Performance Picks: Patti Smith Drag, A Disappearing Band, and More

May 30, 2019 By Cassidy Dawn Graves

(image via Queer as in F$ck You / Facebook)

THURSDAY

Queer as in Fuck You Presents Just Kids
Thursday, May 30 at Otto’s Shrunken Head, 10:30 pm: $10

Though technically Pride month doesn’t kick off till June, there’s no reason you shouldn’t enjoy some good old fashioned queer performance before then (and, of course, during Pride month too). Tonight, it’s the return of Vylette Tendency’s punk drag showcase Queer as in Fuck You, taking up residence at East Village bar for tiki weirdos, Otto’s Shrunken Head. This time, they’re paying tribute to the OG punk poet, Patti Smith. Grab a drink, park yourself in the back room, and have a queer old time watching performances by C’était BonTemps, Ash Blight, Chris of Hur, and winner of this year’s Brooklyn Nightlife Award for Drag King of the Year, God Complex. More →

Tags: brooklyn comedy collective, comedy, drag, East Village, joe's pub, la mama, Otto's Shrunken Head, pride, queer, Squirts, theater, Williamsburg

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Summer Is (Officially) Here and It’s Time to Party

June 20, 2018 By Tara Yarlagadda

This Thursday marks the the summer solstice (aka the longest day of the year), and we are so ready to celebrate. Kick off summer in the city with these eight festive events.

Joe’s Pub Block Party – Voices of Immigrant America – Thursday, June 21, 1:00-7:00 p.m.

(Photo: Joe’s Pub)

Joe’s Pub Block Party returns to Astor Place this Thursday afternoon. It touts a pretty incredible lineup of immigrants and performers of color, featuring the mambo and North African beats of the Yemen Blues Duo and the classically-trained voice of Treya Lam, among others. This event is part of Make Music New York, which “energizes the shared social spaces that make NYC a cultural capital” through city-wide music festivals on the summer solstice, per their website. More details on this year’s block party here.

Location: Astor Place
More →

Tags: Arts + Culture, astor place, bicycle film festival, clinton hill, coney island, joe's pub, Lower East Side, Myrtle Avenue, Myrtle-Broadway, pride, pride 2018, rockaway, rockaway beach

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Performance Picks: Pride, Daddies, Teenage Richards

June 13, 2018 By Cassidy Dawn Graves

THURSDAY

(image via The Public Theater)

Teenage Dick
Now through July 15 at The Public Theater, 7:30 pm (weekend matinees at 1:30 pm): $50+

As I’ve discussed several times before, wacky Shakespeare adaptations are a dime a dozen. Normally, this manifests in the form of doing something other than the expected set design, costume design, or casting, while leaving the original script—and sometimes other age-old practices—intact. Mike Lew’s Teenage Dick, presented by the Ma-Yi Theater Company in association with The Public Theater, does something different. It portrays Richard III (“the most famous disabled character of all time”) as a high school junior with cerebral palsy who is determined to become class president, and will do whatever it takes to get there. Given that most productions of Richard III feature an able-bodied actor in the titular role even when breaking with tradition in other parts of the staging (yes I’ve written about this topic before), this play’s focus on both authentic casting and disability is a breath of fresh air. More →

Tags: Bizarre Bushwick, Bushwick, comedy, gramercy theater, lane moore, pride, Richard III, Starr Bar, the public theater, theater, tinder live

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Performance Picks: Immersive Comedy, Intergenerational Queer Performance

June 6, 2018 By Cassidy Dawn Graves

FRIDAY

(flyer via BEEF show / Facebook)

Post Verbal: Pride
Friday, June 8 at Bizarre Bushwick, 10 pm: $5-10

The passionate queerdos that comprise burlesque/drag collective BEEFSquad have cooked up yet another performance creation for you, just in time for pride. So, rather than bowing to the forces of rainbow-tinged capitalism as more and more brands trumpet just how proud they are of everyone (while really also saying, by the way, you should buy their stuff), perhaps consider supporting local independent queer performers instead. A BEEF show is always full of surprises, from the salacious to the scary, and Friday night’s show hosted by C’etait Bontemps and Angelica Frankenstein should be no different. More →

Tags: beef show, Bizarre Bushwick, Bushwick, comedy, drag, East Village, east williamsburg, la mama, pride, queer, theater, Vital Joint

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How Brazilian Designer Camila Rosa Became a Real Artist in NYC

August 24, 2017 By Shannon Barbour

(Photo: Camila Rosa on Instagram)

The only thing cooler than Camila Rosa’s woke af illustrations is the artist herself. Rosa has been working on her illustrations for seven years now, but since coming to America last year, her artwork has taken on a new meaning and several movements.

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Tags: art, body positivity, brazil, brooklyn, bust, camila rosa, collective cha, diversity, education, feminism, graffiti, illustrator, marie balbinot, mic, pride, racism, refinery29, representation, veganism

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Pride-ful Shows, Political Theater, and More Performance Picks

June 21, 2017 By Cassidy Dawn Graves

THURSDAY

(image via Clubbed Thumb)

What The Constitution Means To Me
June 21-July 1 at The Wild Project, 8 pm: $25

With this piece by playwright and actor Heidi Schreck directed by Oliver Butler, Clubbed Thumb continues their annual Summerworks series of new plays. Fittingly, so far they have all dealt with sociopolitical or governmental issues in ways that have been a bit more overt than the typical downtown theater offering. Such is a sign of the times. Schreck’s What The Constitution Means To Me appears to be no exception.

The play is about someone also named Heidi who finds a unique way to make money in 1989, which is giving speeches about the Constitution. Only, she is told her orations are not personal enough, which leads to an exploration into the women of her past (who seem to have consistently attracted “violent men”) and how the Ninth Amendment may have had more of an impact than she thought on them. More →

Tags: burlesque, clubbed thumb, comedy, East Village, New York Neo-Futurists, pride, queer, Sunnyvale, the wild project, theater

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Hookup App Etiquette, QueerCom, and More Performance Picks

June 14, 2017 By Cassidy Dawn Graves

WEDNESDAY

(photo: Maria Baranova, via Abrons Arts Center)

Raw Bacon From Poland
Now through June 17 at Abrons Arts Center, 8 pm: $25

I would say that most of us agree that war is bad. I would also say that most of us are able to state that opinion without having directly experienced the horrors of war ourselves. Guggenheim Fellow Christina Masciotti’s new play, currently running at Lower East Side’s Abrons Arts Center, revolves around a veteran who has been forever altered by a tour in Iraq. Through attempts to sedate his PTSD with pills, he finds himself sentenced to Brooklyn Treatment Court due to a domestic violence incident.

Theater is rarely free to attend, and often costs a pretty penny. So when the genre tells the stories of people typically cast aside by society, it can be difficult for these very people being portrayed to actually witness the work being staged. In an effort to make this play more accessible, the theater has set aside two free tickets per night specifically for veterans. More →

Tags: abrons arts center, Art + Culture, Bushwick, comedy, East Village, JACK, joe's pub, lgbtq, pride, queercom, The Moon Show, the pit, the well