Suspended Disbelief shares nearly 100 objects from the 15-year history of Elvis’ Birthday Fight Club (EBFC). The annual theatrical experience started as a little burlesque show and has since become a DC/Baltimore cultural touchstone with its own punch-drunk logic, physics, and rituals. At the opening of each performance, the character of Commodious (Elvis’ Toilet) tells the audience “you may have to suspend your disbelief a little tiny bit.” With sleazy humor, a penchant for fart jokes, and cartoon-like violence, EBFC creates a world where someone wearing a trash can and a 5 gallon bucket from Home Depot is undoubtedly Lego Batman. A place where an object made of a hand armature, gaff tape, paint, and string from a discarded dog toy is a dreaded MONKEY PAW. And where a foam sculpted head attached to a bike helmet with beauty store weave is the prettiest My Little Pony of all time (RIP Sparkleshine, gone but not forgotten). Why? Because the outrageous is more fun than verisimilitude, and the surreal sometimes more honest than the real. Suspended Disbelief invites you to get up close to costumes and props that were never designed for up-close magic, but here they are…flaws, hot glue, and all; and, arguably still very much magical.
BIOGRAPHY
Astro Pop Events (APE) is a group of artists who come together to create unique and off-beat entertainment. APE specializes in short-run, high-impact, event-style theater and its credits include Countdown to Yuri’s Night (2008 – 2015), America The Game Show (2016 – 2019), and Elvis’ Birthday Fight Club (since 2011). Elvis’ Birthday Fight Club (EBFC) originated as a one-off, one-night show produced by Amy Eggers, Kate Taylor Davis, and Jared Davis when they got a date at DC’s Warehouse theater to produce a TBD burlesque show that happened to fall on Elvis’ Birthday. Over Thai food, the group brainstormed how to theme this project and eventually came up with Elvis’ Birthday Fight Club…never thinking it would still be punching above its weight 15 years later.
Over the years, there have been many “fight clubbers” who have rotated in and out of the show’s production, each adding to the legacy and ridiculousness of this bizarre annual event. Jared Davis has been the company’s set designer since its inception, driving the visual aesthetic while also crafting the majority of the exaggerated props and costumes for the show. These pieces are then brought to life through the work of sound designers, lighting designers, and performers. In addition to being the “best ‘Elvis’ Astro Pop could afford,” Jared is an artist, painter, and set designer. Suspended Disbelief credits Jared and the many other artists who have made lowbrow stage magic happen, using far more ingenuity than resources.
ABOUT ELVIS’ BIRTHDAY FIGHT CLUB (EBFC)
EBFC is an annual theatrical event that loosely honors The King of Rock N’ Roll’s birthday. The show boasts “flim-flam fisticuffs and hot tah-tahs,” alternating staged fights and Elvis’-themed burlesque performances. The combination makes for a sexy and surreal celebration of The King’s birthday. While the annual fighter roster is a closely guarded secret, past matches have included “The Supreme Court” vs “The Supremes”, “Freddie Mercury” vs “The Queen of England”, Bridezilla vs Godzilla, Count Von Count vs. Count Chocula, Congress v a Clown, and “Putin” vs a Unicorn. EBFC has been performed in DC since 2011 and in Baltimore since 2012, garnering cult-like status with audiences growing each year.
Location: Amalie Rothschild Gallery
Location: Amalie Rothschild Gallery
Location: Main Gallery
Location: Amalie Rothschild Gallery
