Impersonation

By casting actors to perform as herself, Bocanegra considers “the nature of presentation itself.” Lili Taylor stars in her Farmhouse/Whorehouse at BAM’s Next Wave Festival this December.

Kassab Bachi, one of the most prolific Arab painters, has never exhibited in the Arts Club of Chicago. Yet three of his drawings were found on the backs of three framed artworks in the club’s storage.

When the curtain rises on writer/performer Linda Hill, the metaphoric veil we call normal awareness goes with it.

“I was in the first Palm Revue with a group of about 30 people, including Candy Darling, Jackie Curtis, Alexis Del Lago—some of the legends produced and directed by Sheyla Baykal. We packed them in. One night Diana Vreeland brought Cecil Beaton and they just barely got in the back door. It was a big show—music, dancing, comedy, tableaux, solo spots.”

Channeling New York’s most notorious divas, Penny Arcade reveals the inspiration and connection she finds from her subjects.