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For five Sundays in March and April at 45 Bleecker Theater in the East Village, Bill Talen, aka Reverend Billy, preached the gospel against the corporate take over of New York City. By sermonizing against community centers turned multi-million dollar apartment buildings (Charras Center and Lower East Side properties); loss of free public park space for fee-based recreational centers (Hudson River development projects); and the proposed demolition of the Edgar Allen Poe house for an NYU law building, Reverend Billy provoked New Yorkers to get political and protect their communities. Indeed, Reverend Billy's infectious sermons have a way of making even the black clad, downtown urbanites of New York City seem like long-time, Southern Baptist churchgoers. With their credit cards waving in the air, the congregation at the Church of Stop Shopping finds spiritual renewal from the Reverend's laying on of hands, exonerating them from their mindless consumerism. Meanwhile, Mickey and Minnie mouse cheerfully stare back at the repenting congregation from their crucifixes hanging above the pulpit. This image may seem a bit silly, and it is, but that is exactly what makes Reverend Billy's performance so affective. He skillfully blends the tactics of Jimmy Swaggart style tele-evangelism with silly comedy and poignant activist rhetoric, making the audience not only laugh, but also believe. True, Reverend Billy may be preaching to the converted in the theater, but his record of on-site performances at the Disney store in Times Square and Starbucks in Astor Place (pick any of the three on that block), prove that he is most concerned with preaching to the non-converted, in true missionary fashion. This confluence between performance and activism has made Bill Talen become a highly noticed artist who is also successful in his political aims. Last year Mr. Talen received the 2000 Obie award for "Reviving Activism," reminding the public that live political performance (ala Brecht and Lenny Bruce) is still a powerful tool even in the age of mass consumer entertainment and corporate power. For example, last fall Reverend Billy rallied supporters to stage a public reading of Edgar Allen Poe's poem, "The Raven," in front of the author's house, causing such a publicity stir that the NYU board of directors decided to negotiate with the activists who were protesting against the University's plans to demolish the house. Due to the activists' work, NYU conceded to partially preserve the house in remembrance of Edgar Allen Poe, certainly one of the greatest American writers, thus salvaging a cultural landmark. Another success has been the coalition of community support Reverend Billy helped garner to fight the city government's selling of the Charras Community center in the East Village to a developer intending to turn the building into multi-million dollar apartments. Thus far the community has stalled the developer's plans through legal battles. Reverend Billy's work demonstrates that political performance can be more than conscientious entertainment but can create real world differences. For further information about Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping visit the following websites. Also, to engage in an online discussion about performance activism, go to the web board. |
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Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping
N9
The Digital Venue for Music and Art
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