Let Me Ascertain You: The Civilians Podcast The Civilians

This is the second episode of Let Me Ascertain You is drawn from “Flops, Failures and Fiascos,” an original cabaret that explored and celebrated disasters of all shades as told by those who have survived the shame, horror and glory of failing big. “Flops, Failures and Fiascos,” was curated by 2015-16 R&D Group directors Sanaz Ghajar and Colette Robert and featured interviews conducted by the Civilians’ Field Research Team. This episode features two original songs and a story about extra special flops that live on as spectacular stories Maria-Christina Oliveras performs “The Only Time,” written by Eric March about an extra bloody production of "Hamlet". Next, we hear Cindy Cheung perform “Lament for a Tuesday (or, Aftermath,” a song written by Sam Chanse and Christopher Larkin that tells the tale of a Tinder date gone spectacularly wrong. Finally, the episode closes with Nic Cory portraying Michael R., a theater critic whose sharp tongued response to a production of "Fiddler on the Roof" garnered him a blow to the head. “Flops, Failures and Fiascos” was performed live at the Metropolitan Room on February 23, 2016. Sanaz Ghajar and Colette Robert directed a cast that featured Ally Bonino, Cindy Cheung, Nic Cory, Cornelius Davidson, Alex Grubbs, Jen Kwok, Nedra McClyde, Maria-Christina Oliveras and Chris Tyler.  The cabaret featured songs written by Adam Cochran, Jo Lampert and Matthew Marsh; Julia Meinwald and Gordon Leary; Eric March; Sam Chanse and Christopher Larkin; and Trevor Bachman. Featured musicians included Trevor Bachman, Alex Grubbs, Cheeyoung Kim, Eric March and Greg Tock.

This episode of Let Me Ascertain You is drawn from Flops, Failures and Fiascos, an original cabaret that explored and celebrated disasters of all shades as told by those who have survived the shame, horror and glory of failing big. Flops, Failures and Fiascos was curated by 2015-16 R&D Group directors Sanaz Ghajar and Colette Robert and featured interviews conducted by the Civilians’ Field Research Team. In this episode we hear two original songs and a pair of intertwined monologues all surrounding epic fails. First, Jen Kwok, Ally Bonino, Cindy Cheung, Nic Cory and Alex Grubbs perform “Go For It,” written by Adam Cochran, Jo Lampert and Matthew Marsh. Next, we hear Ally Bonino sing “Lost and Found,” written by Julia Meinwald and Gordon Leary. This original song draws upon an interview with a woman who flirts with disaster, but makes it by with a little help from her friends. Finally, the episode closes with Maria-Christina Oliveras and Chris Tyler portraying guests at two different, but equally calamitous, wedding celebrations. Flops, Failures and Fiascos was performed live at the Metropolitan Room on February 23, 2016. Sanaz Ghajar and Colette Robert directed a cast that featured Ally Bonino, Cindy Cheung, Nic Cory, Cornelius Davidson, Alex Grubbs, Jen Kwok, Nedra McClyde, Maria-Christina Oliveras and Chris Tyler.  The cabaret featured songs written by Adam Cochran, Jo Lampert and Matthew Marsh; Julia Meinwald and Gordon Leary; Eric March; Sam Chanse and Christopher Larkin; and Trevor Bachman. Featured musicians included Trevor Bachman, Alex Grubbs, Cheeyoung Kim, Eric March and Greg Tock. To hear more of these podcasts, subscribe to Let Me Ascertain You here on Soundcloud, or on iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/let-m…cast/id477971690

This episode of Let Me Ascertain you is the third and final installation of “The Way They Live,” the final performance of the Civilians’ season-long residency at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “The Way They Live” was written by Micharne Cloughley, based on interviews Civilians associates and members of the company’s Field Research Team conducted with curators, artists and visitors in the Met’s American Wing between 2014 and 2015. This episode includes song crafted from interviews about three artworks in the wing. First up, Kyle Beltran performs an original song by Michael Friedman, "John Brown," inspired by Thomas Hovenden’s painting "The Last Moments of John Brown." The song is introduced by Cindy Cheung, playing a museum curator. Next, Grace McLean performs her original song "Obsessed by Madame X," inspired by a filmmaker’s reaction to John Singer Sargent’s "Portrait of Madame X." Finally, Ty Defoe and the company of “The Way They Live” perform Ty's "In All Directions," a song inspired by a Native American dancer and choreographer's reaction to James Earle Fraser’s iconic sculpture "The End of the Trail." “The Way They Live” was performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 15 and 16, 2015. Mia Rovegno directed a cast that included Damian Baldet, Jordan Barbour, Kyle Beltran, Cindy Cheung, Irene Lucio, April Matthis, Grace McLean, Jennifer Morris, Tanis Parenteau, Monica Salazar and Rona Siddiqui. The piece featured songs by Maggie-Kate Coleman and Erato A. Kremmyda, Grace McLean, Lady Rizo and Yair Evnine, Kirsten Childs, Michael Friedman, Rona Siddiqui and Ty Defoe. To hear more of these podcasts, subscribe to Let Me Ascertain You here on Soundcloud, or on iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/let-m…cast/id477971690

This episode of Let Me Ascertain you is the second of three culled from “The Way They Live,” the final performance of the Civilians’ season-long residency at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “The Way They Live” was written by Micharne Cloughley, based on interviews Civilians associates and members of the company’s Field Research Team conducted with curators, artists and visitors in the Met’s American Wing between 2014 and 2015. This episode includes monologues and a song crafted from interviews about three artworks in the wing. First up, Jennifer Morris and Irene Lucio portray two women on the curatorial staff of the American wing, talking about Mary Cassatt's "Portrait of the Artist." Next, Morris--still portraying a Met Museum curator--introduces Winslow Homer's painting "Dressing for Carnival." April Matthis then plays a visitor to the museum who responds to the piece. She sings a song called "Never" by Kirsten Childs. Finally, actor Cindy Cheung plays a museum technician talking about moving pieces of art around the gallery. She discusses Homer's painting "Veteran in a New Field." To hear more of these podcasts, subscribe to Let Me Ascertain You on Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/thecivilians), or on iTunes (itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/let-m…cast/id477971690). “The Way They Lived” was performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 15 and 16, 2015. Mia Rovegno directed a cast that included Damian Baldet, Jordan Barbour, Kyle Beltran, Cindy Cheung, Irene Lucio, April Matthis, Grace McLean, Jennifer Morris, Tanis Parenteau, Monica Salazar and Rona Siddiqui. The piece featured songs by Maggie-Kate Coleman and Erato A. Kremmyda, Grace McLean, Lady Rizo and Yair Evnine, Kirsten Childs, Michael Friedman, Rona Siddiqui and Ty Defoe.

This episode of Let Me Ascertain you is the first of three culled from “The Way They Live,” the final performance of the Civilians’ season-long residency at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “The Way They Live” was written by Micharne Cloughley, based on interviews Civilians associates and members of the company’s Field Research Team conducted with curators, artists and visitors in the Met’s American Wing between 2014 and 2015. This episode includes monologues and songs crafted from interviews about three artworks in the wing. First up, actor Jennifer Morris portrays a curator discussing the Tiffany Magnolia Vase. Then, Cindy Chung performs the song “What He Saw,” by Maggie-Kate Coleman and Erato Kremida, about one visitor’s conflicted reaction to the vase. Next, Irene Lucio portrays the Wing’s new Latin America curator, who discusses special objects in the Wing and introduces composer Rona Siddiqui’s song “To Sleep with the Dogs,” performed by Jordan Barbour and Sarah Farrell. Finally, Jennifer Morris returns as a curator to discuss the 19th century painting “Moving Day,” which depicts the chaos that historically occurred on May 1st, when leases in New York City all expired and the entire city would move at once. This context sets the scene for Lady Rizo and Yair Evnine’s song “Crowded Solo,” performed here by Evnine and Monica Salazar. To hear more of these podcasts, subscribe to Let Me Ascertain You here on Soundcloud, or on iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/let-m…cast/id477971690 “The Way They Lived” was performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 15 and 16, 2015. Mia Rovegno directed a cast that included Damian Baldet, Jordan Barbour, Kyle Beltran, Cindy Cheung, Irene Lucio, April Matthis, Grace McLean, Jennifer Morris, Tanis Parenteau, Monica Salazar and Rona Siddiqui. The piece featured songs by Maggie-Kate Coleman and Erato A. Kremmyda, Grace McLean, Lady Rizo and Yair Evnine, Kirsten Childs, Michael Friedman, Rona Siddiqui and Ty Defoe.

For this episode of Let Me Ascertain You, we bring you back to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, where The Civilians are artists in residence. As part of our research, we were wandering through some of the museum's halls like the Petrie Court, looking at nude sculptures that fill that space, like Jacques Sarazin’s gentle Leda and the Swan and Antonio Canova’s indifferent Paris. Surrounded by such a rich history of the representation of the human form, we questioned how the human body and what we find beautiful have changed through time. In our last podcast, we brought you some of our interviews with Met curators who spoke about these dynamic human representations. For this episode, we've gathered other conversations from the past couple of years that also examine these intertwining themes of beauty, love, and the body. First, Jeanine Serralles brings us to the El Buen Pastor Women’s Prison with Ana Yolanda, a contestant in the prison’s annual beauty pageant. Nedra McClyde performs Pookie, from our investigation into Weddings in America, and Damian Bladet gives us an interview with the founder of NYC’s Hot Nude Yoga. Finally, Alyse Louis closes with a performance of the original song “Pretty Monster,” written by Robin Eaton and Jill Sobule for our new musical “Times Square.” We’ll be closing out our year as artists-in-residence at the Met with one more cabaret in mid-May. Taking its title — “The Way They Live” — from Thomas Anschutz’s painting, the original play with music will explore concepts of America and how American art reflects those ideas. For more information about the Met residency, please visit The Civilians’ website: www.thecivilians.org