 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Welcome to the linger web site. linger is a performance, and this site has basic information and background relating to the show. linger was developed around a group of ideas, and this site also explores those ideas in different ways. As a performer I was always taught to be "in the moment," but I wondered what it meant to be in the moment in my daily life. When I became aware of random moments in my life, I realized how seldom I am in tune with my body, conscious only of the present, and exactly where I want to be. These pages explore that process inside and outside of the performance. If you have any questions, please email John Kaufmann. In Seattle, linger has been performed at: Speakeasy Backroom, Annex Theatre, The Little Theatre, Seattle Fringe Theatre Festival, and On The Boards. more info linger Reviews:
HERE AND NOW"Original, engaging, and really, really funny." --The Stranger (8/3/00) "a loopy, unusually charming work" -- Seattle Weekly (4/5/01) "I highly recommend you get into the spirit of it. Kaufmann's easy-going charm is endearing. He'll make you laugh. He'll make you think." -- Seattle Times (3/10/01) "One of the funniest actors in town…the freakazoid known as John Kaufmann" -- The Stranger (1/29/98) The Stranger's Review John Kaufmann Puts a Contract on the Audience by Brendan Kiley "I, THE UNDERSIGNED... accept the premise that all live theater is a dialogue between the audience and the performer(s). I will be open to my role in this event...." So reads the contract you can sign on the back side of your program for a three-dollar discount on your ticket to linger, John Kaufmann's risky, homegrown, and totally successful one-guy show at the Speakeasy Backroom. Terms like "genuine laughter," "insight," and "community-building" beg to be associated with linger, but I can't let them get into this review. They conjure bad summer-camp exercises, sensitivity seminars, and the vacuous language of those who would consciousness-raise us into an uncritical, shit-eating grintopia. Often goofy, Kaufmann deftly avoids falling into the saccharine trap. And those terms are so appropriate, in their most honest and least pernicious sense, to linger. The show explores what "being in the moment"--that slippery aspiration of acting teachers and love-yourself-types--might actually mean. Kaufmann does this by breaking down the continuity of his life, with the help of a pager, into randomly selected individual moments. When the pager goes off, he writes about whatever he is thinking and doing at the moment. From these scraps of his life, he draws (literally--having audience members pull them from a box during the show) material, and builds constellations on a dual-axis grid of joy-discontent and light-dark. Future selves, discussions of acting theory, and a few pleasantly sloppy songs join the exercise to make this potential Hindenburg performance original, engaging, and really, really funny. Throughout, those in the $7 seats have the option to play with him a little: answering questions, reading letters, making suggestions, though the humiliation factor runs at zero--which is a rare feat for a show that gets laughs from moments between a performer and a slightly confused audience member. linger is good. Really good. Go, sign the contract, and give John Kaufmann all 10 of your dollars. He deserves them. (from the 8/03/2000 edition of The Stranger) Seattle Times (3/10/01)In this intriguing one-man show, John Kaufmann explores the way past, present, and future affect each other. Kaufmann's show is part conversation and part performance, and was inspired by five years spent working at the Pacific Science Center's planetarium. He uses stars and constellations to help us see precise moments in our lives and the much bigger picture they create. Audience participation is an important part of this show and I highly recommend you get into the spirit of it. Kaufmann's easy-going charm is endearing. He'll make you laugh. He'll make you think. And, he'll play the guitar. These pages are possible through the creativity and generosity of their designer, Allison Gerlach. |