Lower East Side Biography Project - Stemming The Tide of Cultural Amnesia

05/30/2026

CELEBRATING PRIDE MONTH at The National Arts Club
15 Gramercy Park South, June 2 at 7 p.m.
Stewarding Artistic Legacy at Soft Network: The Life and Work of Sheyla Baykal. FREE with Registration https://www.nacnyc.org/default.aspx?p=ViewEventFlyer&ssid=323485&eventid=3866313

In East Village photographer Sheyla Baykal's lifetime, she had few opportunities for showing her work past the early 1970's when her photographs were prominently featured in Steve Lawerence's large format NEWSPAPER (1968-1971), alongside other artists such as her friend Peter Hujar who co-edited with Andrew Ullrick, and featured artists such as Diane Arbus, Richard Avedon, Peter Beard, Brigid Berlin, Paul Fisher, Maurice Hogenboom, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Yayoi Kusama, Dorothea Lange, Steve Lawrence, Roy Lichtenstein, Duane Michals, Andy Warhol, among many others.

Sheyla had few opportunities to show her work because she could not afford printing and framing. In the early 1990's she had a show of her photo xerox's at LaMaMa Galleria. In 1996 Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt curated a show at The National Arts Gallery at Gramercy Park where he included Sheyla. Now 30 years later The National Arts Gallery is hosting an evening with Soft Network’s deputy director, Marie Warsh, curator historian Marcelo Gabriel Yáñez and Steve Zehentner, the co-founder of the Lower East Side Biography Project - Stemming The Tide of Cultural Amnesia. The panel discusses the collaboration between artist Penny Arcade who has long championed Sheyla Baykal's work and created Baykal's archive, Marcelo Gabriel Yáñez and Soft Network, which is dedicated to preserving artist archives.
- Penny Arcade Kyoto 2026

05/21/2026

Just posted to Patreon, our Lower East Side Biography Project - Stemming The Tide of Cultural Amnesia biography of John Vaccaro. John Vaccaro, the founder of the Playhouse of the Ridiculous, was one of the most influential counterculture figures of the 1960s through 80s. Without John Vaccaro, there would’ve been no Charles Ludlam or Penny Arcade for that matter.

Although famously difficult, John inspired great devotion and admiration from practically everyone who ever worked with him. He had a brilliant and powerful theatrical vision that stemmed from his broad intelligence, far reaching cultural travels and staunchly anti-authoritarian views on life.

He was the first person to put a rock ‘n’ roll band on stage, not to mention drag queens, not to mention glitter.

This interview with John will be eye-opening. It was directed by Eric Wallach. We hope you enjoy it. xoPenny

Please consider joining my Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/Penny_Arcade All my shows, performances are there plus interviews from The Lower East Side Biography Project. Hundreds of unique posts for Patreon subscribers. You can support my work with a monthly contribution and stop anytime. It is high content entertainment, a balm in trying times and a wonderful place to get lost in!

https://www.patreon.com/posts/john-vaccaro-13-158861141?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

John Vaccaro: 13-minute biography from The Lower East Side Biography Project by Penny Arcade Performance on Patreon. Join Penny Arcade Performance's community for exclusive content and updates.

05/12/2026

Just posted to my Patreon, our Lower East Side Biography Project - Stemming The Tide of Cultural Amnesia biography of Paul Ambrose. Paul Ambrose was a street queen Mississippi and Tennessee from the golden age of 1960's street queens who crossed the spotlights onto the stage in Jackie Curtis's epic, Vain Victory. In the glory days of Christopher Street, Paul terrorized the streets in mad drag as Marie Nemo with his best friend Douglas Fisher known as Estelle Baiuda. Paul was one of the most entertaining raconteurs the downtown scene ever produced. xoPenny

Please consider joining my Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/Penny_Arcade All my shows, performances are there plus interviews from The Lower East Side Biography Project. Hundreds of unique posts for Patreon subscribers. You can support my work with a monthly contribution and stop anytime. It is high content entertainment, a balm in trying times and a wonderful place to get lost in!

https://www.patreon.com/posts/paul-ambrose-28-158065023

Paul Ambrose: 28-minute biography from The Lower East Side Biography Project by Penny Arcade Performance on Patreon. Join Penny Arcade Performance's community for exclusive content and updates.

05/01/2026

If you grew up in a New England Factory town music was it - as Bruce Springsteen made a career out of attesting! Here my friend from my teens, blues singer Bob Orsi talks eloquently about how a Southern Italian white boy born in 1949, discovered rock and roll on AM radio and how his life was influenced by the diversity of the music. Bob is quite the raconteur. I know you will love this! xoPenny

More about Bob….when I got out of Sacred Heart Academy for Wayward Girls I had just had my 16th birthday. I had runaway from my factory town two years before and now I was back. I met new kids when I went to New Britain High School - mainly kids I met hanging around Arch Street Pizza. One of them was Bob Orsi, a Southern Italian kid like me with an immigrant Sicilian mother and astonishing blue eyes who like me, loved music. That first winter he would come from his home on the west side to pick up his friend Karen who lived near me and he would drive us to school in his car listening to the radio. My first experience of hearing live blues was with him - Paul Butterfield. He grew up to be an amazing blues singer - blues and soul and like Paul Butterfield an exciting harmonica player.

A few days ago I posted to my Patreon, the entire Lower East Side Biography Project - Stemming The Tide of Cultural Amnesia interview with Bob Orsi. Please consider joining my Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/Penny_Arcade All my shows, performances are there plus interviews from The Lower East Side Biography Project. Hundreds of unique posts for Patreon subscribers. You can support my work with a monthly contribution and stop anytime. It is high content entertainment, a balm in trying times and a wonderful place to get lost in! xoPenny

04/28/2026

Just posted to my Patreon, our Lower East Side Biography Project - Stemming The Tide of Cultural Amnesia interview with Bob Orsi, my childhood friend from New Britain, CT. When I got out of Sacred Heart Academy for Wayward Girls, I had just had my 16th birthday. I had runaway from my factory town two years before and now I was back. I met new kids when I went to New Britain High School - mainly kids I met hanging around Arch Street Pizza. One of them was Bob Orsi, a Southern Italian kid like me with an immigrant Sicilian mother and astonishing blue eyes who like me, loved music. That first winter he would come from his home on the west side to pick up his friend Karen who lived near me and he would drive us to school in his car listening to the radio. My first experience of hearing live blues was with him - Paul Butterfield. He grew up to be an amazing blues singer - blues and soul and like Paul Butterfield an exciting harmonica player. Here’s an excerpt from the interview. Before I named myself Penny Arcade. I was Gidget. Bob talks about who Gidget was! He is quite the raconteur. I know you will love this!

Please consider joining my Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/Penny_Arcade All my shows, performances are there plus interviews from The Lower East Side Biography Project. Hundreds of unique posts for Patreon subscribers. You can support my work with a monthly contribution and stop anytime. It is high content entertainment, a balm in trying times and a wonderful place to get lost in! xoPenny

04/23/2026

Just posted to my Patreon, a 13-minute biography on Al Orensanz from the Lower East Side Biography Project - Stemming The Tide of Cultural Amnesia. Sociologist Al Orensanz was a beloved figure on the Lower East Side. A student of radical history, he brought a gravitas to every day downtown life. The director of The Orensanz Center, he was a passionate advocate of the bohemian life. Here's an excerpt. You’re gonna love Al. xo Penny

Please consider joining my Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/Penny_Arcade All my shows, performances are there plus interviews from The Lower East Side Biography Project. Hundreds of unique posts for Patreon subscribers. You can support my work with a monthly contribution and stop anytime. It is high content entertainment, a balm in trying times and a wonderful place to get lost in! xoPenny.

04/22/2026

Just posted to my Patreon, Michael McClure’s Spider Rabbit from June 16, 2002 at The Knitting Factory. Taylor Mead approached me to recreate Michael McClure’s 1971 anti-war poets theater play, Spider Rabbit. We performed it in a double bill with Chris Rael’s Church Of Betty. Dean Lance & Steve Zehentner videoed the event for The Lower East Side Biography Project - Stemming The Tide of Cultural Amnesia. There's 30 minutes of backstage antics with Taylor and I. I still have the grenades. I wish I could remember who originally produced this…?

Chris Rael’s Church of Betty did a rousing set before and here’s an excerpt of Taylor and I watch Rima Fand sing Femme Fatale. Steven Watson was in the audience!

Taylor Mead first performed Michael McClure's play Spider Rabbit in 1971. Mead is credited with originating the title role of the "bunny who adored eating human brains". The play itself is an absurdist, anti-war "gargoyle cartoon" that has recently seen new interest through revivals at La MaMa starring Tony Torn, who was originally inspired by watching Mead's performance as a teenager. Enjoy. xoPenny

Please consider joining my Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/Penny_Arcade All my shows, performances are there plus interviews from The Lower East Side Biography Project. Hundreds of unique posts for Patreon subscribers. You can support my work with a monthly contribution and stop anytime. It is high content entertainment, a balm in trying times and a wonderful place to get lost in! xoPenny.

04/17/2026

I am so excited to go see Steve Zehentner's favorite band Souled American this Sunday April 19th in Brooklyn at Baby's All Right in Brooklyn at 146 Broadway. We will be celebrating Steve's birthday...come join us! Doors at 6:30pm for a 7pm show. TKTS https://www.eventim.us/event/souled-american/676352

Make Me Laugh, Make Me Cry is one of Steve’s favorite’s and it’s from their first record Fe produced by Steve's childhood pal and best friend Jim Rondinelli. It could be written today.
xoPenny

Make Me Laugh, Make Me Cry’

There's a golden

Man of vision

On the TV

Where he comes from

Doesn't matter to devoted payees

If you take this

To the highest

Source above you

Without question

Source says, No vision

Just plain old Greed

Make me laugh

Make me cry

Make me laugh

Won't you make me cry

There's a patent-pending

science-fiction

defense

With a puppet

In the White House

There's puppets

On a string

If you take this

To the highest

Source above you

Without question

Source says, No vision

Just plain old Greed

Make me laugh

Make me cry

Make me laugh

Won't you make me cry

Vinyl makers

Sign fakers

With no feeling

Who's in charge here

You should get some

Old baseball scouts

If you take this

To the highest

Source above you

Without question

Source says, No vision

Just plain old Greed

Make me laugh

Make me cry

Make me laugh

Won't you make me cry

Make me laugh

Make me cry

Make me laugh

Won't you make me cry

01/22/2026

Just posted to my Patreon, Beyond Q***r: Voices from Bohemian New York, a documentary film produced by The Lower East Side Biography Project. With Iconic raconteur Quentin Crisp, film star & poet Taylor Mead, feminist artist & s*x educator Betty Dodson, film maker & choreographer Jack Waters, novelist & playwright Sarah Schulman, Warhol Superstar Holly Woodlawn, transgendered punk rock legend Jayne County, novelist & political commentator Gary Indiana, experimental theater visionary John Vaccaro, and actor & painter Robert Beers, who describe their experience of New York’s recent cultural golden age and recount a half-century of radically shifting social perceptions of s*xual identity – in Bohemia, in the arts, and in the marketplace.

Please consider joining my Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/Penny_Arcade All my shows, performances are there plus interviews from The Lower East Side Biography Project. Hundreds of unique posts for Patreon subscribers. You can support my work with a monthly contribution and stop anytime. It is high content entertainment, a balm in trying times and a wonderful place to get lost in! xoPenny.

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