Everyone Deserves a Poem: Get a Custom Poem [1-4:30pm, Courtyard]
Presented by Pride Poets
Write Out Loud [1:30-2:30pm, Davidson/Valentini Theatre]
Presented by the HIV Writers Workshop
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.
Live Model Drawing [1:30-2:30pm, Advocate & Gochis Galleries]
Presented by Miguel Angel Reyes
AGE PLAY [3-4pm, Renberg Theatre]
Written and Directed by gina young
Presented by SORORITY
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.
BiP:DiP (Bodies in Play: Dance is Pleasure) [3-4pm, Davidson/Valentini Theatre]
Presented by Bodies in Play
Production support provided by The Center for Provocative Thought
Special thanks to Emily Wanserski
“Wet Dream”
Performance and Choreography by: Emma Vicaña and Marisa Ervin
Music: Wet Dream by Wet Leg
@marisaervn / @emma.vicana
“this is step 91 (excerpt)”
Performance and Choreography by: Andrew Pearson (he/him)
Music: When I Fall In Love by Celine Dion and Clive Griffin
“Crème Brulée (film)”
Performances by: Amy Cheng, Nico Lonetree, Jongo Zeizel
Choreography by: JA Collective – Jordan Johnson and Aidan Carberry
Direction by: Nathan Kim
Music: David Archuleta
@n8thankim / @davidarchie / @ja_collective
“Tortillera”
Performances by: Maritza Navarro (she/they) and Danielle Yasuda (she/her)
Choreography by: Muda
Music: Costumbres by Rocío Dúrcal
Costume Design by: Foreste Jean
@muda.mvmt / @_forestejean_
“Tea is Ready”
Performance by: José Gabriel (they/them)
Choreography by: Owen Scarlett
Music: Original score by Owen Scarlett
@owenscarlett
“She Waits For Me to Come Back Down (film)”
Performances by: Michaela Moore, Mackenzie Martin, Gabriella Dominguez, Alyssa Park, Madison Thomas and Sierra Puett
Direction and Choreography by: Mackenzie Martin
Music: Donovan Woods w/ People Project, featuring Katie Pruitt
@_mackenzie_martin_ / @donovanwoods / @katiepruittmusic
“On the Facade”
Performance and Choreography by: Andrew Pearson (he/him)
Music: You Lost Me and Just Be Free by Christina Aguilera
“The Sweetness of Sweat (excerpt)”
Performance by: Malachi Middleton and John Santos
Choreography by: Bernard Brown/bbmoves
Music: “A Good ACT to Follow” excerpt from Code Switch podcast by NPR, “LUV” by Defacto X
@bb.moves
“A Symphony in Pink and Blue”
Performances by: Lu Ordman and Selina Ho
Choreography by: LORDMAN
Music: Alter Ego by Doechii, DARE by Gorillaz, High By The Beach by Lana Del Rey, Outré Lux by Photay
@lordman_
Land Acknowledgement:
The Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center exists on the homeland of the indigenous communities known as the Gabrielino-Tongva and the Chumash people, who freely stewarded this land prior to Spanish settlement and the eventual colonization of what we now call the United States. Those who identify as the Tongva and Chumash people and thousands of indigenous peoples continue to inhabit what we know as Los Angeles and we acknowledge and honor their past, present, and future on this land.
Dedication:
Tonight’s event would not be possible without the many gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer plus artists and activists who came before us. We dedicate this work to those individuals who gave their lives and energy to fight for the world this show now exists.
BIOS:
Bodies in Play is a Los Angeles-based performance collective founded by Andrew Pearson in 2017 as a platform to develop new performance events while interrogating existing models for producing dance and theater. We produce collaboratively devised Plays in which our Bodies further the narrative through dance and movement. Catered to the socially conscious and playfully minded, our work is best viewed through a lens just queer of center, disarming audiences with pop theatricality and inviting a challenge to conformity.
Andrew Pearson (he/him) is a queer dance-based educator, performer, and creator “known as a provocative choreographer and imaginative presenter” (Cultural Weekly). His works has been presented at venues including The Center on Halsted in Chicago; Coachella Valley Repertory Theater; Highways Performance Space; The Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center; ODC in San Francisco’ and the Gdansk International Dance Festival in Poland. He holds an MFA from Wilson College and is on faculty at UC Santa Barbara, AMDA’s College of the Performing Arts, and serves as Assistant Director of the LEAP Program through Saint Mary’s College of California.
Patch-Making Workshop with Martha Carrillo [3-4:30pm, Advocate & Gochis Galleries]
Presented by Self Help Graphics
VIVA TRANS: A Celebration of Trans Visibility and Pride / Una Celebración De La Visibilidad y Orgullo Trans [5:30-6:30pm, Renberg Theatre]
Presented by Trans Chorus of Los Angeles (TCLA) &
Mariachi Arco•Iris de Los Angeles