STUD
A new performance about penis envy, masculinity, horses and DIY By Eilidh MacAskill
TOUR PACK
TELL ME ABOUT IT, STUD Well, Dr. Freud tells me I'm missing something and I think he's right. He tells me that until I get over it and turn my desire for that missing thing into a desire for a baby I'm gonna be in deep shit. He also tells me he doesn't really get chicks... STUD is an energetic and hilarious solo show in which Eilidh MacAskill works through her penis envy by taking on a range of manly stereotypes while displaying her undeniable womanhood through crotchless chaps. Eilidh invokes the ghost of Sigmund Freud himself to explore the legacy of his theories on femininity and sexuality on current ideas about gender. He’s joined on stage by a macho cowboy talking about horses, a hysterical woman with anger issues, a patriarchal DIY expert and the famous talking horse, Mr Ed.
“A fully-frontal assault...hilarious and whimsical...cogent and provocative” **** Mary Brennan, The Herald STUD is an entertaining yet complex attack on gender binaries and masculinity from the point of view of a butch lesbian; on one level a series of knob gags, but getting deep into the murky waters of the restrictions the patriarchy places on us all. Eilidh’s work is entertaining and accessible, but complex in both form and content. She uses theatricality and humour to draw audiences in and get to the heart of difficult ideas. STUD has been presented in live art/performance settings including Buzzcut Festival, Live Collision and Steakhouse Live.
Available for touring from Autumn 2015 Contact producer Abby Butcher on abbycbutcher@gmail.com
ABOUT EILIDH & THE PRODUCTION Eilidh MacAskill is based in Glasgow and creates performances and projects that sit somewhere between theatre, live art and visual art inspired by nature and how we human animals live in the world. She is Artistic Director of Fish & Game and also works as a freelance performer with other artists. The work is often for children and often presented in non-theatre sites and public spaces. But this one isn't. STUD represents a shift in Eilidh’s practice foregrounding her homosexuality, queerness and feminism both within her performance work and daily life in response to conservative heteronormative and misogynist ideals she sees in society and aimed particularly at young people. STUD is part of Eilidh’s wider enquiry into gender and queer theory called the Gendersaurus Rex project. It’s supported by Imaginate and looks particularly at representation of queerness, sexuality and difference in children’s theatre.
“MacAskill’s performance is full of kinks as she offers a challenge to misogyny.” Amelia Forsbrook, Exeunt
VIDEOS Trailer: https://vimeo.com/133550925 Full-length documentation: https://vimeo.com/133567626 Password – HORSE
Photos by Julia Bauer at BUZZCUT, 20th March 2015 Â
REVIEWS ‘Yee-hah! Eilidh MacAskill - in crotchless chaps, cowboy hat and mischief-making mode - delivered the in-progress STUD, a fully-frontal assault on the Freudian theories about penis envy, woven through with some macho-swaggering horsesense and advice on DIY. Yes, it's hilarious. And whimsical. But MacAskill has serious issues in her sights: her questioning of Freud's impact on how we interpret sexuality, behaviour in puberty, and assign roles along gender-specific lines is cogent and provocative. Her inflatable costume at the end - I won't spoil the delicious surprise, because STUD is likely to re-appear on the Fringe.’ Mary Brennan, The Herald, Glasgow **** ‘Who says that revealing your growler on stage has to be trashy? Dressed in full horse trainer’s costume, except with nothing beneath her chaps, MacAskill makes no apologies for her gender – and in imitating Freud and coaxing a giant inflatable penis she ensures that it’s psychoanalysis and misogyny, warts and all, that are most crudely exposed.’ ‘MacAskill’s performance is full of kinks as she offers a challenge to misogyny.’ Amelia Forsbrook, Exeunt
AUDIENCE COMMENTS "Measure twice, cut once. And let the saw do the work!" @EilidhUkulele's STUD – hilarious piece about penis envy & horses @GlasgowBuzzcut - Neil Webb, Director of Theatre and Dance, British Council “Highlight of @GlasgowBuzzcut day 1 was #Stud by @EilidhUkulele. Witty & well crafted. #Horses & #PenisEnvy. #MrEd” – Mr Abbott “Loved @EilidhUkulele's ‘Stud’ - rich and complex and hysterically funny all at the same time.” Sleepwalk Collective
AUDIENCES LGBTQI identified audiences Students: theatre/gender/feminism studies Live Art / Performance Alternative comedy fans Theatre goers
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KEY SELLING POINTS • • • •
Solo show by a female performer who recounts her personal experience into a comedic and accessible format Topically relevant – explores dated and current academic theories around feminism through impersonation and comedy Unabashed female nudity throughout – the work is heavy with political comment but light in format Filled with pun and innuendo – suitable for comedy and theatre audiences alike. A good entry point for comedy audiences into contemporary performance
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS • • • • •
STUD is very tech-light General wash with one special and sound through PA through Qlab on Eilidh’s laptop There are minimal lx and sound cues The show can be operated by a technician based at the venue or we can bring our own operator 2 on the road – 1 performer & 1 technician
Photos by Julia Bauer at BUZZCUT, 20th March 2015 Â
MARKETING COPY 70-word copy Tell, me about it, Stud. Well, Dr. Freud tells me I'm missing something and I think he's right. He tells me that until I get over it and turn my desire for that missing thing into a desire for a baby I'm gonna be in deep shit. He also tells me he doesn't really get chicks... A new performance about penis envy, masculinity, horses and DIY. 150-word copy Tell, me about it, Stud. Well, Dr. Freud tells me I'm missing something and I think he's right. He tells me that until I get over it and turn my desire for that missing thing into a desire for a baby I'm gonna be in deep shit. He also tells me he doesn't really get chicks... In STUD, Eilidh MacAskill dons her chaps and asks if size really does matter. As she explores her own female masculinity with some help from Dr. Freud himself alongside a patriarchal DIY expert, a macho cowboy and the famous talking horse Mister Ed, Eilidh ponders if she has Penis Envy or of it’s all a load of boll*cks, A stripped back show about penis envy, masculinity, horses and DIY, for anyone who likes their psychoanalysis heteronormative and their cowboys in the buff.
BOX OFFICE INFORMATION Production: STUD Company: Eilidh MacAskill Running time: 50 mins, no interval Age guidance: 16+ (features nudity, strong language and sexual themes)
OTHER ACTIVITIES Eilidh has just started working as a research artist with Imaginate, Scotland’s organization for performing arts for children. The project is called Gendersaurus Rex and is exploring gender, sexuality and queerness in work for children. If you’re interested in knowing more or getting involved there’s a blog site at gendersaurusrex.wordpress.com and twitter posts @gendersaurusrex Eilidh is Artistic Director of Fish & Game, who create entertaining experimental performances that straddle theatre and Live Art with a particular interest in work for children. Their work is interdisciplinary and spans theatre, new media, visual art, music, dance and comedy. They have shown work internationally, across the UK. The work takes place outside of traditional art spaces and incorporates encounters with audience members and their environments. Fish & Game have made a range of oneto-one performances and works for small groups as well as shows for large audiences in theatres, parks and sporting arenas. Eilidh regularly collaborates with performance artist Rosana Cade to create queer cabaret work for club nights and festival spaces.
PERFORMANCES TO DATE Buzzcut, Glasgow - March 2015 Steakhouse Live, London - April 2015 Live Collision International Festival, Dublin – May 2015 Latitude Festival, Suffolk – July 2015
UPCOMING Forest Fringe, Edinburgh – 29 + 30 August 2015 Camden People’s Theatre, London – 8 + 9 October 2015 Marlborough Theatre, Brighton Fringe – May 2016
LINKS @EilidhUkulele http://eilidhmacaskill.com For information on touring availability and price contact Producer Abby Butcher on abbycbutcher@gmail.com STUD has been generously supported by: