Arts & Entertainment
Gays on the Fringe
Several LGBT themes among summer festival offerings
D. Grant Cloyd, front, and DC Cathro in ‘Bareback Ink.’ (Photo by Bob Bartlett)
The Capital Fringe Festival opens this week (thru July 29) with about 130 shows in 15 venues. Among the eclectic mix of independent companies and performers, many are of special interest to LGBT audiences. Here are a few.
“A Fringe production’s success is greatly determined by its title,” says playwright Bob Bartlett. In past Fringe festivals, he says, his work has definitely been upstaged by more provocatively named pieces. So this year the gay playwright and director isn’t taking any chances: Bartlett has titled his entry “Bareback Ink.”
A lean two-hander especially tailored for Fringe, Bartlett’s darkly erotic play explores the unlikely relationship between a hypersexual young man called Canvas (Grant Cloyd) and a 40-something, asexual tattoo artist (DC Cathro). Bartlett describes it as a contemporary reimagining of the Ganymede myth in which Zeus violently snatches a beautiful young shepherd to join him on Mount Olympus as his lover. In Bartlett’s version, the unseen Zeus character has ordered Canvas to have an image of the rape of Ganymede tattooed on his back against his will. While most of Bartlett’s past plays have been about healing, he says, this one isn’t going in that direction.
Bartlett, who teaches theater at Bowie State University, has three tattoos of his own, two of which commemorate the death of his brother in 1991. He’s intrigued by the experience of marking one’s skin with art that can’t easily be removed, as well as the relationship that develops between the artist and customer, particularly during the arduous and week-long task of creating a full back tattoo.
The development process surrounding “Bareback Ink” (which runs at Gear Box, an intimate and appropriately grungy space above the Passenger Bar and Restaurant at 1021 7th Street, NW.), has been a little nerve wracking, Bartlett says. Do-it-yourself theater comes quickly and there’s inherent risk in that. But that’s part of Fringe’s charm. In mid-August, Bartlett and the actors are taking “Bareback Ink” to the world-famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland.
Chelsea Norment in ‘Medieval Story Land.’
Advance buzz says Chelsea Norment is hilarious as Graglore the troll in Red Knight Production’s comedy play “Medieval Story Land” (Studio Theatre, 1501 14th Street, NW). A familiar face at open mic nights around town, Norment (who’s gay) is also experienced in improvisation and sketch comedy, but Fringe will be her first try at a fully realized, non-sketch theatrical production.
“I thought it was time to challenge myself by learning a script and putting meaning into my character’s dialogue,” she says. “My character is a troll, so it’s surprisingly that he’s a bit of a loner. But as the action unfolds, he ends up being the glue that holds the other characters together. It’s a great part. I’m having a lot fun with it.”
Red Knight’s website describes the show as “‘Lord of the Rings’ meets Forrest Gump meets Monty Python in this fast paced parody of the medieval fantasy genre … featuring furious swordplay and a gripping plot, the show appeals not only to hobbit-loving fantasy appreciators but to anyone who likes a good story or likes to laugh.” Its 12-person cast plays more than 40 parts.
Norment, who lives in D.C. and walks dogs by day, says her stand-up act takes on her childhood and skewed vision of the world. She riffs on the differences between gender roles, specifically how growing up she never really defined her own gender. Related horror stories include tales of the gender non-specific bowl haircut she sported throughout puberty.
Jonathan W. Colby (front) and openly gay actor Michael Litchfield in ‘Stopgap.’ (submitted photo)
The newly formed Field Trip Theatre presents “Stopgap” at Mount Vernon United Methodist Church (800 Mass Ave., NW). Written by Danielle Mohlman and staged by Jamila Reddy (both straight and both recent graduates of Studio Theatre’s prestigious apprenticeship program), the two-hour comedy drama follows the growth of a prospective single mother and her best friend and his husband who strive to create family in the heteronormative clime of Chino Hills, Calif. The six-person cast includes gay actor Michael Litchfield.
“‘Stopgap’ is about young adults coming of age,” Reddy says. “They’re learning a lot about who they are and the lives they want.” Similarly, Fringe has been an incredible learning experience for Reddy. “It’s been an exercise in self-producing. For the first time I’ve assembled a design team from all over the city.”
Also, the play’s subject matter was new for Reddy too: “I learned a lot about same-sex unions and the privilege that straight people enjoy, and take for granted.”
For schedules and tickets go to shows.capfringe.org.
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.
As Washington shifts right, Democratic Socialists gain ground
Susan Stewart could make history as Rehoboth’s first openly gay mayor
Silky Nutmeg Ganache talks sex and dating, gender, politics, weight loss journey
Madonna roundup: Reviews, sales, and love for ‘Danceteria’
Three overlooked court rulings limited White House anti-trans policies
‘Transcendent’ a tough but important read
‘My Favorite Sociopath’ debuts at Shepherdstown’s CATF
Under-the-radar Delaware beach towns smart buyers are targeting
In Trump’s divided America, Michael Weinstein’s AHF responds
