Blake Sugarman
is an Oakland-based artist who works at the intersection of poetry, music, and theater. He is best known for his solo performances which have been described as “spoken word and installation art in a theatrical duet.”
Past solo work has been presented at La MaMa, The Brick (Resident Artist Series), The Marsh, The Living Gallery, Bushwick Open Studios, and NYU's Experimental Theatre Wing.
Defiant Pawns is an eight-part audio piece, co-created by Blake Sugarman and guitarist Tyler Stahl. It's a "musical memoir" which blends storytelling, social commentary, and original music to explore the role that work and creativity play in our lives and what the shifting economic moment means for the future of culture.
Blake speaks, sings and plays harmonica while Tyler layers in guitar and various other instruments. The result is an auditory collage which keeps you on your toes.
Blake’s poetry has been featured at numerous Decentered Arts events as well as in the 16th & Mission Review. Check out this musical take on his poem “The Remaining Pages” below. Music by Jake and Tyler Brasch. Video by Drew Sugarman / Astral Dreams.
Blake’s solo shows explore philosophical quandaries through the lens of his own experiences. He plays himself, but the action occurs in a surreal realm where symbols come to life. Memories unravel into questions which explode into poetry.
Prelude to the Apocalypse (For What It's Worth) engages with the climate crises through the lens of evolutionary time, the biblical apocalypse, and the process of growing up as a person and a society. It all takes place in the shadow of a giant hourglass. Nevertheless, the universe breathes on.
Prelude to the Apocalypse premiered at La MaMa ETC in 2018 as part of their 56th season. Blake was one of four solo artists to be featured in Series of One which La MaMa described as "a platform for provocative, challenging solo performances." The production was directed by Jacob Sexton with sound & video design by Lawrence Schober, lighting by Megan Lang, installation design by Blake Sugarman, choreography by Louisa Barta, and stage management by Chloe Morrell.
The piece was later featured on The Marsh’s “Solo Arts Heal” zoom/YouTube series. You can watch the adapted-for-zoom performance including the talkback with a Sunrise Movement Bay Area member below.
Scream of the Butterfly was presented as part of The Brick’s Resident Artist Series in 2016. The show was billed as “a memory collage on chaos and illusion” that felt “a bit like This American Life on acid.” Broadway World called it “stand-up existentialism stumbling through the looking glass.” The production was directed by Jacob Sexton with production design by Megan Lang, sound design by Lawrence Schober, and stage management by Kendall Allen.
is a clumsy quest to meet the I of the beholder: that illusive interpreter who translates the world into thoughts and shoots it through your synapses muddled and abused. That guy (or girl) (or spiritual essence). Where art thou?
The following clips are from the production at NYU's Experimental Theatre Wing in 2014. The first clip shows the visual landscape of the piece while the second one demonstrates Blake's storytelling style.
is a whimsical look at social indoctrination and existential angst. It was first performed at the Balagula Theatre in Lexington, KY and later at Atlantic Stage 2 in NYC. The second rendition of the piece also included art installations and tableaux vivant that were on view as the audience entered the space. The following clip is from the opening sequence of the NYC production in 2012.
