David Vanderbilt
Directing
Known For
The poet vanishes and only his voice remains. He is replaced, as Walters describes it, by a "visual realization" of the poem's themes of spies, secret codes and lurking violence.
Under Suspicion
This is a video fantasy about Vicki Morgan, scandalous ex-lover of Alfred Bloomingdale. Vicki thoughtfully goes shopping—to beat the heat.
Vicki Picks a Tie
A parody of American domestic and political life. Marge Jones, a B-movie actress, is plagued by creditors and blackmail. She returns to her hometown, Zanesville, Ohio, to raise her two children and save herself.
A Family All Together
Gaver is an actor rather than a reciter and pulls the "text" out of a gold-leaf skull, folds it into an airplane and then tosses it over and over. Scenes of newspaper production and World War II propaganda footage are intercut with this main action, echoing visually the rhythms of the poem.
Fresh Out of Ideas
Documents the innovative ways in which Washington writer/poet Chasen Gaver uses movement, percussion and other performance elements to enhance the delivery of verse. He uses this form of poetry to raise questions about our society, encourage cross-cultural awareness and make us reflect on contemporary issues.
Beat: The Performance Poetry of Chasen Gaver
A now-defunct Washington, D.C. after-hours gay bar is used as the setting for hell.
Desk in Hell
A parody of American domestic and political life. Barbara Walters interviews Joan Kennedy. Assuming a reconciliation with Ted, this acerbic farce casts alcoholic, manic depressive Joan Kennedy as First Lady. First part of "A Kennedy Trilogy."
First Lady Joan (The Remake)
In this abrasive concluding segment of "A Kennedy Trilogy," Joan returns to the White House after hospital treatment.