Birth of Venice and early days
Actors, Filmmakers and Writers in Venice live or lived
Actors, Filmmakers and Writers in Venice hung out
Program of the 1978 Venice Festival at the Fox Venice Theater
Tale of the Fox
(from Free Venice Beachhead)
1981 Resistance Celebration Schedule
1981 Resistance Celebration Articles
Institutions, Organizations, Foundations
Paul Tanck on
Venice-related films
Venice in Theater, Theater in Venice,
Other Performance Art
STAGE PLAYS
The Lady Who Cried Fox
Written by Edward Clinton, this farce about sex and jealousy in Venice
was to have been performed at the renovated Venice Pavilion in early 1982.
It may or may not have happened.
Merchant of Venice
In 1994, director Peter Sellars disturbed theatergoers with a production
of the venerable Shakespeare work, set in the contemporary Venice of California,
with black characters substituting for Jewish, and Latino characters substituting
for Italians. The stage effects included Rodney King video footage.
Beach Head
by Bill Oxendine, comedy (seen by the webslave, actually very funny) that
explores the question of how to be hip in the 80s. The main characters
are a couple in their mid-thirties. The kids spike the wine with acid
(LSD).
Prisoner of Venice
by Douglas Johnson - was at Zephyr Theater that's all I know.
Pen to Paper
an evening of original stories based on the theme "A Love Letter
to Venice CA"
Pacific Resident Theater 2003
Readers: Orson Bean, Brett Cullen, John Kertis, Dominic Hoffman, Chris
Mulkey, Tom Wright
Ed Pearl - founder of the legendary Ash Grove night club in LA. It burned in 1974, and soon afterward Pearl moved to Venice and in his words "organized an incredible week-long performance of Brecht's "Mother" at the Fox Venice," selling out the 850-seat theater for every show.
Venice Rendezvous - Eric Vollmer and the Voice In The Well Ensemble - performance arts solute to the Venice Centennial, invoking through spoken word, music and narrative Sarah Bernhardt, Aimee Semple McPherson, Edward Biberman, Venice Beats, Jim Morrison and others who helped to imagine this place into existence - and shed light on its novel past.
Number Our Days - Barbara Meyerhoff’s book about the Jewish community became first a documentary film, then a play, adapted for the stage by Suzanne Grossman. Reviewer Joie Davidow doesn't much care for the stage version. She says, "These Jews survived the pograms and Nazi camps only to be castrated at the hands of their own artistic grandchildren." In another paper, Jack Viertel says it lacks craftsmanship. "This is a play that seems constantly to be scanning the horizon for plot and theme, and it will grab at anything."
Prelude to a Death in Venice - Actually this play is part of a longer 4-hour work called "Shaggy Dog Animation" written by Lee Breuer. It is not known whether the city referred to in the title is our Venice. These things are known: It seems to be about a man at a California roadside pay phone at night, talking on the phone and/or to a ventriloquist dummy. Breuer and his wife lived in Southern California in the Sixties. In the early 80s Breuer lived at Rose and Speedway for a time and was recipient of a MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant in 1997
OTHER PERFORMANCE ART
Dr. Geek
self-described "wordologist", boardwalk performer for kids,
giving them useful lessons. Bo Diddley said "He's what I called an
authentic rapper. I never heard him use one cuss word and he's always
saying something positive."
LA Connection
Improv troupe, which at various times included Victoria Jackson, Kato
Kaelin, Jon Lovitz Taylor Negron.
In 1977 one configuration of LA Connection could often be found performing
on the boardwalk
Major Mars
In 1953-54, actor Bob Burns appeared as this character, presenting interactive
skits involving audience members, for the Revell Models company
Brainfreeze
A Venice native exported some beach comfort to Burning Man, the facility
described as "a full-service pit stop for your chakras. Hand made
sno cones (spiked on request), a slip-n-slide, space/psychedelia soundtracks,
and pillows will quickly become your afternoon stop fixation"
Ooze
held a "Pro-Meat" demonstration, gave out free Slim Jims, entertained
children with a puppet show starring a rotisserie chicken, and provoked
the Beach’s resident militant vegetarian, Jingles, to threaten to
kick their asses.
Naked Bike Ride
June 16, 2004 - unknown what group this was, but the nude bike hike didn’t
come off quite as planned. The LA Times reported "They were met at
Venice Beach by a heavy contingent of police, so they rode naked under
their clothes".
Cacophony Society
They do a whole lot of things all over the place, and Venice Beach seems
to be a favorite venue.
"Red Tide" involved many Cacophonists in Santa Claus
outfits descending on Ocean Front Walk
"Spreading the Word" - Poetry disguised as religious
tracts distributed in wake of the annual Hard Krishna parade
"Venice Beach Fracture Party" - High-fashion orthopedics
booth on Venice boardwalk offering image-enhancing plaster bandages
"Fun with Mud" - booth extolling the virtues of the lowly
mudpie, with demonstrations and giveaways
"Save Money! Die Early!" - Absurdist protest march on
the Boardwalk