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DIVAfest

article by Lisa Hom in SF Weekly (Night & Day May 15, 2002)
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Divine Divas
An Exit Theatre festival pays tribute to the classic prima donnas of song
BY LISA HOM

VH1 has made a mockery of the word
"diva." To be fair, its Divas Live program
has featured legitimate prima donnas like
Aretha, Diana, and Cher, but it has also
included lightweights such as Nelly Furtado,
the Dixie Chicks, and Shakira. Part of the
problem could be the term's nebulous
definition: It first appeared in Vincenzo
Bellini's 1831 opera Norma in reference to
a famous female singer; since then, it has
evolved to include Cher's description of
"singing bitches that you can't get along
with." Some may think that any youthful
chanteuse with tight abs and a boob job
who thinks she can carry a tune is entitled to
said status, but that's not so. Ideally a diva
should have larger-than-life presence,
longevity, and single-name international
recognition. (Madonna, Barbra, and Liza
are examples.) Regardless of your stance on
the ongoing controversy over the meaning of
the term, DIVAfest -- a two-week
celebration of plays, solos, cabarets, and
artwork -- should do much to clear up the
confusion.

DIVAfest pays tribute to, among other
women, historic prima donnas. One was
dadaist Baroness Elsa von
Freytag-Loringhoven, highlighted in
playwright Kerry Reid's The Last of the
Red-Hot Dadas. The event also features
classic feminist works, like Clare Boothe
Luce's farce The Women, presented in a
staged reading starring the collected
performers of the festival plus surprise
guests. Original works include Madam
Noir's Fandango, a western and sci-fi vaudeville show performed by the
Carnival of Chaos, a band of loony mischief-makers who combine song,
dance, circus arts, and comedy.

Sean Owens is a diva, although he circumvents the standard requirement of
having been born female. His one-man musical revue, Girlesque, showcases
the powerful female influences who have shaped his life. Donning a different
wig and breaking into a new song for each of his finely crafted heroines, he
embodies them to the hilt, whether he's playing a 9-foot nun, his loving
mother, his sassy Aunt Fanny, or the inimitable Carol Channing.

Like a classic diva, performance artist and classically trained vocalist Amy X
Neuburg has fashioned a career out of breaking the rules. Frequently
compared to Laurie Anderson and Frank Zappa, Neuburg studied with such
avant-garde luminaries as Pauline Oliveros and David Rosenboom before
fronting her most recognized band, Amy X Neuburg & Men. Backed by a
formidable posse of male virtuosos, Neuburg blends electronic cabaret and
art rock played on high-tech instruments like drum pads, MIDI mallet, and a
Chapman Stick (a distant cousin to the guitar). Neuburg's outlandish antics
and avant-garde predilections sometimes get more ink than her operatic
voice, but at the DIVAfest, she sings Songs About Life & Death & Love &
Insects sans Men, so she should get all the attention -- as befits a proper
diva.

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