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 The
film "THOTH" won an Academy Award for Best Documentary
on a Short Subject.
A street musician from a racially mixed background hopes to
aid the cause of human understanding and harmony by performing
a one-man opera.
Premiere of the film "Thoth" on Cinemax, August
19, 2002.
Intimate, humorous, passionate and poignant, Thoth is a portrait
of the artist as a middle-aged street performer in New York
City. Having moved to the Big Apple from San Francisco (he
was evicted from his apartment there when the rent was raised),
S. (for Stephen) K. Thoth is an athletic and artistic 47-year-old
who considers himself homeless, although he lives with his
mother, a professional timpanist, in her small apartment.
Thoth and his violin are fixtures at the Bethesda Fountain
at 72nd Street in Central Park, where he has been performing
his self-titled "soloperas," or solo operas, since
1999. Although Thoth has performed across Europe, South America
and California, New York has claimed him as its own. In 2000,
New York magazine pictured him among its "Faces of New
York," and this Oscar®-winning documentary film,
originally shown around the country as part of Art for America
(a national fund-raiser that benefits the Twin Towers Fund),
has transformed him from a local curiosity to a national celebrity.
Performing his pieces in front of an ever-changing street
audience of locals and tourists, Thoth is the composer, the
orchestra, the characters and the dancers in his "soloperas,"
which he also calls "prayer-formances." "It
draws from every center of my being," he says of his
music. "It is part vocalization, parable, aerobics, monologue,
alchemy, theater, puzzle, language deconstruction, healing
ritual and sacred dance... I play what I feel and I feel what
my ancestors express through me. The music is part improvisatory
and part formal. In life I seek a balance between stillness
and motion to connect to the collective unconscious - the
shore and the river together reach the ocean." Thoth's
compositions are based on fantastic, Tolkien-like worlds he
has created himself, complete with languages he invented and
sings in a voice that ranges from baritone to high soprano.
His performances are rewarded by donations from the audience,
who also pay "whatever they care to" for CD recordings
of his operas.
Because of his mixed ethnic background - his father was a
Russian Jew and his mother was an African-American from Barbados
- Thoth grew up in a world of alienation and discrimination,
unsure of his place among peers. Admitting he never fit in
as either white or black, Thoth says that it was his music
that allowed him to survive and build confidence, especially
after his parents broke up. It is also clear that Thoth has
been inspired by the example of his talented mother, who was
the first African-American member of the New York Philharmonic.
CREDITS: Directed by Sarah Kernochan; Produced by Sarah Kernochan
& Lynn Appelle; Co-Producer: Friedrike Merck; Co-Producer:
Curt Johnson; Edited by Emily Paine. For Cinemax Reel Life:
Supervising Producer: Greg Rhem; Executive Producer: Sheila
Nevins
June 2001 Interview in "It's Random" Magazine.
Performance Artist Profile: Thoth Prayforms Like an Angel
"Thoth was the ancient Egyptian god of scribes, wisdom,
communication and mathematics".
Heading towards the Angel Tunnel in Central Park, there was
an enormous crowd lingering around "something" beneath
the bridge. As I approached I heard the sound of a violin,
some bells ringing and the faint sound of an opera voice.
I headed over and to see what the fuss was about.
There was this guy dressed in an Egyptian like costume, black
braided hair pulled up on top of his head which flowed down
like a waterfall and he had a body built like one of those
Greek God statues.
Ok, at first, you might think he's a freak. To see a man
dancing around in high heels, singing opera, playing the violin,
wearing a skimpy outfit that just covers his private parts,
has a feather sticking out of his hair, and bells ringing
around his ankles.
Freak, artist or whatever you may think of him, Thoth is
a spiritual being who prayforms his solopera to find inner
peace and is willing to share his gift with you.
Meet Thoth…
What exactly is a solopera?
It's part vocalizing, puzzle, aerobics routine, monologue,
language deconstruction, alchemy, theater, healing ritual,
sacred dance, all accompanied by solo violin and complex percussive
rhythms.
What inspired the prayformance?
We'll start with the violin. My mother plays the drums. While
she was pregnant with me, I heard the drumbeats from the womb
and that's when I started creating melodies. Then I started
to explore other tools like the piano and at the same time
I started to become physically fit through dancing a lot.
That's when I became embarrassed about myself and started
to shut down. The process of coming out of that embarrassment
brought me to the creation of my "prayformances".
Why were you embarrassed?
Everything embarrassed me. At that time my voice jumped around
a lot. Being biracial was embarrassing. I needed to learn
to love myself, and that process is very complex. I learned
to work at it through self-observation…and that's exactly
what a prayformance is, a continuing of that process and observing
myself and becoming more and more sure of who I am. And each
time I do that I learn about what I'm doing here.
Do you love yourself now?
It's amazing, you still have to mull. We have to continue
to grow and deal and learn to love the changes in our lives.
As I'm getting older I'm experiencing changes in my being
and those changes are interesting. They make you reevaluate
who you are. Physically…
Yeah, how do you keep that Greek statuesque figure?
Discipline. Self-control. Eating nuts, berries and dried fruit.
What are you thinking about during a prayformance?
My mind goes everywhere. I'm so occupied spiritually, physically
and mentally. All three centers of my being are occupied.
The centers are aligned and is symbolized by the rhythm, dance
the violin and the voice.
You are spiritual being, how does religion fit into your
life?
I looked into all religions and found the synonymous things,
the truth that runs through all religions. My work is based
on that truth.
Where were you born and raised?
Here, New York City.
Where do you live now?
Queens.
You moved to San Francisco for a while, what brought you
there?
I moved there with my mother and sisters. My mother played
with the NYC Opera, American Symphony, and World Symphony
and subbed in the NY Philharmonic. She took us to San Francisco
to play in the SF Opera and SF Symphony Orchestras.
What about your father?
My father walked out on the family when I was ten and he never
contacted us again. And that has been a difficult thing to
deal with. I just found out that he died. I would have never
known that but a documentary is being done on my life. The
director needed to get my dad's release to use his photograph,
so she called his family. His wife, my step-mom told her that
my dad had passed away.
Are you close to your family now?
My mother and my sisters have protected me all my life…although
they don't know that. I showed that I could move my hips really
well when I was younger. They placed me in a position where
I couldn't show that to anybody, because I probably would
have been killed or something. For a long time I didn't see
it as protection, I was angry with them. But now, I see that
if I had explored the bisexual side to myself I would have
died.
I would have AIDS for sure. When I understood that, my anger
went away.
When did you realize that?
About four years ago. The people in this society are very
afraid of showing that they can take a role. This made me
aware that women would come to protect me. Women are drawn
to me and most men are afraid of me.
But the males that do come towards me and are able to deal
with me are extraordinary, especially if they are beautiful.
I love to be surrounded by beautiful men! That gentle, creative
being in men…I want to nurture that…always.
What are some of the wackier responses you've received from
people?
Weird phone calls like…"Death Thoth, death Thoth"
and "I want to rape you and stick your heel in your butt".
They are freaked out because I wear high heels; I don't know
what their problem is…my heels are part of my instrument!
Have you had any freaky incidents while you were performing?
In San Francisco while I was performing in the Haight District,
which was a place of love… which is a great irony. But
since then it's changed polarity and now it's absolutely its
namesake.
Four years ago, was doing a walkabout and as I was coming
around a corner, I felt energy to my right. I wasn't sure
what it was, so I kept moving. I heard "not a violin!"
And I felt this whack on my back. It hurt! And everybody was
watching and no one was doing anything to help me. How bizarre!
Then I heard it again "not a violin!" and again
whack on my back. I realized I was being attacked and I didn't
know why. But at that moment I thought "If I died right
now, I'm doing exactly what I want to be doing" and I
knew I had found my bliss.
Is this your main source of income?
Yes. And when I play indoors at a venue, I only do it as a
benefit. The reason I can do this is because I don't ask for
any money. I put my hat out and people give money for love.
There is no coercion at all. And since that money is loving…it
has babies.
Do you want to do this for the rest of your life?
Hopefully. But, there might come a time when I won't be able
to dance or use my voice anymore. Then I will finish my mythology
encyclopedia that I've been working on.
Book entitled "The Complete Guide to Event Entertainment
& Production," written by Mark Sonder and published
by John Wiley & Sons, January 2004
The picture below will be published in the book.
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