TOTAL LIBERATION: “None Are Free Until All Are Free”
June 24-27 | Doors at 7PM; Main Stage Cabaret Begins at 7:30PM
Sliding Scale Preview Night: Wednedsay, June 24
GET TICKETS!
$15 advance, student, senior | $18 door
$5-25 sliding scale for the Wednesday, June 24 performance
Seating is Limited – Get Your Tickets Now!
QUEERTOPIA is celebrating 10 years of radical and ruckus queer LOVE. Local queer artists join forces for an eclectic night of performance that celebrate the triumphs of the past and inspire us as we walk the road to TOTAL LIBERATION. Queer Love guides us in the call “None are free until all are free!”
Bedlam Theatre and Intermedia Arts are proud to present the tenth year of the annual PRIDE cabaret: QUEERTOPIA: A Cabaret Celebration of Queer Love. Curators Jeffry Lusiak and Nastalie Bogira present a cabaret-style evening of queer performance highlighting some of the most exciting, provocative, and dynamic queer artists working in the Twin Cities today. This year the Cabaret pays tribute to the performers, performances, and community that has made Queertopia a center for celebration outside mainstream PRIDE for the past decade.
2015 QUEERTOPIA features performances by:
Deja Stowers
Dustin Maxwell
Elena & Nicole M. Smith
Gadu Doushin
Kohl Miner
Nico Swenson
RedBone
Rica de la Concha
TifDynamite
Tom Lloyd & Craig VanTrees
…And More!
And special guest appearances and videos by Andrea Jenkins, Hector Chavarria, Jake Thompson aka Ok Stupid, Katie Burgess, Kelley Meister, Lisa Marie Brimmer, Margot Basset & Molly Van Avery as Karyn & Sharyn, Melissa Birch, Mistress Ginger, Theresa Madaus and other past Queertopia Artists!!
QUEERTOPIA‘s mission is to unite, inspire, and celebrate the queer community during PRIDE. In honor of the tenth year, Lusiak and Bogira have given the evening the theme of TOTAL LIBERATION: None are Free Until All are Free. For local performers, QUEERTOPIA is an opportunity to present and cultivate their artistic voice. For audience members, the evening is an opportunity to celebrate all that it means to be queer in a safe, fun, and all-inclusive space during PRIDE.
Since its inception in 2006, as a collaboration between Outward Spiral Theatre Company, Eleanor Savage, and Intermedia Arts, QUEERTOPIA has engaged over 1,800 community members and featured over 60 local queer artists and performance groups including Morgan Thorson, Charles Schuminski, Kats D Fukasawa, Harry Waters, Jr., 20% Theatre Company, Mad King Thomas, Kelley Meister, Arturo Miles, Karen Sherman, Maren Ward, Jaime Carrera, and more.
As a special edition adjunct event to QUEERTOPIA, Bedlam Theatre reaches into our roots and out to new routes with Rumpus, Roots and Routes: Rhizome Rising, 10 hours of queer cacophony on June 20th at Bedlam Lowertown. This event will feature over 20 queer artists creating a ruckus of new voices, new identities, and new approaches to old struggles. More information on that event can be found here.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Deja Stowers is an artist. That is all.
Dustin Maxwell is a movement artist and a sometimes visual artist. Lately, he’s been dancing with Chris Schlichting, Morgan Thorson, and Aniccha Arts. His own work is unapologetic and uninhibited in its exploration of gender, sexuality and the magic of being. Whether on canvas or on stage he creates portraits describing facets of himself and probably of you. He has performed portraits between two gigantic testicles and under dripping udders; partnered with baby papoose gardens and phantasmagoric deer; in store fronts, galleries, and allies. His body and creations are influenced by ballet, neo/post/modern dance, butoh, goth culture, haute couture, yoga and more. Gratitude and applause to Jeffry Lusiak, Nastalie Bogira, and all the Queertopia folks. <3
Nicole and Elena are thrilled to be performing at the place where they met: Intermedia Arts. Nicole thought it was crystal-clear that she was flirting- Elena, however, didn’t have the slightest clue…. needless to say, somewhere along the way, something clicked. Combining their craft(s) of Aerial Arts (Elena), Words-Spoken (Nicole), and scripting/writing (Both), these Performance Artists are excited to bring this piece to the Queertopia stage. Their piece blends film noir-esque essence with aerial silks, humour, and storytelling- creating a unique, and umami flava that will tantalize your senses.
Gadu Doushin has been a movement creator in the Twin Cities over 20 years. He practices Subbody Butoh. Gadu is also a Spring Forest Qigong Healer and Instructor. He lives with his husband in Northeast Minneapolis. For more information, please visit www.hotresonanceart.com
Jeffry Lusiak is a queer artist, activist, educator, curator, and performer who has been creating art and helping to develop new work in the Twin Cities for the past twelve years. He is the co-curator and founder of Queertopia; A Cabaret Celebration of Queer, now entering its 10thseason. Jeffry’s solo performance art has been seen at the Bryant Lake Bowl, Intermedia Arts, Bedlam Theatre, and Patrick’s Cabaret. In 2012 Jeffry was a recipient of the Jerome Foundation’s Naked Stages Grant and created his first full-length show ASIMIL8 that premiered that December at the Pillsbury House Theatre. For the past 10years Jeffry has devoted his daily life to working with middle school students as the Artist in Residence at Project SUCCESS.
Kohl Miner (Ho-Chunk Nation) is a playwright, performer, poet, monologist, Spoken Word Artist, and Resource Development Specialist. He was a company member or has performed with The New York City Hysterical Society, In the Heart of the Beast, The Ark Improv, The Blood & Milk Poets and American Indians in the Arts. His solo work includes; “Christopher Explained“, “Native Fruit“, “Left at Life,” “Heartflight Kohl Miner OR How my heart was hijacked by a handsome terrorist. This is my story.”, “Dreams of Cheerleading“, The Trip” and “The Semi-Conscious Memoirs of a Negligent Native” He has performed at Highways (Los Angeles), On The Boards (Seattle), Bumbershoot Wild Stage (Seattle), Alice B. Theater (Seattle), Josie’s Cabaret & Juice Joint (San Francisco), In the Heart of the Beast Puppet & Mask Theater (Mpls.), The Walker Art Center (Mpls.), Southern Theater (Mpls.), Red Eye Collaboration (Mpls.), ABC No Rio (NYC) and others. He was last seen in the Guthrie’s production of “The Master Butchers Singing Club”. He was one of the singers. In addition, he has a 16-year history in resource development. He has worked for AIDS Project Los Angeles, On the Boards, Covenant House California, The Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), Native Americans in Philanthropy, Oregon Native American Business Network and First Nations Composer Initiative.
Nastalie Bogira is a performer, director, curator, and arts administrator. Nastalie curates Pleasure Rebel, a tri-annual evening of experimental and feminist performance at Bryant-Lake Bowl, performs with Wreck Family, and works at Intermedia Arts.
Nico Swenson enjoys long walks on the beach while wearing neon-orange stilettos. They are 6’2″, with blu-grn-hzl eyes, and pierced ears. They love to play with spaghetti and destroy social construction of identity on stage. They’re always up to grab coffee and reminisce about the good old days at the University of Minnesota’s B.A. Theatre Program, or go out chainsawing in lipstick. Want to have a good time? Nico gets messy and starts screaming. Nico also designs costumes. Mostly, Nico is just trying, just trying so hard to do so many things. And a very special thanks to Edith Garrud. <3 Nico’
Internationally known, Minnesota Grown REDBONE has been performing since 2005 as one third of Foxy Tann and Wham Bam Thank You Ma’ams who won the 2006 “Best Troupe” and “Most Vegas” titles at the Burlesque Hall of Fame’s, Miss Exotic World Competition. She has wowed audiences with her one of kind, whirlwind performance style in such exotic places as Chicago (Superstars of Burlesque), Denver (Lannie’s Clocktower), Los Angeles (Margret Cho’s The Sensuous Woman), San Francisco (Little Minsky’s & Hubba Hubba Review), and London (Immodesty Blaize’s Burlesque Review). Recently named “The Cyclone of Burlesque”, RedBone continues to whoop it up around the country. Dancin’ fiercely in such burlesque festivals as Tease O Rama, Southern Fried Burlesque Festival and Vancouver International Burlesque Festival. In addition to the prior, This free-styling, dancing machine has competed in the top 8 at Viva Las Vegas 2013, named Most Entertaining at A Burly Q! 2014, runner up at the 5th Annual Shimmy Showdown and has recently been a feature in Viva Dallas Burlesque, Fierce! International Queer Burlesque Festival, Jeezy’s Juke Joint and The Show-Me Burlesque Festival in St. Louis, MO. Boom!
Rica de la Concha aka Eric Michael Highers is a queer-Rican transplant from Michigan coming to Minneapolis by way of Chicago. Her interest in poetry began in highschool as she explored the very few open mics she had in her hometown of Monroe. As she ventured into the seedy realm of all things undergrad her passion for drag and spoken word burgeoned and then later crystallized as she began performing her work at open mics in Chicago. As a growing, new artist Rica seeks to explore the transformative connection between drag and spoken word and how the meaning of her poems and their reception is influenced by her presentation. While she cathartically writes, drawing connections between micro experiences and macro issues, she also enjoys being in the company of her loved ones in Minneapolis, dancing, riding her bike, exercising, making delicious vegan meals, and really getting deep into those long conversations about how we should change the world. Rica hopes to learn from the creative talent and energy of the Twin Cities to grow as a spoken word drag artist.
TifDynamite (aka Oopsy Daisie)is a multifaceted stage performer and super hot-ass. She has been entertaining the great people of the United States of America since 1982 with the opening of her first production, “Excessively Long Driveway Productions presents, Murder in Strawberry Shortcake Land.” Since that day she has tirelessly begged for attention through emcee prattle, improv, comedic burlesque, acro and aerial circus, pole dancing, bitchin’ costuming, sharp or flat chanteusery, stage and film thespianism, interminable screen and sketch writing, fancy dancing and questionable choreography, despotic direction and prolific production, pageant judging, dominatrixing, mimery, bingo calling, and semi-naughty calendar and magazine modeling. She has produced numerous drag and girlee shows and is the co-creator of The North High Beaverettes, Genderf*kation: A Gender Emancipation, Pi Idol, PiCathalon, Queer Speed Dating is Hard and the nationally infamous Dildo Bingo®. Tif can be seen in “Q: A Documentary,” about GLBTQ Twin Cities-based performers, and flitting about as the Compère Extraordinaire of this or that event. Her very favorite thinggy is co-directing her burlesque troupe, Wicked Wenches Cabaret, as they create their original theatrical parodies including, Strip Wars: Return of the Sexy and Wilhelmina ShakesPears’ A Midsummer Night’s Wet Dream. TifDynamite is available for events a la carte or as her burlesque alter ego, Oopsy Daisie, with The Wicked Wenches Cabaret.
Tom Lloyd & Craig VanTrees
Tom Lloyd is all about following his heart. Good love, good living, good growth, good people, good health, good balance and good energy. These are the things he’s after, what compel him, and what helps shape all that he does. This includes but is not limited to any artsy fartsy perfomance dancy dance theatre art play stuff he frequently finds himself involved in as well as any boys he might end up making out with. At the end of the day it’s all about following and spreading love to create a life full of ever growing goodness. That said, Tom is super duper grateful to be performing in the lovefest and goodness that is Queertopia once again this year. He’s happy you’re here too.
Craig VanTrees is happy to be a part of Queertopia and to support the GLBTQ community through the arts. CVT found dance and movement late in life when he ran into HIJACK via Bedlam’s 10-Minute Community Play Festival back in 2012 upon moving to Minneapolis from Atlanta. He is thankful that opportunities exist for all types of humans to express themselves via performance. He also has recently become allergic to dairy and struggles to remove it in all forms, including multiple dreams of 5-year gouda’s with flavor crystals.
ABOUT BEDLAM THEATRE
Bedlam’s mission is to produce radical works of theatre with a focus on collaboration and a unique blend of professional and community art. We build culture through and around experimental performing arts and our audiences, and support a new generation of artists driven to produce socially integrated theatre to shape the future of their society. Anyone can Bedlam – get involved by stopping by the Design Center, Lowertown, or other events.
This activity is made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.