GAY MAY DAYS Satyrday Night

 

GAY NATURE was the feature presentation of GAY MAY DAYS on what we called SATYRDAY NIGHT.  We designed the show as a wild pagan frolic of performances centered around gay essence in relationship to the planet, nature, and our identities. The energy of the evening was phenomenal, beyond our  expectations, but not surprising given our line-up of performers for the evening.  Click on the images to make them larger.

Performers included: Travis Wood, Clint Steinhauser, Gordon Vandenberg, Leopold Nunan Soares, Martin Martinez, David LeBarron, Andrew Henkes, The Miracle Whips, Prix de Beauté, Dan Poirier,  Juval Porat & Jose Promis, Paul Manchester, Ian MacKinnon, Jason Jenn, along with our faun helpers Jol Devitro and Marc Allan Toslu.

The evening started off by putting our production in the context of a historic Greek Satyr Play. After the presentation of 3 Classic Dramas, the Greeks would follow with a bawdy, fun, sexy performance to lighten the mood of the audience after the performance of the tragic plays. In this day and age, we always need such performances to brighten our spirits from modern dilemmas. So, Ian appeared as a Satyr host with a giant phallis, a typical element in many satyr play performances - which he "unloaded" on me with glittery tinsel, helping to transform the intellectual conversation and lead into our sexy Gay Nature production. The show was off to a great start.

Then David LeBarron and Andrew Henkes brought some fierce magic to the stage, doing a rousing and playful  rendition of a pagan invocation of the elements and directions.

This was followed by a fiery performance by the Brazilian dynamo, Leopold Nunan Soares, who thrilled audiences with his amazing three piece samba band, and practically bringing the roof down with his provocative energy.

Following such a performance is no easy task, but Gordon Vandenberg as the Empress was the perfect follow up, as she commanded the stage with her outrageous and witty comic monologue, taking the audience on her booze and drug fueled time traveling exploits. 

Next up was Martin Martinez, who shared a humorous and sexy story about daddy figures followed by a sultry and beautiful rendition of George Micheal's "Father Figure."

We then settled into a whimsical world to delight our inner child with Paul Manchester's story involving himself dressed up as Mother Nature and a story about wishing to be something other than we are with a puppet flower and mouse. 

Then to end Act 1, I  reappeared in a multi-colored glittery cloak and discussed how I was getting more in touch with my Gay Nature, by spending time in gardens, where I presented the importance of the lowly earthworm in the cycle of life, how interesting their hermaphrodite sexual natures are, and ended with a magical experience with an earthworm and I strip down to a worm-like outfit . It gave the audience a very pleasing end to Act 1.

We had a pre-show act of Jose Promis on piano and singer Juval Porat doing some rather sublime cover songs along with an original song by Jamez D, Palacio. During the intermission, Juval returned the to stage to sing a Hebrew spiritual song about the origins of the rainbow. 

Act Two began with Clint Steinhauser's colorful and mysterious performance involving crystal sound bowls and video exploring the essence of nothingness, emptiness, and the void within our lives. 

 

Then came the powerful performance troupe The Miracle Whips, composed of four phenomenal women. They created a comically provocative and crowd-pleasing piece about the menstral cycle, complete with one of them dressed up as a giant vagina and awesome video visuals!  

Travis Wood brought some Butoh dance intensity with a performance about the nature of being human stuck inside the shelter of a home and the yearning to be free set to the music of Bauhaus' "Stigmata Martyr"!

The spectacular performance artist Prix de Beauté aka Miss Puddles gave a Burlesque treat with her naughty kitty act which included glittery poo and a costume that became a vagina to roars of delight from the audience. 

Ian MacKinnon  treated the audience with a sneak peak of a piece from his  Gay Hist-Orgy Part 3: Mondo Mythological. The myth of Apollo and Hyacinth included video performances by DJ Billy Botox, Lark, and Jason Jenn with masks by Danny Hill.  

I returned to the stage, once more transformed by the excitement of the evening's Gay Nature - and all those drag queens and pussy on stage. This time I appeared as Polly Nater, a drag queen bee, to discuss how we all contribute to the creative pollination of ideas with each other. And also to encourage us to spread the love - and to bloom creatively while we can - just like our iconic  heroes once did and how they have pollinated their ideas into our culture! 

Performance and visual artist Dan Poirier led us into the finale, by emerging as a enclosed flower bud...doing a writhing dance, singing the lyrics to "Let the Sunshine In," and then the costume unfurls to reveal a fully bloomed flower. Audience was invited to sing and dance along with the cast in a climax that lead us into the maypole dance grand finale - more on that in another blog entry.