What’s that they say about beginner’s luck? Rubber Repertory applies for its first-ever grant and manages to score $15,000 from the Multi-Arts Production Fund, a New York-based program established by the Rockefeller Foundation in 1988 to aid artists “who are exploring the dynamics of live performance within our changing society … especially to support work that brings insight to the issue of cultural difference, be that in class, gender, generation, ethnicity, or tradition.” Where Rubber Rep is concerned, the grant will support the development of The Filter, a new work created in collaboration with playwright Rebecca Beegle (Don’t Drown, Have You Ever Been Assassinated?). In it, two performers in period dress barter “desirable experiences” to audience members willing to give up watching the rest of the show. Their aim is “filtering out morally objectionable audience members by their acceptance of certain offers.” Consequently, the show will be different every night, depending on the responses of the people in the house. The Rubber Repsters promise that “some will win, and some will lose, but few will last to see The Filter carried out to its raw but necessary conclusion.” Intriguing enough to fund, don’t ya think? For more information, visit www.rubberrep.org.
This article appears in Richard Suttle.