Arts & Entertainment
Calendar: Jan. 11-17
Parties, exhibits and meetings in the week to come
Friday, Jan. 11
D.C. Bear Crue hosts Bear Happy Hour at Uproar Lounge & Restaurant (639 Florida Ave., N.W.) today from 5-10 p.m. Drink specials are until 10 p.m. and include $5 rail cocktails and $5 draft pitchers. Free appetizers will be handed out throughout the night. For more details, visit facebook.com/bearhappyhour.
Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.) hosts a weekly viewing party for “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 4” tonight at 8 p.m. Trade queens will host the night along with guest hosts. There will be games, prizes and more. Wessthedj will spin tracks before, during and after the episode.For more information, visit facebook.com/tradebardc.
Green Lantern (1335 Green Ct., N.W.) hosts Phucker, a hanky code party, tonight from 10 p.m.- 3 a.m. Let others know your kink with a hanky in your back pocket. Attendees will receive a free hanky upon entry. DJ Ryan DoubleYou will play music. No cover. For more details, visit greenlanterndc.com.
Gamma D.C., a support group for men in mixed-orientation relationships, meets at Luther Place Memorial Church (1226 Vermont Ave., N.W.) today from 7:30-9:30 p.m. The group is for men who are attracted to men but are currently, or were at one point, in relationships with women. For more information about the group, visit gammaindc.org.
Rock and Roll Hotel (1353 H St., N.W.) hosts Anna: Warhol Dance Party, a Andy Warhol party, tonight at 10 p.m. DJ Honey and Get Face will spin tracks. At midnight there will be performances from Creme Fatale, Washington Heights, Dee Dee Derèon, Venus Fastrada and Ariel Von Quinn.Admission is free with RSVP. There will also be an open bar and snacks from 10-11 p.m. For details, visit rockandrollhoteldc.com.
LezLink hosts its January happy hour at the Hawthorne (1336 U St., N.W.) tonight from 6-9 p.m. Lesbian, bi and queer women are invited for food, drinks and conversation. For more information, visit facebook.com/lezlinkevents.
Saturday, Jan. 12
Haute Dish: Camp, a drag brunch fundraiser for the Unite Foundation, is at 18th & U Duplex Diner (2004 18th St., N.W.) is today from 1-4 p.m. Anna G. O’Plasty, DivaD, Judy from HR, Kiana K’Naan, Mindy Nao and Tabeeda Deadhorse will perform. There will also be surprise performers from the Unite Foundation. Regyna Rubenstein hosts the show. Tickets are $50 and include one select brunch entree of your choice, one champagne cocktail or glass of Pinot Grigio and a donation to Unite. For more details, visit facebook.com/duplexdiner.
Green Lantern (1335 Green Ct., N.W.) hosts Freeballers today from 4 p.m.-3 a.m. Guests are invited to wear basketball shorts, sweat pants or anything that accentuates their lower physique. This is not a naked party. No cover. Drink specials run all night. For more information, visit greenlanterndc.com.
The D.C. Eagle (3701 Benning Rd., N.E.) hosts District: Steamwerq, a bathhouse-themed party, tonight from 10 p.m.-6 a.m. Guests can purchase a commemorative D.C. Eagle-branded towel to wear. DJ David Merrill will play music. Advance tickets are $15. Tickets at the door are $20. For more details, visit thedceagle.com.
Sunday, Jan. 13
Queer Girl Movie Night hosts a screening of “The L Word” season two at Slash Run (201 Upshur St., N.W.) today from 1-6 p.m. Episodes will run continuously through the day so stop by anytime. For more information, visit facebook.com/queergrrrlmovienight.
VisArts (155 Gibbs St., Rockville, Md.) hosts its Indie Wedding Expo today from 1-3 p.m. There will be artisans and small businesses available to help with creative and thrifty wedding ideas. Admission is free but RSVP is required. For more details, visit visartscenter.org/event/indie-wedding-expo.
The D.C. Eagle (3701 Benning Rd., N.E.) presents Sunday Cruise today from noon-2 a.m. Drink specials include $10 and $12 bottomless beer mugs, $3 off all whiskeys and bourbons and $5 Chivas Regal all day. $2 off all other drinks until 9 p.m. For more information, visit thedceagle.com.
Monday, Jan. 14
Touchstone Gallery (901 New York Ave., N.W.) presents its January exhibits today and throughout the month. Gallery A features the Touchstone Gallery Member Show. Gallery B and C will showcase “Hard Wired” by Tory Cowles. This interactive installation allows people to wear Cowles’ sculptures. For more details, visit touchstonegallery.com.
The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W..) hosts coffee drop-in hours this morning from 10 a.m.-noon for the senior LGBT community. Older LGBT adults can come and enjoy complimentary coffee and conversation with other community members. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
Tuesday, Jan. 15
The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.) hosts its Packing Party from 7-9 p.m. tonight. Volunteers will assemble safer sex kits to distribute to the LGBT community. For more details, visit thedccenter.org.
Wednesday, Jan. 16
XX+Crostino (1926 9th St., N.W.) and Taste host La Voz, a Latin karoke night, tonight from 8 p.m. midnight. Cuba Libres will be $8. No cover. For more details, visit facebook.com/xxcrostino.
Bookmen D.C., an informal gay men’s literature group, discusses David Plante’s diaries “Becoming a Londoner) at the D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.) tonight at 7:30 p.m. All are welcome. For more information, visit bookmendc.blogspot.com.
Thursday, Jan. 17
Tagg Magazine hosts financial planning seminars for LGBTQ women at Human Rights Campaign (1640 Rhode Island Ave., N.W.) tonight from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Snacks and beverages will be provided. For more details, visit facebook.com/taggmagazine.
Daybreaker D.C. hosts an early morning dance party and yoga session at Renwick Gallery (1661 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) today from 6-9 a.m. Yoga is from 6-7 a.m. followed by the dance party from 7-9 a.m. There will be free kombucha and breakfast bites. FDVM will play music and Haile Supreme will serve as emcee. Dress code is sparkling white. Tickets for yoga and dance are $35. Tickets just for the dance are $25. For more information, visit daybreaker.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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