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theatre
| 9/23/2009 12:10:00 PM Email this article • Print this article |
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Comedienne Vijai Nathan appears this weekend in her show �McGoddess: Big Macs, Karma, and the American Dream.' (Photo provided) |
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Kitchen Theatre teams with comedienne Vijai Nathan
Julia Pergolini
Several years ago, Vijai Nathan asked her devout Hindu mother, "Mommy, How can we be Hindu and eat beef?"
From the moment the Nathans migrated from India to North America nearly 40 years ago, they were hooked on those iconic golden arches: Mickey D's.
"Vijai," Nathan says, becoming more serious as she slipped into her best impersonation of her mother, "The cow is sacred, the bull is not. McDonalds is all bull."
And thus, McGoddess: Big Macs, Karma, and the American Dream was born - a brave solo performance that elicits laughs, tears and a need to hear even more stories - playing now at the Kitchen Theatre from Sept. 23-27.
Nathan first performed at KTC's Counter Culture Series in 2007 with her first show, Good Girls Don't, but Indian Girls Do, which focused on four coming-of-age stories: Growing up in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood, her relationship with her mother, sex, and love.
Nathan describes McGoddess as a much more internal show. "The concepts are more adult, even though I talk about childhood, because I'm talking about the different religions that I grew up around," she says. "One is my father, who was atheist or agnostic. And depending on the day, my mother is Hindu - but not just Hindu, incredibly superstitious Hindu. And my older sister - I'm the youngest of three - became a born-again Christian. Plus I grew up in a Jewish neighborhood, so I had Judeo-Christian influences."
Nathan's family immigrated to North America from India in 1970; Nathan was born in the States in 1971. She received a degree from McGill University in literature, and pursued a career in journalism, but copy-editing just didn't cut it. "Too many rules," she rolls her eyes.
As if by twist of fate, Nathan landed in a comedy workshop one day. She quit her job, ditched her wedding engagements and pursued stand-up comedy, a road less traveled for most Indian-Americans. "There is a universality in comedy," she says. "The best way to get a message across is to be funny. Whether you agree or not, you will be entertained... I hope you will be entertained," she laughs.
Nathan's unique comedy tackles raw issues. Nathan isn't afraid to open a pandora's box of personal issues and get her audience thinking. She isn't afraid to ask, "Why do we believe what we believe?" and, "Why, how or should we believe in God?"
"I think it's so hard to believe in something in this generation," Nathan says. "Believing in God is... a really weird thing, not an intellectual thing. It's as though if you believe in something that is undefinable, you're not smart. Yet believing in the iPhone and investing ourselves in material items is totally kosher, and I think that's a big mistake.And that's something I didn't do because I had to contend with so many different religions. I had to live among people who all believed very different things. And then I had to stop and say OK, well what do I believe in the midst of all this? And that plays a role in the show also."
Nathan is a good representation of the Counter Culture series brings to Ithaca. Artistic Director Rachel Lampert began the series in 1997 as a way to bring some of the edgier, "downtown" performances that she liked in New York City. "Early performers in the series were primarily from the world of performance art," says series director Lesley Greene. "[These were] artists who melded aspects of theatre, music, dance, literature and visual art into unique personal pieces. Over the years, we have expanded the series. Now we feature many artists - like Vijai Nathan - who write and perform solo theatre pieces."
Nathan arrived a week early to work one-on-one with Rachel Lampert. "It's intense, but she brings out so many things in this performance that I would not have been able to do myself," Nathan says. "She really knows comedy. She's added so many layers to the show, and that's really exciting."
The feelings of warmth are reciprocated. "Vijai is a comedienne and storyteller whose wit and heart permeate every word she utters," Lampert says. "Audience members were laughing and nodding as they heard and saw their lives, struggles and relationships played out so winningly by Vijai."
But Nathan doesn't have a list of specific goals in mind when she takes the stage. She leaves it up to you to interpret her storytelling however it moves you. "I want people to, first, have a really good time," she smiles. "And also feel more connected to themselves. I want to bring out these thoughts that I think we all have and give voice to them."
As for the next step? McGoddess heads to Atlanta after Ithaca, and then Nathan visits Portland for Rock Camp. She has a pitch for a reality TV show in the works, and has been approached to do some comedy writing. "The world is open," she says. "And I'm ready. All that matters is me, and my opinion of myself ... And of course the opinions of those paying millions."
McGoddess plays at the Kitchen Theatre from Sept. 23-27. For tickets and information, 607-273-4497. n
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Suicide has recently come to Ithaca in a very public, and at times controversial, way. This past academic year, after three years with no suicides, Cornell experienced what is known in the scientific community as a "suicide cluster." OK, so maybe you're like me and you thought this whole JetBlue flight attendant story was good for maybe one news cycle.  |
