Featured Associate Artist: Bess Wohl

Meet our Featured Associate Artist for November! Bess Wohl is the playwright of Pretty Filthy, which just had an incredible concert performance at Joe's Pub. Congrats to Bess on an awesome show! And without further ado... Bess Wohl!

Name: Bess Wohl
Year Joined The Civilians: 2009
Where you're from: Brooklyn, NY
What City You're Living In: New York, NY

How did you first get involved with The Civilians? 
Steve and I met at Williamstown Theatre Festival, where he was directing THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE by William Saroyan. I acted in the play, playing a hooker with a heart of gold. (Typecast!) Michael Friedman did the music for the play, and also played the piano onstage. For some reason I can't remember, he was painted orange from head to toe. Like Ernie.

What have you done with us, both in terms of investigating and performing? 
I spent time in California interviewing porn stars and visiting porn sets for the creation of our musical about the Adult Entertainment Industry, PRETTY FILTHY, for which I've also written the book. We also went to the AVN Awards in Las Vegas, and the Adult Expo there. We met porn stars, went to parties and saw a new prototype of a porn robot. Needless to say it was all very illuminating!

Tell us about something that surprised you, either in an interview, in using the investigative method, or in a rehearsal process. 
I was honestly surprised during our time interviewing people in the Adult Entertainment Industry at how friendly everyone was to us. I'm not sure what my expectations were-- but they didn't know us at all, and they warmly welcomed us onto their sets and into some very-- ahem-- intimate moments and situations. They were always lovely and helpful, much more so than lots of people I've encountered in other more "legit" businesses.

Why has it been interesting to work in this way?
As a writer, I find it very challenging to write about a world I don't know. The investigative process gives us a deep understanding of unfamiliar worlds, Also, truth is always stranger than fiction, and the real things people say have the most poetry to them. The challenge is to take that reality and craft it into something that also functions as a work of art.

What is the last project you worked on outside of The Civilians?
I've been working on a bunch of TV and film projects-- just wrote a movie for Paramount and am writing a TV pilot for USA. I also was just up at Hartford Stage for their BRAND: New festival with my new play, AMERICAN HERO.

What artist has had the biggest impact on you? 
There are so so so many, but to pick one.... I'd go with the poet, Frank O'Hara. I love the natural, improvised quality of his work. The musicality of his language. The freedom he found in the form. The feeling of spontaneity and life that infuses his poems. The humor and surprise of them. The honesty and open-heartedness. I'm always trying to capture those qualities in my own work. I just love love love Frank O'Hara.

What’s the last play you saw?
I saw David Henry Hwang's GOLDEN CHILD at the Signature. It was so theatrical and fascinating and beautifully done. Go see it!

What’s your favorite bad movie?
Top Gun! And it's not bad. It's awesome. My ego is still writing checks my body can't cash.

Do you like sports?
I'm obsessed with baseball. The 1986 Mets changed my life. Lenny Dykstra aka "Nails" was my first love. Keith Hernandez, Mookie, Gary Carter, Daryl, Doctor K... Those guys were rock stars.

Question from Last Month’s Featured Associate Artist, Marsha Stephanie Blake: 
How many times has Michael Friedman made you cry in rehearsal?
Michael has never made me cry! But give it time... I'm sure it will happen someday.

What question would you like us to ask our next Featured Associate Artist?
What's the meaning of life?

Bess Wohl with Michael Friedman

Pretty Filthy: A Concert Performance at Joe's Pub

We're so excited for our concert performance of Pretty Filthy on Monday! We've been working on this show since 2009, when our artists first went out to the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles (sometimes referred to as "Porn Valley") and to the AVN Awards in Las Vegas (sometimes referred to as "The Oscars of Porn"). This presentation on Monday is of the fictional story written by Bess Wohl with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman. Keep in mind that the project is still in development, so the performers will be on-book, no sets, no costumes (well, they'll be wearing clothes! just not designed by a costume designer). The story is inspired by all the interviews that our artists were doing. Want to hear them? We've got recordings of performances of some of the verbatim material available on our podcast! Check out the PRETTY FILTHY EPISODES to take a listen! (And be sure to subscribe, rate, and review us!)

One thing that we've been thinking about is Porn Parodies. Our artists were on set to observe the filming of Star Trek XXX directed by Axel Braun (with the subtitle May the Farce be with You), and porn parodies are also a presence in the show.

We want to know: What do you think the next porn parody should be, and what should it be called? Here are a few to get you started: The XXXorcist, Call of Booty: Modern Whorefare... you get the idea. We know that there are already tons of parodies out there, so don't worry if it's already been done.

And get your tickets to PRETTY FILTHY at Joe's Pub HERE!

Star Trek XXX

A Pretty Filthy Podcast, Part IX

Here is our final adult entertainment podcast episode! Special thanks to our interviewing team: Mia Barron, Laura Nix, Taylor Wilcox, and Matt Maher. In this episode, Emily Ackerman performs an interview with producer Lynn LeMay; Daoud Heidami plays performer Sebastian Silver; next is a particularly filthy round of Porn Charades in which one of our audience members at Joe's Pub tries to act out a porn title while the cast guesses; Nina Hellman plays director and producer Kelly Holland; Dael Orlandersmith as Pamela Peaks; and last up is Gibson Frazier as director, producer, and actor Eli Cross. This material is inspiring Pretty Filthy, a new musical by Bess Wohl and Michael Friedman.

This episode contains material that is not appropriate for children of 18 years or younger.

TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE LET ME ASCERTAIN YOU PODCAST SERIES ON ITUNES, PLEASE CLICK HERE!

A Pretty Filthy Podcast, Part VIII

What's it like to be a male adult entertainment performer? Find out in Michael Friedman's doo-wop-like song "Waiting for Wood" performed by Heath Calbert, Robbie Collier Sublett, and Andrew Kober. This week's episode also features interviews with power couple Elizabeth Starr and Tommy Gunn performed by Jennifer R. Morris and Brian Sgambati. Plus, we've got more audience participation in this one: audience answers to the question "What is the dirtiest thing you've ever done in real life?" These recordings are from a live performance at Joe's Pub in New York.

This episode contains material that is not appropriate for children of 18 years or younger.

TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE LET ME ASCERTAIN YOU PODCAST SERIES ON ITUNES, PLEASE CLICK HERE!

A Pretty Filthy Podcast, Part VII

Big adult entertainment stars are featured in this week's episode, including performer and director Avy Scott played by Emily Rossell, POV director Dan Silver played by Greg Hildreth, and performer/director Kylie Ireland performed by Colleen Werthmann. We've also got the winning titles for Pornified Broadway, in which we asked the live audience at Joe's Pub to write down pornified names of Billy Elliot, Phantom of the Opera, and Mary Poppins. Plus Emily Rossell sings "First Contract Girl" by Michael Friedman. All monologues are from interviews conducted by our artists for Pretty Filthy, a new musical by Bess Wohl and Michael Friedman.

This episode contains material that is not appropriate for children of 18 years or younger.

TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE LET ME ASCERTAIN YOU PODCAST SERIES ON ITUNES, PLEASE CLICK HERE!

A Pretty Filthy Podcast, Part VI

The legendary Axel Braun starts off this week's episode. Our interview with him inspired both this monologue, performed by Brad Heberlee, and the song "Squirting 101" in A Pretty Filthy Podcast: Part IV. This week also has Porn Charades, Round 2 (in which an audience member tries to act out a porn movie title and the cast and audience try to guess what it is), Kelly McCreary as Ms. Brown Sugar, and Lexy Fridell singing "ABC, 123" by Michael Friedman. The live performance took place at Joe's Pub. These interviews were conducted by our artists with real adult entertainment professionals for Pretty Filthy, a new musical by Bess Wohl and Michael Friedman.

This episode contains material that is not appropriate for children of 18 years or younger.

TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE LET ME ASCERTAIN YOU PODCAST SERIES ON ITUNES, PLEASE CLICK HERE!

Porn Charades: A Pretty Filthy Podcast, Part V

This week's podcast episode, back in adult entertainment, features a recording of a game of porn charades in which one of our intrepid audience members was acting out a porn title and the cast members of the live evening at Joe's Pub were guessing. To get a visual sense of what was going on, here are some photos of the action. Plus this week, we have Aysan Celik as an adult entertainment performer and parent, Brandon Miller as male talent Bill Margold, and Michael Friedman singing his song "We Were Giants." This material is crafted from interviews with real people for the new musical PRETTY FILTHY, by Bess Wohl and Michael Friedman.

This episode contains material that is not appropriate for children of 18 years or younger.

TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE LET ME ASCERTAIN YOU PODCAST SERIES ON ITUNES, PLEASE CLICK HERE!

Adult Entertainment 101: A Pretty Filthy Podcast, Part IV

Revealing some of the tricks of the trade and behind-the-scenes stories, this week's episode is back to our investigation about the adult entertainment industry. Associate Artist Alix Lambert performs an interview with adult entertainment performer Tabitha Stevens who discusses plastic surgery; Mia Barron plays an anonymous female talent; and Andrew Kober sings "Squirting 101" by Michael Friedman, a new song about female ejaculation from an interview with Axel Braun about his revolutionary techniques. This material is from interviews conducted by Civilians artists with adult entertainment performers, directors, agents, and more in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles and Las Vegas for Pretty Filthy, a new musical by Bess Wohl and Michael Friedman.

This episode contains material that is not appropriate for children of 18 years or younger.

TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE LET ME ASCERTAIN YOU PODCAST SERIES ON ITUNES, PLEASE CLICK HERE!

A Pretty Filthy Podcast Episode, Part III

True Blood's Sam Trammell portrays adult entertainment super-star Evan Stone; legendary performer Ginger Lynn introduces the monologue from our interview with her, performed by actress Kathryn Hahn (Hung, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days); and Rutina Wesley (True Blood) and Peter Porte perform the song "Applesauce" from the new musical Pretty Filthy by Michael Friedman and Bess Wohl. This material is from interviews conducted by Civilians artists with adult entertainment performers, directors, agents, and more in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. This performance was recorded at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City.

This episode contains material that is not appropriate for children of 18 years or younger.

TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE LET ME ASCERTAIN YOU PODCAST SERIES ON ITUNES, PLEASE CLICK HERE!

A Pretty Filthy Podcast, Part II

Back in the world of adult entertainment, we have another episode crafted from our interviews with professionals in the San Fernando Valley and Las Vegas. This performance was recorded at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles. This week features Sam Shelton as a female performer, Steven Weber as male talent Jack Lawrence, and Michael Friedman singing his song "These Girls," which is from an interview with an agent.

TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE LET ME ASCERTAIN YOU PODCAST SERIES ON ITUNES, PLEASE CLICK HERE!

A Pretty Filthy Episode

A team of Civilians' artists conducted interviews with performers, directors, agents, producers, and more in Las Vegas and the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. This episode's song and monologues are crafted from these interviews, featuring several adult entertainment stars discussing the do's, don'ts, and won'ts of shaping a career, how they got into the business, and more. Mia Barron plays Katie Graham, Emily Swallow plays another female performer, Paul Provenza and Bess Wohl play one of porn's on and off-screen leading couples, and finally Emily Swallow sings "Beautiful" by Michael Friedman. These interviews are the inspiration for our new fictional musical Pretty Filthy, book by Bess Wohl, music by Michael Friedman. The material in this podcast was recorded in a live performance at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre.

This episode contains sexually explicit material and is not appropriate for children under the age of 18.

TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE LET ME ASCERTAIN YOU PODCAST SERIES ON ITUNES, PLEASE CLICK HERE!

LET ME ASCERTAIN YOU: PRETTY FILTHY - Winners!

For those of you who missed LET ME ASCERTAIN YOU: PRETTY FILTHY on Friday, it went great! The performers did a thoroughly fabulous job, and it seemed like everyone had a fantastic time. Our audience responses were even filthier than they were at LET ME ASCERTAIN YOU: PORN (difficult to imagine, considering the winning "pornified" name for Billy Elliot at the cabaret last June was "Bill-Me-Elliot-Spitzer"). I can tell you that the winner for Colin Quinn: Long Story Short  was "My Penis: Long Story Short" and the winner for Driving Miss Daisy was "Muff Diving Miss Daisy" (a dramaturg later suggested "Diving Muff Daisy"). I can't even tell you what Spider Man: Turn Off the Dark's was, though an excellent runner up was "Spider Man: Breaking My Third Leg."

Thanks for coming to those who did, and for those who didn't, hope to see you at the next LET ME ASCERTAIN YOU in June!

How is adult entertainment affecting gender dynamics? - Connected to PRETTY FILTHY

Porn nerd alert! A recent article in The Atlantic Hard Core claims that free, streaming, ubiquitous internet porn is revealing "a warring [sexual] dynamic based on power and subjugation [that] has always existed between men and women." The internet begs to differ, and is not taking this lying down.

Here are some reactions:

The Abstract Factory argues with the idea that the supply of porn is representative of the demand for porn, and other economic concerns.

Tana Geneva of Alternet explores the implications of the article for feminists in the sexual arena.

Tracy Clark-Flory of Salon brings up the fact that most men are relatively ashamed of their porn habits, which changes the dynamic.

Fleshbot(NSFW) wishes Vargas-Cooper had interviewed any actual porn producers and/or consumers.

If you get a chance, take a look at the whole discussion and let us know what you think! 

Post by Laura Shapiro

And also, click HERE for pics on Playbill's Photo Call from A PRETTY FILTHY EVENING on Saturday!

Michael Friedman and Bess Wohl in The Spotlight for A PRETTY FILTHY EVENING

Composer and lyricist Michael Friedman and playwright Bess Wohl were interviewed for the Los Angeles Times Culture Monster blog about A Pretty Filthy Evening at the Kirk Douglas Theatre this weekend (which is already sold out). It's a fantastic piece:

What was your strangest interview?
Wohl: I went to the set of “Not the Bradys XXX.” That pretty much collapsed every fantasy of my childhood.

Michael, the world of adult entertainment seems wildly different from the emo-history of "Andrew Jackson."
Friedman: Actually musical theater is very similar to porn.  It’s a fantasy about attractive people who do cool things. It’s a place you go to learn what you like. Porn knows more than you do about what you want.

Break a leg to the AMAZING CAST this Saturday!

The Adult Entertainment Industry and Online Technology - in connection with PRETTY FILTHY

New York Magazine's cover story HERE this week is about the adult entertainment industry and the internet - a topic also explored in PRETTY FILTHY! This article has a lot of info about how the business-side of the industry has developed online (see the diagram on page 2), and asks, how detrimental is free internet porn to the industry?

One of our interviewees for PRETTY FILTHY, Sunny Leone, was interviewed for the article:
'“Tubes are going to destroy our industry,” says Sunny Leone, 29, an Indian-American knockout who is celebrating eight nominations this evening. “Fans don’t understand that if they don’t pay for porn, we can’t make a living. They’ll have to watch crazy European porn.”'

Or maybe the internet hasn't been so detrimental?
"People who consume only free porn, [Feras Antoon, current CEO of The Brazzers] argues, are people who, in the past, would not have consumed any. The people who paid for porn then will still pay for it now. Plus the tube sites have so vastly enlarged the total universe of porn consumers that the number of those who pay has ballooned along with it. Ten years ago, total daily adult-site traffic averaged less than 1 million unique visitors—on the entire Internet; today Manwin’s tube sites alone get 42 million daily uniques."

Here is what one of our interviewees for PRETTY FILTHY said to us about this issue:
"I’m working... maybe twice a month and that’s a lot compared to what people are getting these days. There’s been a lot of girls that’s been “I’m going to retire...”  I think it comes from the fact that so much porn is free now.  You can go to “Red Tube” or “You Porn” or whatever you want to and there’s porn on demand.  Somebody sent me a little email, “This is my favorite clip of you” and I clicked on the link and it went directly into... [a] scene, no click on yes to enter if you’re over eighteen, no enter your credit card to make sure that you’re completely liable.  I’m sitting there, free link, full forty minute scene of me...  For free!  I’ve got kids and that is not something I want my child to be able to go click, “Oh, look at this, there’s Mommy.”  I’m very protective, I am."

For more about this, be sure not to miss our cabaret at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, A PRETTY FILTHY EVENING, this Saturday, Feb. 5. More info HERE!