30TH ANNUAL CUCALORUS FILM FESTIVAL

presents

Sad Boys in Harpy Land

SAT · NOVEMBER 23 · 2024 · 8:00 PM · FILMMAKERS LOUNGE

“A thrilling and frenetic mental breakdown of a show” - NYTimes

Sad Boys in Harpy Land collages narratives of artmaking and despair into a falling apart coming-of-age tale, a semi-autobiographical tour-de-farce, as told by a young woman who thinks she is a small German boy who thinks he is a tree. Equal parts sad clown, demented cabaret, and extended crisis of meaning, this unhinged solo performance takes place in the hellscape of the mind. Embracing the spiral, the unfinished, and the broken bits, the piece attempts to move through the inaction born of anxiety, shame, and overwhelm towards strange & ecstatic modes of re-writing the world together. 

“A hilarious, finely tuned absurdist” (Theater Jones) and “one of the most exciting and hilarious performance artists around” (ArtSpace), Alex Tatarsky makes performances in the uncomfortable in-between zone of comedy, performance art, dance-theater, and deluded rant, sometimes with songs. 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. Tatarsky has performed original solo works at MoMA PS1, La MaMa, The Kitchen, The Whitney, Playwrights Horizons and many bars and basements.

Created & Performed by Alex Tatarsky 

Music by Shane Riley

Scenic, Costume, Props by Andreea Mincic

Directed by Iris McCloughan

Developed with Eva Steinmetz

Sad Boys in Harpy Land was commissioned by Abrons Arts Center through the Performance AIRspace Residency Program, which is supported by the Jerome Foundation. Additional support for the show is through the Mertz Gilmore Foundation’s Late-Stage Stipend Program.