More tickets available! Seats not guaranteed. Show up early, bring a picnic blanket, or lean sexily against a wall, all cool-like.

On the occasion of the post-Fourth of July comedown, Spectacle is pleased to present two classics of mondo Americana:

MORGAN'S CAKE
Dir. Rick Schmidt, 1988
USA, 85 min

preceded by

THE ETERNAL FRAME
Dir. Ant Farm & T.R. Uthco, 1975
USA, 23 min

Can one have their cake and eat it too? Such is the guiding quandary in Bay Area filmmaker Rick Schmidt's fourth feature, MORGAN'S CAKE, a largely improvised coming-of-age movie filmed on a shoestring budget of $15,000. Morgan (played by Schmidt's real-life son, Morgan Schmidt-Feng) is down on his luck and turning 18. His girlfriend is pregnant and his bohemian parents don't offer much stability. He's conflicted about registering for the draft and spends his time meandering around the city, chatting with an assortment of local eccentrics. What elevates an otherwise straightforward premise is the realness of the performances, from the substanial—e.g. Morgan's father, played by wily video artist Willie Boy Walker, regaling his son with his true-life story of loading up on LSD to deliberately tank his army psych exam—to the minor, like street-casted San Franciscan denizens sounding off on their feelings about the draft. A breezy pace and natural warmth make this a "slice" of life that is funny, outlandish, and gently elegiac.

It'll be preceded by what's maybe the magnum opus of both Ant Farm and T.R. Uthco, two stalwart art collectives from the heyday of heady West coast performance. Funded in part by National Lampoon and the Dilexi Gallery's Jim Newman, THE ETERNAL FRAME documents the two groups' efforts to re-enact the assassination of John F. Kennedy, meticulously costuming and choreographing a shot-for-shot remake of the Zapruder film (then not so easy to track down) in front of spectators in Dealey Plaza. Done not merely out of irreverence or post-Watergate bicentennial fatigue, the performance probes media and simulation's disquieting roles in producing political mythology. Asked at the end of the video "Who killed Kennedy?" T.R. Uthco's Doug Hall replies, "Who cares? We all did."

SCHEDULE
7 pm - Doors open, tunes by DJ Daniel DiMaggio (Home Blitz), refreshments
8 pm - Show begins, opening remarks, Spectacle trailers
8:10 pm - THE ETERNAL FRAME
8:35 pm - MORGAN'S CAKE

ACCESSIBILITY & SAFETY
The main entrance and indoor museum are entirely flat, but there are 4 steps up and 4 steps down to the backyard. The backyard is uneven with some platforms, but a paved area near the entrance is available with a view of the stage. Email jacob@cityreliquary.org with any questions or needs, and we'll happy to figure out if and how we can accommodate.

Masks are required indoors for unvaccinated attendees. Masks are optional for all outdoors. Email jacob@cityreliquary.org with any questions or concerns.

WHAT IS SPECTACLE THEATER?

Spectacle (est. 2010) is a collectively-run screening space in Brooklyn, NY, established and staffed by hard-working, cinema-loving volunteers. Our programming runs seven days a week and includes overlooked works, offbeat gems, contemporary art, radical polemics, live performance and more. We are currently gearing up for a full reopening in September 2021, and are in the meantime organizing a series of outdoor screenings with partners including Union Docs, Rooftop Films, Printed Matter, Les Petit Versailles, and more, as well as streaming movies online at spectacletheater.com.

WHAT IS THE CITY RELIQUARY?
Reliquaries typically house the ostensible bones of dead saints. We’re a museum that houses the bones of New York City. From seltzer bottles to schist cores, roller skates from racially integrated rinks, to a burnt out lightbulb from the Statue of Liberty's torch.

WHY MEMBERSHIP?
Sustaining monthly memberships help us predict our finances, and survive through and beyond this pandemic. We can plan much better around reliable “subscriptions” than the whims of admissions & ticket sales. This show, like all our events, is free for members. Join at cityreliquary.org/join.

WHAT ELSE?
Bring your own food. Drinks available by donation via cash or Venmo.

Well-behaved dogs are welcome.