Regional Oral History Office University of California the Bancroft Library Berkeley, California
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Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Greg Walloch Writer and Performer Interviews conducted by Esther Ehrlich in 2004 Copyright © 2006 by The Regents of the University of California Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the nation. Oral History is a method of collecting historical information through tape-recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The tape recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is bound with photographs and illustrative materials and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ********************************* All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and Greg Walloch, dated October 28, 2004. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, Mail Code 6000, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Greg Walloch, “Writer and Performer” conducted by Esther Ehrlich in 2004, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2006. Copy no. ___ Photo courtesy of Patricia Lugo Varela Acknowledgments This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts which believes that a great nation deserves great art. vii Table of Contents—Greg Walloch Series History xxi Interview History xxiii Interview 1: October 26, 2004 Audiofile 1 1 Birth, family, ancestry—Growing up in a suburban neighborhood and its effects—Early memories—The alchemy of storytelling, invention and truth—Relationship with father— Formative influence of books and reading—Importance of music, romance with the radio, disc jockeys—Having cerebral palsy as a child and how family members reacted to and were effected by it—The "solo act" of being an artist—Transforming own life story into art Audiofile 2 16 Elementary school, being mainstreamed and having experience in special education and how that relates to understanding differences, then and now—Response to people's reaction to disability, leading with heart/humanity—People's perception of difference—People with disabilities' assumptions about gay identity, the "costume" of identity—Being a high school student and bucking the status quo, currently questioning the political system in a post-9/11 climate— Studying improvisation at age sixteen and the importance of Denise Taylor, finding artistic community as a teenager and realizing that being an artist was feasible—College and not getting a degree—Exposure to Highways Performance Space and its profound influence—Finding community among artists in Venice Beach and finally feeling at home Interview 2: October 27, 2004 Audiofile 3 29 Sexuality, coming out as a gay man within community of multicultural performance artists in the late eighties in Southern California, personal/political performance, relationship with parents during this time, creating family, coming out to family—More on relationship with father, attitudes regarding homosexuality/gay identity—Performers claiming their specific identities and labels as integral part of art work, claiming own identity as gay disabled man—First professional performance and its significance—Recent experience performing at a disability-related conference and being asked to remove gay content from show, bad behavior between different marginalized communities—Trajectory of performance career, mentors Denise Taylor, Ruth Zaporah, Tim Miller, performing at Highways Performance Space as a teenager, power of performance piece in underwear and reaction to scholarly critique of piece—Making a living viii Audiofile 4 43 More on gay content in performance at disability conference—Feeling and learning from an audience—Becoming a professional performer and the business aspect of the work—Choosing to respond to people's intrusiveness in relation to disability—Reaction to Bill Shannon's work, comparison with own work—On low standards set for artists with disabilities, pop culture— Experience related to disability in workshop with Rachel Rosenthal—Decision to leave Los Angeles and move to New York in 1992, the Rodney King incident and LA riots—Network of support among artist friends—Importance of relationship with Ellie Covan of Dixon Place— Difference between artistic community in Los Angeles and New York, changes in artistic community over time, role of technology in relation to community-building—Flavor of performance venues in New York compared to Los Angeles—Performance schedule—"Breaking into the biz"—Self-definition as artist/performer Interview 3: October 28, 2004 Audiofile 5 61 Experience, as child, of overhearing physical therapists' negative predictions—Questioning authority, "divine dissatisfaction," ornery nature, image and playing against type—Mishaps on stage—Disabled audience member's claim that he was denied access to show and the value of debating issue in public forum—Defining "the show"—Living Room Live comedy group, the value of spontaneity, learning how to bomb, members, touring, performing in bars—On gay audience/disabled audience—The power of venue and how it shapes perception of work— Attaching value to failure and success—Performing at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in 1994, popularity outside the United States, the importance of attending International Performance Art Day in Ireland—Motivating force of making a connection with other people, validating experience of comedy—Learning the business end of performing—Producing event in New York of diverse performers Audiofile 6 79 Group dynamics in Living Room Live—Meeting other performers in New York—Core identity as solo performer—Association with the Moth, an urban storytelling event, and its impact on career, the "cake story"—Performing on The Howard Stern Show, material about Christopher Reeve and reflections on his life—Documentary, Keeping it Real: The Adventures of Greg Walloch, director's shaping of the story in terms of disability and gay identity, conflicting visions for the film and creative struggle with the director, issue with the title, gay production company's involvement, press and reviews ix Audiofile 7 96 Creative process and the role of listening and watching, "ideal" audience reaction—Relationship to writing, creating work on the stage/on the page and how that process shifts over time—Role of discipline in creating work—More on business aspect of work and its rewards—Importance of trusting artistic voice—Lack of influence of imagined audience while creating work— Experience of making short films—Interest in continuing acting career—Secret desire to have a cooking show—Experience of being asked to play "more disabled" in an audition—Identity issues and speaking for the gay/disabled communities, importance of community—Relationship to the disability rights movement—Schism between feeling connected to others, as an artist, and feeling deeply alone, desire to be recognized fully rather than pigeon-holed as a gay, disabled performer Audiofile 8 113 Performative element to the oral history interview—More on business aspect of being a performer and the issue of self-esteem, the expectation that performers will give their work away for free, learning how to be a negotiator—More on the importance of being part of a community of artists—Tour of bedroom, including memorabilia from career—Spalding Gray x xi Artists with Disabilities Series History If there was a country called disabled, I would be from there. I live disabled culture, eat disabled food, make disabled love, cry disabled tears, climb disabled mountains and tell disabled stories… from “Disabled Country,” Neil Marcus, performance artist Artists with disabilities, propelled by a powerful history rooted in the struggle for civil rights, have been creating a vibrant arts culture which embodies the individual and collective experience of disability and contributes to the artistic landscape of our nation. In June of 2004, the Regional Oral History Office of the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, launched the Artists with Disabilities oral history project, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. The project grew out of the Disability Rights and