The Esentials
- Name: Elizabeth Shapiro (No hiding the ethnicity.)
- Age: 23
- Neighborhood: Brooklyn Heights
- Originally from: Boston
- Sign: Cancer (You won’t meet a cancer who doesn’t believe in astrology. You won’t meet a virgo who does.)
- Occupation: Actress/ Singer/ President and Founder of Politipunk
The Essay Questions
You started Politipunk – a refreshingly pro-Kerry T-shirt company – earlier this summer with only some friends, a website, and a lot of initiative. Since then, it has grown into a phenomenon, with your shirts appearing on the illustrious bodies Natalie Portman, Michael Stipe, and Paris Hilton. Tell Gothamist, why use the T-shirt to get your political message across?
I chose T-shirts because they’re brilliantly innocuous. I mean, it’s just a T-shirt. People are willing to wear a cute T-shirt, but it’s not too charged to make people feel uncomfortable. The idea is to get people to flock to something trendy, but not necessarily political. Who’s to say sex appeal doesn’t override political beliefs? That’s why we try to get the trendsetters to wear our shirts, people you’ll see on MTV or Extra and in Star or US Weekly. I care more about informing people, but in the end, T-shirts work for a condensed period of time.
November 2 is (gasp!) just over two weeks away. What do envision for the future of Politipunk after the election?
That is the question of the moment. I have the top stores in the country saying we will carry anything you give us. We could do a Democratic Maternity offshoot – Placentapunk – and have a T-shirt that reads, “See? We don’t all believe in abortion.” I could see starting a production company, but we wouldn’t do anything heavy-handed or didactic. It would be in the same vein as an innocuous T-shirt. I don’t believe in working against society and alienating people. It’s like vegans who don’t shave their legs. They would just be better off shaving and going to business school.
I know you’ve also been working with the Democratic National Committee. Tell us about how scarily unorganized they are.
I basically approached the Kerry campaign and told them their shirts looked Republican. People are willing to be your walking billboards if you give them something cute to wear. They’re so overloaded right now that they don’t need people to suggest ideas, but to execute them. I’m working with them to try and get a celebrity to Ohio to go and encourage people to vote. All it takes is to get a famous person there. Don’t assume someone else is doing it, because someone else is not doing it.
Any thoughts on current state of affairs?
I realize there are two jobs you don’t get preparation for: being a parent and being President. But the more I watch these guys, the more I realize how scary they are. There’s no accountability. People are complacent about things they shouldn’t be. And the information geared toward young people is so condescending and vapid. We need to figure out how to do things differently. Are we really going to be as big of tools as our parents? We have a greater capacity for empathy at this point in our lives, so we have to do something that informs people.
As a singer, you’re interested in a number of different kinds of music. What do you like, either as a performer or a listener?
My background is in classical music, but I don’t mesh with that world. I also don’t fit with the cabaret world. The best you can do there is to do well. The music I like is anachronistic. I mean, I love minstrel music. It’s racist, but it’s amazing. The music I like now is more indie and cutting edge.
You wrote and performed a one-woman show in college that you brought to New York after you graduated. What did that feature?
I wanted to do a recital that was like a stage show, something that would tell a story – not like a play, but like an album. It was based on William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience and discussed how it felt to love someone through interviews with people. I wanted to address love, but not in a sappy way. It had jazz and opera, and I wanted to get people to come who never listen to those things. I performed it at this flaming club with a lot of Judy Garland impersonators.
Gratuitous Q&A
Quintessential New York movie?
This is so embarrassing, but Three Men and a Baby – which is pretty much my favorite movie. I once met Fiona Shaw and complemented her on her performance in the sequel, Three Men and a Little Lady. She looked at me like, “I played Medea, bitch.”
Best part of Central Park?
I love walking by the horses on Central Park West or past the people who draw portraits. I’m fascinated by people who have talent but no imagination.
You get to be Bloomberg for a day. What do you change?
Turning right on red. I hate cities that don’t let you do that. It’s so inefficient.
What do you do on the subway?
I listen to music, read tacky magazines, and stare at other people. I also read all the ads. My favorite is for this law firm of two obviously Jewish guys. Steinberg and Rosenthal, or something like that. They do personal injury cases for Hispanics. The ad is in Spanish, but their phone number is 1-800-MARGARITA. So offensive. It’s like they got together and thought of a random Spanish word that they knew and could work as a phone number. Hmm, 1-800-TACO… No, not enough letters.
Rudest New York moment?
I flipped off guys doing construction work across the street from my apartment. They would make catcalls every time I went by. As I flipped them off, some guy walked past and told me, “That’s so rude.”
Your ideal New Yorker?
Frank Rich. His articles say just what needs to be said. He represents what I love: no bullshit smart. That really epitomizes New Yorkers – they’re not starstruck or easily duped.
Favorite music venue?
The Met. It’s so wonderfully tacky with gilded gold and red carpet.
What do you miss most when you leave the city?
Walking everywhere. I don’t like exercising, but I love walking for miles and always being engaged. Every corner has another play, another drama, another plot. I also miss the Chelsea Flea Market. I go once a month, especially for the costume jewelry. Anything over-the-top or fake. I love wearing jeans and a T-shirt with rhinestone earrings.
Best public washroom?
At the Plaza, because it’s my favorite place in New York. I always feel like I’m walking by there. It’s magical and very easy to sneak in. I like using the restrooms at very nice hotels.
First the smoking ban. What’s next?
Sodomy. But then they’d have to get rid of Chelsea.
Best place for a break-up?
At Beauty & the Beast, the Broadway show. It would diffuse the situations, because musicals always diffuse bad situations.
Interview by C. Mason Wells
