With all of the theaters closed, more and more websites and theater companies are taking their works online. Some are free and some have paid subscriptions. I frequently attend productions at The Tank, an Off-Off Broadway arts incubator. They have just started a weekly series called CyberTank. The first episode is appropriately themed How Do We Choose Community Over Despair?
Christian Roberson is the host. He also submitted a documentary style hip hop video about art and racism. The mood is very casual and apologetic as the team fumbles through the early stages of this venture. I found myself inspired by each contributors’ passion to share feelings and art during this time of isolation. The experiment in process is to create an e-home for e-merging artists. Like The Tank itself, the range covers many disciplines.
Kev Berry just lost his job in a restaurant. He has begun writing a document called “For the Sake of Heaven.” The plan is to “capture this thing” on a day-to-day basis. He then reads his entry from Day 2 called “Adjustments and Curry.” Iveth Otero filmed a short belly dancing video. The mood was dreamlike and gauzily lit.
Suzelle Palacios, who I recently saw in Birthday in the Bronx, followed with a sonnet. She also implored artists to find ways to express their art. She suggests trying something you haven’t done before. The encouragement of expression drives the feeling of community evident throughout this episode.
Emery Schaffer presented a taped segment from his play A My Name is Allison. Three friends have a game night and Allison comes to one of them. She’s a doozy. On a monthly basis, Ayun-Halliday hosts Necromancers of the Public Domain. This program takes an old book from the New York Public Library and creates a one night low budget variety show. This month’s book was 1921’s New York: The Nation’s Metropolis. She tells us, “so I wrote this yesterday at 5:00.” A tune follows with pictures and humor.
Ran Xia was inspired to take an eighteen day train trip, talk to strangers and create a travelogue. In her segment, storytelling is set to a piano accompaniment. Nikki Knupp follows with a transgender themed pop song and a fun homemade music video. The opening line is memorable: “Is who you are reflected in a stranger’s eyes?”
As we can never truly escape the abominations of the White House occupants, a section from The Melania Trump Road Show is played. Lauren LoGiudice portrays the first lady. The segment is titled Fashion Police of Politics. “Shame on him for those eyebrows” made me laugh out loud. Poet Mike Fracentese came next. He began a bimonthly poetry reading series at the Tank. The third show was cancelled due to the virus. He shares his poem about climate change.
Constantine Jones has written a manuscript called The Gut. It is one long poem separated into distinct movements. Three selections highlight his project and you feel drawn into his creative process and thoughts. “Slide Show” particularly stood out for me with the promising opening, “all the things I’d like to be.” Finally, Julia Knobloch concluded the episode with three recently written poems. Her themes were the dark legacy of the Nazi’s, getting older and the search for a place which bore the title, “Los Angeles.”
Mr. Roberson reminds viewers that The Tank (like all smaller non-profits) will be struggling financially through this period. Donations are encouraged. The Venmo accounts for most of the artists are also noted in the upper left hand of the video. If you enjoy a performance, a tip can be easily shared from your seat. I look forward to the next batch of experimentation and sharing.
The Tank is a Off-Off Broadway theater and arts incubator which typically puts on 1,000 shows annually working with over 2,500 artists across many disciplines. New episodes are scheduled to go live on Tuesdays at 4:00pm eastern.