http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/20/arts/dance/more-than-just-a-piece-of-sky-examines-queer-identity.html 2014-09-20 01:39:04 ‘More Than Just a Piece of Sky’ Examines Queer Identity “More Than Just a Piece of Sky,” inspired by “Yentl,” the 1983 Barbra Streisand film, is part of the Queer New York International Arts Festival. === Marissa Perel The performers Lindsay Reuter and Jumatatu Poe are there, too. They introduce themselves by those names, but also by the names of the main characters in “Yentl,” the 1983 Barbra Streisand film about a young woman who pretends to be male in order to attend a yeshiva. The boyish Ms. Reuter, in a tuxedo shirt worn backward, says she is Yentl. Mr. Poe, wearing his lace-fringed blouse the same way, says he is Avigdor. They lean in toward a microphone as if to share a kiss, but they say little else about the story. Most of what they say in this meditatively paced, hourlong work, presented as part of the Queer New York International Arts Festival, can’t be found in the movie or in the Isaac Bashevis Singer tale on which it was based: “I didn’t use my privilege the way she wanted.” “What does it take to be totally evil?” “I was his colon.” Some of this text is by Ms. Perel, who is mainly a writer. Some is read aloud from the books around her, stacks of bedtime reading that include Frantz Fanon, Roland Barthes and tomes of queer theory. Mr. Poe slips under the sheets with Ms. Perel so they might read together. The way they overlap and swallow words doesn’t aid comprehension. Nor does Ms. Perel’s habit of softly echoing the others’ speech. But both modes of delivery contribute to an impression of Ms. Perel’s mind working something out as she sleeps. Despite talk of bodies, the action is minimal. Mr. Poe disrobes for a desultory, languorous dance to a recording of Miguel Gutierrez singing “ After Ms. Perel has played “