RECOGNITION = LIFE on JUNE 27 @ 4pm

“I’ve learned in my adult life that the will to silence the truth is always and everywhere as strong as the truth itself. So it is a necessary fight we will always be in: those of us who struggle to understand our common truths, and those who try to erase them.” - Paul Monette

The words of Paul Monette are hitting me hard right in the heart right now with both an emotionally powerful urgency and resounding universality, as relevant as today as when he wrote them over 20 years ago. On June 27 at 4:30pm I will present  “Recognition = Life”, a 45-minute tribute to Paul and the creative spirit of West Hollywood residents who are no longer with us as part of The City of West Hollywood’s One City One Pride LGTBQ Arts Festival “WeHo@30”.  It’s part of a day of theatre and the show “West Hollywood This Is Your Life”.  It all begins at Fiesta Hall in Plummer Park at 4pm (3:30pm door) and includes a variety of extraordinary performances until 9pm, co-hosted by Ian MacKinnon and Odious Ari produced by APT3F & Planet Queer. Check out the facebook invite at:
https://www.facebook.com/events/870889636291351/

I will be combining spoken word along with a cast (Atasiea, Harpal Sodhi, and Qlint Steinhauser) using dance movement, live music (musician Ahmond on guitar) and video art to honor his powerful voice in both his essays and poetry. There’s a particularly enthralling mix of strength and sensitivity in his writing, from his bold essays on gay rights and AIDS activism to the heartfelt emotion of the loss of his lover Roger Horwitz. They speak clearly and compellingly to us in contemporary times and engage on both page and stage. 

"Recognition = Life"
Fiesta Hall in Plummer Park
7377 Santa Monica Blvd 

(Free parking for full day in both north and south parking lots - north lot off Fountain Blvd, south lot off Santa Monica - Fiesta Hall is in the middle and west side of park just off North Vista St.)

"West Hollywood This Is Your Life" begins at 4pm, doors 3:30pm

suggested $5 donation covers full day of performances
SCHEDULE
4:00 pm - Hank Henderson’s HomoCentric brings together diverse voices in LGBTQ writing.

4:30pm "Recognition = Life" created by Jason Jenn with Atasiea, Harpal Sodhi, Qlint Steinhauser and Ahmond on guitar. With special guest performance by Yozmit
5:30 pm - Ian MacKinnon’s Get More Gay Performance Workshop's “Flirty Thirty: The WeHo Queer History Project” explores West Hollywood LGBT history in a series of performance pieces by: David Parke Epstein, Edwin Alexis Gomez, AJ Goodrich, Andrea Lambert, Ricky Luna, Ian MacKinnon, Martin Matamoros, Corey Saucier, Jean Spinosa, & Travis Wood
6:50 pm - APT 3F and PLANET QUEER host a variety show with artists celebrating Pride and WeHo's b-day! Performances by: Bitsy la Bourbon, Heather Damage, Queerella deVille, Keith Hunter, Leon Mancilla, Leopold Nunan, & Raymond Kym Suttle
7:45 pm - REACH LA presents "Face Over 30: The Road To Ovahness," an original theatrical production about a young man's journey to redemption, through the lens of queer ballroom culture.

'This event is presented as part of the City of West Hollywood's One City One Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival, which this year celebrates the 30th Anniversary of Cityhood with the theme 'WeHo@30, Life@30'. Events take place from Harvey Milk Day, May 22nd, to the end of June, with a special full day of theatre in Plummer Park on June 27. For more info and to see a full roster of events please visit :www.weho.org/pride. 

THE BUZZ OF ONE CITY ONE PRIDE

The cast of Stuart Timmons' City of West Hollywood LGBTQ History Mobile Tour on June 6

Feeling such an immense wave of heartfelt gratitude for the City of West Hollywood's One City One Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival. Not quite a third of the way through the 40 days and I have been so moved by the variety of events with the primary theme of “WeHo@30” (it was incorporated as a city on Nov 29, 1984 with the first elected majority gay city council and lesbian mayor) and additional theme of exploring how the AIDS crisis forever impacted our history and has yet to receive the attention and respect it deserves in the art world with “Art AIDS America”. 

Helping to work with gay historian Stuart Timmons and a truly amazing cast and crew on bringing his historic tour of West Hollywood to fruition yesterday has moved me in ways beyond my ability to fully describe in a singular post, but I had to at least share some of this:

The intricate tapestry of life is taking on a fascinating glow, putting me into an even deeper reverent awe.  These moments have been coming more and more and I feel blessed to have shared experiences with many wonderful people over my 17 years in the Los Angeles area , whom I love, respect, and admire. Then there are those I never met but who move me so from their bold actions in the past and by getting to read about and/or share their stories, or have multimedia experiences about, which educate me as to their life and impact. So much to share…lots of thanks and credits to give, but for now…these are the words I share. Now on to dive into more of the festival events…

Performance artist & friend Yozmit delivers a stunning walk through the West Hollywood Library at the exhibition opening of "Art AIDS America"

A few quick snapshots from Stuart Timmons' Tour...more to come

Thanks to Cake & Art for providing beautiful and delicious cakes for the reception.

Video Excerpts from "BEHOLD THE BRIDEGROOMS REVISITED"

Check out 4 different video clips from the June 21 production of "Behold the Bridegrooms Revisited" presented as part of The City of West Hollywood's One City, One Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival.


"Wondrous the Merge" with David Mergen on cello and dance by Atasiea
http://youtu.be/DGuF7ByICJA
"This Wonder: A Hymn to Herm" with guest performer Mountaine Jonas
http://youtu.be/u0YxpHFWD_w
"Little Sermons of Big Joy" with David Mergen on cello
http://youtu.be/asXtX8AUgFg
and the title performance - a reading of James Broughton & Joel Singer's 1978 wedding ceremony: "Behold the Bridegrooms"
http://youtu.be/XhFQFaT0VZo

Special thanks to videographer Ian MacKinnon!



with
Rich Yap 
Atasiea
Jason Jenn
Clint Steinhauser
Bill Mayer
David Parke Epstein
Queer David Lawrence
Blu Richard Donald Blues as Joel Singer
&
Robert Patrick Playwright as James Broughton

http://youtu.be/XhFQFaT0VZo 

Sublime Summer Solstice Experience!

Colorful cast takes a bow! All photos by Tony Coehlo/One City One Pride - click to enlarge

Vibrating with the weekend's performance thrillride. Gratitude abounds and fresh possibilities and ideas are flowering from the nourishment of a profound experience. 

It began with a fab afternoon in the hot sun listening & watching the hot fun festivities dreamed up by Apt 3F and PLANET QUEER's "A Midsummer Afternoon's Queer Wedding Reception" while helping guide audience in putting glitter make-up on. I mostly glittered up a lot of children who attended, girls who could not get enough and kept coming back for, more much to their parents bemusement (fortunately they could wash up in the venue's bathroom). A couple of them became my helpers and "knew" a lot more about make-up than I could imagine (such teachers they be in their free expression).  I even let one girl paint my head (she asked if she could, and I said, "Yes you may, it is a canvas.") 

And then the 7pm program, "Behold the Bridegrooms Revisited"...so much to say. Deep appreciation for the opportunity presented by West Hollywood's One City One Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival. There is so much value in connecting with our ancestors as an ongoing part of our community and the importance of creating sacred, creative space for honoring their cultural contributions by presenting their artful contributions to contemporary audiences. The exploration of James Broughton has profound gifts for everyone and deserves wider recognition. Getting to “play” with his words and do so in new ways involving friends utilizing their talents is so priceless an experience to participate in and share with others. Since the festival theme was "I Do" in celebration of one year of marriage equality, I focused the show on the loving relationship and marriage of James Broughton to his partner Joel Singer.

There was so much magic there - James Broughton himself was orchestrating from beyond (he has indeed been busy at work all over the world with the various celebrations which have conjured up his arts). I was thrilled to meet visiting guest artist Mountaine Jonas, whose arrival in LA was most assuredly lined up by James so that Moutaine and I could perform the duet poem “This Wonder” in front of a slideshow of James & Joel. A stranger before this event, Mountaine simply said the “magic words” (befitting a man who online manifests as Merlin) -- he also just so happened to choose the very poem that I had hoped to perform (and still will someday) with my Alien Sister Sky Palkowitz, who unfortunately had to be out of town during the show (but was indeed present that evening with her wishes and previous acting coaching). I didn't think I would get to do it as part of the program, and at the last minute, magic happened. Mountaine’s expertise in James Broughton’s work guided me in the delivery of the poem in ways I could never have realized without his splendid knowledge. 

And then, OH - the dream come true of blending words with beautiful music and gorgeous dance with talented friends. James & Joel used Bach cello suites in one of their film collaborations, and I’ve used a Bach cello suite in my performance piece “ASH - Axis Mundi” - so I relished the connection and love for Bach by performing once more with the great mastermind’s music supporting James Broughton’s loving tribute to origins of his life with Joel: “Wondrous the Merge”. Having live cello played by a most talented friend, David Mergen, is a lifetime treasure. Add to that mix the remarkable dance talents and genius of Atasiea Kenneth L. Ferguson, and you have a goldmine of the soul. I had merely to create an outline and blocking, and he magically filled it with the most sublime movement and interpretation. Such a blessing to bring these gifts together and play, and, as James says himself in the poem, “Yes Yes Yes!” I definitely see more of this particular collaboration manifesting as a necessity.

Next, there was the poem, “Little Sermons of Big Joy” accompanied once again with  David on cello, because why not do one more while at it?! As indicated by the arrangement and playfulness of the text, I got to “busk and bounce” upon the stage while sharing James’s benediction to “inseminate with light, the wombs of mankind.” 

Finally, we shared the good fun and lyric beauty of James & Joel’s connubial masque with a staged reading  of their 1978 nuptials “Behold the Bridegrooms”.  Weddings are most definitely works of theatre, and the script of theirs is such a rich banquet of wondrous words. With the help of colorfully adorned friends, Clint Qlint Steinhauser, David Parke Epstein, David Lawrence, Rich Yap, Bill Mayer Atasiea (once more on stage this time as the puckish figure Hermeros in the prologue and epilogue), Blu Donald Richard Blues (as Joel Singer) and that cardinal co-progenitor of gay theatre Robert Patrick Playwright as James Broughton. Some have proclaimed we look like a Dr. Seuss book come to life —  indeed we had great fun with it and indeed James (while being a champion of bare flesh) was a lover of festive and outrageous regalia (as sublimely realized in his mock funeral procession in the 1974 film “Testament” and in his associations with the Radical Faeries and Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence). 

Such an honor and a Big Joy to “Behold the Bridegrooms Revisited” in this way - thanks to all of those involved and all those who have supported the journey from afar or in person as audiences. Major thanks to all the people involved in the documentary film “Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton”, most particularly Stephen Silha and the movement to spread James Broughton’s “frisky gospel” to others by encouraging such performance events to occur. Special thanks to Mike Che, Andrew Campbell, and the City of West Hollywood’s One City One Pride for making this opportunity possible and to perform in the historic Fiesta Hall. The programs all month long have been so incredible and so important in supporting the arts and bringing various artist’s works to light. Very importantly, thanks to Joel Singer for his open heart both for inspiring the great genius of James to continue creating such beautiful works and in cheering on all these tributes. And of course, thank you James! 

I shall be posting more photos and video in time - and shall continue singing the praises of BIG JOY James Broughton. Your support as audience for these endeavors is appreciated and vital in fueling more to come! 

BLISSINGS

Jason

The Legacy Garden @ INSTALL: WeHo's Pop-Up Art Village

Legacy Garden (INSTALL:WeHo 2013 manifestation) - click photos for larger view

It was a fantastic day under the summer sun on June 2 celebrating One City One Pride month in West Hollywood with INSTALL:WeHo, a pop-up art village of installations inside U-haul trucks and live performances on truck bed stage in the El Tovar Parking Lot behind the West Hollywood Library and City Council Chambers.

Inside the truck one guy helps paint another's nails

I presented a new incarnation of "The Legacy Garden" especially created for this event to represent The Lavender Effect, a non-profit foundation aiming to create a state-of-the-art LGBTQ museum in Los Angeles. I am honored to be a creative Consulting Advisor with the group and look forward to seeing the dream of such a museum existing in LA to showcase our amazing collective history.

Inside detail at night

The theme of this year's INSTALL:WeHo was "Good Queer" asking us to examine what it means to be a good queer in today's society. The combination of words actually makes for a fascinating debate, especially how the meaning of both queer and good have changed over time. My installation presented the images of many LGBTQ icons who may contain traits of what being a modern good queer is all about - however during their time in history may have been considered wrong, bad, evil, perverted, outlandish, or deviant. But does being a good queer in today's time also mean to break the rules of what is considered decent or normal, for it challenges us to reconsider the wide spectrum of qualities that contributes to our collective humanity.

This couple really enjoyed doing each others glitter make-up

In line with how "made-up" the idea of good is, a feature of the Legacy Garden is the Glitter Make-up Mirror Altar, where people are invited to sit down and paint their nails or put on some glittery make-up - thereby showing the world how "good" a queer they are.  But does making yourself up really make you a good queer? Does not participating or avoiding make-up mean you are a bad queer? What exactly is good when it comes to being queer? It can mean so many things, and like all the various and unique historical icons, it covers a wide range of qualities and varies depending on the cultural norms of the time.

Showing off some fabulous nails!

I enjoyed watching people interact with The Legacy Garden in various ways. Some really took their time to meditate within the space. I loved hearing people sound the singing bowl or hit ting-chas together - they were left out to be enjoyed. I caught a few people enjoy touching things and getting tactile! Everyone treated the space with respect and all manner of interactions were welcome. Some people just had a quick look around. I loved seeing people take photographs of certain elements that obviously resonated with them somehow. And, of course, watching people do their make-up, or help a friend do their make-up and nails was so wonderful!

Detail of the Gay Writer's Coffee Table

One question proposed by The Legacy Garden is, if you don't know or recognize some of the historical icons, does that make you a bad queer? Does the installation encourage you to do your own research to find out? In creating the exhibition, I myself am in the ongoing process of discovering who these people were and how they have influenced our collective history. To me, being a "good queer" does involve balancing out your time between our modern life and world and researching the past. Much more to do.

Ramp entrance into truck

The Legacy Garden is constructed of repurposed objects, often found at garage sales, second hand stores, or left on the street to be discarded. I then transform the item, which has its own past history,  and incorporate images of the icons, along with living plants and crystals, creating types of sacred altars. Some described the installation as a shrine, and others as Quintin Crisp's yard sale. I heard comments from one gentleman who wanted me to drive with it across the country and pop up in communities that don't have access to such history and drag - and others who wanted me to do the installation at Burning Man. All options for The Legacy Garden are open - and can be constructed in numerous forms in numerous places. This was the 4th official version of the piece, with a lot of new elements in its own unique manner.

Detail of left side of truck in the glow of night

A special thanks goes to Jol Devitro for the addition of his succulent plants which really added to the living elements of the garden. They were also joined by cuttings from Randy Harrison, Gabe Gelbart, and Ken Symington from the first Legacy Garden installation in 2009. Tyr Geoffrey Jung-Hall donated willow cuttings and helped monitor the truck during the day. Blu Donald Richard Bluestein donated several found objects, along with Dave Clark and Gregory Frye. Also thanks to Blu for helping set up the installation (in particular the parachute cover for the truck), and Rich Yap, Mike Che, Andy and Joc for the tear-down. I owe a big thanks to Andy Sacher of The Lavender Effect for his faith in the project and Mark Cramer and Laura Watts of INSTALL:WeHo.

Welcome - come on into the installation!

Detail of the Glitter Make-Up Mirror Altar

Jol Devitro enters

Tyr and Andy proudly hold The Lavender Effect banner

Cocteau & Colette

The cast & creators of the event "Cocteau & Colette at the Grand Véfour": Jason Jenn, Chevalier Tony Clark, R.SKY Palkowitz, & William Emboden

June 23 proved to be a highly charged evening - as the remarkable figures and friendship of Jean Cocteau and Colette were honored in a staged reading at the West Hollywood Public Meeting Room and Council Chambers. We had a packed audience and a warm round of applause. Chevalier Tony Clark, the organizing of the exhibition of Cocteau's artwork gave some opening remarks and introduced author/producer William Emboden, who gave a brief explanation behind the play.

Below are a few stills from the event. Thanks to Orit Harpaz for videography and post production pictures, and Karen Semanak and Tony Clark for their photography. All photos here are by Karen Semanak.

Book Fair Flair

Wow. What a weekend of being wonderfully overwhelmed by the love of words and creative peers! I received a double dose of it by attending both the West Hollywood Library's official opening on Saturday and the Book Fair on Sunday. The air was indeed charged with excitement and I'm definitely glad I was there to grab and participate in some of that energy.

In an era of online media and e-books, it's great to see a library built with great style in mind - honoring the library as a place for people to gather and share in the glory of the printed word. The book fair looked in high form with so many options - perhaps too much, but that's the world we live in with so many choices. As I wrote an performed in my song "There are so many stories / wanting to be told / everyday the new ones / join voices with the old..."

Here are some photos from the weekend experience (as per usual, click on image to enlarge):

One of many aisle of booths and books

The Library and Pacific Design Center in background

Homo-centric founder and word guru Hank Henderson with writer Travis Wood

The homo-centric booth right next to the mainstage

I'll sing away all day if needed

Ian MacKinnon thrilled audiences with selections from his Gay Hist-orgy part 1 & 2

Michael Kearns and his "Renegades" wowed audiences to close the fair

Shepard Fairey is one of several remarkable murals as part of the new Library

The views from the library second floor are so wonderful it may distract a reader...

An ornate ceiling caps the second floor and is from "green" wood material

"The Library Tree"

A little humor on the way home from a gorgeous day