Greg Giovanni returns to the Bride with whimsical Japanese Noh Theater

Executive Director of PhillyGayCalendar


Greg, you have been working in Philadelphia Theater since the late 80s.  How has your approach changed?

 The entire landscape of Philadelphia performance has changed in the last 25 years!  In the 80s I was naive in the very best way… I would make these performances, talk my friends into doing them and charge people five dollars to watch… and these were some huge works with a cast of 10 or 12 people and a full orchestra!  These days I’m more careful in my writing and producing.  We were interested in creating a scene, something to do while you were waiting for the next great punk rock show… I’ve always been proud of my work, I always considered it ‘art’ but it was for a different purpose.  Now I draw the same people to the works, but those folks are a little bit older so the work needs to be a little bit deeper.  (But I hope it is still fun, and a bit of a ‘scene’)  Over the years I have done big visual works, small soloist pieces, plays, cabarets… so the approach keeps changing.  This is the first time my serious non-western work gets shown in Philadelphia, so it’s very exciting and a new experience for my audience and a new audience drawn to this sort of experience. 

Why Noh Theater?

 It took me a little while to understand and fall in love with Noh.  At first it seemed so strange and so foreign but the more I studied and the more I worked with others interested in making it part of the English-language performance lexicon, the more it revealed its power.   It is not a form that can be shown with one or two people, you really need a few well-trained operators to communicate the full power of the form.   A power the transcends it’s Japanese roots.  

How did you come to work with Theater of Yugen?

 I met Jubilith Moore, the current Artistic Director of Theater of Yugen, at the Noh Training Project in 1997.  We have been wanting to work together for years.  Theater of Yugen is a Kyogen based company.  They are 600-year-old sister arts, Noh being based in music and dance, while Kyogen is about dialogue and situation.  Jubilith and I have had this conversation for years— we just had to wait for the timing to be right on both sides.

What makes A Minor Cycle similar to your older stuff and what, besides the Japanese Theater, makes it so different?

 It is remarkably similar to my old stuff — the old “Big Mess” stuff.  Audiences who have followed my work will recognize the language, the melodrama, and just the plain volume of STUFF that big mess was known for.  It differs in the fact that it is family-friendly, unashamedly sentimental and sadder than my early work.

How does it feel to be back at the Painted Bride Art Center?

I love being at the Bride.  I have called it home for 25 years!  It has been a wonderful relationship, I seen many great Philly artists move through the Bride and have been given the opportunity to present new artists there so it is only fitting that they present this new development in my work.

Do you have other upcoming projects?

I am working to bring my major Noh works to Philadelphia.  “Pine Barrens” has toured the southern US and is part of the curriculum at certain universities, but has never been seen in my hometown!

What are you doing that specifically speaks to Philadelphia‘s LGBTQ community?

 It’s funny:  my early works were a lot more ‘gay’ but my community has responded so warmly to my recent work.  I think being an out-and-proud artist is what people really respond to.  No one really talks about it, but Noh came into existence because of a teen-age love affair between two men.  Male beauty was appreciated in medieval Japan in a way that is
We heard you recently adopted a dog.  How’s that going?

 It is wonderful!  Catrina is an older ‘rescue’ dog who has lived a hard life so we spend a lot of time just sitting next to each other and relaxing. She’s a little scared of people but a total sweetie once she warms up to you.   I try and take her everywhere I go, so you’ll get to meet her.  

 Tickets to A Minor Cycle are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Bride Members, students, and seniors save 25% on tickets. Tickets can be purchased at paintedbride.org, over the phone, Tuesday – Saturday, 12pm – 6pm at 215-925-9914 or in person at the Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19106.

Photo: Paul Kopicki

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