|
|
Queer, Ill, and OK: LGBT show focuses on illness
Special to the online edition of Windy City Times
by Vern Hester 2014-07-08
|
|
This article shared 6456 times since Tue Jul 8, 2014
|
|
After being diagnosed with HIV two years ago, creative director and artist Joseph Varisco dealt with the news by doing what he loves most: He turned it into art. Starting as an experimental performance project at Links Hall and witnessing a tremendous triumph as a result, he developed the concept into "Queer, Ill, and Okay."
After six months of assembling, curating and working with a host of artists, "Queer, Ill, and Okay" kicked off a two-night stand at Defibrillator Performing Arts Gallery July 5 in front of an SRO audience of youthful LGBT individuals.
A show focused on illnessmental as well as physicalmay sound morbid, but this show was really about coping, struggling, new determinations, and winning over dire circumstances with cheer and attitude. With Varisco moderating, the show was packed with spoken-word performance, music, minute observations, dance and a healthy helping of sincere humor.
Among the performers, poet and rapper Tim'm West addressed the invisible confines of growing up gay and Black while Patrick Gill delivered a monologue on being true to himself while dealing with the crushing threat of an MS diagnosis. Dancer Cruel Valentine's piece combined dance and eroticism to address her struggle with mental illness while queer theater artist Sara Kerastas' spoken-word piece depicted a family's violent reaction to a medical emergency arriving at the dinner table.
NIC Key's presentation used tape loops, movement and a bucket of ice water to make a valid and searing point while Chris Knowlton used wall drawings to illustrate his ribald adventures in harvesting his sperm in a major hospital. Soon-to-be New York transplant Dirty Grits used wordplay to address faith, the boundaries of class within the LGBT community and sexuality in a winning but blunt fashion. Mary Fons delved into the horror of the physical mechanics of dealing with and being treated for a crippling illness through audio/visual arts, culminating in a celebration of family support and self-love. |
|
|
|
This article shared 6456 times since Tue Jul 8, 2014
|
ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE |
---|
|
| | Jamie Barton brings nuances of identity to her Lyric Opera 'Aida' performance 2024-03-18 - Chicago's Lyric Opera is currently featuring a production of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida starring Michelle Bradley as Aida, Jamie Barton as Amneris and Russell Thomas as Radamès. The opera runs through April 7, 2024, with Francesca Zambello ...
|
| | Queer Eye's Jai Rodriguez is set to slay at The Big Gay Cabaret 2024-03-05 - Out and proud performer Jai Rodriguez is set to play at The Big Gay Cabaret this March for three days. Presented by RuPaul Drag Racer Ginger Minj, this monthly series highlights the wide world of cabaret ...
|
| | THEATER 'R & J' puts a female, queer spin on Shakespeare 2024-03-05 - Romeo and Juliet is the theatrical gift that keeps on giving. It's been reworked for the masses numerous times, whether in direct adaptations or musicals such as West Side Story. Shakespeare's plotline points have even inspired ...
|
| | Center on Halsted hosts 6th Annual Intergenerational Talent Show 2024-03-03 - On the evening of Feb. 29, Center on Halsted held its 6th Annual Intergenerational Talent Show in front of a packed audience at the Hoover-Leppen Theater. The event brought together participants of the Center's youth and senior ...
|
| | THEATER When growth is paramount: Jim Corti helps fuel Aurora theater expansion 2024-03-01 - Out actor/director/choreographer Jim Corti made his Broadway debut in 1974, in the ensemble of Leonard Bernstein's musical Candide. Director Harold Prince's acclaimed Tony Award-winning revival is often cited as a ...
|
| | Theater Review: Billy Elliot, The Musical 2024-02-19 - Book and Lyrics: Lee Hall; Music: Elton John. At: Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora Tickets: 630-896-6666 or Paramountaurora.com; $28-$79. Runs through March 24 Billy Elliot: The Musical may nearly be two decades old, but ...
|
| | 'West Side Story' gets a sex-positive spin with new burlesque show 2024-02-19 - In partial observance of National Condom Day, which was Feb. 14, Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) presented A West Side Story Burlesque at the Harris Theater for two hour-long performances on Feb. 17. The show, ...
|
| | Second Glance Productions hosts LGBTQupid Soiree 2024-02-16 - In celebration of Valentine's Day, Chicago based film and media production company Second Glance hosted The LBGTQupid Soiree. The event, which was focused on spinning attitudes on this particular day, was presented at The iO ...
|
| | Carisa Hendrix mesmerizes as Lucy Darling in Teatro ZinZanni 2024-02-12 - Since 2019, Teatro ZinZanni has gathered together amazing performers from all over the world to create an experience in Chicago under the Spiegeltent in the Cambria Hotel building, 32 W. Randolph St. Over the years, ticket ...
|
| | THEATER Dot-Marie Jones talks Goodman production, 'Glee,' 'Bros' 2024-02-12 - Running through Feb. 18 at the the Goodman Theatre, the production Highway Patrol works with a script conceived entirely from Emmy-winning actor Dana Delany's (TV's China Beach) digital archive of hundreds of tweets and direct messages ...
|
| | Dr. Lady J explains how opera can be a drag 2024-02-10 - On Feb. 8, Center on Halsted, in partnership with Lyric Opera of Chicago, presented a lecture by historian, drag activist, podcaster and curator Dr. Lady J. The event, titled "Castrated Superstars, Cross Dressed Divas, and Queer ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ Raven-Symone, women's sports, Wayne Brady, Jinkx Monsoon, British Vogue 2024-02-09 - In celebration of Black History Month, the LA LGBT Center announced that lesbian entertainer Raven-Symone will be presented with the Center's Bayard Rustin Award at its new event, Highly Favored, per a press release. She joins ...
|
| | Chicago-based production company to host all-inclusive, LGBTQ-focused Valentine's Day event 2024-02-07 --From a press release - CHICAGO — Second Glance Productions will host the LGBTQupid Soiree this Valentines Day, Wednesday, February 14, 2024. The event will be held at the iO Theater, 1501 N. Kingsbury St., from 6 pm to 11 pm ...
|
| | THEATER Nostalgic 'Sunsets' still offers a timely reflection of LGBTQ+ community 2024-02-07 - Nostalgia reigned on a variety of scales this past weekend in Chicago. During her Celebration tour, at a majestically packed United Center, Madonna acknowledged the last 40 years of her career, highlighting her '80s interactions with ...
|
| | The Jeff Awards announces the 50th-anniversary non-Equity theater nominations 2024-02-06 --From a press release - (Feb. 6, 2024 - Chicago) — Celebrating its 50th anniversary awarding recognition for Non-Equity theater, the Joseph Jefferson Awards announces its nominations for theater excellence among Non-Equity theater during the ...
| |
|
|