Community Corner
"What is Erotic?" Show is a Cabaret of the Senses
This show is as far from humdrum as Lady Gaga is from a convent. Dancers, musicians and performance artists invite audience to let their inhibitions run wild in the sixth annual fundraiser for The 418 Project
With the romance of Valentine’s Day stashed safely behind us, most Santa Cruzans are returning to the happy humdrum of their day-to-day lives. Everyone, that is, except the company of performers at this year’s What is Erotic? show. As fundraisers go, the sixth annual What is Erotic? is about as far from humdrum as Lady Gaga is from a convent.
Opening last week at The 418 Project, the assortment of local dancers, singers, comedians, musicians, and spoken word artists present a collection of 28 original works that probe the topic of eroticism from every possible angle. This year’s theme is Wet Dreams and you still have a chance to check it out this weekend.
The evening begins with an “Erotic Salon” to help audience members immerse themselves into the show’s evocative theme.
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Characters clad in sequins and peacock feathers flank the theater entrance, offering chocolate truffles with a twist – the truffle must be eaten from the décolletage of beautiful burlesque dancer. A topless woman balancing an elaborate Balinese headdress slinks through the room, pausing for photos and smiling seductively as guests enter.
From the ambient lighting to the sensual piano melodies swirling through the air, the atmosphere is designed to arouse the audience before the artists step foot on the stage.
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Even the theater set-up at The 418 Project is as distinct as the subject matter. Audience members can opt to sit on the traditional rows of riser seating or make themselves comfortable on the dozens of jewel-colored cushions lining the show floor.
On opening night, smartly-dressed people lounge and play, taking group pictures in what are referred to as “puppy piles” on the pillows. However once the curtain rises, the focus instantly shifts from the party to the performers.
An early crowd favorite is Shimmy Boyle, who lights the room up with laughter with his Living the Sexy Librarian Dream. A renowned Bay Area spoken word artist, Shimmy has an uncanny knack for merging sexual innuendo with clever literary tropes that allow even the shyest listener to start feeling comfortable in exploring their own erotic impulses.
“My understanding of the erotic is that it is entirely separate from the act of sex, though the two are often coupled together,” said Shimmy. “It is a certain provocative tension that, when tapped into, can imbue almost any setting or mode of interaction with a sense of arousal. My poem strives to reach that using books and the act of reading as devices of the erotic, while intentionally avoiding overtly sexual language.”
Movement and dance are a big part of What is Erotic? with performers occasionally shedding their costumes for some of the show’s decidedly more risky works. Ian Crowell choreographed Reptilian an edgy, tightly-crafted contemporary piece that he performs to the music of Nine Inch Nails. Other dancers such as Shelly Adams, Blaze Enfante and Ann Marlborough perform hyper-sexual and often soulful works of choreography, each with its own unique spin on the evening’s underlying erotic theme.
Some acts simply can not be categorized. The hysterical physical theater piece Parasol by the gender-funky Blam Jets must be seen to be appreciated. Singers Lara Foy and Scotty Mac the Sailor sweep the audience away to the Irish Sea, in the sweetly humorous and slightly naughty story of a mermaid wooing a sailor to his doom. The photographic and video genius of Sean Atsatt and Kyer Wiltshire are skillfully woven throughout the acts, providing a backdrop of crystal blue water, swimming silhouettes and breathtaking scenery.
As the show draws to a close, Lex, another local poet, captivates the crowd for the second year in a row. Her piece titled The Quiet Place is an eloquent, impossibly heartfelt ode to love as the ultimate form of eroticism, which frequently has audience members taking collective gasps. However it is undeniably Lex’s powerful delivery of the poem that has the crowd on its feet long after she has left the stage.
“The Quiet Place is about celebrating the subtly of intimacy,” Lex explains. “It’s making the smallest, most seemingly insignificant moments the focal point of our desire and really pushes the audience to not just think of ‘erotic’ as taboo or wild, but to explore its divinity, its subtly, and its intricacy – the way we do when we love someone enough to take our time loving them.”
The cast answers the question of "what is erotic" with a sense of respect and honesty. The acts are generally more playful than pornographic. Despite the tremendous variety one thing is consistent: the performers are clearly having a blast.
At times whimsical, cerebral and often downright dirty, What is Erotic? is unfailingly entertaining, but definitely not for the faint of heart.
Check out What is Erotic? at www.whatiserotic.net
Friday & Saturday:
Pre-show Erotic Salon 7:30 pm
Curtain 8:00 pm
Sunday:
Pre-show Erotic Salon 6:30 pm
Curtain 7:00 pm
$23-$30+ sliding scale
Tickets can be purchase at www.brownpapertickets.com or at the door.
The 418 Project
418 Front Street
Downtown Santa Cruz, CA
