Just a Short One: Wrasslin' by Anthony Schrag

Anthony Schrag: Wrasslin'

Imagine my surprise when going through one of my wrestling forums I find a thread on an artistic endevour. Wrestling for me is a guilty little pleasure and I have been a fan for years, enjoying the pageantry and blatantly overblown theatrics involved in the psuedo sport, however I was very surprised to read of a Performance Artist who was taking the subect of Wrestling on with his own bare hands. As talked about in the page at the link above Anthony Schrag was going to be available to be wailed upon, stretched, slammed and pinned for one round by anyone who so wished to have a go. He set up his little tent in Margate on the seafront with the aim of allowing people to 'Sweat and Smile' and to explore the level of teamwork and trust between two people who are opponents.

Whats so interesting to me about this? Well its probably the fact that this is a great example of both old school theatre/music hall and old school wrestling. During the summer seasons in many Seaside Towns there was the Wrestling Tent where people would challenge the wrestlers for a money prize. So to do it in Margate brings a real sense of irony for me. Lets hope he didn't get too hurt, after all Wrestling... its all fake isn't it?

To see more of Anthony Schrag's work please go to this website.

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Controversy of Epileptic Performance Artist

I was very surprised to read today of backlash against a Performance Artist named Rita Marcalo because of her plans to induce a seizure on the stage. Now I am an epileptic and I do not find this in the least bit offensive and I disagree with Epilepsy Action, who I am a member of, for many reasons. One of the reasons I do not agree with their complaint is due to my own fascination with my condition and my exploration of it through drama. Several years ago I wrote a monologue based on the situation surrounding and experience of my first Grand Mal Seizure and have work shopped it many times to explore its viability as a one man show so condemning this woman's work would be hypocritical of me. I have found that this exploration has helped me gain a better understanding of myself and my condition, and because I have given the script to other actors to work on and there have been small workshop performances of it, I have in fact raised awareness of the effects my condition has on me and others. My second problem is that as an artist I feel that censorship is wrong, the fact is that plays are allowed to say anything they want to say due to freedom of speech and I know some organisations feel thats not a good thing. After all why would Epilepsy Action want a woman with big ideas going out there and laying our condition bare doing something that Epilepsy Action itself is known for: spreading awareness of Epilepsy. Truth is I believe EA have taken this the wrong way and its unfair to criticise a Performance Artist like this. I do however have to voice my concern for her health and that I hope she truly comes through this performance safe and if she does have a seizure, remember its not guaranteed she will have one, its not one that causes permanent damage. I wish her all the best. For more information and another brilliant blogpost on this subject please follow this upcoming link to Allan Sutherland of the Guardian's blog where he goes into more detail.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/theatreblog/2009/nov/20/epilepsy-live-art-rita-marcalo

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