Arts & Entertainment
Imperial Court goes glam for Gala
Emperor and Empress IV to be crowned at Sept. 12 event
The Imperial Court (Washington Blade file photo by Vladyslav Rekhovskyy)
The Imperial Court of Washington
Coronation IV: Gala of the Americas
A Reel to Real Celebration
Saturday, Sept. 12
Marriott Metro Center
775 12th St., N.W.
7 p.m.
Tickets: $150
The Imperial Court of Washington is gearing up for its biggest event of the year next weekend.
On Saturday, Sept. 12, the court, part of the International Imperial Court System that was founded in San Francisco in 1965 by the late Jose Sarria, will hold its Coronation IV: Gala of the Americas, which celebrates the current reign of the Emperor and Empress III, Manuel Diego Dennis Alicia and Natasha Jewel Dennis Carrington respectively, and crowns their successors — Emperor DP Diego-Dennis Carrington and Empress Muffy Jaymes Jewel Blake Stephyns. Nicole Murray Ramirez, Queen Mother I of the Americas, is the honored guest and will welcome Imperial Court members and supporters from all over the U.S., Canada and perhaps Mexico.
Several other events are planned while the dignitaries are in town. On Thursday, Sept. 10, an “In Town Show” will be held; on Friday, Sept. 11, the “Crowns on the Town” bar tour will occur; a victory brunch and show will be held on Sunday, Sept. 13. Full details at imperialcourtdc.org. Also on Sept. 11, members will hold a Pentagon memorial tribute from 6-8 p.m. in which flowers will be laid on memorials of those who died in the 2001 terrorist attacks.
The Court exists to raise funds for LGBT and HIV/AIDS organizations, social service groups and youth enrichment programs. The Court provides a safe, social environment for people with the same interests. The D.C. chapter is one of 71 courts in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. About 250 attend the D.C. gala each year and it’s open to both court members and non-members. There are about 80 members in the D.C. court, which started in 2011. Members say more than half participate in court events in drag, but not all. Drag queens, drag kings, and non-drag men and women perform in various types of royal attire. The gala is a black-tie event.
The emperor and empress win by running elections. They were announced in late June. Stephyns, this year’s empress, has been involved with the court since 2012 and says it was a natural fit for her.
“I’ve always enjoyed working in the community and using drag as a way to give back, so for me it was a natural fit, Stephyns (aka Daniel Hays) says.
Destiny B. Childs (aka Ric Legg Benavides) was Empress II two years ago and says it’s a demanding job she took very seriously.
“It was humbling and scary and exciting all at the same time,” Childs says. “It’s not a glamorous title, it’s a working title. People hold you in very high esteem and you do nothing but work to raise money all year for your charity organization as you travel all over the country.”
Childs visited Canada, Texas, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Kentucky, New York and more during her reign. Only money raised during the Sunday victory show each year can be used — if the emperor or empress wish — toward travel expenses. Childs got $700 from that event the year she won and says that barely covered one excursion.
“Most of the time we just donate it back to the court,” she says. “I did it because I love and adore the D.C. metro area and I’ve been involved here for over 15 years now. People call me the yes queen because they know if they call and ask me to do something, I’ll say yes.”
This year’s beneficiaries are Rosmy, a Richmond, Va.,-based organization for LGBT youth; the Mautner Project, a lesbian health organization; and the Inova Juniper Program, an HIV/AIDS and primary care provider in Northern Virginia.
Stephyns has already traveled extensively through her work in the court and says she loves it.
“We all have the same central goal of giving back, but when you travel throughout the system, those friendships we make, these are people we never would have known otherwise who become lifelong friends,” she says. “It’s another way to build community.”
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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