A Tom Murrin/Alien Comic Invention
Every Month on the Full Moon
At 4pm sharp

On the sidewalk outside Howl! a crowd gathers. It’s 4 o’clock Saturday.

Time to tune into your favorite afternoon dance show: So You Think You Can House UnAmerican Activities Committee?

 This week’s contestants are Julius and Ethel Rosenberg of New York City! [Hold for applause] They will be risking it all before dance judges J. Edgar Hoover and Roy Cohn. The People’s Moon will include performances from students of not-yet-blacklisted Professor Christen “CD” Clifford at The New School for Social Research.

Like all Full Moon Shows from now until eternity, the People’s Moon will be broadcast live on The Howl! Channel. Brought to you by the Soylent Green Tea Company every single Full Moon without exception at around 4 PM unless otherwise noted—rain or shine, happy or sad, up or down—on the sidewalk outside the gallery, in the all-comers and anything goes atmosphere of the street for 30 minutes more or less. It’s live, it’s WILD, but if you can’t make, we’re just sayin’…TUNE IN, TURN ON, DROP BY.

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.

Photo copyright Eric McNatt 2016