‘Medusa’ show looks at female stereotypes
SBy Julianne McShane he is the original nasty
woman.
The mythical man-eater
Medusa and a host of other
female figures from antiquity will
snake center stage in an all-women
dance performance starting
this weekend in Crown Heights.
“Medusa Volution,” opening Feb.
8 at happylucky no. 1, will examine
portrayals of the Greek mythological
figure over time, and
how they have evolved alongside
changing stereotypes of women,
according to the show’s writer
and director.
“We’re examining ‘What is the
male gaze? What are those stories?
Who was Medusa?’ ” said
Sophie Amieva, who also portrays
Medusa in the show.
According to the Roman poet
Ovid, Medusa was once a human
woman, but while worshipping in
temple of Athena, she was ravished
by the sea god Poseidon.
As punishment for defiling the
temple, Athena cursed Medusa
with hair made of snakes and a
hideous visage that turns anyone
that looks upon her to stone.
Amieva said that she will not
don slithering tresses for the part,
instead focusing on the double
standard and unjust treatment that
Medusa faced.
“Whether there’s consent or no
consent, she gets punished. There’s
no way out, really,” she said.
The performance will begin
with a montage of clips from
female-led horror films — including
“The Ring” — in order to
establish the traditional portrayal
of Medusa, said Amieva. The
Prospect Heights performer will
then take the stage, using the
Japanese dance form Butoh to
portray Medusa while she is on
trial for her alleged crime.
In the show’s second part, six
women wearing blank name tags
will represent classic female archetypes
— including the mother,
the virgin, and the whore — and
tell stories about their struggles.
COURIER L 46 IFE, FEB, 8-14, 2019 24-7
The roles are meant to embody
the stereotypes that all women
face, said Amieva, but their tales
— some of which invoke female
figures from mythology — put
the women themselves in control
of their stories.
“This is a chorus of women
who could be anyone,” she said.
“These stories are ways to say, ‘I
can own my own body; I’m not
angry all the time.’ ”
“Medusa Volution” at happylucky
no. 1 (734 Nostrand Ave.
between Prospect and Park places
in Crown Heights, www.happyluckyno1.
com). Feb. 8–24; Thu–Sat at 8
pm; Sun at 5 pm. $20.
By Bill Roundy Call it Gulp Fiction!
A new saloon celebrating
the films of
Quentin Tarantino is now open
in Williamsburg. The walls of
KillBar are drenched in artwork
depicting characters created by
the bloody filmmaker, including
a sketch of Samuel L. Jackson
chowing down on a burger from
“Pulp Fiction,” Uma Thurman as
the Bride in “Kill Bill,” and an oil
painting of Jamie Foxx astride a
horse in “Django Unchained.” The
owner of KillBar, who formerly
ran an ’80s-themed bar on the
Lower East Side of Manhattan,
said that he hopes the cinematic
touches will bring in movie fans
from across the country.
“We want it to be a destination
spot for people coming to Brooklyn
who want to have an experience,”
said Michael Galkovich, who lives
around the corner from his bar.
Galkovich also hopes that the
bar’s food and drinks, named
after Tarantino’s films, will draw
Williamsburg regulars to the spot.
“Without the neighborhood, we
won’t survive,” he said.
The menu includes the Kill Bill
Burger (but oddly, not a Royale
with Cheese), Death Proof Chili,
and Hateful Eight Wings, among
other staples of pub food.
The cocktails, which run $12–
$14, are similarly themed, with a
Bloody Bride Mojito made with
blood oranges, a Tarantino Iced
Tea, and Brooklyn Tap Water,
made with Hennessey, Grand
Marnier, and champagne.
A $5 milkshake will arrive on
the menu soon, said Galkovich,
though it probably won’t have
bourbon in it or nothin’.
KillBar’s projector screens subtitled,
silent Tarantino films on a
loop. Galkovich plans to turn the
sound on for Monday movie nights.
KillBar 82 S. Fourth St. between
Berry Street and Wythe Avenue
in Williamsburg, (845) 893–5626,
www.killbarbrooklyn.com. Open
daily; noon–2 am.
By Colin Mixson Meet the beetles!
A Queens entomologist
will teach
oddball Brooklynites how to
pose dead beetles and display
their jauntily dressed, desiccated
carcasses in whimsical bugscale
dioramas at a Williamsburg
bookstore on Feb. 10.
The creepy-crawly craftswoman
behind the Anthropomorphic
Beetle Dollhouse
Diorama Class at Quimby
Bookstore said she is not being
weird for weirdness’s sake. She
really just likes dioramas — and
bugs!
“I just like insects,” said
Daisy Tainton. “It’s a combination
of all the really cute miniature
stuff I’ve liked since childhood,
and nature.”
At the workshop, ticketholders
will be provided with a dead
rhinoceros beetle — a whopping
three-inch tank of a bug,
graced with charmingly cartoonish
proportions.
“I feel like these guys are
just adorable and they seem sort
of bumbling,” Tainton said.
Unlike some beetles, it is
easy to tell which way a rhinoceros
beetle’s head is facing,
thanks to its namesake horn,
Tainton said.
“It gives them a greater sense
that we can tell where their face
is,” she said.
Once everyone has selected
an insect, Tainton will give her
budding beetlers a rundown on
how to pin and pose the bugs.
Students will also receive a shadowbox,
and can choose from
Tainton’s selection of bug-sized
doodads and bric-a-brac. Then
it is up to the students to wrack
their imaginations and craft a
scene for their insectoid actor,
who could be cooking in a bugsized
kitchen, drinking in a bugsized
bar, or reading a bug-sized
newspaper while sitting on a bugsized
toilet — all actual scenes
created in previous classes.
Tainton encourages wouldbe
beetle wranglers to bring
their own dollhouse props if
they want something specific
for their six-legged star.
Previous sessions have
attracted a wide variety of people,
she said.
“I’ve had all kinds of people
over the years, from 10-year-old
kids who just love insects, to
adults who are trying to conquer
their fears of insects. In
between are crafters who want
a new way to make interesting
displays and gifts.”
The upcoming class, just
a few days before Valentine’s
Day, can be a unique night out
for the right pair, said the rhino
beetle wrangler.
“Valentine’s Day class has
typically been a great couples
night,” she said. “It’s something
they’ve definitely never done
together, and they seem to love
it as a date event.”
Tainton earned her expertise
preserving bugs for the
Museum of Natural History,
where she labored for 12 years
as the institution’s senior insect
preparator, drying out a myriad
of six-legged creepy crawlers
for the museum’s world-class
collection.
Make a bug diorama at
Quimby’s Bookstore 536
Metropolitan Ave. between
Union Avenue and Lorimer
Street in Williamsburg, (347)
889–5569, www.quimbsynyc.
com. Feb. 10 at 5 pm. $65.
Mythical man-eater: Director and writer Sophie Amieva will portray the Greek monster
Medusa in “Medusa Volution,” opening Feb. 8 at happylucky no. 1 in Crown
Heights. Warren Archer
Dung beetle: A beetle reads the paper while seated on a tiny toilet, in a
diorama created by Daisy Tainton, who will teach a class on her craft on Feb.
10 in Williamsburg. Daisy Tainton
Ticket to bride: This six-foot-high painting
by Amar Stewart, showing the Bride
from the film “Kill Bill,” dominates
KillBar, a new tavern that celebrates the
films of Quentin Tarantino.
Eugene Gologursky
Crafty crawly
MYTH-OGNY
Kill Will-iamsburg
Learn to make insect art
/www.killbarbrooklyn.com
/www.happyluck-yno1.com
/www.happyluck-yno1.com
/www.happyluck-yno1.com
/www.quimbsynyc
/www.killbarbrooklyn.com
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