From left: Andrew Hodgdon, Pam Carsten,
Amber Leigh Martin, Krispi Bacon and
Marc Weaker ace the House of Cunt
The House of Cunt is back
with a new late-night show
by
C hristopher M c Q uain
“ ‘ Cunt’ is not slang, or any marginal form, but
a true language word, and of the oldest stock. It is a
derivative of the Oriental Great Goddess known as
Curia, ofKunda, the Yoni of the Universe."
— Barbara G. Walker, Women’s Encyclopedia
of Myths and Secrets, as quoted on a poster for
the House of Cunt
f you’d told me on a recent Wednesday
morning that by evening I’d be in the mid
dle of the stage at Stark Raving Theatre
playing a character named “Skippy” in a
sketch called “Advertising Today” during the
rehearsal of a comedy/perfonnance/dance
troupe calling itself the House of Cunt, I would
have been slightly alarmed.
But there 1 was, on emergency assignment
for Just Out, aiding a group of more-than-merry
pranksters as they plotted the recurring act of
audience participation. (“Skippy” will presum
ably be selected/coerced from each night’s audi
ence.) And I was having a blast.
It’s hard not to feel giddy around these folks,
and you’d have to bite your lip to keep from
laughing at their loose, spontaneous humor,
which frequently veers into the cheerfully
offensive. The performance troupe’s eyebrow
raising name belies its good-hearted approach.
Composed of a small constellation of comed-
ically talented Portland-area actors/dancers/per-
formers who orbit the centrifugal force of de
facto ringleader Amber Leigh Martin, they’re
out to instigate laughter and entertain through
lighthearted randomness and absurdity.
The red-headed, laid-back Martin recounts
the group’s roots in her mellow Southern
accent. It all started in 1995 when sne and her
partner, Andrew Hodgdon, did some cable
access skits and videos together.
“Somehow that turned into live perform
ances using those characters,” she explains. “It
wasn’t House of Cunt then, but it’s what started
the whole neurotic, crazy thing of creating sce
narios and characters. Some of the cable access
characters were in the last show, and a couple of
them are going to be in the new show.”
Shows are fueled by the group’s love of their
childhood pop culture experiences— the more
’70s-centnr the better, especially TV, and especially
surreal variety/vaudevillian TV. It’s all done with a
strong whiff of postmodern eclecticism.
“I’m a singer first, then I’m a dancer— I have
I
a
n i u ia t
even know the words politically incorrect.”
For his part, Hodgdon cites the revolutionary
70s sitcom Maude admitting, “I don’t watch any
modern-day television, but I’ve got all that old
stuff plugged right in here, like in my veins.”
Hence, the new show, The Late Summer
Replacement Special, could be described as a live
a i i u t11t.11 i gu coo t-uiu v.u y 1110
in there somewhere accidentally, you know?”
says Martin. “I guess it’s my upbringing, watch
ing Saturday Night Live in the 70s and Carol
Burnett. Gilda Radner. Soul Train. The Moppet
Show. Genius stuff. Norman Lear. So unafraid
to be a little bit politically incorrect, not to
Sin is i
Liminal brings
a smart and sexy show
to the Panorama
by
M arc A cito
ntense. Powerful. Sexy. Funny. Unusual.
Twisted. Thrilling. Seven words to describe
Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s music the
ater piece The Seven Deadly Sms as presented
Liminal Performance Group knows sin
by the performance art company Liminal.
A modem meditation on what constitutes
layered stage images prove to be both provoca-
sin in a capitalistic society, the piece was the
| tive yet ambiguous, inviting any number of inter
pretations. Subsequendy, the audience is left
final, collaboration ffom the creators of The
with more questions than answers, not because
Threepenny Opera but is every bit as timely tixlay
the creators have failed to present the show’s
as it was at its 1933 premiere. Director Bryan
themes bqt because they have succeeded so bril
Markowitz has made the inspiring choice of the
liantly in unearthing the richness of the work.
all-night dance club Panorama to give his pro
duction the appropriate whiff of debauchery.
Fans of Cabaret and Moulin Rouge will
Singing in the original German with a project
delight in experiencing the real thing here in
ed translation, the young and enthusiastic ensem
all its glorious decadence. Liminal’s Seven
ble works with a raw, heat-generating energy that
Deadly Sins is an evening not to be missed. jH
is so palpable it practically hits you in the chest.
The movement direction by Catherine Egan is
j T h e S even D eadly S in s plays or 8:30 p.m.
Thursday to Saturday with an additional
particularly inventive and canpetting. (Plus there’s
lots of very steamy girl-on-girl action.)
10:30 p.m. Thursday show through Sept. 28.
By presenting an endlessly fascinating array of 21 and over only. Tickets are $16, which includes
gestures and tableaus in juxtaposition, the multi
one drink, from Jackpot Records or 503 '890*2993.
I
| channel-surf. Some of the characters and see
ls narios I sneak-previewed: A hillbilly hoedown
p played like Hee Haw on speed. Martin, along
with costars Krispi Bacon and Pam Carsten, as
bizarre, eccentric, heavy-accented English
Siamese triplets who ululate their way through
Alice Cooper’s “Only Women Bleed.” Hodgdon
as El Dink, an outrageously suave and funky TV
host/ladies man. The deadpan Marc Weaver as
Alzheimer Joe, a less-than-cognizant children’s
television star a la Mr. Rogers. Bacon performs a
modem interpretive dance to Kate Bush.
Most memorable is Martin’s ecstatically
“insincere lounge singer, who croons an in
congruously impassioned “Morning Train” as a
tribute to Sheena Easton after proclaiming the
diva’s vocal cords “the hottest in town” and
breathlessly confiding: “When I met Sheena, it
was actually on the morning train. That’s
when...the affair began.” She’s nothing short of
a comedic performance artist who can be ironic
as Sandra Bernhard, eerie as Miranda July and
smart as Laurie Anderson.
The raunch, nudity and provocation factor
at a House of Cunt show runs high, with plen
ty of against-the-tide political and social
humor. “I enjoy pushing buttons, but I don’t
enjoy being an antagonist,” Martin says. “I
wouldn’t want to be perceived as that.”
Hodgdon agrees: “Anything that may have
shock value is definitely in there with more of
an approach of consciousness raising— giving
you something to look at and think about
rather than just react to.”
Martin, who has had relationships with
women, also believes an open-minded queer
audience will find plenty to relate to in The
Midsummer Replacement Special. “I’m not gay,”
she says, “but I’ve played around in that world,
and it’s not a bad place to be. I’m not into the
stereotyping and separation of people into cate
gories. I play men as much as I play women,
and mainly that’s from personal experience.”
She explains how she believes all the people
in her life make her who she is. “I was raised by
the redneck men in my life as much as the
Southern Christian Stepford-wife women, you
know? I’ve got total dykes in my family, and I’ve
got KKK in my family, so I really read the
language of all types. Honestly, I feel like our
show...would hopefully fit in amongst multi
ethnic crowds, multigender crowds and multi
orientation crowds. I feel there’s enough stuff
that everybody could relate to some degree.” J H
of C u n t performs The Late
Summer Replacement Special 10:30 p.m.
Friday and Saturday Sept. 7 to Oct. 5 at Stark
Raving Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh St. Tickets are
$12 from 503-232-7072.
T he H o u se
aas cowing
Suncfai/s
c5i
.
ABOARD PORTLAND SPI RI T
Am erica's most treasured art form returns to the city's only floatin g venue. Portland
Spirit's 2 n d annual Jazz Brunch senes is under way. Every Sunday though
Septem ber 29th . musicians send notes sailing. D ifferent artists and sounds w ill be
explored weekly. Join us fo r one, multiple, or all perform ances.
Upcom ing
C ruise Events:
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(503) 224-3900
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(800) 224-3901
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