In a series of charged and unpredictable partnerships between performers, the piece exposes intimacy as a state of profound discomfort as well as sweet relief.
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“Hug It Out.” Michael Kramer. October 17, 2017. Culture Rover.
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“Movement Matters: Carole McCurdy.” Michael Workman. December 29, 2016. sixtyinchesfromcenter.org
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Humor and horror combined in Twofold, as Carole McCurdy made herself into a funny old lady with a cone-head hairdo and huge feet.... As unself-conscious as an animal, she began by pushing a board, set on its narrow edge, across the stage with her lips, sometimes kissing it....Twofold turned into what seemed a gleeful funeral once McCurdy had commandeered audience members to carry her around, pasha-like, on her board/coffin.
“Butoh Festival Mixes Humor, Horror.” Laura Molzahn. April 19, 2015. Chicago Tribune.
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“Holocene Overkill (Phase 2) @ Defibrillator.” Gan Uyeda. November 21, 2011. sixtyinchesfromcenter.org
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She’s so convincingly worn the body language of an exhausted, injured survivor of some zombie apocalypse that I’m stunned for a second when she vigorously shakes out her limbs to cleanse her physical palate.
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“Chicago artists discuss the influence of Butoh: Chicago’s eight artists most influenced by Butoh discuss how and why it works for them.” Zachary Whittenburg. May 4, 2011. Time Out Chicago.
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“Dance Union: Live Review.” Zachary Whittenburg. November 7, 2010. Time Out Chicago blog.
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McCurdy’s initial action—a crawl, face-down, across the floor pulled by her wrists fused, torqued, and in some tractor beam like a divining rod—lasts long enough to seem unending before the next chapter is opened which, in the vaguely tropical nightmare of Shoot, reveals vines spilling from her mouth, yanked out to release shocked gasps and silent pleas delivered with arresting conviction. McCurdy struggles to stand but topples hard onto her back; our last view of her dreadful trial is a strangely regal sitting up, the crippled attempt of a diseased queen to address her few remaining subjects.
“Fieldtrips: Live Review.” Zachary Whittenburg. August 21, 2010. Time Out Chicago blog.
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“Redmoon ‘Spectacle’ is a visual treat.” Kerry Reid. October 6, 2006. Chicago Tribune.
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McCurdy's Cure for Scurvy, which is directly at the base of the lagoon, is an example of the way dread can be created virtually out of thin air. In this piece, McCurdy is holding a lantern preparing to take to the waters in a boat made of a bathtub and a kitchen curtain. She looks as though she's suffering from dementia, eyes darting between the crowd and her boat as if deciding whether to stay or go. It is brilliant in its ability to tell enough and not enough, leaving the audience to connect the pieces.
“Redmoon Theater’s macabre meditation.” Robert Felton. October 5, 2006. OakPark.com
