Arts & Entertainment
Queery: Chris Copley
The Food & Friends communications director answers 20 gay questions
Chris Copley (Blade photo by Michael Key)
As the youngest of six boys and the only gay one, Chris Copley knew from an early age he was different from his siblings even if he couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
He remembers his next oldest brother — only 11 months older — noticing it when they were about 10 and 11.
“He said, ‘Chris, you’re different. You feel sorry for people more than most.’ He was saying it in the best way an 11-year-old could say that I seemed to have more compassion,” the 26-year-old Plato, Miss., native says. “That and what they always called my swish, my fabulous walk. It’s become a family joke.”
But the compassion isn’t just a gay thing — Copley says a life of volunteerism and service was instilled in him early on. It’s played out in his career choices. He came to Washington in 2010 after earning a master’s in non-profit management in Georgia to work at Volunteer Fairfax. In March he became communications director at Food & Friends, which has its annual Dining Out for Life event on Thursday (find details and participating restaurants at foodandfriends.org).
“I think any fundraiser that is able to bring so many members of a community together for a common cause is a huge benefit for an organization,” he says. “A lot of the people we serve don’t have family or friends to take care of them … it really takes a community to come together. We’re all sharing this world together so we need to take care of each other. Can you imagine facing cancer or HIV by yourself and having no one to rely on?”
Copley moved to D.C. to be with his boyfriend, Justin Jarrell, whom he’d met in graduate school. They live together in Alexandria. Copley was born in Germany where his father was stationed in the Army. From age 6 until college, he was in Missouri. In his free time, Copley enjoys running, working out, family time, cooking, eating, hiking and camping. (Blade photos by Michael Key)
How long have you been out and who was the hardest person to tell?
I came out four years ago to my mom who jokingly said, “Chris, I love you still and nothing changes in my eyes, but good luck telling your brothers.” I have five older brothers, all who have served in the military and who are fairly conservative. It was very difficult coming out to them because I assumed that their reactions would be negative. However, I was very lucky because all of them reacted with only love and support.
Who’s your LGBT hero?
Tina Turner. Her life is a true testament to overcoming the odds and fighting for what you want. At the age of 72, she still looks amazing! If I could only be so lucky!
What’s Washington’s best nightspot, past or present?
Barcode
Describe your dream wedding.
The two of us at a courthouse with our closest friends and family. Then a massive party!
What non-LGBT issue are you most passionate about?
Volunteerism and community service
What historical outcome would you change?
9-11. My father was killed in Iraq in 2004 in a war that was initiated, in part, by the 9-11 attacks. My father was an amazing individual and I wouldn’t mind if he was still around.
What’s been the most memorable pop culture moment of your lifetime?
YouTube. I can spend hours watching stupid videos!
On what do you insist?
That people get out and volunteer or find a cause and support it. There’s not a better feeling in the world. Regardless of who you are, there is something that you can be passionate about. Find that and get out and make a difference.
What was your last Facebook post or Tweet?
“Take a stand by sitting down and dining in. Make a reservation at your favorite restaurant for Dining Out For Life on April 26. Nearly 130 restaurants will be donating 25-110% of their proceeds to Food & Friends!”
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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‘Amm(i)gone’ explores family, queerness, and faith
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