FRIGID New York is calling all Revolting Queers together for a celebration of queer resilience and revolution! The Queerly Festival has long been a space for queer folks to present their art to their community without feeling any need to edit or censor themselves to be more palatable for cis-het audiences, and this year they're going full throttle. As American politics become more and more threatening to trans and queer people, we stand loud and proud, refusing to be ignored or overlooked—or to change ourselves to suit others.
This year Queerly is presenting shows that celebrate queer/LGBTQIA2S+ resilience, power, determination, persistence and resistance. They'll be presenting plays about the history of the queer liberation movement, aggressively non-binary burlesque, stories of thriving in a world that rejects us and a flagrant disregard of cis-het norms. This year, Queerly will be presenting a Queer Revolution of joy, rage, strength, exhaustion and art.
Selections inlcude:
Mother Sylvia
Written and Performed by Summer Minerva (Brooklyn, NY)
Mother Sylvia takes place in the bedroom of a young transfemme, "S", getting ready to head out for yet another empty, anonymous hookup. S shares about her spirit guide, Sylvia Rivera, by embodying her—bringing forward Sylvia's shocking memories and wisdom from pioneering the LGBT Rights Movement, as a sex worker and human rights advocate. Sylvia's monologues, taken from actual interviews, are interspersed with heartfelt and hilarious monologues of S's struggles with identity, love, and belonging. Does S continue on her normal, self destructive path, or does she discover a new way to be?
Poster Boys
Written by Leo Layla Díaz, Directed by Hannah Marie Penderson (New Jersey)
Tune into Poster Boys! The hit reality show where transmasc contestants compete for the coveted prize of an immediate legal gender and name change on all documents—passport, birth certificate, even library card. The contestants go through challenges, presenting their lives and memories to convince the audience to vote for them, exploring the connections and conflicts across the vast trans community, and the dangers of selling out for cisgender approval in this satirical dark comedy from playwright Leo Layla Díaz and director Hannah Marie Pederson.
Lesbian Bigfoot
Written by Anna Margevich (Brooklyn, NY)
Shannon and Bianca had a long-standing-gay-fling every summer as teenagers when their respective families would journey into the woods for seasonal bigfoot hunting. While the heads of their households feuded, this young couple routinely met in secret, until one summer everything changed. Now, Bianca is finally returning to the woods after five years of missing out on the family trip. But will Shannon still be there waiting for her? What happens when Bianca must confront the growing distance inside of her own family as she also navigates loving someone who is no longer available? Who else has Shannon met in the forest?
Mary & The Shelleys
Written by Alex Moon (New York, NY)
Mary & The Shelleys is a Trans-Punk Horror Extravaganza with music inspired by Blondie, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cramps, The Misfits, The Cure, Mazzy Star and many more. Mary (Transfemme, monster) wakes up in a strange Texas laboratory horrified by her stitched-up, sutured visage (as everyone else who lays eyes on her). Wandering/chased from town to town, Mary looks for answers about who she is until she's taken in by Igor, the proprietor of a "monster bar." There, she's swept off her feet by a suave Transmasc vampire with a thirst for blood and adrenaline. The two raise hell, but Mary soon wonders if Byron is sucking her dry of all passion, curiosity and sense of self-discovery. This show is BY Trans folks, FOR Trans folks, embracing ALL. Mary & The Shelleys roars to life while offering viewers safe haven, a call to arms, a relentless self-love in the face of bitter hate and a celebration of the weird, the strange, the Queer.
