Karen Finley's GRABBING PUSSY/PARTS KNOWN to Premiere at La MaMa Call to Action Weekend

Motivated to speak out as midterm elections approach, artists and community members will unite for an immediate Call to Action weekend of performances, including the latest protest piece from legendary performance artist and activist, Karen Finley, in the Downstairs Theatre at La MaMa (66 E. 4 St. in NYC) in the East Village, from October 26 - Oct. 28, 2018.

"This weekend of performance is an opportunity for our community to address the uncertain, tumultuous social and political time in our nation, and the world," said La MaMa Artistic Director, Mia Yoo.

The weekend will kickoff with a performance roster featuring Pamela Sneed and Adrienne Truscott, along with diverse line up of women and gender non-conforming artists in SOAPBOX: SPEAK UP, SPEAK OUT!, a protest of song, spoken word, readings, poetry, and presence, as curated by Amy Rox Surratt and Nicky Paraiso.

Free and open to the public. -- $10 Suggested Donation. -- Friday, Oct. 26 at 8PM. -- All profits to be donated to the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union).

Performance lineup includes: Zizi Azah, Tsebiyah Mishael Derry, Ginger Dolden, Kate Foster and Anna Gothard of the Anna/Kate Band, Youn Jung Kim, Tosha Rach, Pamela Sneed, and E. Wray.

Karen Finley will then present her newest works, GRABBING PUSSY and PARTS KNOWN, on Saturday, October 27 at 8PM.

GRABBING PUSSY is an impassioned poetic monologue, by celebrated performance artist Karen Finley. Strong with embodied rage that refuses to endure the authority and terror of bodies controlled, Finley employs elevated experimental language to delve into the use of language itself as a weapon to inflame and shame. The Political is Personal.

PARTS KNOWN responds to the anguish of forced family separations at borders, and the suicides of New Yorkers Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade, while invoking her own challenges following her father's suicide as she explores the "left and abandoned" children in this testament of our collective histories. We as a people have the wisdom -- we know how to resist, transform and move forward. The Personal is Political.

Both works expand on Finley's career-long pursuit of performance articulating the injustices committed by the U.S. government and society at large -- an undertaking spanning her commentary on the rise of HIV and AIDS in the 80s (We Keep Our Victims Ready), her acting as plaintiff in National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley after the NEA vetoed her grant in 1990, and her criticism of homophobia (The Father In All of Us).

Karen Finley is a performance artist whose work has long provoked controversy and debate. She has received numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, two Obies, two Bessies, and a Ms. Magazine Woman of the Year Award. This performance coincides with a release of her new book, Grabbing Pussy, available October 23, 2018.

Tickets for GRABBING PUSSY/ PARTS KNOWN are $15 - $20. - All profits to be donated to Planned Parenthood.

LA MAMA will close its Call to Action programming with (Real) POLITICS 101 by BEN YEE & YOU MATTER NATION on Sunday, Oct. 28th at 2PM.

(Real) POLITICS 101: The systems and procedures that drive democracy are often obscured from the view of the very people it's meant to serve. This workshop opens up these topics, and others, which are ignored by political science classes, the media and even Wikipedia pages. It covers topics such as: political geography, the Party Structure in America, and how to engage in the existing system for real effect. Runtime: 1.5 hours.

Free and open to the public. -- $10 Suggested Donation. -- All profits to be donated to the You Matter Nation.

You Matter Nation started after the 2016 Presidential election, and was created by seasoned activists and political leaders to combat the negative and hate filled rhetoric overtaking American politics. With workshops and civic actions, YMN gives regular Americans the tools they need to take on sustainable and efficient actions to fix our broken political system.

Ben Yee was a fundraiser and Digital Director for Barack Obama in 2008. He later worked for the NY State Senate's CIO's office and good government think tank Reinvent Albany. Politically, Ben has served at every level of the Young Democrats, including VP of the Young Democrats of America. Ben is the founder of ShiftSpark, an online tool for Citizen Lobbying. He is also Secretary of the NY County Democratic Party and State Committeeman for NY's 66th Assembly District.

Tickets for La MaMa's CALL TO ACTION can be reserved by visiting: lamama.org or by calling the Box Office at: 212.352.3101

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