Alex Tatarsky

(New York, NY / Philadelphia, PA)

Sad Boys in Harpy Land

Co-presented with the Departments of Theatre and Russian at Reed College

Access: CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) captioning will be provided for the Sept. 13th performance.

DESCRIPTION

In this unhinged solo performance, self-proclaimed “experimental clown artist” Alex Tatarsky ushers audiences through an absurdist hellscape of the mind. Equal parts sad clown, demented cabaret, and extended crisis of meaning, Sad Boys in Harpy Land confronts anguish through humor in a spiraling narrative of art making and despair. Through a series of existential vignettes, Tatarsky fuses autobiographical bones of their own story onto those of equally tormented protagonists from sources including Goethe, Dante, Amiri Baraka, Helen Adams, and Seinfeld. A falling apart coming-of-age story, Tatarsky presents a highly calibrated mess in a tour-de-farce performance that challenges the idea of individual malady and instead embraces the turbulent maze of shared struggle. 

Live Music & Sound Design: Shane Riley

Direction: Iris McCloughan

Scenic, Costumes, Props Design: Andreea Mincic

Lighting Design: Masha Tsimring

Stage & Production Management: Payton Smith

Dramaturgy: Basie Allen, Lisa Fagan

Developed with: Eva Steinmetz

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Called a “hilarious, finely tuned absurdist” by Theatre Jones and “outrageous and profane" by The New York Times, Alex Tatarsky makes performances in the uncomfortable in-between zone of comedy, dance-theater, performance art, and deluded rant—sometimes with songs. Tatarsky experienced fleeting fame as Andy Kaufman’s daughter and used to perform as a mound of dirt. Playing with perceptions of language and narrative structure, their live performances are highly responsive to venue and audience, often breaking the fourth wall and embracing humor to reveal vulnerability and humanity. Venues include La Mama Experimental Theater Club, MoMA PS1, Playwrights Horizons, The Kitchen, Judson Memorial Church, Whitney Museum of American Art, Walker Art Center, and many bars and basements. As curatorial fellow at The Poetry Project, they organized a series on the poetics of rot. Research interests include bootlegs, hellscapes, and compost. 

SUPPORT

Sad Boys in Harpy Land was commissioned by Abrons Arts Center through the Jerome Foundation AIRspace Residency Program. 

Playwrights Horizons, Inc, in New York City, produced the Off-Broadway Premiere of Sad Boys in Harpy Land in 2023.

Sad Boys in Harpy Land received development support through residencies at FringeArts, the Jilline Ringle Solo Performance Program at 1812 Productions, Poetry Electric at La Mama Experimental Theater Club, MAAS, and Cannonball Festival.