Arts & Entertainment
Calendar: June 15
Parties, events, concerts and more through June 21
This weekend is the last to see gay photographer Tommie Adams’ work in a Ward 8 exhibit. Visit serenityplayers.org for details. (Photo courtesy Adams)
TODAY (Friday)
Whitman-Walker Health clinic is having HIV test at Beat the Streets (14th and Saratoga, N.E.) today from 3:30-7:30 p.m. For more information, visit Whitman-walker.org.
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts Bear Happy Hour tonight from 6-11 p.m. This event is 21 and older. There’s no cover charge. For details, visit towndc.com.
Grupo Fantasma is playing on Black Cat’s main stage (1811 14th St. N.W.) tonight at 9. The group is considered one of the funkiest Latin orchestras in the U.S. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door. For more information, visit blackcatdc.com.
Code is hosting its XXX: Anything Goes party tonight at The Crucible (16 M St., N.E.) at 10 p.m. The event is men only. Admission is $30. For details, visit codedc.com.
Ali Wong, SF Weekly’s “Best Comedian of 2009,” performs tonight at Riot Act Comedy Theater (801 E. St., N.W.) at 10:30 p.m. Admission is $12 -$20. For more information, visit riotcomedy.com.
Phase 1 (525 8th St., S.E.) is hosting “Dance Party with DJ Staylo” tonight at
7:30. Admission is $10. For details, visit phase1dc.com.
Saturday, June 16
Burgundy Crescent, a gay volunteer organization, works with the Lost Dog & Cat Foundation at the Falls Church Petsmart (6100 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church, Va.) today at 11:45 a.m. For details, visit burgundycrescent.org.
Lambda Sci-Fi (2462 Tunlaw Rd., N.W.) hosts a post-Pride potluck video party featuring science fiction, fantasy and horror today at 3:30 p.m. Attendees are asked to bring favorite DVDs, food and non-alcoholic drinks to share. For more information, visit lambdascifi.org.
Tonight is the last opportunity to see gay photographer Tommie Adams’ work in his current exhibit, “Natural Light and the Male Nude,” this evening at 6 located in the ARCH Development Training Center (1231 Good Hope Rd., S.E.). Adams has been a photographer for10 years, and in the current exhibit, he explores how diversity and emotion that can be expressed by the male nude. This event is free. For more information, visit serenityplayers.org.
The play “9 Parts of Desire” is being performed tonight at the Davis Performing Arts Center (37th and O St., N.W.) at 8 p.m. The piece delves into the lives of different Iraqi women. The event is free, but attendees must reserve tickets. For details, visit performingarts.georgetown.edu.
Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) hosts “Bare” tonight at 10, a ladies dance party featuring DJ Rosie and other invited guests. Cover is $7 before midnight and $10 after. For details, visit cobaltdc.com.
Green Lantern (1335 Green Court N.W.) is hosting “Ink & Scruff,” an underwear party showcasing sexy scruffy men with tattoos, tonight at 10. There’s a hot body contest, music by DJ Tone and drink specials during the event. For more information, visit greenlanterndc.com.
Club Hippo (1 West Eager St., Baltimore) holds a dance party in honor of Baltimore Pride tonight at 8. The event features DJ Escape and DJ Rosie. Admission is $10. For details, visit clubhippo.com.
Sunday, June 17
A free screening of the movie “Pariah,” by writer and director Dee Rees screens tonight at Busboys and Poets (4251 South Campbell Ave., Arlington) from 7-9 p.m. The film is about an African-American adolescent girl learning to embrace her identity as a lesbian. For details, visit busboysandpoets.com.
Today is the last chance to see “Flora and the Red Menace” at 1st Stage Theater (1524 Spring Hill Rd., McLean, Va). There’s one showing at 3 p.m. and another at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30. For more information, visit 1ststagespringhill.org.
VF Dance Theater presents “Futurology,” a dance production that journeys into the year 3012, tonight at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) starting at 7:30. Tickets are $25. For details, visit kennedy-center.org.
Ladies Only Intro to Djing is tonight with DJs K La Rock and Junebullet at Black Cat (1811 14th St. N.W.). Doors open at 8 and admission is $7. For more information, visit blackcatdc.com.
Monday, June 18
Comedian Neil Hamburger performs tonight at Black Cat (1811 14th St. N.W.). Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $12. For more information, visit blackcatdc.com.
D.C. Lambda Squares, the only square dancing club in D.C., hosts an open house tonight at National City Christian Church (5 Thomas Circle, N.W.) starting at 7 p.m. For details, visit dclambdasquares.org.
The School of Hawaiian Dance celebrates the Hawaii’s PA’I Foundation’s 35th anniversary tonight at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) at 6 p.m. This event is free. For more information, visit kennedy-center.org.
Tuesday, June 19
The FUK!T packing party is tonight at Green Lantern (1335 Green Court N.W.) at 7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring friends and see how many FUK!T or TOOLK!TS (safer sex kits) they can pack in two hours. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
Arieb Azhar, a Pakistani singer/songwriter, performs at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) tonight at 6 p.m. This event is free. For details, visit kennedy-center.org.
Club Hippo (1 West Eager St., Baltimore) hosts Showtune Video Madness tonight at 8. For more information, visit clubhippo.com.
Wednesday, June 20
The Jewish Community Center (1529 16th St., N.W.) hosts an ANC meeting on the safety of the Dupont Circle neighborhood this evening from 6:30-8:30 p.m. The event is free. For details, visit the dccenter.org.
The Tom Davoren Social Bridge Club meets tonight for social bridge at the Dignity Center (721 8th St., S.E.) A partner is not needed. For more information, visit lambdabridge.com.
The Outlaw Roadshow featuring Counting Crows plays tonight at the Filene Center in Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Road, Vienna) at 7 p.m. Tickets range from $30-$48. For details, visit wolftrap.org.
Thursday, June 21
Whitman-Walker Health Clinic hosts HIV testing at Bachelor’s Mill (91104 8th St., S.E.) tonight at 10:30 p.m. For more information, visit whitman-walker.org.
Two-time Grammy winner Diana Krall plays tonight at Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Road, Vienna) starting at 8 p.m. Krall, who became a professional jazz musician at age 15, is known for her slow smooth jazz. Tickets are $35. For details, visit wolftrap.org.
Chesapeake Squares, a gay square dancing group, holds an open house dance for members and non-members tonight at the Waxter Center (1000 Cathedral St., Baltimore) from 8-10 p.m. Cost is $8 for members and $10 for non-members. For more information, visit chesapeakesquares.org.
Hippo Club (1 West Eager St., Baltimore) is having its Hip-Hop Night featuring DJ Rosie tonight at 10. Admission is $6 before 11 p.m. and $8 after. For details, visit culbhippo.com.
Celebrity News
Silky Nutmeg Ganache talks sex and dating, gender, politics, weight loss journey
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ semifinalist grew up in Bible Belt
Uncloseted Media published this interview on July 7.
By SPENCER MACNAUGHTON, ISABEL STOKES, and BELLA SAYEGH | After appearing on the 11th season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” the first season of “Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. the World,” the sixth season of “RuPaul’s All Stars” and now the 11th season of “All Stars,” Silky Nutmeg Ganache, known by many as the Reverend, is undoubtedly a legend.
Born and raised in Moss Point, Miss., Ganache bears all in this episode of “UNCLOSETED with Spencer Macnaughton.” She speaks about her relationship with gender, her 100-pound weight loss, what it’s like living as a queer person of color in a red state and why she’s calling on allies to stand up for the trans community.
Patrons enjoyed a night out at the popular LGBTQ venue Crush Dance Bar on Friday, July 3.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
Theater
‘My Favorite Sociopath’ debuts at Shepherdstown’s CATF
Gay playwright Aurin Squire’s take on D.C. journalism in the ‘90s
‘My Favorite Sociopath’
Contemporary American Theater Festival
July 10-Aug. 2
Shepherdstown, W.Va.
Catf.org
Discernment. It’s a thing some people have, explains playwright Aurin Squire, especially when you’re gay or Black in America (Squire is both).
“You instinctively know when the mob is teaming up for the best interests of the powers that be. You can feel it in the air.”
In his sharp new satire “My Favorite Sociopath,” Squire writes about life experiences but set in a different time and place: It’s the 1990s, early days of the 24-hour news cycle, and three ambitious journalism students are pursuing success in D.C.
And now, Squire’s play, along with other new works, are making their world premieres at the annual Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) at Shepherd University in historic, queer-friendly Shepherdstown, W.Va. (just a 90-minute drive from D.C.).
“All of my plays are queer in some way,” says Squire, 46. “This one touches on harmless and dangerous lies. The characters are on the spectrum sexually, and it’s interesting how all that falls out.”
And he’s given it a lot of thought.
“Already as a kid, it seemed to me that the rage against rap music and sex was coming from closeted people resisting their own urges and temptations. For me, it was interesting to see a witch hunt led by witches. Queer people can always call out a lie.”
Since September, Squire has also been working with a TV show about the tech industry set in Silicon Valley. He says, “It seems the general flow of the tech industry is that humanity and civilization is finished and it’s just about accumulating as many goods as possible before everything collapses. In fact, those who are profiting actually agree. But for those who disagree, they believe the solution is to build bigger gates, but activists believe we can stop this”
Yet, he’s learned from folks associated with the show. “Many say the quickest way to divorce yourself from any responsibility or regulations — smash and grab. Otherwise, you have to stop and think and regulate your desires for greed and power”
Squire possesses a penchant for pithy titles. He laughs, explaining the first thing he wrote as a student at Juilliard was “Obama-ology,” the comedy with contemporary message. While a lot of people liked the name, it didn’t necessarily vibe with the author. He concedes that he chooses names based on “easy to remember” and titles that won’t be easy to lose as a file.
Another is “Defacing Michael Jackson,” a coming-of-age dramedy set in rural Florida in 1984, specifically Squire’s native town Opa-locka, Miami, a fantastical place famed for its fanciful Moorish revival architecture.
Living in the shadow of exotic structures, he wasn’t particularly fazed. Squire says “It wasn’t until returning to visit after my freshman year at Northwestern University in Chicago that I realized how weird it was: When you grow up in a place, you take surroundings for granted no matter how over the top.”
Now based in New York (where for two happy years, 2017-2019, he shared digs with drag king Murry Hill), Squire returns frequently to Miami to be with family, but this summer has been filled with both work and travel.
Currently, he’s in Shepherdstown with CATF shaping up “My Favorite Sociopath.” Later this summer he will travel to South Africa for research, followed by a silent writing retreat in Santa Fe, N.M.
Much of Squire’s work reflects the Latino, African, Caribbean, African-American, and Jewish cultures he grew up around in South Florida.
When asked if today’s winds of anti-multiculturalism worry him, he replies, “No, because that’s going to pass. Most people don’t like, people are seeing the negative results of it, and the young people coming up despise it. White male gamers were tricked momentarily through the algorithms into voting against their own interests and they’re now seeing how it’s not working out for them.
“Conservatives always try to stop progress and eventually they always lose. It’s just a question of where we’ll be in the middle of the end of civilization before that happens. I’d like to hope we can turn the ship around before then.”
In addition to “My Favorite Sociopath,” CATF summer season features three other world premieres (Lisa D’Amour’s comedy “The Smoker,” “Refugee Rhapsody” by Yussef El Guindi, “Best Line Wins: A Play Inspired by the Improvised Lives of Elaine May & Mike Nichols” by Beth Kander) and “¡VOS!” by Christina Pumariega.
CATF runs from July 10-Aug. 2 in three venues on the Shepherd University campus: Frank Center, Marinoff Theater, and Studio 112.
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