Taylor Mac

Cast Requirements

Although you should feel free to add or subtract the cast numbers with your own inventiveness, the original production of Red Tide Blooming was performed with a cast of 12. They were pulled from a community of "outsider" artists working in New York City. I used burlesque performers, performance artists, a transsexual, a couple of drag queens, radical fairies, a self-proclaimed slut, naked bodies of all shapes and sizes, four generations, all different kinds of sexual persuasions, and even a former Playhouse of the Ridiculous and Andy Warhol superstar (Ruby Lynn Reyner). The intent was to have this musical about the divine freaks having disappeared, performed by an entire cast of performers who have chosen to be divine freaks. Because the end of the story has the performers stepping away from their characters and becoming themselves, creating the cast out of a group of people who have chosen, in their daily lives, to fight homogeneity, helped emphasize the over-arching point of the tale: if the world is bland and boring and you want it to be interesting then you have to be interesting. The cast I chose are artists who embrace variance. They are brave, no-holds-bar, attempt-anything-you-ask-of-them, artists. If you are lucky enough to have these types of performers in your world -- use them.

Set Description

The original production of Red Tide Blooming was set in an phantasmagorical underwater world. We used the homemade arts and crafts aesthetic of the Coney Island Mermaid Parade to have (beautifully painted) cardboard fish hanging from the grid, octopuses made out of hair-nets and sparkles dangling over the action, and giant freak-show and aquatic cartooned banners formed the backdrops. I was lucky enough to have one of the most inventive minds in the business, Derrick Little, create the entire set -- if you are not lucky enough to have your own Derrick Little, find out how to hire him and do so. Rather than changing the scenery for each location, I took a page from the Greeks, concentrated on a general atmosphere, and allowed the dialogue to let us know where we were at any given time. Having said all that, make it your own.

About Location

Red Tide Blooming was inspired by the revitalization of the Coney Island and the antics of the Coney Island Mermaid Parade (an annual event where hundreds of subversive folk dress up like sea creatures and act the fool). If you've never been to the parade, it is a unique New York experience and I highly recommend it (before it gets turned into a commercial). My goal in creating Red Tide Blooming was to directly address the community of people I live and work with. I'm a grassroots activist and believe the best way to effect change in the world is to effect change in your neighbor. Having writ all this, it does not mean Red Tide cannot be played in other places. The play may be about the suburbanization of New York and that may seem like a topic that is unsuited for people living in Salina Kansas but the sad thing about globalization is, it is a global problem. The eradication of variance is something we are all dealing with. If you have chain stores and Khaki paints where you live, then your audience will understand this musical.

Honors

Ethyl Eichelberger Award

Press

“Quite entertaining.”
—New York Times

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Production and Development History

Commissioned and premiered: Performance Space 122 as part of their first-ever Ethyl Eichelberger Award.