Brian Sonia-Wallace he/they (Poet, Curator) has written over 10,000 poems for strangers across the country since 2011 as RENT Poet, and founded Pride Poets in 2019. Each year Pride Poets works with 10-20 LGBTQ+ writers to create over 500 original poems for participants at Pride, celebrating their love, their identities, and their activism. This work has garnered a City of West Hollywood Rainbow Key Award for LGBTQ+ activism and been featured on KTLA and Spectrum 1, as well as creating activations for Pepsi and the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles to uplift queer voices.

The poets joining Brian to write for the public this year are:

Syd Shaw
Valerie, darling.
Victor Yates
Timothy Nang
Pastiche Queen
Jose Rios
Jen Cheng
Socks Whitmore
Jeffrey McCray
Frankie Tan
Hank Henderson

Syd Shaw is a queer poet from the San Fernando Valley. She is Workshop Coordinator at Passengers Journal, and studied poetry and journalism at Northwestern University. Syd first joined Pride Poets in 2021, and fell in love with the community and the practice of telling the stories of strangers. When not writing or teaching writing workshops,  she is an amateur aerialist and burlesque performer. More info can be found at https://sydshaw.carrd.co/

Pastiche Queen (they/them) is a non-binary Latindigenous performance artist from Denver, now based in Hollywood. With degrees in Politics (Queer Theory) and Theater (Playwriting/Directing) from Whitman College, and an MFA from The Stella Adler Art of Acting Conservatory, their work centers marginalized voices and reimagines texts through a transformative lens. A decorated slam poet, Pastiche has won titles across the U.S. and competes with the champion West Hollywood Slam Team. They regularly perform at Da Poetry Lounge and are the author of Trans Velociraptors, available from The Los Angeles Press. Their artistry bridges identity, activism, and performance.

Victor Yates is a writer, storyteller, and content creator on YouTube with 95k subscribers. He was selected for the Fire Island Artist Residency and won the 2020 George Floyd Honorarium for Poetry from the Los Angeles Press. He also won the 2017 Judith A. Markowitz Award for Emerging LGBTQ Writers and the 2016 Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Debut Fiction for his book, A Love Like Blood.

Hank Henderson, a 2018 Lambda Literary Poetry Fellow, curated the LGBTQ+ writers series homo-centric for 11 years at Stories Books and Cafe, WeHo Book Fair, Lambda Literary LitFest, and WeHo Arts Festival.  His solo show Fugue State was featured at Highway’s Ecce Lesbo-Ecce Homo Festival and the WeHo Arts Festival.  Runner-up in the Nebraska Poetry Society’s 2023 Spoken Poetry Contest, his work has appeared in the anthologies Under the Belly Of the Beast and Los Angeles Press Volumes 9 and 10. He lives in Glassell Park with a guy named Joe and three cats.

Jeffrey McCray is APLA Health’s Long Beach Program Coordinator for HIVE (the HIV+ Elders program) and is a Co-Chair of the Long Beach Comprehensive HIV Planning Group. He is a member of Pride Poets and has had writing featured at Greystone Mansion and as a conference keynote, bringing his unique perspective as a gay black man.

Socks Whitmore is a neuroqueer performer, creative, educator, producer, and otherwise professional overachiever. As a crossdisciplinary artist rooted in voice and text, their work spans from live performance to digital media to print — including theater, film, music, VO, games, poetry, essays, & more. They have been produced by New Musicals Inc., Overtone Industries, & Femini==ytales, and published by American Composers Forum, Translash Media, & Queer Quarterly magazine, among others. They are a co-founder & company manager of 8TPS (an all-trans polystylistic vocal collective), a staff member at Bolero Game Studio & CIPA (the Creative & Independent Producers Alliance), and the 2024 recipient of Celebration Theatre’s Vibrant Voice Award.

Frankie Tan is the queer multicultural spawn of three worlds. Former Artistic Director of the Poetry Brothel literary cabaret & an official West Hollywood Pride Poet, their writing has been published by Foglifter Press, the Los Angeles Press, and others. They have performed poetry & typewritten custom poems for people nationwide. When not writing, reading, or wrangling performers, Frankie can be found in the air as a circus showgirl. Their first book, A Jungle Refuses To Give Up, was nominated for a Pushcart prize.

Learn more at rentpoet.com/community

READING PROGRAM (in alphabetical order):
“A Very Long One Night Stand” by Steven Baxter
“A Little Black Cloud” by John Boucher
“The Monster” by Randy Lopez
“Flying” by Louie Mandrapilias
“My Delightfully, Sexually Risque Youth” by Alisturk Eric MacNanty
“Campout Assassin” by Gerry Mullins
“Untitled” by Corey Saucier
“How my father told me he knew I was gay” by David Stern
“Press to Reset” by John Singh
“Castro Commune” by Phil Tarley
“Resilience” by Don Tinling

BIOS:
Steven Baxter, a native Angelino, has had a passport since he was seven days old. He’s been traveling, painting and writing ever since and has been part of the HIV Writers Workshop for twenty years.

John Boucher a twenty-year Workshop member is writing a TV series based on his life in the 90s: managing an art gallery (for a woman with no taste), a dominatrix roommate, his dysfunctional childhood and testing HIV positive, currently John practices yoga and is an avid Barbie collector.

Randy Lopez (he/him) is a Renaissance man, lover of the inward journey, creator of beautiful environments, sculptor and writer with a personal mission of being a beneficial presence on the planet is in his first year writing with the Workshop.

Alisturk Eric MacNanty (he/him) is a 70-year-old, retired artist and writer whose youth was spent in the “Glory Days” of San Francisco in the 70’s and 80′ and has been writing with the HIV Writers Workshop since 2016.

Louie Mandrapilias (he/him), a 3-year member of HIV Writer’s Workshop, is a former death-defying criminal who leads a monastic life of service.

Alan Joseph Marx (he/him) is a writer, painter, and analog photographer living and working in Los Angeles who is one of the co-founders of OFFUS, an artist run exhibition space in downtown Los Angeles is known for his show-stopping charcuterie boards and is in his second year with the Workshop.

Gerry Mullins (He/Him) is an actor, writer, Angeleno and HIV positive for 32 years who has been writing with the Workshop for one year.

Corey Saucier (all pronouns) who has been writing with the workshop since 2015 who can be found at greeneyedgrin on all platforms, is a lyrical philosopher and a black queer Christian poet author and playwright who cultivates their personal histories that echoes themes of intersectional minority identity, femme empowerment, queer faith and unspoken crystal meth epidemic

John Singh, a member of the HIV Writers Workshop since 2020, is an L.A.-based entertainment publicity executive, business owner, husband, dog father, and former journalist whose first novel, “Midnight Movie,” will be published soon (that’s called manifesting.)

Phil Tarley (he/him) who writes about his wild and wicked life is the only Fellow of the American Film Institute ever inducted into the Gay Porn Hall of Fame as producer-director Phil St. John, his nom de porn, and this is his firs season with the Workshop.

Don Tinling (he/gurl!) trudges the road of happy destiny as visual artist interested in the journey of body and spirit and as an old gay cis white male full blown AIDS survivor wants to listen to the unheard and help them tell their stories so he has been facilitating the HIV Writers Workshop since 2007.

To donate, visit www.hivwritersworkshop.org/donate

Models:
Jhonatan, Dancer IG: @jhonatanlatino
Taylor Sinn (He/him), adult content creator, performer, and dancer with a background in LGBTQ+ advocacy and politics.  IG: @Tay_Sinn Twitter: Taylor_Sinn

Written and Directed by gina young

BIOS:
SAB she/they (ME) is best known for her work in queer theatre, with roles in Tales of a Fourth Lesbo and STRAIGHT PLAY (a queer beach blanket musical), where she also served as costumer and choreographer. In addition she originated the role of Marigold, starring in gina young’s hit play Femmes: A Tragedy. She enjoys moonlighting as drag king Dick DaMoan and directing, designing, and costuming productions as a high school theatre teacher. Special thanks to gina young for giving her the opportunity to continue performing for over 15 years, and to her friends, who have been her biggest fans, in the hard times and the good.

Rhiannon Lewis they/them (YOU)is an actor and singer-songwriter born and raised in the heart of LA. Favorite credits include: Stranger Things: The Drive-Into Experience (Eleven), You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (Sally), The Drowsy Chaperone (George/MD), Sweeney Todd (Tobias). Rhiannon is also a recent graduate of CalArts with a BFA in the Performer-Composer program, and is in the process of recording their debut album. If you’d like to support, visit https://gofund.me/5fc60747 Thanks to gina for bringing them on to this amazing project! Instagram: @rosebush_lewis

gina young she/they (STAGE DIRECTIONS, Playwright, Director) is an award-winning playwright (The Jane Chambers Award, The Humanitas/PLAY LA Prize, The MAP Fund Grant), a songwriter with over a million hits on Spotify, and a director of experimental theatre and video. Their plays include BUTCH BALLET, STRAIGHT PLAY (a queer beach blanket musical), Femmes: A Tragedy, and This Is Why I Don’t Come Home. Gina’s work has been seen at REDCAT, The Hammer Museum, and The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). They are the founder of SORORITY, a queer feminist performance salon with a cult following. Connect via www.ginayoung.com or @ginagenius on Instagram.

For more info, visit www.ginayoung.com

Run time: 20 mins

Performed by Pickle
Accompanied by Victor Buccellato

Pickle is the Drag Laureate of the City of West Hollywood and the Executive Director of Drag Arts Lab, an organization that expands and elevates the art of drag in Los Angeles County. She has partnered with many institutions to present drag programming including the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and Sciences, the Natural History Museum of LA County, Aquarium of the Pacific, LA Public Library, The Music Center and many more. (more at www.dragartslab.org)

Victor Buccellato, pianist, is a recent graduate of the USC Thornton school of music and performs throughout Los Angeles and on the road.

More info at pickledragqueen.com

PROGRAM:
“MISA CRIOLLA”
(Kyrie/Gloria/Credo/Sanctus/Agnus Dei) – A folx mass based on the rhythms and traditions of Hispanic America composed by Ariel Ramírez, Arranged by Juan Manuel Cortez

“More Waters Rising”
By Sato Lynch-Thomason, Arranged by Saunder Choi

“A Mi Manera/My Way”
By Paul Anka, Arranged by Juan Manuel Cortez

“Defying Gravity”
By Stephen Schwartz, Arranged by Yalitza (Yaya) Vasquez-Lopez

“Los Arcoiris (Rainbow) Medley”
By by Carlos Samaniego, Juan Manuel Cortez, Arlen/Harburg, and traditional folk. Arranged by Juan Manuel Cortez

“You Can’t Erase Us”
By Alana Balagot

“Popurrí Sudamericano”
By Juan Carlos Gobian, Madera/Choperena, Traditional Folk. Arranged by Juan Manuel Cortez

“You Have More Friends” Than You Know
By Jeff Marx and Merv Warren, Arranged by Juan Manuel Cortez

PERFORMERS:
Trans Chorus of Los Angeles

Soprano
Julian Kornick, He/Him
Matheon Miller, She/Her
Ryn Jorgensen, They/He
Madeleine Schnack, She/They/He
Siobhan Dougall, She/Her
Donna Miller, She/Her
Liz Synder, She/Her
Mia Davitt, She/They
Rebecca Louisell, She/They
Jia Ryan Olaes, They/She
Lisa-Skye, He/Him
Rachel Rose, She/Her

Tenor
KJ Minzner, He/They
Lulu Maxfield, They/Them
Spencer Locke, They/He
Valente Urquiza, He/They
Abdullah “Abby” Hall, They/Them
EN’B Kim, They/He
John Elliot Buckingham, All Pronouns
Julian Kehs, He/Him
Keath Silva, He/They
Max Figueroa, He/Him
Rae Bloom, He/Him
Ronal Rivas, He/Him

Bass/Baritone
Bea Cordelia, She/Her
Kae Viernes, He/Him
Kathryn Davis, She/Her
Maverick Campbell, He/They
Rob Carrillo, He/Him
Corinne Burch, They/He
Podly James McClure, He/Him
Nolan Jones, They/Them
Alana Balagot, She/Her
Avalon Chorpita, She/Her
Christy Girlington, She/Her

5th Section
Vicky Mitchell, She/They
Pianist: Abe Fabella, He/Him/His

Mariachi Arco•Iris de Los Ángeles

Carlos Samaniego (director/violin/voice), he/him
Noel Loera (guitar/voice/arranger/assistant director), he/him
Yalitza “Yaya” Vazquez-Lopez (violin/voice/arranger), she/ella
Ricardo Arzola (violin/voice), he/him
Melissa Diaz (violin/voice), she/her/ella
Edwin Martinez (violin/voice), he/him
Brian Espinoza (trumpet), he/him
Jeremy Rodriguez (trumpet/voice), he/they
Azul-Celeste Rodriguez (harp), they/them/elle/ella
Saulo Garcia (guitarron), he/him
Sammi Bautista (vihuela/voice), she/they

Directed By: Abdullah “Abby” Rahsheen Hall and Carlos Samaniego
Music Direction: Alana Balgot, Corinne Burch, Ernest Lee, and Carlos Samaniego
Conducted by: Alana Balgot and Corinne Burch

Rehearsal Accompanist: Ernest Lee (he/him)

Creative Team
TCLA Artistic Director: Abdullah Rahsheen “Abby” Hall
TCLA Interim Music Directors and Conductors: Alana Balagot and Corrine Burch
Mariachi Arco•Iris de Los Angeles Director/Founder: Carlos Samaniego
Mariachi Arco•Iris de Los Angeles Principal Arranger/Composer: Juan Manuel Cortez
Mariachi Arco•Iris de Los Angeles Wardrobe: Victor Samaniego

Special Thanks
To the TCLA Choristers thank you each and everyone of you for your hard work and dedication.

To the amazing musicians of Mariachi Arco•Iris De Los Angeles. This collaboration has been a highlight to the chorus and a musical triumph to the TGI choral community.

A special note of thanks to the entire staff of the Renberg Theatre, Thank You All for making us shine.