Farmhouse Whorehouse, an Artist Lecture by Suzanne Bocanegra starring Lili Taylor

Farmhouse Whorehouse begins on a small farm across the street from a brothel. The farm belongs to Suzanne Bocanegra’s grandparents, and the brothel is the Chicken Ranch, better known as the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (of the eponymous musical and film). The performance plays out in Bocanegra's signature “artist lecture” style. Sitting stage right, she feeds scripted lines via earpiece to an onstage orator—in this instance, actor Lili Taylor (Mystic Pizza, Six Feet Under). Equipped with historical footage, a PowerPoint, and wit, the pair delivers a theatrical essay examining American notions of rural utopia and urban imagination.