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A Photo Tour of Jeff Stark's Latest Crazy Site-Specific Show
By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 23, 2010
Modified Apr 23, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 23, 2010
Modified Apr 23, 2010
Share
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We'll take any excuse to publish more of Tod Seelie's bewitching photographs, but this time his subject matter is also relevant to your weekend plans. Jeff Stark, the DIY director, playwright, and publisher of the essential events newsletter Nonsense NYC, is staging his latest site-specific performance piece, Sweet Cheat, at an undisclosed upstate location this weekend. It is undisclosed because it is illegal.
You'll recall that Stark's last opus was performed on a moving subway train; this time he's taken over an abandoned factory somewhere along a Metro North line. Your train ticket is included with your ticket ($25), and for the show's four performances (April 24th and 25th, May 1st and 2nd), an audience of 40 will travel together from Grand Central to the mysterious site. On his website, Stark warns: "This is not guerrilla theater; it's trespass theater, where the risks are serious and the art questions the division between life and representations of it—just like the story itself. The space has not been curated for safety. All audience members must approach the performance with extreme caution."
Based on Rick Moody's science-fiction novella The Albertine Notes, Sweat Cheat incorporates music, video, and installation. The action (there are no seats, by the way) takes place in a dystopian world where, in the wake of a terrorist bombing in Union Square, many New Yorkers become addicted to Albertine, a drug that allows people to accurately relive their memories. Stark tells us there are still a few tickets left for this weekend and next; they go on sale 9 a.m. on the day of each show on the Sweet Cheat website.
Tagged
jeff stark
sweet cheat
theater
tod seelie
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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