EVERYONE’S IN ON THE FUN Taylor Mac likes to immerse his audience in the theatrical experience.
A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR
MUSIC IS PERFORMED OVER 24
HOURS, AND INCLUDES 246 SONGS.
HOW DID YOU DECIDE WHAT TO
INCLUDE? I’m a content-dictates-form
kind of artist, so I tend to think about
what I want to talk about, and search
for material that supports the themes.
I had to include songs I really disliked
because they’re showing a particular
part of our history that is reprehen-
sible. You have to include minstrel
songs, but at the same time you can’t
allow them to take over what you
want to do, or it’s minstrel porn.
We all have history on our backs.
What are we doing about it?
WHY IS AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION A
PART OF THE SHOW? It’s been around
since before the Greeks. In the first
Egyptian theater, when God killed
someone in the story, they would actu-
ally kill a human being. All I’m asking
you to do is throw a ping pong ball
at somebody! We don’t force fun on
the audience; we’re just trying to give
them permission to feel what they’re
feeling.
HOW DID YOU CONDENSE THE
24-HOUR VERSION TO TWO HOURS
FOR THE MONTCLAIR FILM FESTIVAL
PERFORMANCE? We’re in this time
now with our white supremacist
president, so I really wanted to focus
on songs that are about liberation
and rallying people to a cause. It’s
more healing than destructive. In the
1770s, there was a song called “The
Congress” that was written from the
perspective of the Tories who were
born and raised in what became
America, and it was about how much
they hated the Congress. It’s interest-
ing considering the approval rating of
Congress, and how we’re all against
Congress now. The first women’s
liberation movement here was in the
1780s, and the same tactics that were
used to keep women from power
then were used against Hillary.
It’s helpful to remind people that
we’re not inventing the wheel in
the way we oppress people.
HOW DID YOU BECOME CONNECTED
TO THE MONTCLAIR FILM FESTIVAL?
It was 100 percent Linda Brumbach,
who founded the production company
Pomegranate Arts, and is my partner
in crime in this particular show.
She lives in Montclair, and is a big
supporter of the film festival.
WHEN REFERRING TO YOURSELF,
YOU PREFER TO USE THE NAME JUDY
INSTEAD OF A GENDER PRONOUN.
WHY? I don’t represent the transgen-
der community because I’m not part of
it. It’s just that for me, it’s super fun. I
love it when people use it. Even if they
roll their eyes, it immediately emas-
culates them because you can’t say
“judy” without being a little camp. ■
MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE MAY 2018
43