Arts & Entertainment
Calendar: through Nov. 1
Parties, concerts — and of course the High Heel Race — through Nov. 1
Last year’s High Heel Race. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
TODAY (Friday)
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts “Freaky Friday” tonight at 10. There will be a costume contest where $100 cash prizes will be given to the freakiest, sluttiest, Nicki Minajiest and Honey Boo Booest. Cover is $5 before 11 p.m. and $10 after. There are $3 before 11. For details, visit towndc.com.
D.C.’s Vitruvian Gallery (734 7th St., SE) hosts “Testosterone and Other Toppings” with artwork by Carolyn Weltman, an artist who specializes in the athletic male figure. The exhibition runs until Nov. 8. The gallery is opened weekly 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, visit vitruviangallery.com.
Whitman-Walker provides HIV Testing at Central Union Mission (1350 R St., NW) today from 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. For more information, visit whitman-walker.org.
Susan Calloway Fine Arts (1643 Wisconsin Ave., NW) exhibits fine drawings by Dana Westring and fine-art photographs by Andrew Sovjani. The exhibition lasts until Nov. 23. For more information, visit callowayart.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.
The Bachelor’s Mill (1104 8th 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 $10. The dance floor opens at 11 p.m. with DJ Tim-Nice and DJ Cameron. For details, visit thebachelorsmill.com.
Phase 1 (528 8th St. SE) has its weekly dance party with DJ Jay Von Teese tonight starting at 7:30. Cover is $10. For more information, visit phase1dc.com.
Saturday, Oct. 27
Burgundy Crescent, a gay volunteer organization, is helping in food preparation and packing groceries for Food and Friends (219 Riggs Road, NE) this morning at 8. For more information, visit burgundycrescent.org.
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts “Ghostown,” one of D.C.’s largest Halloween parties, tonight at 10 p.m. There’s a costume contest held at midnight with a grand prize of $1,000 cash for winner of the best costume. Cover is $8 before 11 p.m. and $12 after. The Dance Camp with the Ladies of Town will be performing during the drag show. For details, visit towndc.com.
AIDS Walk Washington is today from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. beginning at Freedom Plaza (Pennsylvania Ave. and 13th St. NW). The HIV Prevention Working Group is partnering up with Whitman-Walker Health again, and the proceeds will be split between the two groups. Whitman-Walker is also providing HIV testing at the walk. Registration ranges from $15-$40. For more information, visit aidswalkwashington.org
Sunday, Oct. 28
Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) holds its weekly Martini Sundays and Homowood Karaoke. Karaoke starts at 10 pm and there is no charge for admission. For details, visit cobaltdc.com.
Monday, Oct. 29
D.C. Center hosts Bears do Yoga this evening at 6:30 at Green Lantern (1335 Green CT, NW). The series is a basic yoga class for beginners to advance yogis. Everyone is welcome and there is no charge. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) hosts its Martini Monday tonight at 10 p.m. There is now cover charge and martinis are $5. For more information, visit cobaltdc.com.
Whitman-Walker Health (1701 14th 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.
Tuesday, Oct. 30
The High Heel Race takes place at Dupont Circle on 17th St. between P and S St. About 100,000 spectators are expected to attend. The race begins at 9 p.m., and spectators gather as early as 6 p.m. For details, visit highheelracedc.com.
Whitman-Walker (1701 14th St., NW) holds its group Starting Over for Women tonight at 7. The group is for women whose long-term relationship is with another woman. Registration is required. For more information, visit whitman-walker.org.
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.
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, Oct. 31
Capital Pride introduces Haunted House of Pride tonight at 8 at Phase1 (1415 22nd St. NW). Guests will experience the twisted, paranormal and mysterious. Cover is $10. For details, visit thedccenter.org.
Whitman-Walker Health (1701 14th 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.
Lambda Bridge Club meets at the Dignity Center (721 8th St., SE) tonight at 7:30 pm for duplicate bridge. Reservations are not needed and newcomers are welcome. For more information, visit lambdabridge.com.
Thursday, Nov. 1
Whitman-Walker Health (1701 14th 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.
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.
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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