'Miracles' whipped: Spoken word with a twist
By MICHAEL SMITH World Entertainment Writer, 4/18/2003
Wendi Wilkerson and her friend Karen Lacy wanted to put on a show, something that would explore society's demand for spectacle. Using video, poetry and music, they would creatively juxtapose the values of our modern entertainment-driven society with that of a Victorian-era audience.
But then something important happened. The country went to war with Iraq and there went the 101st Airborne, with Wilkerson's little brother, Billy, in tow.
"(Karen and I) were headed in a different direction with the show at one time, but as it became more apparent that we were going to war, and as the economy has come crashing around us, and as my family has all moved away, the things that were important to us previously became less important to us," Wilkerson said.
"That other material is still important -- and it would have made a good show -- but it wasn't as vital anymore. I haven't heard from my brother since he got over there, and it's kind of scary."
Their show, "Miracles, Accidents and Other Traveling Attractions," which opens Friday night at the Nightingale Theater, is a multimedia performance poetry experience. Lacy is a regionally known performance poet, and Wilkerson directed her one-woman show, "The Remains of a Supernova," last year.
The show is a spoken word experience with a twist. It's formal performance poetry that's intentionally theatrical, with a minimal set and multimedia video projections going on in the background. Among the diverse topics to be discussed are war -- "not really anti-war or pro-war, but just exploring that experience" -- love, art, the human experience and tourism, Wilkerson said.
The troubled national economy naturally influences the pair's subject matter, considering that Wilkerson and Lacy both had full-time jobs eight months ago and now are "going part-time and having to work all sorts of odd jobs just to get by."
"In this we examine how different our lives are now from just two years ago. But the reason why that matters is that it's not just us. It's everybody in Tulsa that's been affected (by the changing economy), about everybody across the country."
Lacy and Wilkerson have broken up their program into three parts: "Songs of Love and War," "Miracles and Accidents" and "Curiosities and Traveling Attractions," which looks at how life experiences served to expand the pair's world views.
"Karen spent time in China as a missionary, and that influenced her craft and the development of her poetic voice," Wilkerson said. "That section is born out of her travels, and there are some of my experiences from the year that I was road manager for the Wailers' reggae band. They're two very different journeys you can take through life."
Miracles, Accidents and other Traveling Attractions
When: 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 8 p.m. April 25-26
Where: Nightingale Theater, 1416 E. Fourth St.
Tickets: $5, senior citizens and students free, may be purchased at the door or reserved by calling 245-2407