A Tom Murrin/Alien Comic Invention

Sunday, October 16th / 2PM / Free

As a special tribute to Tom Murrin, the late godfather of performance art, Howl! Happening presents it’s monthly  FULL MOON SHOW  of performance, rituals and blessings, paying tribute to the moon goddess Luna Macaroona—an homage he delivered as a stage and street performer for nearly 50 years.  In the gallery or on the street expect madcap performances by old friends and rising stars. The Tom Murrin/Full Moon series is curated by performance artist Salley May. Check back here for times and performers.

This month presents a Full Moon Show by students from The Body in Performance Art seminar taught by Christen Clifford at Eugene Lang College/The New School
Featuring:
Andrea David
Bernie DeVito
Ryan Galowich
Madeline Goddard
Jade Gomez
Kay Goodhart
Vincent Mota
Leila Mulligan
Eva Silverman
Elliot Waples

About Tom Murrin and the Full Moon Show

Howl! Happening houses the archives of Tom Murrin. Murrin, aka the Alien Comic, is known as the Godfather of Performance Art. Every full moon, Tom performed the Full Moon Show in honor of his moon goddess, Luna Macaroona. When he had a club date that fell on the full moon, he’d wrangle his friends to perform as his guests—pushing the careers of such groundbreaking performers as David Cale, David Sedaris, Amy Sedaris, Blue Man Group, Ethyl Eichelberger, Lisa Kron and many others. If not, he performed on the street for passersby, transforming the pedestrian atmosphere with his madness and magic. Howl! Happening’s monthly series continues that tradition, with performances in the gallery and surprise pop up performances on the street.

About The Tom Murrin Archive

Howl! Happening is the repository of the Tom Murrin Archive comprising masks, costumes, scripts, correspondence, photographs, and tapes of performances going back to the early 70s. Murrin (February 8, 1939 – March 12, 2012) also known as The Alien Comic and Jack Bump, was a performance pioneer whose life and work inspired both artists and audiences for over 40 years. He was a member of the first generation of La MaMa playwrights. Tom wrote four plays performed through La MaMa and produced by John Vacarro’s Play-House of the Ridiculous, including the offbeat hit, Cock Strong, which toured with Ellen Stewart’s La MaMa Troupe to Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels.

Under the guidance of rock manager Jane Friedman, Tom began to perform under the name Alien Comic, opening for acclaimed punk bands in rock clubs such as CBGBs and Max’s Kansas City. As Alien Comic he performed in such venues as The Pyramid, 8BC, King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, Performance Space 122, Dixon Place, La MaMa, and more. Since the mid 80s, he’s created, performed, and curated a series of variety nights at Performance Space 122, and La Mama Experimental Theatre Club and Dixon Place, called The Full Moon Show. His plays Sport-Fuckers and Butt-Crack Bingo were produced at Theater for the New City and La MaMa and directed by David Levine. Tom was the first performance artist to appear on stage at the original Dixon Place location at 37 East First Street in 1986.

Image: Jim Moore