Performer Charges Censorship

"Dancing Deviant," a multi-media performance containing nudity and sexually explicit material, was denied funding from the Harvard Council on the Arts for Arts First Weekend.

Council members said they felt the performance, which explores sexuality, was inappropriate for the venue's wide audience.

A form letter sent by the Office for the Arts (OFA) to the producer of the performance, Dana C. Gotlieb '97, said, "the Council selected the projects which most clearly and closely fit our guidelines."

The guidelines listed for sponsorship were artistic innovation and a wide appeal among the student body. Programs initiated by organizations less than three years old were favored.

"We hope that, nonetheless, you will somehow be able to bring your good ideas to fruition," the letter concludes.

In a hand-written post-script, Myra A. Mayman, the director of the OFA, wrote, "The Council gave your application full and lengthy consideration but decided not to fund it."

"Given the broad range of audience and ages that Arts First attracts, and the casual nature of attendance," she added, "the Council thinks that Arts First isn't an appropriate forum for the play."

Despite the lack of funding, the show opened to a nearly full house last Friday in the Adams Kronauer Space.

It received alternate funding from the Undergraduate Council, the Adams House Drama Society and Open Gate, a wing of the Harvard Gay and Lesbian Alumni Association.

Mark R. Talusan '97, the writer and sole performer of the show, said he believes OFA tried to place restrictions on the type of material presented in Arts First.

"It's not representative of all student arts anymore. It's a packaged event," he said. "It smacks of censorship."

Talusan, who is still listed as a member of the Arts First planning board, added that the OFA never proposed a compromise on the issue, such as asking him to include warnings about the show's explicit content on his posters.

The Arts First brochure has a symbol denoting performances suitable for children.

According to Mayman, the OFA did not censor the performance by deciding not to fund it. She said Talusan could have been included in the Arts First brochure and used the logo on his posters.

"Anybody who wants to be listed in the pamphlet can be," she said, adding that Talusan should not have assumed that his performance was banned from Arts First.

But Talusan said that is exactly what he assumed because none of the information the OFA sent to artists expressed that non-funded projects could be included in the brochure.

As a result, the publicity material for "Dancing Deviant" has the slogan, "Banned from Harvard-Radcliffe's Arts First celebration."

"What do you do when you get a letter from the head of the OFA that contains a hand-written note saying that they don't believe that the show is appropriate for Arts First," Talusan asked. "They expect us to believe that the show is welcome in Arts First despite the letter."

He added that he and his production staff had to "scramble for money" after receiving the letter from the OFA, and did not know whether or not they would be able to produce the show until mid-April.

He said he did not request to be listed in the brochure at that time because he assumed it had already gone to press.

According to Mayman, the deadline for the brochure was the middle of February. The letter informing Gotlieb that the show had not received funding was dated February 26.

Jessica Hammer '99, who produced a play that did receive Arts First funding, also said that the OFA failed to announce the calendar deadline or that any project could be included in the brochure.

"It doesn't say anywhere that you can be in the brochure if you're not receiving money. I'm sure it's possible but it doesn't say that," she said, adding that her play, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," was automatically included in the brochure once it received funding.

Pushing the Limits of Comfort

Talusan admitted that his performance, which includes a self-penetration scene with a vibrator, "is very arresting."

"A lot of people who see it run out of the theater," he said, adding that the audience's shock is "understandable."

Talusan, who has trained in ballet and modern dance for seven years and studied dramatic theory, acting, directing, playwriting and fiction, also acts and dances in the show.

Black-and-white slides of his nude body, and color photographs of him in drag, are shown in the background.

"It advances that gender and sexuality are fluid and shouldn't be tied to heterosexual models," Talusan said.

According to Matt R. Saunders '97, who ran the sound for three of the performances, Talusan is "brave" to expose himself the way he does in the show.

"He's putting himself out there much more than I've ever seen anyone do at Harvard before," Saunders said. "It'll be really easy for people to dismiss the piece as being offensive and in-your-face."

Saunders, who said that he has heard rumors of the show being called "a back-flip on top of a dildo," added that it provokes "interesting and powerful conversations."

Arthur L. Loeb, senior lecturer in visual and environmental studies and a member of the Harvard Council on the Arts, said he thinks the decision not to fund the performance was correct.

"Don't forget that we also have to deal with public statutes. We're doing it in public space," he said. "There are certain restrictions in Cambridge about what you can and cannot do in public."

But Jeffrey A. Masten, Cowles associate professor in the humanities, said he was surprised that Arts First did not fund a pioneering program such as Talusan's.

"Monitoring the content of art--especially the content of art that takes up questions of sexuality--is a dangerous business," said Masten, who advised Talusan on his senior thesis.

"I wish Arts First had chosen to fund this event--I hope that Arts First will continue the great work it does by promoting the widest variety of arts events....Art that makes people nervous should be high on the funding list," Masten said

Despite the lack of funding, the show opened to a nearly full house last Friday in the Adams Kronauer Space.

It received alternate funding from the Undergraduate Council, the Adams House Drama Society and Open Gate, a wing of the Harvard Gay and Lesbian Alumni Association.

Mark R. Talusan '97, the writer and sole performer of the show, said he believes OFA tried to place restrictions on the type of material presented in Arts First.

"It's not representative of all student arts anymore. It's a packaged event," he said. "It smacks of censorship."

Talusan, who is still listed as a member of the Arts First planning board, added that the OFA never proposed a compromise on the issue, such as asking him to include warnings about the show's explicit content on his posters.

The Arts First brochure has a symbol denoting performances suitable for children.

According to Mayman, the OFA did not censor the performance by deciding not to fund it. She said Talusan could have been included in the Arts First brochure and used the logo on his posters.

"Anybody who wants to be listed in the pamphlet can be," she said, adding that Talusan should not have assumed that his performance was banned from Arts First.

But Talusan said that is exactly what he assumed because none of the information the OFA sent to artists expressed that non-funded projects could be included in the brochure.

As a result, the publicity material for "Dancing Deviant" has the slogan, "Banned from Harvard-Radcliffe's Arts First celebration."

"What do you do when you get a letter from the head of the OFA that contains a hand-written note saying that they don't believe that the show is appropriate for Arts First," Talusan asked. "They expect us to believe that the show is welcome in Arts First despite the letter."

He added that he and his production staff had to "scramble for money" after receiving the letter from the OFA, and did not know whether or not they would be able to produce the show until mid-April.

He said he did not request to be listed in the brochure at that time because he assumed it had already gone to press.

According to Mayman, the deadline for the brochure was the middle of February. The letter informing Gotlieb that the show had not received funding was dated February 26.

Jessica Hammer '99, who produced a play that did receive Arts First funding, also said that the OFA failed to announce the calendar deadline or that any project could be included in the brochure.

"It doesn't say anywhere that you can be in the brochure if you're not receiving money. I'm sure it's possible but it doesn't say that," she said, adding that her play, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," was automatically included in the brochure once it received funding.

Pushing the Limits of Comfort

Talusan admitted that his performance, which includes a self-penetration scene with a vibrator, "is very arresting."

"A lot of people who see it run out of the theater," he said, adding that the audience's shock is "understandable."

Talusan, who has trained in ballet and modern dance for seven years and studied dramatic theory, acting, directing, playwriting and fiction, also acts and dances in the show.

Black-and-white slides of his nude body, and color photographs of him in drag, are shown in the background.

"It advances that gender and sexuality are fluid and shouldn't be tied to heterosexual models," Talusan said.

According to Matt R. Saunders '97, who ran the sound for three of the performances, Talusan is "brave" to expose himself the way he does in the show.

"He's putting himself out there much more than I've ever seen anyone do at Harvard before," Saunders said. "It'll be really easy for people to dismiss the piece as being offensive and in-your-face."

Saunders, who said that he has heard rumors of the show being called "a back-flip on top of a dildo," added that it provokes "interesting and powerful conversations."

Arthur L. Loeb, senior lecturer in visual and environmental studies and a member of the Harvard Council on the Arts, said he thinks the decision not to fund the performance was correct.

"Don't forget that we also have to deal with public statutes. We're doing it in public space," he said. "There are certain restrictions in Cambridge about what you can and cannot do in public."

But Jeffrey A. Masten, Cowles associate professor in the humanities, said he was surprised that Arts First did not fund a pioneering program such as Talusan's.

"Monitoring the content of art--especially the content of art that takes up questions of sexuality--is a dangerous business," said Masten, who advised Talusan on his senior thesis.

"I wish Arts First had chosen to fund this event--I hope that Arts First will continue the great work it does by promoting the widest variety of arts events....Art that makes people nervous should be high on the funding list," Masten said