Joseph Keckler
“I want to envision myself as some sort of living instrument of observation.”
Joseph Keckler
(c) Michael Sharkey
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“Joseph Keckler is a captivating raconteur, with a delicious ability to transform scenes of dread into comedic triumph. His deadpan delivery contrasts brilliantly with his virtuoso appetite for moody glissandi and hectic staccati. I marvel at the social incongruities—the faux pas, the accidental couplings, the identity slippages—that he narratively dishes out as if they were artisanal pizzas, seasoned with a hilarity and drama that add up to box office boffo.”
“Joseph Keckler is a magician, a vagabond of the outer boroughs with an eye for the unorthodox, irregular, anomalous, and uncanny. By turns mordant and melancholy, decadent and delirious, these are stories to cherish, as brilliant and charming as the writer himself.”
“Keckler narrates his life with humor and the occasional surrealist flight of fancy.”
“Fucking amazing.”
“The man behind the voice has the sensibility of a magician, a trickster’s dark humor and a formidable musical and literary erudition…a major vocal talent in creative flux. ”
Joseph Keckler is a singular artist, a performer and creator known for his expressive and powerful voice, sharp prose and stirring songs, and absurdist, bizarrely heroic operatic monologues, which "dance between comedy, commentary, and communion."
In 2018 Turtle Point Press published his essay and story collection, Dragon at the Edge of a Flat World, and Joseph’s writing has been published in Literary Hub, Vice, and many other publications. As an actor, Joseph made his off-broadway debut at Lincoln Center Theater, creating the role of Chaliapin in Dave Malloy's Preludes. He has appeared in a number of other plays and films.
His own shorts, in which he stars, have screened at festivals nationally and internationally. They have also been installed in various museums and galleries, been featured as Vimeo Staff Picks, and have gained popularity online.
In 2019 he premiered his acclaimed stage performance Train With No Midnight in New York and toured the United States as the national support act for the band Sleater-Kinney, playing venues such as Hammerstein Ballroom and Nashville's Ryman Auditorium.
He has headlined concerts at Lincoln Center, Joe's Pub, Centre Pompidou, Third Man Records, and London's Soho Theatre and has performed sets everywhere from SXSW, the inaugural Adult Swim Festival, and on TV with BBC America, to the Baryshnikov Arts Center and Performa Biennial.
Beyond category, Joseph's transcendent performances have stunned audiences in theaters, comedy clubs and art museums alike, in rock venues, underground music scenes, and the hallowed halls of the classical music world. The Village Voice once crowned him "the best performance artist" in New York.
His musical performances have been featured on WNYC Soundcheck and the BBC. Indiewire dubbed his Shroom Aria a “classic,” while Sarah Silverman described it as “mind-blowing.” His evening-length stage pieces have been seen at Prototype Festival (commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects), Opera Philadelphia, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit and others.
Joseph has received a Creative Capital and other awards. He is currently at work on a TV special, new music and videos. He has a degree in painting and lives in Brooklyn.
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Dragon at the Edge of a Flat World: Portraits and Revelations
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