Archive: Arts & Entertainment

The Kitchen Theatre Company’s KITCHEN COUNTER CULTURE series, featuring extraordinary solo performances by guest artists from around the country, continues in November with the return of writer/performer Darian Dauchan. Dauchan will be at the Kitchen Theatre for an extended run of his solo piece, Entertainer’s Eulogy. Performances are Wednesday, November 4 through Sunday, November 8.

Spanning nearly a century, Entertainer’s Eulogy chronicles the rise and fall of three African-American entertainers in three different eras: a minstrel performer in 1918, a soul singer in 1976, and a boxer in 1989. A multi-media performance complete with film clips by Los Angeles filmmaker Desha Dauchan, Entertainer’s Eulogy is a cautionary tale about African American identity and the price of fame. In the light of Michael Jackson’s recent passing, it is clearly a timely story.  

“We are so excited to have Darian Dauchan back at the Kitchen this season,” says Associate Producing Director Lesley Greene. Darian is a truly extraordinary artist-he is immensely gifted as an actor, playwright and spoken word poet. Entertainer’s Eulogy is visually stunning, theatrically gripping and exactly the kind of thought-provoking work we like to offer on the Counter Culture Series.”

Originally from San Francisco, Dauchan found his way to New York and graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He has appeared on Broadway (Twentieth Century starring Alec Baldwin and Anne Heche) and Off Broadway theatre (Jean Cocteau Rep., Classical Theatre of Harlem). TV credits include “Law and Order” and Nickelodeon's “Bet the House”. His first solo piece, Fallen Patriots, which chronicles the lives of three African American soldiers during three of America's wars, received limited engagements at the Access Theatre, New York International Fringe Festival, and the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. Entertainers Eulogy had workshops and readings with the Roundabout Theatre Company, Classical Theatre of Harlem, and Lark Play Development Center, and was performed this summer at The Playhouse on the Square in Memphis, TN.

Dauchan has also embraced the art of Spoken Word and has won slams at all three major poetry venues in New York. He was crowned the 2007 Grand Slam Champion for the Bowery Poetry Club's Urbana Slam Team and was a 2008 Nuyorican Grand Slam Finalist. His popular Obama poem written during the historic 2008 election has received over 60,000 views on YouTube and counting. Dauchan spearheads the Spoken Word Almanac Project, a poetry collective committed to writing poems on current world events, and was commissioned to develop a spoken word show for Lincoln Center's Meet the Artist Series. Most recently, he received an artist in residency at the Dance Theatre Workshop as apart of the 2009-10 Studio Artist Series, as well as forming the newly minted band, The Mighty Third Rail with musicians Ian Baggette and Curtis Stewart, a combination of spoken word, beatboxing, violin, and stand up bass.

Dauchan describes his work this way: “I am drawn to projects that are cutting edge, challenge the audience and trigger constructive discourse. Art with a purpose, that pushes the boundaries of theatre.” The Kitchen Theatre is thrilled to bring this ground-breaking artist to Ithaca for five exciting performances.

Kitchen Theatre Company’s KITCHEN COUNTER CULTURE series brings Central New York the cutting-edge, outside-the-box, bold, uncensored work of writer/performers who are fearless in their convictions and daring in their presentations. The series celebrates new voices and diverse approaches to the act of performance with artists who are breaking rules and breaking new ground. Coming up next in the series is the world premiere of acclaimed actress Lee Chamberlin’s Objects in the Mirror (are closer than they seem) in February. It concludes in April with legendary performance artist Tim Miller’s Lay of the Land. The series is funded by New York State Council on the Arts and sponsored by Foster Custom Kitchens, with hospitality sponsor Hilton Garden Inn.

Performance Dates:
Wed., November 4, 2009 at 7:30pm
Thurs., November 5, 2009 at 7:30pm
Fri., November 6, 2009 at 8:00pm
Sat., November 7, 2009 at 8:00pm
Sun., November 8, 2009 at 4:00pm (closing)

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