WHEN I WAS PORTUGUESE

Back Stage At The National Theatre

Nathan Lively transports us to behind the curtain at the National Theatre of Portugal, where we witness the inner lives of five veteran actresses navigating the final days of a Broadway-style production. This audio installation offers an intimate glimpse into the theatre’s backstage energy and five individual lives. The end result is an avant-garde narrative and sound experience.

What you see onstage at the theatre is not necessarily the most entertaining part. There is another show being performed offstage by the cast and crew surrounding each performance. In this surround sound installation, Nathan Lively takes us backstage at the National Theatre Of Portugal (Teatro Dona Maria II) as a fly on the wall during the final performances of a 2005 production on the main stage. In this unique perspective of the life of a Portuguese theatre, you will hear each actor move around you as they travel from make-up to sound check to curtain call.

Sound Designer Nathan Lively lived in Lisbon 2003-2007. His first production at Teatro Dona Maria II put him in contact with six experienced actresses performing a Paula Vogel play, which won a Golden Globe for Best Production. Set in NYC in 1981, the play portrays six women struggling to hold onto values of a dying way of life. At once charismatic, arrogant, and pitiful, they tell the story of modernization on and off the stage.

WHAT: WHEN I WAS PORTUGUESE - A Sound Installation By Nathan Lively

WHEN: April 29, 2011 ~ 8pm-11pm (Come at 8pm to hear the installation in its entirety in relative quiet)

WHERE: ZUGHAUS Gallery, 1306 Third ST, Berkeley, CA (at Gilman & Third)

RSVP: Facebook


ZUGHAUS Gallery is located in a warehouse originally used by Peter Voulkos as a ceramics studio and later converted to a woodshop, artist studios, and lofts. The studios and lofts are home to artists of all kinds including painters, sculptors, musicians, photographers, and writers. ZUGHAUS has been hosting art openings the Last Friday of every month for over two years. All events are free of charge and open to the public. Visit http://zughausgallery.blogspot.com/ for more info.

PARKING available at Gilman Grill, 1300 4th Street Berkeley, CA 94710-1304

In September ZUGHAUS Gallery will present art and poetry from Craig Sullender and his recently published book, Char Front. Look forward to live readings and revelations. Enjoy this preview, selections from Ruler:


this decade I went from americanos to espresso
from mixed drinks to shots
which leaves me looking over the world’s menu
of poisons and ill-logic carefully as my next
should be a good one

first to clear up a few items so we can start the new year fresh:
1. free will vs. Free Willy
2. why it takes a long arm to grasp deep truths
3. how to avoid love and success by just being yourself
____________

taking advice bon mot I’ll tell you we stare at the backs
of the ones that go ahead

In LA the all-over tattooed ex-rocker journalized
his foray into expert fisting up to his elbow
inside a young male ingénue I’m guessing surprised
at the depth of being that contains all searches within
but “the spirit literally cannot remain within itself”
so by law exudes epiphanies the fistee inspired? moved?
to become a chef sewing up turkeys for the homeless

the long armed fister became an airline pilot his fingertips
guiding fate gently

here now let’s not light the fuse of unanswered questions
let’s not be drawn off course by the pretty mask on life’s mystery
let the others bark away at that squirrel-less tree
____________

fuck the achievers and their blown-up gall
this part of the boat is reserved for the ballast of cranky layabouts
keeping keel down and sail up

your special ticket is to answer these questions:

1. Have you with great skill successfully avoided the cornucopic god
flow spilling over your feet?
2. Can you in detail describe four grudges maintained in an awesomely
committed way?
3. Have you noticed how precisely inaccurate the word “people” describes
anyone? Do you wave it around like a shiny sword regardless?
4. Will you claim every errant thought a journeyed hero worthy of huffdom?
5. For extra credit if you’ve been listening: who are we to tongue tiles
into what design?
6. By what permission are you breathing?
7. By what light from your eyes do you see the world how?
8. There are no monkeys. Do you hear them anyway, screeching away clear
thought?
9. When it pleases you to “open a can of agro” which weapons of mine
would you like to borrow? Which of yours do you recommend?

Would you build a house to have sunlit curtains blow in a breeze? Can
you see it? Where does it come from?

 All Design © Douglas Cain 2010.

William Wardlaw & Adam Dunbar - Live @ Zughaus Gallery by WWardlaw