WESTERN FRONT – The Original Lou and Walter Story and Excuse Me I Feel Like Multiplying

Description:

Jill Kroesen performed a scaled-down staging of her two performances The Original Lou and Walter Story (1978), and Excuse Me, I Feel Like Multiplying (1979). In other variations, more elaborate set designs and props as well as ballet dancers, musicians, and actors appear onstage with Kroesen. At Western Front, Kroesen performed solo with a more simple set: a grand piano, a microphone stand, and a circle drawn on the floor containing pyramid sculptures with pointed red tips.

The Original Lou and Walter Story is set in an imaginary society and told from the perspective of Lou, a farmer who lives in a town belonging to the “Sodom Union.” The townsfolk are regulated by the “Share If,” who enforces laws around gender segregation and desire. A phenomenon that occurs in Kroesen’s society is “abnormal love,” which is equated to a debilitating, all-consuming crush. Lou’s experiences of abnormal love becomes the primary conflict of the story, as he attempts to evade the Share If and subsequently, expulsion outside of the town.

Kroesen embodies Lou and retells his story with the earnest seriousness and imagination of a child. Lou’s monologue is punctuated by moments when Kroesen wanders away from the microphone to sing and play the piano, offering blues variations to express the emotional states, thoughts, and observations of the various characters in the story, recalling the form of a musical. Despite the illogical, dream-like, and surreal narratives that can be demanding at times to follow, Kroesen’s commitment to her characters sustains the viewer’s curiosity about her projected fantasy world.

Kroesen then performed Excuse Me, I Feel Like Multiplying: a soap opera of the Cold War that satirizes political negotiations in the form of a love triangle conflict between two women personified as the USSR and America. They compete for the heart of a boy named Raw Material, portrayed as a developing country, but are dominated by a third woman called “The Virus.”

A long-shot of a woman with long hair dressed in a jumpsuit. She performs on stage as she speaks into a microphone. Behind her are several pieces of music equipment and a grand piano.

A front shot of a woman singing as she plays the grand piano. The foreground depicts blurred cone-like props and part of a stage light.

A front shot of a woman singing as she plays the grand piano. The foreground depicts a blurred microphone on a stand.

A woman sits criss-cross as she holds a microphone while performing. She is encompassed by several cone-like props of different heights and holds on to one of them. Behind her are other pieces of equipment; a music stand, stage light, and chairs.

A woman sits criss-cross as she holds a microphone in one hand as she gestures with the other as she performs. She is encompassed by several cone-like props of different heights. Behind her are other pieces of equipment; a music stand, stage light, and chairs.

A long-shot of a woman standing as she gazes downward. Her arms gesture outward as if she is attempting to balance herself. The wall in the background is finished with wainscoting in front of it are retractable seats. The foreground depicts blurred images of stage lights.

Captions:

Jill Kroesen, Original Lou and Walter Story (1978), video documentation, Mar 3, 1980. 59 min. 29 sec.
Jill Kroesen at Western Front, photo documentation, Mar 3, 1980.
Jill Kroesen at Western Front, photo documentation, Mar 3, 1980.
Jill Kroesen at Western Front, photo documentation, Mar 3, 1980.
Jill Kroesen at Western Front, photo documentation, Mar 3, 1980.
Jill Kroesen at Western Front, photo documentation, Mar 3, 1980.
Jill Kroesen at Western Front, photo documentation, Mar 3, 1980.
Jill Kroesen at Western Front, photo documentation, Mar 3, 1980.
Jill Kroesen at Western Front, photo documentation, Mar 3, 1980.

Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre in Vancouver.

We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.