Allie Rowbottom interviews Cristine Brache about her new collection, “Goodnight Sweet Thing.”

Cristine Brache’s poetry collection Goodnight Sweet Thing delves into the secret lives of Playboy Playmates, possessed nuns, and Brache herself.

For his monthly column, Drew Zeiba traverses New York City in search of performances beyond the page

Two female wrestlers. One giant ring of Jell-O. One night only. Earlier this month, in celebration of Cristine Brache’s second book of poems, Goodnight Sweet Thing (anonymous Publishing, 2024), the artist took her pages to the stage with co-director Sigrid Lauren in an original theatrical adaptation at 4n studio in Chinatown. Starring Emily Allan, Betsey Brown, and Joshua Weidenmiller with a live score by Ryan Woodhall, the sold-out show carried themes pertinent to Brache’s series of work over the last few years, including America’s Sweetest Dream (NADA, 2023) and her short film titled Carmen (2023), all of which explores the complexity of power dynamics, mortality, and the female psyche.

A couple of weeks ago, artist Cristine Brache hosted a live performance of her piece Goodnight Sweet Thing (created with fellow artist Sigrid Lauren) in Chinatown at 42n Studios, and it was the talk of the town. It was technically a theatrical adaption of her recent book of poetry as interpreted by female wrestlers duking it out in a pit of Jell-O. For those of you who missed the performance, I asked the artist to chronicle the week surrounding the opening. Take it away, Cristine… —Annie Armstrong