ER: Ronald Reagan Meets the Cambodian Skulls

A Short History of ER

“In the beginning there was the word: and the word was ER.”

I guess things were never that melodramatic with ER. No one was asked to give up their life for ER, only a little time. ER is a concept akin to “Dada,” “Bull-Dada,” "Beat," and “super-realism,” but what is really about is giving creative people a place to publish and perform in a relaxed atmosphere.

In the beginning there was a poster of ER placed on billboards around town and on campus. It was the summer of 1980 and my first reaction was, “Damn, now there’s a magazine cover!” Two weeks later a mysterious OR poster appeared as way of reply—the perfect back cover. To fill up the insides I began collecting the writing and artwork of friends and fashioned the magazine ER. Like others of the genre it was crude but had spirit. “Just a boy and his typewriter,” I thought. The Xerox 8610 photocopier had just hit town and we were all eager to apply its deep blacks to our posters much to the chagrin of local copy shops. We published 150 copies in all and ate the proceeds.

Then Melanie Wellner and I decided that it would be a good idea to create ER onstage. We formed the Visionnaires with Donna Faye Reeves, Roxanne Rogers, and Steve Feikes, producing a show in 1981 at what was then called Bullwinkle’s Upstairs, later 2nd Story. It was the first ER Night. It was hell on me because I didn’t know anything about delegating responsibility but it worked out in the end and we entertained about 70 people with four hours of poetry, film, music, and madness. My most vivid memory is of Paul J. Smedburg leaping up and down as he worked a slide projector strapped to the top of a rickety, dangerously swaying ten foot wooden ladder while projecting his Egyptian hieroglyph/computer microchip images onto the besheeted form of Melanie as she belted poetry in front of a 4 piece wildboy band. Purely great.

Then I left for New York City and the next phase of the ER saga began: ER 2 and ER 2 1/2 (LeftovERs) at the Monroe County Public Library. Since I wasn’t there I would recommend seeing one of the survivors about the details but as I understand it these were Paul Sturm productions.

Several years passed, and like many Bloomington people, I came back. d. self revived the ER Nights and began producing them at 2nd Story. In her hands ER became a venue for emerging Bloomington music and not so much Theatre of the Absurd so I went off to continue the shenanigans with Snowy Night, produced with Paul Sturm. Over time I hope to display the results of these activities as well as the many ER Night posters I was fortunate to collect.

That was many generations ago, Bloomington time, and most of the people involved in ER have grown up, grown old, and a few have passed on to the great whatever. This is dedicated to every one of them.

—Bill Weaver, Bloomington, Indiana, 4/23/90 (updated 11/7/2012)

"May it please Heaven that the reader, emboldened, and become momentarily as fierce as what he reads, find without loss of bearings a wild and sudden way across the desolate swamps of these sombre, poison-filled pages . . .

"It would not be good for everyone to read the pages which

follow; only the few may relish this bitter fruit without danger.

So, timid soul, before further penetration of such uncharted

steppes, retrace your steps, do not advance. Hear my words well:

retrace your steps, do not advance..."

Le Chants de Maldoror

—Comte de Lautréamont

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Ronald Reagan Meets the Cambodian Skulls

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