Die-Cast draws from the early work of playwright Bertolt Brecht, whose identity as a Jewish Marxist collided with the violent patriotism of his time. Embedded in his progressive work was a male-centric view of queerness and an often violent misogyny, as epitomized in his play Baal. Other inspirations include the imagery of Otto Dix, whose critique of war led his work to be tossed into the bonfires with other “degenerate” artists. Yet the male gaze of this movement used bodies of naked prepubescent girls as a reoccurring subject. As such, Baal and Dix explores the dichotomy of these artists, finding both the important progressive steps they took as well as their blind spots around gender and masculinity.

 

Baal and Dix will have an episodic romp around the Recovery Lounge at the Upper Jay Arts Center for one night before continuing its development for the 2022 Philly Fringe. 

​

May 21, 8:00 PM

Upper Jay, 12198 Old Rte 9n, Upper Jay, NY 12987, USA

​

​This work is being developed on the unceded lands of the Mahicans and the Mohawks of the Iroquois Confederacy. This land acknowledgment does not exist in a past tense or historical context: colonialism is a current ongoing process.