Toronto Report

ill tie caruy ous il i orumo, mere were three television shows that all the kids watched constantly. All three were broadcast live from the Toronto studios of the stateowned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . In retrospect, and in thinking about contemporary performance, these three live low-budget shows produced for the entertainment of Canada's future voters take on political and aesthetic significance. The Friendly Gianthad one set: a window in a castle wall made out of heavy cardboard. The "Friendly Giant" stood outside the window and talked to two puppets; nojumping around, no color-they just talked for half an hour every day. This wit-for-fouryear -olds was followed by Chez Helenea program meant to teach English-speaking children French. Helene (a matronly Francais-Canadienne) entertained a puppet mouse named Suzi in the kitchen. This was, of course, in the days before Canada had two official languages and the show was good-heartedly patronizing towards both the French and the girls. Later the CBC gave us Mr. Dressup, also done live, in a set made up of a stylized garden and housefront. "Mr. Dressup" dressed up. A couple of times during each half-hour show, "Mr. Dressup" disappeared into his house; a full forty live seconds later he would emerge in a new get-up and sing another song. These shows taught me to look at TV as a talking information device, at media images of minorities (women, French speakers, IREPC gays), at dressing up as entertainment-in short, CBC's official culture as performance and social commentary. So when I first saw David Buchan's Fruit Cocktails I had this feeling of deja vu. Like "Mr. Dressup," after a short introduction Lamonte Del Monte (Buchan's performance alter ego) went behind the set to "slip into something more comfortable.'' Performed as part of Fifth Network/Cinquieme Riseau conference held in Toronto, Fruit Cocktails now exists as a videotape, which is how I saw it. The Fifth Network presented eleven performances within the context of a symposium on media and its social impact: Buchan's was one of them, appropriately so since Buchan wanted to expose the physical, social, and moral structure of live studio entertainment. Cameras littered the many makeshift sets. The audience for the performance piece doubled as the piece's studio audience -you know, the people who are always laughing at something that the home audience can't see. While mike booms swung and extras ran from set to set, cameras were clumsily trucked about the stage obstructing the audience's view, and Buchan got the audience to respond on cue to an applause sign. All this plus ratty MARTHA FLEMING dance numbers, performed by the Del Monte Fruit Cups and torchy lip-synch renditions of "My Heart Belongs to Daddy " had the effect of flattening the audience and the set into two opposing planes, mediated by the camera for each other and for the home viewing audience who couldn't be there that night. This "who's the show for anyway" attitude was also seen in General Idea's interminable audience rehearsals for their Miss GeneralIdea Pageant, 1984. In both cases, by applauding for a sign, the audience validated not so much the performers but their own reason for being there. Yet, what at first appeared to be a strain of art world, in-group camp bagan to take on more truly political significance when placed in the context of real political oppression. Performance in a State of Siege A little history: On December 30th, 1977, the offices of the Body Politic(Canada's gay liberation magazine) were raided by the police and all kinds of materials, including the subscription lists, were seized. Charges were subsequently brought against the Body 117 Politic for "use of the mails for distribution of obscene material." The material in question seemed to be an article entitled "Men Loving Boys Loving Men," a journalistic critique of pedophilia included in issue thirty-nine of the magazine. The outrage against infringement of the freedom of the press and a terror of "morality" crackdowns galvanized the art community. Six performances were presented at a benefit to raise money (to cover legal fees), consciousness...