Andrew Volkoff has been on the job for about nine months, but it's only now that he's making his Chicago directorial debut as the new artistic director of About Face Theatre, one of the city's leading theater companies dedicated to producing works by and about the LGBTQ community.
And Volkoff's debut show is most definitely something that has never been seen in town before: a co-production with Silk Road Rising of Aditi Brennan Kapil's Brahman/i: A One- Hirjra Stand-Up Comedy Show—which is about a South Asian intersex or "hijra" person. "When I first read this, I was absolutely blown away by the intelligence and daring of humor that she employed in putting the piece together," said Volkoff, adding that he was already familiar with Kapil's work since they are both alumni of Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn. "I knew I wanted to do something that was diverse and that kind of embraced the community beyond the traditional sense of the LGBT community. … A South Asian intersex character has rarely, if ever, been seen on stage, and I felt it was important to begin that conversation."
To help bring the Chicago premiere of Brahman/i to life, Volkoff teamed with Silk Road Rising since the show fit perfectly with the company's focus on productions influenced by Asian and Middle Eastern peoples and settings. So Volkoff is continuing another About Face Theatre precedent of collaborating with other companies, like when previous artistic director Bonnie Metzgar co-produced Rent with American Theater Company and Woyzeck and Pony with The Hypocrites.
"It seemed like the perfect match since both of our theaters deal with identity issues," said Volkoff, happy to work with Silk Road Rising's out co-founders Jamil Khoury and Malik Gillani on Brahman/i. "That sense of community of three gay men coming together to share this story with the world has been a really gratifying experience. I've learned a lot from them and I think they've learned a lot from me. To be able to be making this with other folks from the community has been really gratifying." Once Brahman/i was programmed, Silk Road Rising and About Face immediately pursued local actor Fawzia Mirza to star in the show. Not only does Mirza have many previous Silk Road Rising credits, but she's had plenty of experience commanding the stage in one-woman shows like her self-written and -produced Sex Signals, which is a sexual-violence prevention show that tours to universities and military installations. "I was really excited after I read the full script," Mirza said. "You know, for me, a lot my work is based on me being South Asian or queer and on identity and duality, and so for me this was a total no-brainer when I was offered the part. I couldn't wait to do it and bring life to the character."
Mirza relates to Brahman/i in part to her cultural background and notions of being part of a Diaspora, and she is very amazed at how Kapil weaves in lots of history and politics on the colonization of South Asia.
But what really impresses both Volkoff and Mirza about Brahman/i is that Kapil does all of this in the format of a standup comedy routine. "The art of stand-up comedy and the art of one-person storytelling, they're similar but then they're different because one is very comedy specific," said Mirza, adding that her character gets lots of support onstage from the accompanist played by Damian Conrad. "The lead character is telling stories of being a kid and the struggles of being in high school, and growing up Indian and finding out that they have both male and female genitalia and what that was like in school and what that was like with their parents and what it's like as an adult."
Volkoff is also impressed that Kapil is also assuredly making the point that the comedian of Brahman/i is not a victim, and that humor is used to create a safe space.
"I think that's very daring on Aditi's part to be able to present a character who could so easily been marginalized, who is actually a beacon of hope and strength," Volkoff said. "I think we need more stories like that." Once Volkoff starts Brahman/i, he'll have his hands full with About Face Youth Theater's biennial summer production ( which he hopes to move to an annual basis ), and finding new offices for About Face Theatre. But in the meantime, Volkoff hopes that his About Face directorial debut with Brahman/i will be another diverse milestone for the company.
Brahman/i: A One-Hirjra Stand Up Comedy Show is presented by About Face Theatre and Silk Road Rising at Pierce Hall at the Historic Chicago Temple Building, 77 W. Washington St. Previews are March 27 through March 30, with an official press opening 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 3.
The show and runs through April 27. Performance times are at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays. Preview tickets are $20/$10 students and seniors. Regular-run tickets are $35/$20 students and seniors; call 312- 857-1234, ext. 201, or visit www.silkroadrising. org or www.aboutfacetheatre.com .
