buttercream & scotch - an interview with paige collette & tatiana pavela

I last saw Paige Collette in a brilliant performance set to Toto's "Africa" at the show #1 Female. This November she will be performing alongside Tatiana Pavela with a new work entitled Buttercream & Scotch.

JB: Dear Paige, your shows are always wildly fun and unpredictable. Give us a little hint about what to expect from Buttercream & Scotch?

PC: The show is definitely fun and funny. We play with words a lot. And food. There's a lot of elaborate drunk-dialing. Sponge-cake soaked with estrogen. It's kinda like an avant-garde "Sex in the City."
















JB: I can only imagine what you'll do with a character named Aunt Gigi. Describe her a bit.

PC: Oh Gigi. I love her. She drinks a lot. She's broken hearted. She's a 46 year-old divorcee who's got a real mouth on her. She's very opinionated.  -yep, that's Gigi.

JB: Dear Tatiana, How did this show come together? What was the inspiration for it?

TP: One beautiful little bible: The Rules. This horrible, offensive dating guidebook from the 90's was passed onto me by Olga, an amazing Russian women whose appetite for life is stunted by her unhappy marriage. She passed on the book in hopes that I would find "The Man of My Dreams". I couldn't read the book without scoffing, so I created Mary Anne, a housewife looking for a home, to give the book its due. From there, creating Aunt Gigi seemed like a natural foil. Also, I would by lying if I said our own dating lives didn't play a huge part.

JB: What was the collaboration like?

TP: Interesting. And stressful and fun. This is my first time performing my own work, and Paige's first time collaborating with me, so we each had some things to go through. Certain things came really easy and were a breeze, while others gave me headaches. But we always know when we should just stop for the day and have a drink to solve things. There were a lot of drinks.

PC: We started playing around over a year ago. We decided we wanted to make a show together. I was getting out of a long relationship and diving into a new one, and that's what inspired a lot of my writing. Every few months, we would perform little "Buttercream" episodes around the city. Tatiana wanted to create her character with a more 1950s mindset, and I wanted to create my character with a more 1970s mindset. And this summer, I was living in Minneapolis, so Tatiana would email me her writing, and we'd try to piece things together bit by bit. But now I've been back in New York for about six weeks, and I gotta tell ya, it's a helluva lot easier to work together being in the same time zone!

JB: I love the photos (taken by George McConnell). Who designed your dress and apron?

TP: Thanks! I got the dress at a now closed vintage store on 2nd Ave: Love Saves the Day. It's been through a lot of love and repair. Apron is from Anthropologie - I'm sure any lady in NYC who is remotely interested in cooking or 50's kitsch has an apron from them.

















JB: Did you have any style icons for this project?

TP: Mary Anne is pretty wrapped up in the heavy handed domesticity of the 1950's, so that's obviously there. While I can't point to anyone in particular, living in a run down NYC apartment plays a part. Hanging my great aunt's jewelry from a nail in my cracked walls, or putting on red lipstick in the bathroom with major water damage and rusted mirrors - that's Mary Anne. An absolute lady stuck in a run down apartment.

Aunt Gigi doesn't have a style icon. She will become a style icon! But the caftans from Paige's great-grandmother helped.

JB: I really enjoyed #1 Female. Besides you two and Erin Markey--who was particularly memorable in that show--who are some other performers and what performance spaces in the city do you recommend we seek out?

TP: Oh lord... Theatre of a Two-Headed Calf of course! They are doing Trifles at the Ontological early next year - make sure to check that out. Also, I'm sure this doesn't need any press push from me - but The New Electric Ballroom (currently at St. Ann's Warehouse). What Enda Walsh can do with language is like no other. I repeat, no other. Another up and coming playwright who I adore is B. Walker Sampson - his plays are very intelligent and very funny.

PC: And he's Tatiana's boyfriend! Love and art, love and art, it all goes together, baby. And it's true, he is totally talented and awesome. Other artists, I would say Lucy Alibar who was also a part of #1 Female, which I am so glad you enjoyed! Also, Half Straddle, a performance group featuring Tina Satter, Jess Barbagallo, and Chris Giarmo (Erin Markey works with them sometimes too). I love the performance group Radiohole. I love the work of playwright/director Young Jean Lee.

Lady Scoutington is a great burlesque-er and MC. Murray Hill, of course. Abby Browde, Mieke Duffly & Nikki Calonga, Julia May Jonas (aka Nellie Tinder), Julie Atlas Muz, Jennie Liu, Faye Driscoll. Witness Relocation is full of amazing performers -- Laura Berlin Stinger, Abby Browde, Sean Donovan, Orion Taraban, Mike Mikos, Heather Christian. And I love Heather Christian's music.

I also love Joseph Keckler. And Lisa Clair! And I love Amy Gironda. She's working on a new musical called "Camp Wanatachi" about girls who fall in love at a Christian summer camp. And Rachel Shukert is great too. And our choreographer Christine Elmo! Also, Samantha Johns and Savannah Reich are amazing theater-makers living in Minneapolis, but if you ever have a chance to see their work, you definitely should.

Also, special shout out to Lily Tomlin & Reno who will be doing a benefit at Dixon Place on November 23rd. Details here.

Royal Lace Paper Works (Chantal Pavageaux and Jake Margolin of the TEAM) have a residency with Mabou Mines, and they're working on a new piece called "The RV Party." I'm really excited about that. Chantal dresses up as a bumble bee!

As far as spaces I love... Dixon Place of course. The Ohio. The Collapsable Hole. Death By Audio is great for experimental music. Monkey Town. I miss spaces that have closed down, like the old Galapagos and old loft spaces where my friends used to host performances. I've never performed at HERE, but I'd like to someday. And I haven't been to the new Collective Unconscious space, but they used to put up great stuff. PS 122, The Kitchen. Ars Nova does some great stuff. Starr Space, the Bushwick Starr, the CATCH Series. New York is just magic, man. There's just so much here.

JB: How many stars for your day so far and why?

TP: As many in the sky! That's a lie, but now that I've been thinking about our project a little more, it's definitely added some sparkle to today. Thanks, Jeffery!

PC: 3 stars. It's Monday, and I'm working my day job. But now I'm drinking some peppermint tea. And last week I ordered a pair of blue Aldo flats on sale, and they just arrived in the mail today. I just have a good feeling about the rest of this week! XOXOX

--

BUTTERCREAM & SCOTCH

Shows are on Friday, November 20 at 10 PM & Saturday, November 21 at 10 PM

Dixon Place - 161 A Chrystie Street (b/t Rivington & Delancey)

Tickets are $15 ($12 for students & seniors)

For tickets visit www.dixonplace.org
or call 212 219 0736

Become a fan on facebook

#1 female

Paige Collette and I used to work together at the beloved Oscar Wilde Bookshop. She is an amazing and creative talent and I miss working with her.

On Friday, May 8th, she and three other female writer/performers, Erin Markey, Lucy Alibar, & Erin Search-Wells, will debut #1 Female.

I asked Paige a few questions about her and the upcoming show.

JB: Without giving too much away, please tell us what to expect from #1 Female?

PC: Erin Markey is sharing some amazing pieces including part of her longer show "Puppy Love: A Stripper's Tail" about falling for a girl she worked with at a strip club. Lucy Alibar is doing a mini-musical extravaganza about baking and self-esteem that is hilarious. Erin Search-Wells is coming in from Minneapolis to perform. And I'm going to share a few new characters and some burlesque. I can assure you, it will be fierce. Also there's a 'zine called #1 FEMALE that we're making to distribute and that's really exciting to me! There'll be some wigs, some white wine, some cupcakes, and some hardcore girlie energy.

JB: How did the process of creating the show work?

PC: Well, Alison Fleminger at the Performance Project got in touch with me through my friend Abby Browde, and she offered me the opportunity to perform and curate an evening at University Settlement. And I thought "Who do I want to gather together to perform?" And I know so many amazing female performers -- so I was walking away from my meeting with Alison, and I just got on my cellphone and started calling these female performers that I love. And my friends Kate and Martha had this idea for a 'zine called #1 FEMALE, and I thought, "Ooh, that's a great title. We're gonna use that."

JB: What is your own process of creating like?

PC: I try to write everyday -- although of course sometimes I fall off the wagon and don't write for awhile, but I really try to do it everyday! Cause a lot of it's just white noise in my brain that I have to get out ("had amazing sex last night, have to pay my insurance, I'm hungry" yada yada), but then I'll start to hit on something good -- a good stream of writing for a character. Or sometimes I'll just have good one-liners here and there amidst all my white noise thoughts, so I'll go back and circle the good stuff, and then type all the good stuff together and cut-n-paste and rearrange and figure out how stuff fits together.


JB: At this very moment, who is your #1 Female?

PC: Oh man. There are a lot! My roommate Amy Gironda's really awesome. She's gonna be a part of my #1 FEMALE piece. She's a performer, and she has a style blog -- outfitsoutfits.com. She listens to me, and we really girl-out together. Of course my mom rocks. And I really love Britney Spears -- she's irresistible to me. I'm reading a book by A.M. Homes right now, so I'm really excited about her. My friend Tali Wertheimer's a #1. And my friend and collaborator Tatiana Pavela.

I really like the work of this choreographer Faye Driscoll -- she's a #1. Tina Turner. Tina Fey. Annie Sprinkle. Gloria Steinem. Susie Bright. Seriously, I could go on all day with this stuff -- it's dangerous. I love Jenna Jameson too. And of course Michelle Obama. And I love Helen Mirren in The Queen -- so good. And all the girls involved in #1 FEMALE, they're all #1s.

I saw your post about Tonya Harding the other day -- I don't know if I'd call her a #1, but she's incredibly compelling. Everyone's so annoyed with Rachel Ray, but she's a #1 in my book. I don't watch her show or cook her food, but I watched her E-True Hollywood story on the treadmill once and got into it. My friend Sarah Moore's a #1 -- she's graduating from law school this month. Ok, I have to stop this now. Oh, but Sasha Grey. She's a #1. Okay, done. Wait, one more -- Susan Boyle. Okay, now I'm done.

JB: Who was your very first #1 female fascination and what did you find compelling about her?

PC: My first female fascination was multi-fold -- all the women on my mom's soap opera "Days of Our Lives." So we had Kayla, Jennifer, Hope, Marlena, Kimberly (played by Patsy Pease, amazing). I think I loved how much these women were feeling -- the depths of their emotion. Everything they were feeling was so important. And music played behind them wherever they went. And they got to hang out in beds with men. And at hospitals. Their lives seemed really exciting. My mom would breastfeed me while she watched "Days of Our Lives," and then we just kept watching it. I'd say the peak of my fascination with those women hit from the time I was 5 years old til the time I was 8 and then looped back again when I was 11.


JB: Are there any female actors in particular who have inspired you?

PC: I loved Gilda Radner when I was in middle school. She was hugely inspiring -- and Jane Curtain too and Madeline Kahn. I love Samantha Morton. There's an awesome actress in the live theater scene in Dallas where I grew up named Tina Parker, and she absolutely rocks -- very inspiring. Susan Sarandon. And I'm fascinated by porn stars and pop stars and R&B and hip hop stars -- they inspire me. And Karen Finley.

JB: What about writers?

PC: Well, I loved When Harry Met Sally when I was in middle school, and that was written by Nora Ephron. I don't know when I realized that was written by a woman, but that was exciting. And I mean, Tina Fey is a genius. My friend Jess Barbagallo is a playwright, and she's great. And Paula Vogel is an amazing playwright too. As far as book authors -- Mary Gaitskill, Joan Didion, Lorrie Moore, Haruki Murakami (a boy!), this playwright Gary Owen (another boy!). Oh and Anais Nin -- huge. Camille Paglia. The writers at Bust. Michelle Tea, Ali Liebgott. I would say that Henry Miller was really inspiring to me too. Rita Mae Brown. Young Jean Lee. I could go on for a long time here.

JB: What books have you been reading?

PC: I'm reading This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M. Homes. I found a copy of it on the sidewalk just outside my house. I was sorta like, "Uh oh, I guess this is a sign that my life is in danger?!" But I've really been enjoying the book -- it's great. I just read an old self-help book called Smart Actors, Foolish Choices that my therapist found in some book donation shelf in her building -- some of the advice is actually really good. And I'm reading A Feast of Snakes by Harry Crews.


JB: Music-listening?

PC: Well my computer crashed a couple months ago, and that's usually how I listen to music. But I like Britney's new songs. I guess the guy from LCD Soundsystem really works on her stuff. "If U Seek Amy" and "Circus" and there's this really funny song called "Blur" -- one of the lyrics in the refrain is "Let me get my hair dried" -- oh damn! I just googled the lyrcis and found out the lyrics are "just let me get my head right" -- damn, I was imagining Britney getting out of the shower and like, "Who is this stranger in my bed? I just need to dry my hair and get the fuck out of here." Oh well, it's still a juicy song for me.

And let's see, "Diva" by Beyonce. Radiohead always. Toto's "Africa" cause I used that in a burlesque piece recently -- might use it at #1 FEMALE. Sleater-Kinney's "The Woods" -- Led Zeppelin always. Rolling Stones always. Fleetwood Mac. I heard this mix of that song "I'm Good, I'm Gone" by Lykke Li that I liked. And I just got down with some of My Morning Jacket. "Saint Dymphna" by Gang Gang Dance. Beck's Mutations and Beck's Information. Goldfrapp. Mum. The Knife. Justin Timberlake on the treadmill. Ok, I'll stop now!

JB: What was your first music single purchase? Was it 12 inch, 45, cassette, or CD?

PC: I bought a cassette tape -- Paula Abdul's "Opposites Attract" but really I listened to a lot of Madonna on the radio as a kid. And church songs. And in middle school it was all Beatles, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Carole King, and the Hair soundtrack. With a little bit of Nirvana and Alanis Morissette tossed in there too.

JB: Describe your style.

PC: Casual. I wear jeans and a hoodie like everyday. I have a few shirts that I love, and I just wear the same thing all the time. I grew up wearing a uniform everday to school, so that's in my blood. And if I dress up, I go pretty retro-glam. A dress and heels (Aerosoles are amazing). But overall I guess I'd say casual sexy -- I like shirts and jeans that hug my figure. And it's hard for me to do anything between casual or dressy -- I feel like it's all or nothing with me. I love lingerie. And I love stuff that friends are getting rid of that I then get for free! I went to a clothing swap the other day, and I got some CUTIE open-toe pastel plaid wedges. Very retro-looking. CUTE! And I grew up in Texas, so I usually wear at least a little bit of make-up almost everyday. Waz up, Naomi Wolf!

JB: What challenges do you face now as a performer/writer living in the city?

PC: Oh god, money! Can a bitch get paid? Yeah, money is tough. Carrying a ton of costumes and wigs and props like rotary telephones and cherry pies around -- that's difficult in a city like New York cause girl ain't got no car! And you know, it's hard to get people out to shows. People are reluctant to go to the theater. A lot of people have seen work that sucked, and now they're just turned off. But people come to my shows, and they have such a good time! Cause really there's so much good work out there to see -- you just gotta go get it. I just feel like a lotta people are holed up with their Netflix and their youtube and their cable, and they just follow reality shows -- which I can totally get down with, but c'mon people, ya still gotta go to the theater! This is New York! You can watch cable and Netflix and youtube in Ohio, so take advantage of what you have in New York! And now that the weather's gorgeous, I'm hoping to see more people out and about.

JB: From one star to four stars, how many stars do you give your day?

PC: Well let's see -- I woke up, wrote, drank some green tea, made my bed, spent an hour at the gym, and took a walk along the park. (Ha! That sounds like a really productive day, and I am not always that productive! I sound like I live in LA!) Ok then I had a couple good phone conversations -- one with my friend Jess Barbagallo (that amazing playwright) and the other with my dear friend Erin Search-Wells (also one of my #1 FEMALE performers). And later I'm gonna see a play at HERE Arts Space, and then my plan is to go out and get laid! And answering these interview questions was pretty fuckin' fun -- so ya know what, I'm gonna give my day a 3 outta 4! Thanks for interviewing me, Jeffery!

For #1 Female tickets, email project.audience@gmail.com or call 212-453-4532
$15
$10 for students or seniors
Friday, May 8, 2009
Time: 8:00pm - 9:30pm
Location: University Settlement
Street: 184 Eldridge Street
City/Town: New York, NY