Guerrilla Girls On Tour
Encyclopedia
Guerrilla Girls On Tour is an anonymous touring theatre
company of 26 women trained in a variety of comedic theatre techniques who develop unique and outrageous activist plays, performance art
and street theatre. The troupe has presented over 200 performances and workshops around the world addressing reproductive rights, war, sex trafficking, hunger, herstory/history/hirstory and violence against women. All of the work of Guerrilla Girls On Tour is presented using masks and draws from a variety of classic theatre
techniques such as physical theatre
, vaudeville
and parody
resulting in their own unique style that allows them to imaginatively portray a wide range of characters and scenarios with minimal technical elements. They also train and educate communities in combining activism
and art
via workshops, gallery exhibits, master classes and community collaborations which have resulted in participatory performance projects and site-specific productions that include local women’s history. Guerrilla Girls On Tour has performed in theatres, classrooms, art galleries, community centers, cafes and the great outdoors.
company in the United States that makes theatre that takes a hilarious look at the current state of women in the arts and beyond. Using skits, sketch and improvisation, Guerrilla Girls On Tour turns sexism
, pay equity, body image, the beauty industry and even the dreaded “F” word (feminism
) into theatre that both men and women find fearless and funny.
Guerrilla Girls On Tour was founded by three former members of the original Guerrilla Girls which split into three new and independent groups in 2001.
Each Guerrilla Girls On Tour's performances is interactive. Guerrilla Girls On Tour talks to and with audience members on their take on the issues, involving them with writing assignments, sing-a-longs and audience participation.
In order to put the focus of our work entirely on the audience and the issues each member of Guerrilla Girls On Tour performs using the name of a dead woman artist
performs wearing a gorilla mask to conceal her true identity. No one knows who they really are! Their 20-plus member troupe has toured through 30 states and 8 countries bringing their brand of satirical performance to places like southern Georgia, eastern Europe and South America. Guerrilla Girls On Tour have been featured in the Village Voice, BackStage, Mother Jones, The New York Times, CUNY TV’s Women In Theatre Series, i-D Magazine, American Theatre, Antiborder Conference Warsaw, LA Times, In Theatre, the BBC, French Channel 2, amNewYork, Wysokie Obcasy, and The Tony Awards.
Feminists Are Funny is an energetic romp through humorous historical moments in feminist history
as well as the history of Guerrilla Girls On Tour. The show provides an overview of GGOT's posters, street theatre actions, and excerpts from the current comedies in repertoire. Feminists Are Funny addresses the lack of parity for women in global theatre, political issues facing women such as reproductive rights
, the war in Iraq, current number of women elected to government, sex trafficking and violence against women
....all in a fast paced comedy. Guerrilla Girls On Tour briefly research each place they visit and include current local issues and statistics
on the state of the arts for women in every city they perform in.
Silence Is Violence contains similar material to Feminists Are Funny but includes a 30 minute section on up-to-date statistics and strategies for combating violence against women
. Guerrilla Girls On Tour dramatize a series of date rape
situations and educate the audience with information on how to set boundaries and avoid potentially dangerous situations. The entire show is both upbeat and empowering. Local and state wide stats regarding violence against women are incorporated into each performance making them site-specific.
The History of Women In Theatre: Condensed is the recovered herstory of women in world theatre in 90 minutes revealing the work of some of the most prolific yet unknown women of the modern theatre
.
If You Can Stand the Heat: The History of Women and Food explores women’s relationship to food
. In Part I: “PIE” – celebrated food writer M.F.K. Fisher takes us on a 10 minute musical romp though the history of women and food while baking her favorite apple pie. In Part II “CAKE” – southern cooking expert Edna Lewis
polls the audience in an exercise that unleashes female obsession/anxiety over body image. And in Part III “BREAD” culinary heroine Julia Child
explores global food supply and nutrition
as well as women as both homemakers and bread winners while baking a French baguette. Using physical theatre
, dance
, improvisation
and visual images, If You Can Stand the Heat: The History of Women and Food is a hilarious, flour-dusted, theatrically surprising stage conversation meant to dissolve fears of food and encourage freedom of the fork.
Exhibitions of Guerrilla Girls On Tour's posters have been organized at museums in the US, and at Zendai MoMA, China; Portobello Film Festival, UK and the Busan Biennale in South Korea. The Guerrilla Girls On Tour's web site contains all of their visual works as well as their annual Girlcott List (a list of theatres across the US that do not include plays by women in their mainstage seasons) and the annual Good News List (where to find plays by women).
In 2010 Guerrilla Girls On Tour received the Yoko Ono
Courage for the Arts Award.
Touring theatre
A touring company is an independent theatre or dance company that travels, often internationally, being presented at a different theatre in each city....
company of 26 women trained in a variety of comedic theatre techniques who develop unique and outrageous activist plays, performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
and street theatre. The troupe has presented over 200 performances and workshops around the world addressing reproductive rights, war, sex trafficking, hunger, herstory/history/hirstory and violence against women. All of the work of Guerrilla Girls On Tour is presented using masks and draws from a variety of classic theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
techniques such as physical theatre
Physical theatre
Physical theatre is used to describe any mode of performance that pursues storytelling or drama through primarily and secondarily physical and mental means. There are several quite distinct but indistinct traditions of performance which all describe themselves using the term "physical theatre",...
, vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
and parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
resulting in their own unique style that allows them to imaginatively portray a wide range of characters and scenarios with minimal technical elements. They also train and educate communities in combining activism
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
and art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
via workshops, gallery exhibits, master classes and community collaborations which have resulted in participatory performance projects and site-specific productions that include local women’s history. Guerrilla Girls On Tour has performed in theatres, classrooms, art galleries, community centers, cafes and the great outdoors.
Herstory
Guerrilla Girls On Tour is the only touring theatreTheatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
company in the United States that makes theatre that takes a hilarious look at the current state of women in the arts and beyond. Using skits, sketch and improvisation, Guerrilla Girls On Tour turns sexism
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
, pay equity, body image, the beauty industry and even the dreaded “F” word (feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
) into theatre that both men and women find fearless and funny.
Guerrilla Girls On Tour was founded by three former members of the original Guerrilla Girls which split into three new and independent groups in 2001.
Each Guerrilla Girls On Tour's performances is interactive. Guerrilla Girls On Tour talks to and with audience members on their take on the issues, involving them with writing assignments, sing-a-longs and audience participation.
In order to put the focus of our work entirely on the audience and the issues each member of Guerrilla Girls On Tour performs using the name of a dead woman artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
performs wearing a gorilla mask to conceal her true identity. No one knows who they really are! Their 20-plus member troupe has toured through 30 states and 8 countries bringing their brand of satirical performance to places like southern Georgia, eastern Europe and South America. Guerrilla Girls On Tour have been featured in the Village Voice, BackStage, Mother Jones, The New York Times, CUNY TV’s Women In Theatre Series, i-D Magazine, American Theatre, Antiborder Conference Warsaw, LA Times, In Theatre, the BBC, French Channel 2, amNewYork, Wysokie Obcasy, and The Tony Awards.
Tours
Guerrilla Girls On Tour currently tours 4 performances: Feminists Are Funny, Silence Is Violence, The History of Women in Theatre: Condensed and If You Can Stand The Heat: The History Of Women And Food.Feminists Are Funny is an energetic romp through humorous historical moments in feminist history
Feminist history
Feminist history refers to the re-reading of history from a female perspective. It is not the same as the history of feminism, which outlines the origins and evolution of the feminist movement. It also differs from women's history, which focuses on the role of women in historical events...
as well as the history of Guerrilla Girls On Tour. The show provides an overview of GGOT's posters, street theatre actions, and excerpts from the current comedies in repertoire. Feminists Are Funny addresses the lack of parity for women in global theatre, political issues facing women such as reproductive rights
Reproductive rights
Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights as follows:...
, the war in Iraq, current number of women elected to government, sex trafficking and violence against women
Violence against women
Violence against women is a technical term used to collectively refer to violent acts that are primarily or exclusively committed against women...
....all in a fast paced comedy. Guerrilla Girls On Tour briefly research each place they visit and include current local issues and statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
on the state of the arts for women in every city they perform in.
Silence Is Violence contains similar material to Feminists Are Funny but includes a 30 minute section on up-to-date statistics and strategies for combating violence against women
Violence against women
Violence against women is a technical term used to collectively refer to violent acts that are primarily or exclusively committed against women...
. Guerrilla Girls On Tour dramatize a series of date rape
Date rape
"Date rape", often referred to as acquaintance rape, is an assault or attempted assault usually committed by a new acquaintance involving sexual intercourse without mutual consent....
situations and educate the audience with information on how to set boundaries and avoid potentially dangerous situations. The entire show is both upbeat and empowering. Local and state wide stats regarding violence against women are incorporated into each performance making them site-specific.
The History of Women In Theatre: Condensed is the recovered herstory of women in world theatre in 90 minutes revealing the work of some of the most prolific yet unknown women of the modern theatre
History of theatre
The history of theatre charts the development of theatre over the past 2,500 years. While performative elements are present in every society, it is customary to acknowledge a distinction between theatre as an art form and entertainment and theatrical or performative elements in other activities...
.
If You Can Stand the Heat: The History of Women and Food explores women’s relationship to food
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
. In Part I: “PIE” – celebrated food writer M.F.K. Fisher takes us on a 10 minute musical romp though the history of women and food while baking her favorite apple pie. In Part II “CAKE” – southern cooking expert Edna Lewis
Edna Lewis
Edna Lewis was an African-American chef and author best known for her books on traditional Southern cuisine.-Early life and career:...
polls the audience in an exercise that unleashes female obsession/anxiety over body image. And in Part III “BREAD” culinary heroine Julia Child
Julia Child
Julia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for introducing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which...
explores global food supply and nutrition
Nutrition
Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
as well as women as both homemakers and bread winners while baking a French baguette. Using physical theatre
Physical theatre
Physical theatre is used to describe any mode of performance that pursues storytelling or drama through primarily and secondarily physical and mental means. There are several quite distinct but indistinct traditions of performance which all describe themselves using the term "physical theatre",...
, dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
, improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
and visual images, If You Can Stand the Heat: The History of Women and Food is a hilarious, flour-dusted, theatrically surprising stage conversation meant to dissolve fears of food and encourage freedom of the fork.
Exhibitions of Guerrilla Girls On Tour's posters have been organized at museums in the US, and at Zendai MoMA, China; Portobello Film Festival, UK and the Busan Biennale in South Korea. The Guerrilla Girls On Tour's web site contains all of their visual works as well as their annual Girlcott List (a list of theatres across the US that do not include plays by women in their mainstage seasons) and the annual Good News List (where to find plays by women).
Website
Guerrilla Girls On Tour! maintain a website http://www.ggontour.com which contains their performances, street actions and exhibitions as well as an account of their history and tactics. This is also where they can be reached to arrange appearances.Further reading
In 2009 a book was published - "Voicing Dissent: American Artists and the War on Iraq" by Routledge that includes a chapter on Guerrilla Girls On Tour.In 2010 Guerrilla Girls On Tour received the Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
Courage for the Arts Award.
External links
- GGOT official website
- http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2010/12/02/look-out-its-the-guerrilla-girls-on-tour
- http://genderacrossborders.com/2010/04/08/re-inventing-the-f-word-with-guerrilla-girls/#more-8896
- http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2005/03/17/guerrilla_girls_on_tour.php
- http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/articles/050530ta_talk_toobin
- http://www.jcu.edu/news/guerilla_girls.asp
- http://www.unlvrebelyell.com/article/2008/02/11/promoting-guerrilla-warfare
- http://imaginepeace.com/archives/10507
- http://www.feministing.com/cgi-bin/movabletype/mt-tb.fcgi/18952
- http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2010/12/02/look-out-its-the-guerrilla-girls-on-tour/