The Scene of Foreplay: Theater, Labor, and Leisure in 1960s New York (Performance Works)

The Scene of Foreplay: Theater, Labor, and Leisure in 1960s New York suggests'foreplay'as a theoretical framework for understanding a particular mode of performance production. That mode exists outside of predetermined structures of recognition in terms of professionalism, artistic achievement, and a logic of eventfulness. Foreplay denotes a peculiar way of working and inhabiting time in performance. It is recognized as emblematic of a constellation of artists in the 1960s New York scene, including Ellen Stewart, John Vaccaro, Ruby Lynn Reyner, Jackie Curtis, Andy Warhol, Tom Eyen, Jack Smith, and Penny Arcade. Matching an original approach to historical materials and theoretical reflection, Palladini addresses the peculiar forms of production, reproduction, and consumption developed in the 1960s as labors of love, creating for artists a condition of “preliminarity” toward professional work and also functioning as a counterforce within productive economy, as a prelude where value is not yet assigned to labor. The Scene of Foreplay proposes that such labors of love can be considered both as paradigmatic for contemporary forms of precarious labor and also resonating with echoes from marginal histories of the performing arts, in a nonlinear genealogy of queer resistance to ideas of capitalist productivity and professionalism. The book offers much for those interested in performance theory as well asin the history of theater and performance arts in the 1960s. The Scene of Foreplay: Theater, Labor, and Leisure in 1960s New York suggests "foreplay" as a theoretical framework for understanding a particular mode of performance production. That mode exists outside of predetermined structures of recognition in terms of professionalism, artistic achievement, and a logic of eventfulness, Foreplay denotes a peculiar way of working and inhabiting time in performance, Palladini finds it emblematic of a constellation of artists in the 1960s New York scene, including Ellen Stewart, John Vaccaro, Ruby Lynn Reyner, Jackie Curtis, Andy Warhol, Tom Eyen, Jack Smith, and Penny Arcade. Matching an original approach to historical materials and theoretical reflection, Palladini addresses the peculiar forms of production, reproduction, and consumption developed in the 1960s as labors of love, creating for artists a condition of "preliminarity" toward professional work and also functioning as a counterforce within productive economy, as a prelude where value is not yet assigned to labor. The Scene of Foreplay proposes that such labors of love can be considered as both paradigmatic for contemporary forms of precarious labor and also resonating with echoes from marginal histories of the performing arts, in a nonlinear genealogy of queer resistance to ideas of capitalist productivity and professionalism. The book offers much for those interested in performance theory as well in the history of theater and performance arts in the 1960s. Book jacket The Scene of Theater, Labor, and Leisure in 1960s New York suggests "foreplay" as a theoretical framework for understanding a particular mode of performance production. That mode exists outside of predetermined structures of recognition in terms of professionalism, artistic achievement, and a logic of eventfulness. Foreplay denotes a peculiar way of working and inhabiting time in performance. It is recognized as emblematic of a constellation of artists in the 1960s New York scene, including Ellen Stewart, John Vaccaro, Ruby Lynn Reyner, Jackie Curtis, Andy Warhol, Tom Eyen, Jack Smith, and Penny Arcade. Matching an original approach to historical materials and theoretical reflection, Palladini addresses the peculiar forms of production, reproduction, and consumption developed in the 1960s as labors of love, creating for artists a condition of preliminarity toward professional work and also functioning as a counterforce within productive economy, as a prelude where value is not yet assigned to labor. The Scene of Foreplay proposes that such labors of love can be considered both as paradigmatic for contemporary forms of precarious labor and also resonating with echoes from marginal histories of the performing arts, in a nonlinear genealogy of queer resistance to ideas of capitalist productivity and professionalism. The book offers much for those interested in performance theory as well asin the history of theater and performance arts in the 1960s. The Scene of Foreplay: Theatre, Labor and Leisure in 1960s New York suggests foreplay as a theoretical framework for understanding a particular mode of performance production. That mode exists outside of predetermined structures of recognition in terms of professionalism, artistic achievement, and a logic of eventfulness. Foreplay denotes a peculiar way of working and inhabiting time in performance. It is recognized as emblematic of a constellation of artists in the 1960s New York scene, including Ellen Stewart, John Vaccaro, Ruby Lynn Reyner, Jackie Curtis, Andy Warhol, Tom Eyen, Jack Smith, and Penny Arcade. Matching an original approach to historical materials and theoretical reflection, Palladini addresses the peculiar forms of production, reproduction, and consumption developed in the 1960s scene as labors of love, creating for artists a condition of {28}preliminarity Contents 6 Acknowledgments 8 Introduction 14 Interlude I. Paying Homage to the “Underground”: Foreplay and What Came After 36 Chapter 1. There Is No Idleness Like Show-Idleness: On Preliminaries, Amateurism, and Work in the 1960s 48 Chapter 2. A Coney Island of the Mind: Toward a Genealogy of Leisure Performance 86 Interlude II. Longing Lasts Longer: Penny Arcade and the Radical Value of Pleasure 116 Chapter 3. The Bride, the Mother, and the Star: Queer Kinship and Memorability in Jackie Curtis’s and Ellen Stewart’s Life and Legend 136 Chapter 4. Larger Than Life: Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests, and the Distracted Potentiality of Performance 174 Notes 200 Works Cited 230 Index 242 Paying Homage To The Underground: Foreplay And What Came After -- There Is No Idleness Like Show-idleness: On Preliminaries, Amateurism, And Work In The 1960s -- A Coney Island Of The Mind: Toward A Genealogy Of Leisure Performance -- Longing Lasts Longer: Penny Arcade And The Radical Value Of Pleasure -- The Bride, The Mother, And The Star: Queer Kinship And Memorability In Jackie Curtis's And Ellen Stewart's Life And Legend -- Larger Than Life: Andy Warhol's Screen Tests, And The Distracted Potentiality Of Performance. Giulia Palladini. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. In a study that spans the fields of theatre history, performance studies, and cultural studies, Giulia Palladini analyses artistic performances, social performances, archival remains, and memoirs of the underground theatre scene in 1960s New York. She employs foreplay as a theoretical term that refers to a form of labor that both anticipates and postpones theatre production proper.