The Bonnies
Picklehole
Simply, a piece about pickles… right?
Picklehole is inspired by a scene in the Czech new wave film Daisies where the two main characters feed each other pickles in bed – but both the scene and the Bonnies’ new piece uses briny cucumbers to get at deeper themes about sexuality (and the awkwardness that comes with it), rebellion, and even joy.
That said, the Bonnies chose the name Picklehole first and foremost because it made them laugh. Still, it manages to subtly point toward the ways femme-bodied people are often made to feel within relationships and society at large. The pickle, then, serves as a multilayered symbol—goofy, grotesquely phallic, and yet oh-so-beautifully capable of transformation and preservation (just like art! (And life!))
In developing the piece, Kaitlin and Jenny have followed a single compass: joy– joy in goofiness, in, fantasy, in beauty. “We hope that if we do what resonates with us, it will resonate with other people too,” Kaitlin says. Their shared history as collaborators making strange performance works since 2013 has allowed for them to explore all desires, impulses, and wishes. Kaitlin describes the rehearsal space as one with plenty of dialogue, intimacy and several trials and errors involving DIY silicone mold-making.
(On Risk/Reward’s side, it’s not the only piece involving silicone molds of objects that definitely aren’t genitalia – make sure you stop by Silas Borgstrom Ruesler’s Touch Tank installation before seeing Picklehole in the 7pm mainstage.)
Musically, Jenny has been deconstructing and manipulating the soundtrack of the John Wayne Bobbitt: Uncut porn film. “I love working with already-existing cultural references,” she says. “They carry so many layers of meaning. Plus—it’s just funny.”
Once Risk/Reward’s festival is over, Kaitlin and Jenny will dive into creating their evening-length work I’m on Fire, You’re on Fire, We’re on Fire, set to premiere as part of Velocity’s 2026 spring season. The piece is a hugely ambitious endeavor, with Jenny composing and recording the sound score and Kaitlin designing and building the visual elements. Some material from Picklehole will likely be transformed and absorbed into this larger work. The duo has a couple of developmental residencies lined up over the summer to explore and refine their ideas, and they anticipate that their experience performing at Risk/Reward will play a key role in shaping the direction of the new piece. Audiences can look forward to seeing it in early March in Seattle!
More about the artists:
Kaitlin McCarthy and Jenny Peterson have been making strange performance works together in Seattle, WA since 2013. Often performing as “The Bonnies,” they gravitate to the grotesque/off-kilter/marvelous like moths to the flame. They have performed at WET’s Six-Pack Series, Velocity’s NextFest, OTB’s Open Studio, Boost Dance Festival, NEPO 5k, Seattle Intl Dance Festival, High F@ggotry, and other underground art salons and nightlife performance venues. In 2024 they premiered their first evening-length work, DRIVE WOLVES MAD, and toured it to Portland, OR and San Diego, CA.
One of us is tall, one is short, both are Type A weirdos. Jenny is a Seattle artist working in dance, photography, and music/sound. She grew up a competitive gymnast in the Chicago suburbs and has never recovered. Jenny boasts 17 years of performing professionally in Seattle, including with the Pat Graney Company since 2008. She holds a B.A. in Dance and Visual Arts from UC Irvine and is a licensed massage therapist. Kaitlin is a Seattle-based dance artist, teacher, and journalist. She has performed with countless choreographers since 2010, including as a core member of Alice Gosti’s company MALACARNE. A prominent dance writer about town, she edits the publication SeattleDances and has a decade of experience specializing in teaching adult beginning dance