←Recommendations of CONTRAPPOSTO

I don't know much about art but I like this... Ah, but is it art or exploitation... How uncomfortable can a naked lady make you feel?

I love how Venus is portrayed and the language of the play is so rich and hilarious. It's short piece that really packs an emotional punch in ten pages.

I died every time they talked about her "potato" and I wish I could've made it out to the Scratching the Surface Festival in London to see this. It's a lot of fun for both actors, and the audience, and manages to really suss out absurdity of one of the many paintings created under the male gaze. Carnes' wit is on full display here and it left me wishing there was more time left in this 10 minute window. Bravo!

Always fun to contemplate the back story between the subject of a work of art and the artist. Here Rachael puts an amusingly modern feminist twist on the Botticelli classic that people stand on long lines to see in Florence's Uffizi Galleries. Did the original model address the original Sandro with this kind of sass? And if you think not, were you there?

"Contrapposto" reminds us that the #Me-Too Movement started at least as early as 1485. A hilarious bout between two icons, Venus makes the case for women's power and dignity that we all know is true, but is lost in men's idealization of them. "My body placed there," she says, "divorced from head and heart, an open invitation." Tragic, funny, brilliant.

Love the mixture of contemporary and ancient in this funny and thought-provoking play about the obstacles for women to fighting the patriarchy and the male gaze. I'd love to see this un-self-aware Botticelli and hip Venus square off on stage, as she does everything to avoid climbing into that oversized clam shell. A sure crowd pleaser for a 10-minute festival.

How much fun is it to go back to the 15th Century and see Botticelli create Venus? Probably not half as much fun as seeing this play! In Carnes' invention Venus gets to argue over how she'll be painted, and Venus is a feminist! Great work!

Irresistible. A very important conversation piece about art, the artist's gaze, the male gaze and the insidious role it has played in depicting women throughout the years. Carnes' Venus is a delight, speaking her own truth and value and worth among the gods. Here Carnes reaches across time, and perhaps, the stars, and helps a god reclaim her strength and voice from those who have co-opted them for the last 500-plus years. Exquisite title, as well. This would be a worthy addition to any festival.