Arts & Entertainment
Calendar for Sept. 10
Friday, Sept. 10 through Thursday, Sept. 16
Today
Burgundy Crescent Volunteer Women’s Social is tonight at the Jazz in the Garden from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Sculpture Garden. BCV will be the group with rainbow towels and blankets. The event was arranged by the Women of BCV Social Committee and will greet attendees with BCV nametags as they arrive. Contact Christine Bartle at [email protected] with any questions.
Gay District, a weekly, non-church affiliated discussion and social group for gay, bi and trans men between 18 and 35, meets tonight from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, 1820 Connecticut Ave., N.W. For more information, e-mail [email protected].
Celebrate Shabbat services, 8:30 to 10 p.m. tonight at the D.C. Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th St. Services are followed by an Oneg social.
Siren, an alternative-to-club music event, is tonight at Apex, 1415 22nd St., N.W., featuring DJs Majr from Shift and Aaron Riggins from HHHH, WTF in the main hall and DJ Frenchie in the backroom video bar playing music videos. There is an $8 cover. You must be 18 to enter, 21 to drink.
NiteCamp, hailed as America’s only college age GoGo team, comes to Town, 2009 8th St., N.W., tonight at 10 p.m. For those 21 and over, this is a $5 cover charge before 11 p.m. and $10 after. For those 18 to 20, the cover is $10 all night.
Saturday, September 11
Ten groups are cohosting a second “Mega Party Game Night” tonight at Bailey’s Pub in Ballston Common Mall, from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. There will be free pizza, wings, chips and salsa as well as free use of the pool tables, 50 different games to play and free door prizes. This event is free.
The annual Kings Dominion Gay and Lesbian Night is tonight from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. This event benefits Brother Help Thyself. While other Kings Dominion guests are leaving the park, Brother supporters are entering. In addition to the rides and attractions, there will be a party on International Street. Tickets are $32 in advance and $35 at the gate. To purchase tickets online, visit kingsdominion.com/shop/shopping_corporate_partners.cfm and enter gaynight as the company ID.
CRACK has been canceled for tonight at Town.
BLOWOFF, a monthly party featuring gay DJs/remixers Bob Mould and Richard Morel, is tonight at 9:30 Club, 815 V St., N.W., starting at 11:30 p.m. Visit blowoff.us for more information.
Also at 9:30 Club tonight, in the back bar, is Transformer, presented by the New Gay. It’s billed as D.C.’s only ’60s, ’70s and ’80s queer dance party with DJ’s by Zack Rosen of Homo/Sonic from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. This party is co-ed, trans-inclusive and straight friendly.
Sunday, September 12
CJ Foundation for SIDS is having its annual charity walk today at Buddy Attick Park, 555 Crescent Rd., in Greenbelt. The walk is to have fun and raise funds for SIDS research and support for families who have lost babies to SIDS. There will be live entertainment and actress and spokesperson, Gabrielle Christian of South of Nowhere, plans to attend. Registration is free and starts at 8:15 a.m. The walk is one and one-fourth mile around Greenbelt Lake, rain or show. A light breakfast will be served.
Burgundy Crescent Volunteers will be helping fight hunger in the D.C. area today from 9 a.m. to noon, with D.C. Central Kitchen. Volunteers will help cook, working along chefs who have graduated from DCCK’s job training program. No experience is required, just an interest of cooking. DCCK provides job skills by using rescued and donated ingredients to teach unemployed and homeless individuals how to cook, then turns this food into free meal services. E-mail [email protected] for more information.
D.C. Kings will be performing tonight at Phase 1, 525 8th St., S.E., in an ’80s vs. ’90s Drag King Show starting at 10 p.m. King Idol will happen before the show, so all participants must show up by 8:30 with their CD. This is a 21 and over event. Cover is $5.
Monday, September 13
The first general membership meeting of the Imperial Court of Washington, D.C., will be tonight at Green Lantern, 1335 Green Court, N.W. There will be a meet and greet from 7:30 to 8 p.m. and then the meeting will begin.
Tuesday, September 14
SpeakeasyDC presents “The Underdog: Stories About Beating the Odds” tonight at Town, 2009 8th St., N.W. All the stories told are true. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. $10 cover at the door. An all-you-can-eat buffet will be provided by Nellie’s Sports Bar for an additional $10. Both cover and buffet are cash only. Visit speakeasydc.com for more information.
Wednesday, September 15
SAGE Metro DC is having a LGBT and Aging in America presentation at the D.C. Center, 1318 U St., N.W., today from 8 to 9 a.m. featuring Greg Case from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This presentation is designed toward LGBT professionals and those serving the aging community.
CAGLCC (Capital Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce) has organized a new networking evening especially for women entrepreneurs and professionals and the first event is tonight at the CommonWealth GastroPub, 1400 Irving St., N.W., close to the Columbia Heights Metro, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. This event is free for CAGLCC members. If you are not a member, it is $15 if you pre-register, $20 at the door.
The Tom Davaron Social Bridge Club will meet at 7:30 p.m., at the Dignity Center, 721 8th St., S.E., (across from Marine Barracks) for Social Bridge. No partner is needed. Visit lambdabridge.com and click on “Social Bridge in Washington, D.C.”
Thursday, September 16
Gregory Jones will be leading a discussion tonight at the D.C. Center, 1318 U St., N.W., following a screening of the film, ‘Do I Look Fat?’ at 7 p.m.
Team DC, the umbrella organization for LGBTQ-friendly sports teams and leagues in the D.C. area, held its annual Night of Champions Awards Gala on Saturday, April 20 at the Hilton National Mall. The organization gave out scholarships to area LGBTQ student athletes as well as awards to the Different Drummers, Kelly Laczko of Duplex Diner, Stacy Smith of the Edmund Burke School, Bryan Frank of Triout, JC Adams of DCG Basketball and the DC Gay Flag Football League.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The 2024 National Cannabis Festival was held at the Fields at RFK Stadium on April 19-20.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Covering the @NatlCannaFest at RFK Stadium for @WashBlade . Stop by the LGBTQ+ booth and pick up a paper if you are here. pic.twitter.com/is7hnsaPns
— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) April 20, 2024
Theater
‘Amm(i)gone’ explores family, queerness, and faith
A ‘fully autobiographical’ work from out artist Adil Mansoor
‘Amm(i)gone’
Thorough May 12
Woolly Mammoth Theatre
641 D St., N.W.
$60-$70
Woollymammoth.net
“Fully and utterly autobiographical.” That’s how Adil Mansoor describes “Amm(i)gone,” his one-man work currently playing at Woolly Mammoth Theatre.
Both created and performed by out artist Mansoor, it’s his story about inviting his Pakistani mother to translate Sophocles’s Greek tragedy “Antigone” into Urdu. Throughout the journey, there’s an exploration of family, queerness, and faith,as well as references to teachings from the Quran, and audio conversations with his Muslim mother.
Mansoor, 38, grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and is now based in Pittsburgh where he’s a busy theater maker. He’s also the founding member of Pittsburgh’s Hatch Arts Collective and the former artistic director of Dreams of Hope, an LGBTQ youth arts organization.
WASHINGTON BLADE: What spurred you to create “Amm(i)gone”?
ADIL MANSOOR: I was reading a translation of “Antigone” a few years back and found myself emotionally overwhelmed. A Theban princess buries her brother knowing it will cost her, her own life. It’s about a person for whom all aspirations are in the afterlife. And what does that do to the living when all of your hopes and dreams have to be reserved for the afterlife?
I found grant funding to pay my mom to do the translation. I wanted to engage in learning. I wanted to share theater but especially this ancient tragedy. My mother appreciated the characters were struggling between loving one another and their beliefs.
BLADE: Are you more director than actor?
MANSOOR: I’m primarily a director with an MFA in directing from Carnegie Mellon. I wrote, directed, and performed in this show, and had been working on it for four years. I’ve done different versions including Zoom. Woolly’s is a new production with the same team who’ve been involved since the beginning.
I love solo performance. I’ve produced and now teach solo performance and believe in its power. And I definitely lean toward “performance” and I haven’t “acted” since I was in college. I feel good on stage. I was a tour guide and do a lot of public speaking. I enjoy the attention.
BLADE: Describe your mom.
MANSOOR: My mom is a wonderfully devout Muslim, single mother, social worker who discovered my queerness on Google. And she prays for me.
She and I are similar, the way we look at things, the way we laugh. But different too. And those are among the questions I ask in this show. Our relationship is both beautiful and complicated.
BLADE: So, you weren’t exactly hiding your sexuality?
MANSOOR: In my mid-20s, I took time to talk with friends about our being queer with relation to our careers. My sexuality is essential to the work. As the artistic director at Dreams of Hope, part of the work was to model what it means to be public. If I’m in a room with queer and trans teenagers, part of what I’m doing is modeling queer adulthood. The way they see me in the world is part of what I’m putting out there. And I want that to be expansive and full.
So much of my work involves fundraising and being a face in schools. Being out is about making safe space for queer young folks.
BLADE: Have you encountered much Islamophobia?
MANSOOR: When 9/11 happened, I was a sophomore in high school, so yes. I faced a lot then and now. I’ve been egged on the street in the last four months. I see it in the classroom. It shows up in all sorts of ways.
BLADE: What prompted you to lead your creative life in Pittsburgh?
MANSOOR: I’ve been here for 14 years. I breathe with ease in Pittsburgh. The hills and the valleys and the rust of the city do something to me. It’s beautiful, it’ affordable, and there is support for local artists. There’s a lot of opportunity.
Still, the plan was to move to New York in September of 2020 but that was cancelled. Then the pandemic showed me that I could live in Pittsburgh and still have a nationally viable career.
BLADE: What are you trying to achieve with “Amm(i)gone”?
MANSOOR: What I’m sharing in the show is so very specific but I hear people from other backgrounds say I totally see my mom in that. My partner is Catholic and we share so much in relation to this.
I hope the work is embracing the fullness of queerness and how means so many things. And I hope the show makes audiences want to call their parents or squeeze their partners.
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