About

Cowboys

Watchface: The Spring ’87 Collection, with its two week engagement at La MaMa, created
an opportunity to showcase several new performances. La MaMa listing After participating in
three shows with large casts directed by Iris Rose, (House of Jahnke, Of Little Women and End
of the World) along with four collaborations with Maggie Siena, (Our Secret Little Ritual,
Making It Last, Ralph and Louie’s Bad Habits, and Twins) Kim X Knowlton was interested in
challenging herself with a solo performance.
La MaMa flyer
La MaMa card

The initial inspiration for what was to evolve into Cowboys had occurred several years
earlier. As a student working towards her BA in Geology at Cornell University in Ithaca,
New York, Kim traveled to Arizona for the first time. A rock hunting expedition took her to the
unique terrain of the Grand Canyon State. As fascinating as the geology was, Kim was also
drawn to the landscape as the backdrop to the iconic “old west” that she was so familiar
with through the western genre of film. She had always been attracted to the outwardly
appealing, yet illusive and mysterious cowboy character. On that trip, however, as she
searched the environment, there were no cowboys, proud and free, riding into the sunset,
but there were plenty of prairie dogs. As she watched them move within their prairie dog
towns, they created their own compelling and clandestine stories.

Years later, for an acting class exercise, Kim was given the assignment to embody an
animal. She immediately thought of the prairie dogs in Arizona and their distinctive
personalities and way of moving. Using her connection to western films and their characters,
she combined the movement of the prairie dogs with the reclusive nature of the cowboys in
the movies. Her acting teacher was impressed with the characterization and encouraged
Kim to develop it into something more.

For Cowboys, Kim took all of these previous experiences and influences and created the
personality Sonny. The performance became a character study of Sonny, the woman with
the soul of a prairie dog. The dialogue was written as stream of consciousness, character
driven, not guided by any linear story line. The movement, which was only occasionally
utilized, was created through the various Watchface techniques. More often Kim
incorporated the various postures she recalled of the prairie dogs in Arizona.

Kim’s monologue as the upbeat and androgynous Sonny was accompanied by Oliver Hirsch
as The Whistler. Oliver, a professional musician and composer, performed with various
groups and as a solo guitarist. However, he performed the score he wrote for Cowboys
simply by whistling it, sitting in the shadows behind the action.

Cowboys is Sonny’s testimonial to the ingenuity and energy of the prairie dog, and Kim’s
tribute to a composite of idealized western characters and the land they inhabited – noble,
majestic, unhindered, and boundless.