accepted. Donations will be used to offset costs of letter mailing and supplies.

Prosperity Social Club is located at 1109 Starkweather Ave., Cleveland, OH 44113.

Friday, April 9, 2010 | 7-9 pm | Visible Voice Books, Tremont | FREE

Whisper to a Scream: a feminist performance art collective, is pleased to present She Speaks, a new monthly, themed spoken word and works-in-progress event.  The debut of this event will be held at Visible Voice Books in Tremont, located at 1023 Kenilworth, from 7-9 pm in their upstairs meeting room during ArtWalk.  The format will be open mic: come early and sign up for a time slot (about every 5 minutes).  All levels of experience are welcome.  The theme this month is ‘healing’.  Wine, coffee and hot tea will be available for purchase.  Seating is very limited and will be mostly standing room.  For more information please contact the organizer, Shelly A. Gracon-Nagy.

The purpose of She Speaks is to give women an opportunity to network, commune and test new and first time work in a public forum. This month's theme is 'healing'. Bring your own poetry or short stories about 'healing' to read aloud, or those of a favorite author. Or come to simply relax and enjoy the experience.

We will be featuring two area poets, Kisha Nicole Foster of Black Poetic Society and Tru Poetry.  Kisha was born in Germany and raised in Cleveland.  Known to some as "Poet of the People," she has been a member of the Cleveland Classic slam team and was honored in 2006 by Writers & Their Friends as one of the top 25 writers in Cleveland. Her work was recently anthologized in Cleveland Poetry Scenes (Bottom Dog Press, 2008).  She has performed at such venues as The Lit Center, B-Sides, The Underground, The Humidor, The Cleveland Museum of Art and Cleveland State University.  Kisha’s style is both raw and energetic.

Tru Poetry has performed at The University of Toledo, Scott High School in Toledo, the Writing Wrongs in Columbus, B Side Liquor Lounge in Coventry, Case Western Reserve University, Word Play Wednesdays, The Olive Twist, The Grog Shop and the Cleveland Museum of Art. She feels her creator has called her to write, recite and heal with her words. She plans to do so right up until he calls her home.

Microscopes & Megaphones is a collaborative project that uses dance, theatre, audio and visual arts to explore "the problem that has no name" plaguing the modern woman today. With progress made in reproductive choice, education, the workplace and at home, the modern Western woman's oppression manifests itself through subtlety, innuendo and the places you least expect.

Offbeat and stripped down, Microscopes & Megaphones explores slutty fat girls, an oral sex memoir, baking as foreplay, the power of punctuations, the hypocrisy of language, degrees of touch and why Mom is the sexiest woman you know.

For mature audiences only! Contains sexual content and adult language.

Read the review from Cool Cleveland here.

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