Arts & Entertainment

Calendar: April 29

Concerts, exhibits, plays and more through May 5

Published

13 years ago

April 28, 2011

Marcia's Coppel's 'I Have a Problem' is part of her new exhibit at Touchstone Gallery. An opening reception is schedule for May 6. (Image courtesy of Touchstone)

Today (Friday)

The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) will be having an opening reception for an art display featuring works of Becca Kallem, tonight from 7 to 9 p.m.

Beat City, a rock ‘n’ roll lounge part for queer folks and their friends, will be tonight from 9 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. upstairs at Chief Ike’s Mambo Room (1725 Columbia Rd., N.W.). All attendees must be 21 or older and there is no cover.

Caliente Grande: White Party is tonight at Apex (1415 22nd St., N.W.) starting at 9 p.m. DJ Michael Brandon will be spinning the Latin dance party in the main hall. There is a $10 cover charge. Attendees wearing white will be let in for free until 11 p.m. Attendees must be 18 to enter, 21 to drink.

D.C. Sentinels will be having its monthly happy hour at Black Fox Lounge (1723 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) from 5 to 8 p.m.

Busboys & Poets will be hosting ASL open mic poetry tonight at 11 p.m. in the Langston Room at its 14th and V streets location (2021 14th St., N.W.). Anyone with sign language knowledge may sign up to recite a poem or sign a song by e-mailing [email protected]. There is a $5 cover.

Atlas Performing Arts Center (1333 H St., N.E.) is hosting a screening at 8 p.m. of “Break Ground,” which follows 40 teens from the D.C. Metro area that “limit themselves from experiencing relationships that could free them from their pasts.” Three additional screenings will be Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Saturday, April 30

The 15th annual Youth Pride Day will be celebrated today from noon to 5 p.m. at Dupont Circle. Following the festival will be the Infatuation Dance for those 21 and younger with DJ Keenan at U Street Music Hall (1115-A U St., N.W.) from 5 to 9:30 p.m. There is a $5 cover for the dance.

Dennis Miller will be at the Warner Theatre (1299 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $49.50 to $65 and can be purchased online at livenation.com.

Kylie Minogue brings her Aphrodite Tour to the Patriot Center (4500 Patriot Circle) in Fairfax tonight at 7 p.m. Town’s Ed Bailey will be the opening DJ on stage at the concert. Tickets range from $55 to $125 and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com. Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) is hosting a “Aphterparty” at 10 p.m. There will be an $8 cover before 11 p.m. and $12 afterward. All attendees must be 21 or older.

The Lodge (21614 National Pike) in Boonsboro is hosting “Starry Night: The Lodge Prom” tonight from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. There is a $5 cover before 10:30 p.m. and $8 after. Prom royalty will be chosen at 11 p.m. The Frederick, Md., Rainbow GLBT Meetup Group will also be hosting a potluck dinner from 6 to 9 p.m. before the prom. Attendees to the dinner must RSVP to [email protected].

Black Cat (1811 14th St., N.W.) presents Hellmouth Happy Hour where every week an episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” will be screened and drink specials will be offered. This week the episode is “Nightmares.”

Irvine Contemporary is hosting an opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. with the artist [dNASAb] for its newest exhibit, Dataklysmos, featuring multimedia sculptures. The exhibit will be on display through June 4.

Sunday, May 1

ZOOM Urban Lesbian Excursions presents Karaoke Idol tonight from 6 to 9 p.m. at Muzette Karaoke and Restaurant (2305 18th St., N.W.). Tickets are $15 and can be bought online at zoomexcursions.com.

Brendan Conway and Mila Naumova will be performing at the Church of the Holy City (1611 16th St., N.W.) today at 3:30 p.m. This is a free event.

Girls Rock! D.C. is hosting a volunteer kickoff event today at Hole in the Sky (2110 5th St., N.E.) from 3 to 5 p.m. The organization is looking for volunteers for camp week and year-round organizing. For more information, visit girlsrockdc.org.

Monday, May 2

There will be a public hearing on Bill 19-11: “Bullying and Intimidation Prevention Act of 2011” today from 10 a.m. to noon in room 120 of the John A. Wilson building (1350 Pennsylvania Ave.).

The D.C. Center’s (1318 U St., N.W.) monthly volunteer night is tonight from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. with activities such as sorting book donations, taking inventory and more. Also at the center will be the Youth Working Group meeting from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The Imperial Court of Washington, D.C. will be holding its meeting tonight at the Coldwell Banker building (1606 17th St., N.W.) from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. For more information, visit imperialcourtdc.org.

Novelist Alice Walker will be discussing and signing her new book “The Chicken Chronicles, A Memoir” tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Busboys & Poets 5th and K streets location (1025 5th St., N.W.).

Tuesday, May 3

“Shear Madness,” a comedy whodunit, will be performed twice tonight at the Kennedy Center Theater Lab (2700 F St., N.W.) at 5 and 8 p.m. “Madness” takes place in present-day Georgetown, in the Shear Madness Hair Styling Salon. Tickets are $42. Visit kennedy-center.org for more information and to purchase tickets.

Wednesday, May 4

Touchstone Gallery (901 New York Ave., N.W.) has two new exhibits opening today, Marcia Coppel’s “Life Is Too Serious” featuring paintings of people talking in cafes and parks inspired by Mexico and Harvey Kupferberg’s “Infrared: The Invisible Light” featuring black and white photographs. The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Gallery plan b (1530 14th St., N.W.) has three exhibits featuring with paintings by Greg Minah, works on paper by Mars Tokyo and works in gold leaf by Andrew Wapinski. The gallery is open from noon to 7 p.m. and the works will be on display through May 15.

Thursday, May 5

Tonight is Team D.C. Night at the musical comedy, “National Pastime” at Keegan Theater (1742 Church St., N.W.). Tickets are $40 and can be purchased online. The theater is donating $10 from every ticket is Team D.C. For more information, visit teamdc.org.

ABBA – The Concert will be performed at Pier Six Pavilion (731 Eastern Ave.) in Baltimore, tonight at 6:30 p.m. Tickets range from $20 to $75 and can be purchased online at piersixpavilion.com.

E-mail calendar items to [email protected] two weeks prior to your event. Space is limited so priority is given to LGBT-specific events or those with LGBT participants. Recurring events must be re-submitted each time.

Photos

PHOTOS: Night of Champions

Team DC holds annual awards gala

Published

2 days ago

April 21, 2024

Michael Key

Team DC President Miguel Ayala speaks at the 2024 Night of Champions Awards on Saturday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

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)

Photos

PHOTOS: National Cannabis Festival

Annual event draws thousands to RFK

Published

2 days ago

April 21, 2024

Michael Key

Growers show their strains at The National Cannabis Festival on Saturday. (Washington Blade photo 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

Published

3 days ago

April 20, 2024

Patrick Folliard

Adil Mansoor in ‘Amm(i)gone’ at Woolly Mammoth Theatre. (Photo by Kitoko Chargois)

‘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.