Process

During the research phase of National Enquirer, Iris Rose’s collection of National Enquirer
magazines was reduced to a pile of clippings illustrating the main themes that became the
sections of the show: celebrities, the failures of the criminal justice system, health advice,
social norms, the bizarre, and UFOs. The articles that were chosen to become part of the text
for the show were taped into a large scrapbook. scrapbook

Since this was Iris’ first solo piece, she had to adapt her usually collective process of
movement generation. Most of the movements she created alone, but for some she
convened a group of her usual collaborators to give her pieces of a Frankenstein or stages
of an Abstraction.

James Siena composed the music for National Enquirer on a variety of odd instruments
played in unusual ways, including drumsticks, cardboard mailing tubes, toy piano,
xylophone, squeaky toys, and castanets. He also employed a small tape player with
recorded television commercials and a device he created from the insides of a toy ray gun.
photo of instruments

The Gods

In Iris’ analysis, the Enquirer reduced all celebrities to archetypes. Princess Grace of
Monaco, for example, was the “goddess” of the moment – beautiful, gracious, exemplary,
almost saintly in the Enquirer‘s view. Joan Collins, on the other hand, was the current
“temptress”; story after story detailed her unscrupulous behavior. The Gods articles Other
celebrities Iris included in The Gods were: Ryan O’Neal and his family, Bob Hope, John
Wayne, William Holden, and Herve Villechaize – Tattoo from Fantasy Island, a tabloid
fixture thanks to his taste for guns and women. Iris created Frankensteins based not on the
celebrities named but on the archetypes they represented: Goddess, Temptress, Good
Family, Bad Family, Jester, Hero, Demon, and Object of Pity. The Frankenstein for Temptress,
for example:

Face: Tongue shows between teeth; smile
Hands: Pull off invisible gloves, one finger at a time; toss left
Sound: “Mm-hm” (listening); “Mm-hm” (excited); laugh
Movement: Pull right shoulder toward the left, closing off upper body; open right
shoulder to the right, sweeping invisible negligée aside, stick out tits and pelvis

She also included Emblems in this section based on phrases from other stories that were not
directly referenced in the text, such as: “Loretta Lynn was hospitalized for exhaustion,” and
“Richard Chamberlain was the nicest, best-dressed, most popular kid at Beverly Hills High
School.”

Justice

This section, inspired by the Enquirer’s stories of crimes that went insufficiently punished, used
still tableaux to represent those crimes, including the Arsonist, the Father Killer, and the Baby
Rapist. Justice tableaux These were repeatedly punctuated by Emblems for the recurring
phrase “a slap on the wrist” and the word “justice,” which frequently appeared in these
articles. Justice articles In spite of the stillness of the physical representation, this section was
very rhythmic, with James drumming aggressively on cardboard tubes and clicking drum
sticks together to set up each “Justice!” Justice text in progress

Health

This collection of the Enquirer’s specious health advice was illustrated with Walter Kendall
Fives of the verbs found in the articles, including Abstain, Insert, Patrol, Discuss, and
Consume. Samples of the “helpful” prescriptions included in the text that accompanied the
movements:

You may have suspected it, and now it’s official – your mother-in-law can actually make
you sick, according to studies and medical experts.

If the inward half of the nail is white and the outward half discolored brown, it’s a warning
of possible kidney disease.

Question: Why do children seem to get so many more nosebleeds than adults?
Answer: They tend to pick their noses more than adults.

It is a puzzling medical phenomenon. We all have cancer cells all the time.

Identity

The movements for Identity were entirely derived from Abstractions that evolved from topics
like Science and Sex, Traditional Values, Husband’s Job, and Superstition. The text was from
articles that purported to relay results of the latest research into the typical/normal/average
American. Some examples:

The study found that men resented women because they couldn’t count on them when
the chips were down. They felt that sooner or later every woman was likely to betray
them. Men like women in the way they love French fries or ice cream. At least two
thirds of the men indicated they still want their women to be blond, blue-eyed Miss
America types who are deaf and dumb.

It used to be a distinctly rare occurrence to find a man who feared his wife – and then it
was usually because the man was somewhat weak or childish, and married to a wear-
the-pants woman.

Most men have never seen anyone but their mothers – or other mothers – do housework.

Many of these men buy stereo equipment and are interested in music groups.

Freaks

Iris and her friends created Frankensteins for each of the curiosities Iris selected from the
Enquirer‘s sideshow: Tiny Girl, Alligator Man, Monkey Girl, Genius Belly Dancer, Sailor with
Hooks, Psychic Who Eats Light Bulbs, Lion Tamer, and Eating Machine. She physically
embodied the subject while speaking about him or her in the third person. Quotes from
Enquirer articles used in Freaks:

The patient had seen her own general practitioner on April Fools’ Day and had told him:
“I want a hysterectomy because I want to be a lion tamer.” The last time I saw her she
had monkeys in the back of her car.

Virtually every object in the hell that was once their home oozed blood. Sometimes
there was one or two stones, sometimes a dozen or more. I personally saw two of the
children being punched and chased by these strong negative forces. We’ve been like
victims in a horrible horror film.

The nurse came rushing in. “It’s alive!” Then I thought of my sweet little baby lying all
alone in a cardboard box shivering and turning blue.

UFOs

For the finale, UFOs, the entire text consisted of only five lines, each taken from a different
story of a close encounter with aliens:

They could even see the sun shining through the holes in the tower where the bolts and
rivets once were.

I asked in a joking manner, “Do you want a breath test?” He said, “Just come out and
have a look at it!”

“No one would tell me the details, but a spacecraft has obviously crashed near here,”
said Jack.

We always know when they’re coming because the dogs start whining and scratching
the doors to come inside.

The least we can say is that an event of great significance occurred at this place and
time. UFOs text in progress

Emblems were created based on the stories from which the quotes were drawn, then Bodies
in Space was used to extend them into a more complex set of movements. UFOs article In
performance, Iris recited one of the quotes, slowly and eerily, while performing its
corresponding Emblem, then moved in a wide circle away from the microphone while
performing the Emblem’s Bodies in Space extensions, arriving at her starting point in time
for the next statement. James made the most of his unusual instruments in this section,
especially the range of sounds from the ray gun innards. He also made a unique sound by
blowing and humming simultaneously into a slowly-drawn slide whistle.