Arts & Entertainment
Calendar: Dec. 7-13, 2018
Gay Men’s Chorus, D.C. Queer Theatre Festival and more for the week ahead
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington performs Saturday night at the Lincoln Theatre. The choir’s annual holiday show also has performances slated for Dec. 15-16. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Friday, Dec. 7
Bet Mishpachah and GLOE host a Hanukkah service at Foundry United Methodist Church (1500 16th St., N.W.) tonight at 8 p.m. Rabbi Laurie Green and guest Rabbi Ben Shalva will co-lead this musical service.
JR.’s Bar (1519 17th St., N.W.) hosts a viewing party for “RuPaul’s Drag Race Holi-Slay Spectacular” tonight from 8-11 p.m. Attendees can watch RuPaul crown the first “Drag Race” Christmas Queen while enjoying drink specials.
Miss Pixie’s (1626 14th St., N.W.) hosts its sixth annual holiday market today from 5-8 p.m. About 15 local makers and small businesses will be selling their items. There will be live music by jazz band the Bitter Dose Combo, vegetarian paella for sale from Barcelona Wine Bar and a raffle. All proceeds from the raffle will be donated to Casa Ruby. Miss Pixie’s items will be 20 percent off all day.
D.C. Queer Theatre Festival kicks off at D.C. Arts Center (2438 18th St., N.W.) tonight at 7:30 p.m. Seven queer-themed, 10-minute plays will be performed from playwrights including Audrey Cefaly, Asabi Oke, Brittany Alsye Willis, John Bavaso and more. Tickets are $20.
Saturday, Dec. 8
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington performs its holiday show at the Lincoln Theatre (1215 U St., N.W.) tonight at 8 p.m. The chorus will sing holiday songs such as “Jingle Bells,” “Puttin’ on the Holiday Drag,” “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” and more. Tickets range from $25-65. Performances are also scheduled for Dec. 15-16. For more information, visit gmcw.org.
LULAC Lambda hosts its annual holiday party at the Chastleton Ballroom (1701 16th St., N.W.) tonight from 8-11 p.m. There will be tamales and mixed drinks. DJ Milko will play music and Corazon Folklorico and Sylvanna Duvel will perform. The party raises funds for academic scholarship for LGBT Latinx students. The group will also honor its Member of the Year, Board Member of the Year and Ally of the Year. Members for 2019 can also sign up at the party.
Mary’s House for Older Adults hosts its holiday gala at Human Rights Campaign (1640 Rhode Island Ave., N.W.) tonight from 6-11 p.m. There will be door prizes and food. Michael Sainte-Andress will emcee the event. Akousa McCray-Peters will DJ for the night. Single tickets are $75. Couple tickets are $140.
Distrkt C hosts Dirty Santa, a holiday dance party, at the D.C. Eagle (3701 Benning Rd., N.E.) tonight from 10 p.m.-6 a.m. DJ Ed Wood will perform an extended set. Tickets are $30.
Sunday, Dec. 9
BenDeLaCrème and Jinkx Monsoon perform their holiday show “To Jesus, Thanks for Everything” at 9:30 Club (815 V St., N.W.) tonight at 8 p.m. General admission tickets are $35. VIP tickets are $100 and include a meet and greet and early entry. VIP entry is at 7 p.m. General admission entry is at 7:30 p.m. For more details, visit 930.com.
D.C. Area Transmasculine Society hosts “Navigating the Holidays as a Trans or NB Person,” at Whitman-Walker Health (1525 14th St., N.W.) this evening from 5-7 p.m. The support group will discuss how to navigate the holidays as a transgender or non-binary individual. The group is open to people who were assigned female at birth but do not feel this accurately or completely describes themselves. Binder donations will be accepted. HIPS syringe exchange will also be available. For more information, visit dcats.org.
Stonewall Yoga D.C. has its fall session at Pitchers (2317 18th St., N.W.) today from 10:45 a.m.-1:15 p.m. Beginner’s yoga is from 10:45-11:45 a.m. Intermediate yoga is from noon-1:15 p.m. Mike Giordano leads beginner’s yoga and Luke Ventura will lead intermediate practice. Fall classes run through Dec. 23. Access to all classes is $65. Drop-in is $10.
Monday, Dec. 10
The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.) hosts coffee drop-in hours for the senior LGBT community this morning from 10 a.m.-noon. Older LGBT adults can come and enjoy complimentary coffee and conversation with other community members. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
Tuesday, Dec. 11
GLOE hosts Torah & Sexuality: Blood, Power and Purity at Sixth & I (600 I St., N.W.) tonight at 7 p.m. The class focuses on sexual expression and sexual identity in a queer context led by rabbis and Jewish educators. Each class is $18. For more information, visit edcjcc.org.
Wednesday, Dec. 12
The D.C. Area Transmasculine Society hosts a trans-masculine and non-binary happy hour at the Eleanor (100 Florida Ave., N.E.) tonight from 6-9 p.m. The society is a group for people assigned female at birth but who feel this is an incomplete or inaccurate description of their identity. Significant others, friends and allies are welcome. Binder donations will be accepted. For more information, visit dcatssociety.org.
Big Gay Book Group meets at Trio Bistro Restaurant (1537 17th St., N.W.) tonight at 7 p.m. to discuss “The Sparsholt Affair” by Alan Hollinghurt. Newcomers welcome. For more details, visit biggaybookgroup.com or email [email protected].
The Lambda Bridge Club meets at 7:30 p.m. at the Dignity Center (721 8th St., S.E.) for duplicate bridge. No reservations required and new comers welcome. If you need a partner, call 703-407-6540.
Thursday, Dec. 13
Pretty Boi Drag presents #AmateurKingNight at Beir Baron (1523 22nd St., N.W.) tonight at 8 p.m. Amateur kings are encouraged to take the stage. The event will be ASL interpreted. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Attendees must be 18 and over.
WorldPride 2025 concluded with the WorldPride Street Festival and Closing Concert held along Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. on Sunday, June 8. Performers on the main stage included Doechii, Khalid, Courtney Act, Parker Matthews, 2AM Ricky, Suzie Toot, MkX and Brooke Eden.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The 2025 WorldPride Parade was held in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 7. Laverne Cox and Renée Rapp were the grand marshals.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Robert Rapanut)
Theater
A hilarious ‘Twelfth Night’ at Folger full of ‘elegant kink’
Nonbinary actor Alyssa Keegan stars as Duke Orsino
‘Twelfth Night’
Through June 22
Folger Theatre
201 East Capitol St., S.E.
$20-$84
Folger.edu
Nonbinary actor Alyssa Keegan (they/them)loves tapping into the multitudes within.
Currently Keegan plays the melancholic Duke Orsino in Folger Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy “Twelfth Night.” Director Mei Ann Teo describes the production as “sexy, hilarious, and devastating” and full of “elegant kink.”
Washington-based, Keegan enjoys a busy and celebrated career. Her vast biography includes Come From Away at Ford’s Theatre; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Helen Hayes Award, Best Actress) and Paula Vogel’s How I Learned to Drive, both at Round House Theatre; Diana Son’s Stop Kiss directedby Holly Twyford for No Rules Theatre Company; and Contractions at Studio Theatre, to name just a few.
In addition to acting, Keegan works as a polyamory and ethical non-monogamy life and relationship coach, an area of interest that grew out of personal exploration. For them, coaching seems to work hand in hand with acting.
WASHINGTON BLADE: You’re playing the lovesick Orsino in Twelfth Night. How did that come about?
ALYSSA KEEGAN: The director was looking to cast a group of actors with diverse identities; throughout auditions, there were no constraints regarding anyone’s assigned sex at birth. It was really a free for all.
BLADE: What’s your approach to the fetching, cod-piece clad nobleman?
KEEGAN: Offstage I identify as completely nonbinary; I love riding in this neutral middle space. But I also love cosplay. The ability to do that in the play gives me permission to dive completely into maleness.
So, when I made that decision to play Orsino as a bio male, suddenly the part really cracked open for me. I began looking for clues about his thoughts and opinions about things like his past relationships and his decision not to date older women.
Underneath his mask of bravura and sexuality, and his firmness of feelings, he’s quite lonely and has never really felt loved. It makes sense to me why his love for Olivia is so misguided and why he might fall in love with the Cesario/Viola character.
BLADE: As an actor, do you ever risk taking on the feelings of your characters?
KEEGAN: Prior to my mental health education, yes, and that could be toxic for me. I’ve since learned that the nervous system can’t tell the difference between real emotional distress and a that of a fully embodied character.
So, I created and share the Empowered Performer Project. [a holistic approach to performance that emphasizes the mental and emotional well-being of performing artists]. It utilizes somatic tools that help enormously when stepping into a character.
BLADE: Has changing the way you work affected your performances?
KEEGAN: I think I’m much better now. I used to have nearly debilitating stage fright. I’d spend all day dreading going onstage. I thought that was just part of the job. Now, I’ve learned to talk to my body. Prior to a performance, I can now spend my offstage time calmly gardening, working with my mental health clients, or playing with my kid. I’m just present in my life in a different way.
BLADE: Is Orsino your first time playing a male role?
KEEGAN: No. In fact, the very first time I played a male role was at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Va. I played Hipolito in Thomas Middleton’s The Revenger’s Tragedy.
As Hipolito, I felt utterly male in the moment, so much so that I had audience members see me later after the show and they were surprised that I was female. They thought I was a young guy in the role. There’s something very powerful in that.
BLADE: Do you have a favorite part? Male or female?
KEEGAN: That’s tough but I think it’s Maggie the Cat. I played the hyper-female Maggie in Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Round House. In the first act she didn’t stop talking for 51 minutes opposite Gregory Wooddell as Brick who barely had to speak. That lift was probably the heaviest I’ve ever been asked to do in acting.
BLADE: What about Folger’s Twelfth Night might be especially appealing to queer audiences?
KEEGAN: First and foremost is presentation. 99% of the cast identify as queer in some way.
The approach to Shakespeare’s text is one of the most bold and playful that I have ever seen. It’s unabashedly queer. The actors are here to celebrate and be loud and colorful and to advocate. It’s a powerful production, especially to do so close to the Capitol building, and that’s not lost on any of us.
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A hilarious ‘Twelfth Night’ at Folger full of ‘elegant kink’
