Drag Showcase: Between and Beyond Gender

BAX is proud to announce our Winter Drag Show featuring participants from Kelindah Schuster aka Theydy Bedbug’s class, “Drag Performance: Between and Beyond Gender.” This culminating showcase will feature 15 original performance pieces by emerging experimental drag artists who subvert both gender and genre. This year’s cohort was curated and led by Kelindah aka Theydy Bedbug with Drag Performers Untitled Queen, The Cake Boys, and Junior Mintt, who served as Guest Facilitators for the season. Join us in community as we celebrate queer joy and gender-expansive expression!

This showcase will feature performances by Amygdala, Fatty McGraw, Georgie Magenta, Lauren Order, Leo Moon, Luxury Bones, MAGNIFA, Masc.Ari, Petyr P@nic, Radical Ube, Soda Pressed, The Devil You Know, and The Jadamazing Experience.

Please bring cash to tip the performers. Masks are required for all audience members.

The Drag Performance Class, which was first launched in early 2021 and is part of BAX’s Practice Lab, focuses on developing drag characters that expand what it means to be a drag queen, king, thing, in between or beyond what has been seen. Through group games, writing prompts, discussion, and solo and collaborative movement exercises, participants give themselves permission to express the full range of who they are—and can be—while releasing narratives about how they “should” move, express, or dress based on inherited gender norms. They experiment with the tools of pantomime, clowning, lip sync, caricature, structured improv and intuitive movement to build towards in-process drag performance acts. While this class is focused primarily on performance skills, they touch upon what goes into making a drag act including: makeup, costumes, creating a musical track, movement choreography and technical production choices.

Kelindah Schuster (they/them) is a nonbinary educator and drag performance artist known as “Theydy Bedbug,” and the current reigning Mx. Brooklyn. They grew up in Singapore and Indonesia, studied Drama and Gender studies at Vassar College and have been teaching, producing, and creating art at BAX since 2015. As their performance persona, they have performed, emceed and produced in venues such as Pioneer Works, Gibney Dance, Dixon Place, Triskelion Arts, Coney Island USA, The Stonewall Inn, UCB, Chelsea Music Hall, The Tank, BAM, VICE Headquarters, Columbia University, National Sawdust, FIT, Earthdance, and The Knockdown Center. Their teaching makes space for problem-solving societal dilemmas, imagining new possibilities, and expressing differences with joyful authenticity. They believe that access to spaces of genderful play in performance and creation is a step toward collective liberation.

Accessibility

All shows will be live in-person in the BAX Theater as well as live streamed with automated captions. BAX also provides free access accessories to audiences such as fidget spinners and pop fidget toys, ear plugs, and more. Please note that the BAX Theater is located on the second and third floors of the building and currently, there is no elevator or ramp. While we are actively working on a permanent solution and are committed to providing a fully ADA compliant space, we are not quite there yet.

For more information on our Accessibility Initiatives visit our website.

Questions or access needs? Email: artistprograms@bax.org.

About BAX

BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange is a multigenerational arts organization nurturing creative expression and artistic process through education, residencies, and performance at the intersection of arts and social justice.

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