If you happen upon a mermaid in a clam shell lugging a ukulele around the Peninsula this week, don't be alarmed.
Dakota Belle Witt, the half-mermaid/half-human performance artist who revels in duality on stage and in person, is really just a nice Monterey girl who wants to sing you a pretty song.
Witt brings her siren and shanty songs, sexy ukulele and drag-inspired stage show to the Alternative Cafe on Saturday. Show begins at 8p.m.
For the 25-year-old Witt, a Monterey High School grad who now lives in San Francisco, being a mermaid is no mere get-up. She performs on stage in a sequin-decorated mermaid tail, which she matter-of-factly refers to as "my skin."
"I think that my mermaid identity is a birth defect, because my mom was working at the Monterey Bay Aquarium when she was pregnant with me," she deadpanned during a Skype interview. "I was born at the same time the aquarium opened, so we're looking into a class-action lawsuit trying to see if we can find other people with similar stories."
The defect hasn't been a total bummer though.
"I mean, not that I'm sad that I ended up this way," she cracked.
Beneath the surface of glitter and fins is the very real emotion that Witt packs in her songs. She cites Kimya Dawson as a reference point for her lyrics and musical direction.
A seemingly simple siren song appears dedicated to an unknown sailor, with lyrics like, "Sailor, Sailor, lock me away/ I'll be your secret and I'll be your slave/
No one need ever to know I exist/ Grant me your love and I'll grant you your wish ..."Upon further review, Witt shares that it's dedicated to a very real person from her past.
"I totally wrote that when I was in this really (crummy) relationship with this girl who was in the closet, and she would not identify (to others) that we were dating," she said.
The sexual ambiguity of mermaid legend was a big sell for Witt, who started off performing in mermaid drag under the stage name Sirene von Calypso.
She moved past that persona, preferring to identify herself on stage, now that she's more comfortable in her fins.
"I think mermaids in general are a very potent mythical image in our culture of duality. There's something sort of transgressive about a half-fish, half-girl," she said. "There's all these different layers, and I'm very attracted to that. Multiple layers of meaning happen in my performance, I guess."
She picked up a ukulele three years ago while on tour with the colorful vaudevillian sister duo Vermillion Lies.
A self-proclaimed "performance junkie" who started in theater at age 6, Witt picked up an instrument after her previous performance experience left her unfulfilled.
"I was like 'This isn't doing it for me anymore. I don't know how to play music. I guess I'll do that next. That's totally scary," she said.
Her first musical performance was at the East Village coffee lounge in Monterey, which lead to her next career revelation.
"I was like sweating. Just covered in sweat. And that wasn't doing it for me anymore," she said. "I was like 'I should probably wear a mermaid tail, and be half-naked on stage. That's better. That's scary.'"
The next level is a full-length theatrical stage show, "Don't Fall In Love with a Mermaid."
She's collaborating with a friend who has a background in clown makeup and mask-making.
There will be shadow puppetry and music. She will workshop it during the summer in Portland, Ore.
"It's an updated version of the classic mermaid tale."
Witt admitted that audiences are sometimes at a loss for what to make of her stage show. But since committing to the mermaid life, she's never looked back.
"Ever since then I've been like, 'OK, this is totally right,'" she said. "I'm able to incorporate storytelling, character, music, costume and glitter. All the things I like."
Dakota Belle Witt, the half-mermaid/half-human performance artist who revels in duality on stage and in person, is really just a nice Monterey girl who wants to sing you a pretty song.
Witt brings her siren and shanty songs, sexy ukulele and drag-inspired stage show to the Alternative Cafe on Saturday. Show begins at 8p.m.
For the 25-year-old Witt, a Monterey High School grad who now lives in San Francisco, being a mermaid is no mere get-up. She performs on stage in a sequin-decorated mermaid tail, which she matter-of-factly refers to as "my skin."
"I think that my mermaid identity is a birth defect, because my mom was working at the Monterey Bay Aquarium when she was pregnant with me," she deadpanned during a Skype interview. "I was born at the same time the aquarium opened, so we're looking into a class-action lawsuit trying to see if we can find other people with similar stories."
The defect hasn't been a total bummer though.
"I mean, not that I'm sad that I ended up this way," she cracked.
Beneath the surface of glitter and fins is the very real emotion that Witt packs in her songs. She cites Kimya Dawson as a reference point for her lyrics and musical direction.
A seemingly simple siren song appears dedicated to an unknown sailor, with lyrics like, "Sailor, Sailor, lock me away/ I'll be your secret and I'll be your slave/
No one need ever to know I exist/ Grant me your love and I'll grant you your wish ..."Upon further review, Witt shares that it's dedicated to a very real person from her past.
"I totally wrote that when I was in this really (crummy) relationship with this girl who was in the closet, and she would not identify (to others) that we were dating," she said.
The sexual ambiguity of mermaid legend was a big sell for Witt, who started off performing in mermaid drag under the stage name Sirene von Calypso.
She moved past that persona, preferring to identify herself on stage, now that she's more comfortable in her fins.
"I think mermaids in general are a very potent mythical image in our culture of duality. There's something sort of transgressive about a half-fish, half-girl," she said. "There's all these different layers, and I'm very attracted to that. Multiple layers of meaning happen in my performance, I guess."
She picked up a ukulele three years ago while on tour with the colorful vaudevillian sister duo Vermillion Lies.
A self-proclaimed "performance junkie" who started in theater at age 6, Witt picked up an instrument after her previous performance experience left her unfulfilled.
"I was like 'This isn't doing it for me anymore. I don't know how to play music. I guess I'll do that next. That's totally scary," she said.
"I was like sweating. Just covered in sweat. And that wasn't doing it for me anymore," she said. "I was like 'I should probably wear a mermaid tail, and be half-naked on stage. That's better. That's scary.'"
The next level is a full-length theatrical stage show, "Don't Fall In Love with a Mermaid."
She's collaborating with a friend who has a background in clown makeup and mask-making.
There will be shadow puppetry and music. She will workshop it during the summer in Portland, Ore.
"It's an updated version of the classic mermaid tale."
Witt admitted that audiences are sometimes at a loss for what to make of her stage show. But since committing to the mermaid life, she's never looked back.
"Ever since then I've been like, 'OK, this is totally right,'" she said. "I'm able to incorporate storytelling, character, music, costume and glitter. All the things I like."
No comments:
Post a Comment