Last year I briefly wrote about Los Angeles experimental theater artist Paul Outlaw’s Big Black Cockroach which was part of Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT)’s New Original Works (NOW) Festival 2019. Outlaw has reimagined the work to both intensify its impact and to adhere to the compliance with Los Angeles County Public Health Guidelines by creating a powerful, yet disturbing performance art film-video titled BigBlackOctoberSurprise. The work premiered on Thursday, October 22, 2020 and will run again Wednesday – Saturday, October 28 – 31, 2020 at the REDCAT website.
Born and raised on the Lower East Side of New York City, Outlaw received his training as an actor at the Phillips Exeter Academy and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Currently, he is a Los Angeles-based experimental theater artist and vocalist whose award-winning solo projects have been presented across the United States and in Europe. He was the lyricist and lead vocalist for the Berliner bands Snow Blind Twilight Ferries and Fortified Static; backing vocalist for Mad Romeo; and guest vocalist and lyricist for the dance project General Motor and legendary post-punk constellation Die Haut. Outlaw is the recipient of one of the 2012 COLA (City of Los Angeles) Individual Artist Fellowships.
Paul Octlaw in “BigBlackOctoberSurprise” – Photo courtesy of REDCAT
Working under the title OutlawPlay, Outlaw has created and performed in numerous productions including Here Be Dragons, Berserker, What Did I Do to Be So Black and…, and The Late, Late Show, to name only a few. In addition to numerous performances in Los Angeles, Outlaw has also appeared at national and international festivals. Read his full bio here.
The basic premise for both Outlaw’s versions of this work is that a very conservative white woman suddenly finds herself transformed into a black man imprisoned by her sadistic husband who continually tortures her physical, sexually and psychologically. It is, of course, a metaphor for how black men and women have been treated in this country since they were brought to America in chains on slave ships around 1619.
One of the horrific truths brought to light for all to see during the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent protest following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, is that nothing has profoundly changed. Systemic racism continues and the shackles have not been fully removed from Blacks or any people of color in this country. They have only been transformed into prisons-for-profit, voting suppression, inequality within the justice system and inaccessibility to affordable health care.
Paul Octlaw in “BigBlackOctoberSurprise” – Photo courtesy of REDCAT
The Zoom-like module format of BigBlackOctoberSurprise enhances the feeling of being imprisoned. Watching Outlaw’s character being forced to live in an exceedingly small room without a bed and to be continually mistreated by an invisible second person on my computer’s monitor caused me to become tense, irritated and angry. Truth was suddenly in my face and I felt trapped. This, of course, speaks to the success of Outlaw’s work.
One should watch BigBlackOctoberSurprise as a work of art but as Outlaw noted, the choices that we find before us make this film-video even more poignant and timely.
“Our first stab at this material last summer was a completely different animal from the piece we are creating now in semi-quarantine, intended to be experienced by viewers in the final days before The Election. It is a reminder of what is at stake,” Outlaw explains. “The work on this hybrid production — part live, part recorded — has been a staggering, empowering and even joyous experience for me. I think we are making something hideously beautiful, which I hope will be in some way meaningful for you, too.”
Paul Octlaw in “BigBlackOctoberSurprise” – Photo courtesy of REDCAT
This is not an easy production to watch, but one that I think everyone should see. BigBlackOctoberSurprise was written and performed by Paul Outlaw, and directed by Sara Lyons. The sound design was by Jonathan Snipes, video design by Adam J. Thompson, and produced by OutlawPlay.
For more about Outlaw and his work, click HERE.
BigBlackOctoberSurprise runs Wednesday – Saturday, October 28 – 31, 2020. For more information and tickets, click HERE.
For more information about the NOW Festival 2020, click HERE.
Written by Jeff Slayton for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: BigBlackOctoberSurprise by Paul Outlaw – Screenshot by LADC
