Arts & Entertainment

Calendar: Aug. 17

Parties, exhibits, concerts and more through Aug. 23

Published

12 years ago

August 16, 2012

‘The Muses’ by J. Larry Golfer, one of 38 artists with work being exhibited now at Touchstone Gallery. (Image courtesy Touchstone)

TODAY (Friday)

Cirque du Soleil continues its tour of the new show “Totem” tonight at 8 p.m. at the Plateau at National Harbor (201 Harbor View Ave.). The D.C. Center is giving out free tickets to members of the Friendly Visitors Program. In order to be eligible for a free ticket, contact Karim at [email protected]. For more information about the show, visit curquedusoleil.org. For details about receiving tickets, visit thedccenter.org.

The NiteCamp Dancers perform at Town (2009 8^th St., N.W.) tonight starting at 10. The dance troupe consists of the hottest college aged go go boys from all over the East coast. Cover is $5 before 11 p.m. and $10 after. There are also $3 drinks before 11 p.m. For details, visit towndc.com.

The Bachelor’s Mill (1104 8^th St., S.E.) is having its happy hour tonight starting at 5 p.m. All drinks are half off until 7:30 p.m. After 9 p.m., admission is $15 and after 11 p.m. admission is $3. The party includes a pool, video gaming system and card tournaments. For details, visit thebachelorsmill.com.

Phase 1 (525 8^th St., SE) holds “ReGAYton with DJ Hamaca de Platano” tonight at 10. The guest DJ is featuring the best reggaeton, bachata and Latin pop favorites all night. There are $5 margaritas and shots of Cuervo all night. For more information, visit phase1dc.com.

Touchstone Gallery (901 New York Ave., N.W.) hosts 38 artists for the rest of the month of August. The gallery is holding this exhibition in order to shed light on unknown artists in a top-notch gallery and exposing these new works to collectors. The show is up until Aug. 30. For more information, visit touchstonegallery.com.

Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts Bear Happy Hour tonight from 6-11 p.m. This event is for people 21 and older. There is no cover charge. For details, visit towndc.com.

Saturday, Aug. 18

Burgundy Crescent, a gay volunteer organization, volunteers today for the Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation at Falls Church PetSmart (6100 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church, Va.) from 11:45 a.m.-3 p.m. For more information, visit burgundycrescent.org.

DJ Kidd Madonny comes to Town (2009 8^th St., NW) tonight at 10 pm. Cover is $8 before 11 p.m. and $12 after. There are $3 drinks before 11 p.m. For details, visit towndc.com.

Phase 1 (525 8th St., SE) holds its party “Pabst Smear” tonight starting at 9 p.m. The party features $1 PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon) Pounders from 9-10 p.m. and from 2-3 a.m. There are $2 PBR Pounders from 10-11 p.m. and from 1-2 a.m. Drinks are $3 all other hours. Cover is $5. For more information, visit phase1dc.com.

Sunday, Aug. 19

Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) holds its weekly Martini Sundays and Homowood Karaoke tonight. Karaoke starts at 10 p.m. and there is no charge for admission. For details, visit cobaltdc.com.

Monday, Aug. 20

Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) is hosting its Martini Monday tonight at 10 p.m. There is now cover charge and martinis are $5. For more information, visit cobaltdc.com.

The Bachelor’s Mill (1104 8^th St., S.E.) is offering half price drinks all night long. A free pool and NFL, NBA and NCAA games will be on the flat screen TVs. Admission is free. For details, visit thebachelorsmill.com.

Whitman-Walker Health (1701 14^th St., NW) holds its HIV+ Newly Diagnosed Support Group tonight at 7. It’s a confidential support group for anyone recently diagnosed with HIV and the group welcomes all genders and sexual orientations. For details, visit whitman-walker.org.

Tuesday, Aug. 21

Green Lantern (1335 Green Court, N.W.) hosts its Safer Sex Kit-packing program tonight from 7-10:30. The packing program is looking for more volunteers to help produce the kits because they say they are barely keeping up with demand. Admission is free and volunteers can just show up. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

Whitman-Walker Health is holding HIV testing at Panam Supermarket (3552 14^th St. NW) tonight at 7. This event is free. For details, visit whitman-walker.org.

Genderqueer D.C., a support group for people who identify outside the gender binary, meets tonight at 7 at the D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.). This is a new group and the organizers are open for suggestions. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W) hosts its Flashback dance night with DJ Jason Royce starting at 10 p.m. There is no cover charge. For more details, visit cobaltdc.com.

Wednesday, Aug. 22

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington holds auditions for new singers tonight from 5:30-8:30 at Foundry United Methodist Church (1500 16^th St., N.W.). Auditions have to be prescheduled. To make an appointment or for more information, visit gmcw.org. Auditions will also be held Thursday and on Aug. 29.

Lambda Bridge Club meets tonight at 7:30 at the Dignity Center (721 8^th St., S.E.) for duplicate bridge. Reservations are not needed and newcomers are welcome. For details, visit lambdabridge.com.

HIV Prevention Working Group Meeting, a volunteer group in HIV/AIDS outreach, education and advocacy, meets tonight at 7 at the DC Center (1318 U St., N.W.). For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

Whitman-Walker Health (1701 14^th St., NW) holds its HIV+ Newly Diagnosed Support Group tonight at 7. It is a confidential support group for anyone recently diagnosed with HIV and the group welcomes all genders and sexual orientations. For details, visit whitman-walker.org.

Whitman-Walker Health (1701 14^th St., NW) holds its gay men over 50 support group this evening at 6:30 p.m. The group is for gay men entering a new phase of life. Registration is required to attend. For more information, visit whitman-walker.org.

Thursday, Aug. 23

Lambda Sci-Fi Book group meets tonight at 7 at 1425 S St., N.W. They are discussing this month’s book “Hav” by Jan Morris. This event is free, but they do ask you bring a snack or non-alcoholic drink. For more information, visit lambdascifi.org.

Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W) is hosting its weekly Best Package Contest tonight at 9 p.m. There is a $3 cover and there are $2 vodka drinks. Participants in the contest can win $200 in cash prizes. The event is hosted by Lena Lett and music by DJ Chord, DJ Madscience, and DJ Sean Morris. For details, visit cobaltdc.com.

Whitman-Walker Health has HIV Testing at Bachelor’s Mill (1104 8^th St., S.E.) tonight at 10. For more information, visit whitman-walker.org.

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.