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Come As You Are: HOUSTON!

Presented by DiverseWorks Art Space at DiverseWorks ArtSpace

September 17-September 18, 2010

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DiverseWorks presents Come As You Are: HOUSTON! Friday, September 17th and Saturday, September 18th at 7:30pm.

This September, DiverseWorks invites you to attend Come as You Are: HOUSTON! a provocative exploration of queer sex through performance art! Some of Houston's edgiest queer artists will come together for 2 nights only to perform works as original as the theater presenting them.

Come As You Are: Houston! artists are politically charged, multi-generational, and totally uninhibited:

Chicago's Daaimah Mubashshir and Brooklyn's Michael Harren, both highly involved in Houston's queer community in the '90s, return now as established artists for Come As You Are: HOUSTON! Mubashshir utilizes traditional Muslim movement to identify queer sex as a holy experience; Harren couples Brahms on keyboard with a stories of how sex changes as he matures. Together, Daniel-Kayne and Michael Clay also take on highlycontrasting themes, placing the subject of queer sex with war and the country music medium.

The young Gendermyn utilize acrobatics and comedy to delve deep into the rarely spoken of sex lives within the genderqueer community, while Joe Watts of the pre-AIDS generation wrote a heart-felt traditional monologue about the unique experience of one transsexual woman.

Julia Wallace and Nancy Douthey bring the unique perspective of queer allies. DumpTruck as well as Wallace, Douthey and Jonatan Lopez, explore brief moments that highlight the quirkiness and fun within queer sex.

About Come As You Are: HOUSTON! Artists:

Daaimah Mubashshir -  After Co-Founding the Queer Artist Collective (Multi-Media Performance Art troupe) in 1996, Daaimah completed a film/video focused BFA from The School of the Art Institute in 2002. There she was awarded the SAIC Presidential Scholarship Award, as well as a BFA Fellowship Award for a short film. She enjoyed being a freelance filmmaker in Chicago for several years. During that time she occupied many roles including Director of Photography of a feature film, The Minx. She also wrote and produced several experimental shorts that screened both domestically and internationally. Currently Daaimah has returned full force to performance. Showing at Rhino Fest, Transistor, Homolatte , and Queergasm!

Daaimah's work combines spoken narratives, experimental sound, video images and culturally based movement rituals. She is passionate about telling stories that use humor and characters to explore culture and customs. Her own story as a young woman raised in a Sunni Muslim home and her subsequent coming out as a member of the queer community deeply inform the stories she feels need to be told. This artistic inquiry, utilized for Come As You Are: HOUSTON! deals with the movement of Salah (Islamic prayer) as Queer action (Queer as a verb) and the act of being Queer (adjective) as reaching towards spiritual purity or holiness.

Check out Daaimah's website: http://www.digscratchandpull.blogspot.com/.

Nancy Douthey - Nancy Douthey holds a MFA from the University of Houston in Interdisciplinary Practice and Emerging Forms. Recently she has collaborated with Jacinda Russell to create, 3 Weeks, 6 Earthworks, 1 Portable Studio, and All that Lies In Between, a show at Texas Gallery. She is currently working on a piece for Snack Projects organized by Michael Guidry and Robert Ruello.

Nancy will perform a gestural moment from the life of her alter ego Tammy Faye. Celebrating perseverance, Nancy’s alter ego is based on the life of Tammy Faye Baker. She was the first woman in Christian television to talk openly about AIDS and denounce the refusal to accept homosexuals.

DumpTruck - DumpTruck is an open artist collaborative founded by Mat Wolff, Cory Wagner and Noelle Mason in Fall of 2008. Active members Wolff and Wagner live and work in Houston, TX. Cory Wagner holds a BFA degree from Montana State University and an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and is currently Research Faculty at the University of Houston and Co-Director of the MICA in NY Summer Intensive studio program. Mat Wolff holds a BFA degree from the University of Houston and is currently the Associate Director at the American Institute of Architects Houston Chapter. He is a published author with a weekly advice column in the San Antonio Current. DumpTruck is a recent recipient of an Idea Fund grant.

DumpTruck will perform two monologues from the semi autobiographical fantasies of Mat’s life, The Moment and About Last Night. These stories are a reflection on the absurdities of a given moment and the uncontrollable need to project our desires, emotional needs and assumptions on these moments and the men trapped in them. Humorously dystopic, the stories playfully explore our want for synchronicity in all of our relationships, both the real and imagined.

DumpTruck's facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/people/Dump-Truck/100000856658918.

Gendermyn - Born in the Dirty South in 2006, the Houston Gendermyn started off as a small scrub of a gender performance troupe after learning how to jumpstart the hearts and minds of audiences worldwide. Their stylishness, keen interest in the highly provocative, along with their outlandishly fabulous faggotization of standard mundane things brought them together to reconstruct traditional notions of gender and sexuality. This gaggle of dragsters like to unite artists and create spaces to empower a larger genderqueer community to advocate for some social justice all along the Third Coast.

Onstage, representing the Houston Gendermyn for Come As You Are: HOUSTON! will be Pedro Asty, Ultraviolet Andy, Koomah, Clint Torres, Rife L. Cox, and Lady Joss and Daddybaby. The Gendermyn love bringing you public service announcements on what it takes to play it safe and how to finally hook up successfully in today's touchy queer climate. They cover topics that are too often left in the shadows of queer gender, sex, and relationships. These gender benders, The Gendermyn, will use anything from comedy to acrobatics to share stories on what happens in Houston queer life after StoneWall.

Gendermyn's facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gendermyn/55910737948.

Michael Harren -  A pianist, composer and performance artist based in Brooklyn, Michael Harren was a founding member of Houston's multimedia performance art troupe, Queer Artist Collective, in 1996. Since then, Michael has worked as a musical director, actor and pianist throughout Texas (Stage's Repertory, Main Street Theater, Unity Theater) and New York City (The Duplex, Laurie Beechman Theater, Don't Tell Mama, Theater 1010). In 2005, Michael was commissioned by the University of Texas Medical Branch to write the one-act musical, Rain on the Roof, with playwright Bren Dubay.

Michael’s love affair with music began at a very early age, and he went on to study piano performance and music composition at The University of Houston. Today, in addition to his performance-related work, Michael works to instill his passion for music in others, as he teaches music classes to preschoolers and has a full studio of piano students in Brooklyn.

Fucked!/Fucked. is Michael’s contribution to Come As You Are: HOUSTON! Comprising spoken text, video and original music — and combined with music by Johannes Brahms — Fucked!/Fucked. tells the story of two sexual encounters: one at the age of 26, and one at 40. This piece explores the parallels between our perception of our own bodies and our self-worth in these two stages of life.

Daniel-kayne and Michael Clay (pictured above) - Visual artist Daniel-kayne and Singer/Songwriter Michael Clay have come together with their uniquely different talents for Come As You Are: HOUSTON!

Daniel-kayne is a native Houstonian, who was the 2008 Lawndale Big Show Award recipient and is a member of the Texas French Alliance for the Arts Artistic Advisory Board. Kayne has studied, lived and worked throughout the United States, but maintains his main studio in Houston and most recently moved to live and study in Montreal, Canada.

Michael Clay is a Singer/Songwriter raised deep in the heart of Texas. He began his career entertaining in various local night clubs around South Texas. His lifelong dream was realized when he was chosen as a full time performer at Opryland USA in Nashville, working with Country Legends such as Porter Wagoner, Minnie Pearl, Lee Greenwood, and many more. He was invited to appear on the Grande Ole' Opry where he sang with Garth Brooks. After recording his first Nashville album, "Free Somewhere," he now resides in Austin, Texas. He is currently promoting a brand new Texas Swing album entitled, "San Antonio Songs" with Lyricist Vivian Rae, and will soon complete his third album, "Ready."

Infinite Love is a musical collaboration between Daniel-kayne and Michael Clay. Together, they are cowriting the song and will perform as a duet. Infinite Love is a romantic tragedy of two men that fall in love, but are torn apart by war.

Check out Daniel-kayne's website: http://daniel-kayne.com/.
Michael Clay's website: http://www.michaelclaymusic.com/.

Jonatan Lopez - Jonatan Lopez is a sculptor, installation and performance artist. He has exhibited in numerous venues in Texas, from alternative art spaces such as Project Row Houses to more traditional venues like Bayou City Art Festival. Jonatan continues to broaden his philosophical take on art by seeking a degree in Fine Arts and participating in collaborations with other artists. In his sculpture works, he uses recycled metals and found objects to develop visually engaging works that thematically reach a broader audience.

Jonatan's works address societal classification and sexual taboos, often questioning and defying mainstream views. When developing an installation/performance, Jonatan works to create an interactive space where the audience becomes a vital component of the artistic expression. His works become surveys and social experiments that raise philosophical questions and encourage valuable community discussion.

Check out Jonatan Lopez's studio website: http://www.evolvedmetal.com/index.php.

Julia Claire Wallace - Julia Claire Wallace is a Houston artist that works in performance, video, social practice, spoken word and writing. She received her BFA in painting from the University of Houston in 2009. She has served as a facilitator to Performance Art Lab, one of Houston’s most mischievous art collectives, and was a founding member of their project sexyATTACK. She is the creator and curator of Houston’s notorious semi monthly event, Performance Art Night. Her art often explores spirituality, sexuality, desire and the awkward spaces between human beings.

For Come As You Are: HOUSTON! Wallace created Be Fucking Proud of Yourself, a participatory performance piece that subverts sexual shame by giving audience members a chance to be applauded for their sexual achievements.

Joe Watts - The Houston Post dubbed Joe the Father of Gay Theatre in Houston, having been the first to produce and direct mostly gay themed productions since 1983. It remains a title he carries with a great deal of pride. In 1985 Joe produced and directed One, the first theater piece in Houston dealing with AIDS and the first theater benefit for AIDS Foundation Houston. One was named in the Top 10 Best Productions that year by the Houston Post.

A supporter of the transgender community in Houston, Joe directed a hugely popular production of the Vagina Monologues with an all transgender cast.

Joe was accepted into the Edward Albee Playwriting Workshop and the Musical Theater Workshop, both at the University of Houston. In 2005 and 2009, the annual Scriptwriters/Houston's 10 by 10 featured his work.

For Come As You Are: HOUSTON! Joe will direct his heat-felt and humorous monologue about the unique experience of a transgendered woman with whom he had a chance encounter. His fascination with her led to an interview that became the inspiration for this semi-biographical, creatively written monologue, Desiree.

About Come As You Are: HOUSTON! Curators:

Chuck Jackson - Chuck Jackson was one of the original members of Houston's QuAC: the Queer Artist Collective from 1996-1999, with whom he wrote, performed, and staged over a dozen original, highly experimental, collaborative performance art pieces. He is currently an assistant professor of English and coordinator of the film studies minor at University of Houston-Downtown.

Grayson Jacobs - Grayson Jacobs, native Houstonian and a stylist at Michaelyndon Salon, is an ally and supporter of the GLBT community and the equal rights movement.

Blake Smith - Blake Smith is Coordinator for Come As You Are: HOUSTON! and works as Production Manager for performing arts at DiverseWorks. Blake is a supporter of queer arts and an active member of the Transgender Foundation of America.

About Come As You Are, the national project:
Come As You Are was originally created and produced by The Theater Offensive in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Inspired by the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, Come As You Are aims to investigate and celebrate queer sex, the diverse range of queer sexuality and the moral values underneath. Sexual freedom and expression by LGBTQ folks were powerful causes of the Stonewall riots. Come As You Are is now a national project that gives grants to theaters so that they may create their own original production about queer sex.

For more information, visit www.comeasyouareonline.org Come As You Are is supported by National Performance Network, Arcus Foundation, Flynn Performing Arts Center, Composition, and The Theater Offensive.

About DiverseWorks
Known for its groundbreaking artistic and education programs, DiverseWorks is one of the premier contemporary arts centers in the United States. DiverseWorks has been a hub for the presentation of daring and innovative work, a commissioner of major artistic projects in all discipl8ines, and an advocate for artists worldwide. Founded by artists for artists, DiverseWorks continues its commitment to bold artistic exploration, creative risk-taking, and building audiences for contemporary art.

DiverseWorks Funding Credits:
Programming for the DiverseWorks’ 2010-2011 season is generously supported by: Major Donors: Academy for Educational Development; The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; Anonymous; Artadia: The Fund for Art & Dialogue, Husnain Bajwa, British Council; Brown Foundation, Inc., Rosalie Buggs, The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Michael Clark & Sallie Morian, Brian & Shirley Colona, The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau, John Guess, Jr. & Melanie Lawson; Houston Endowment Inc., Patrick & Tracey Keegan, Fritz Lanham & Kellye Sanford, Harris County Commissioner El Franco Lee;, Louisa Stude Sarofim Foundation; MAP Fund/Creative Capital Foundation, Mid-America Arts Alliance, National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency), National Performance Network, New England Foundation for the Arts, Nimoy Foundation, Regulatory Economics Group LLC, Shell, John & Pauline Smart, Texas Commission on the Arts, Vinson & Elkins, LLP; Visual Artists Network, Bob & Lillian H. Warren, The Wortham Foundation, Inc., University of Houston,

Additional Support Provided by: American Express Charitable Fund; Paolo & Surpik Angelini; Art Colony Association/ Bayou City Arts Festival; Diane Barber & Karen Niemeier; Jorge & Cara Barer; William Betts; Black Swan Screenprinting Studio; Adam Brackman; Dr. Robert Card & Karol Kreymer; CenterPoint/June Deadrick; Cindy Clifford; Jason Roth Fuller; Dixie Friend Gay; George & Mary Hawkins; JBD Foundation; Mr. & Mrs. I.H. Kempner, III; Lester Marks; Paul & Valerie McSweeney; Marshal & Victoria Lightman; Tod Noel; Lan Norwood; J. Douglas Parker; Lane & Bob Schultz/RHS Interests; Susan Schmaeling & Thomas Pielech; Eric Schnell; Sign-ARama; Kaneem Smith; Christina Solís; Brad & Deborah Sondock; Tahamia Spain; Chuy Terrazas; Emily Todd; Birgitt Van Wijk; Sixto Wagan & Matthew Dirst; Sarah Walters; In-Kind Support provided by: KUHF (88.7FM); Barbara Friedel McKnight & Catering By Culinaire; 13 Celsius; Kelly Alison; David Aylsworth; Salli Babbitt; BCCKT Collaborative; Andy Biggs; Booker-Lowe Gallery; David Brown; Margarita Cabrera; Tara Conley; DJ Danny B; Dripping Springs Vodka; Ryan Geiger; GONZO247; Leamon Green; Guitar Center; Houston Chronicle; Allison Hunter; Terrell James; J.B. Kobayashi; Bryan Kuntz; Zane Lewis; Tierney Malone; Lori Nix; Bob Pahlka; PaperCity Magazine; Joshua Pazda; Jon Read; Real Ale Brewing Co.; Susie Rosmarin; Howard Sherman; Kim Thompson; Gabriela Trzebinski; Mark Dean Veca; Wendy Wagner; Jeffrey Wheeler; Frank White; Charles Wiese; Hilary Wilder; Wade Wilson Art; Eric Zimmerman; Josh & Tina Zulu

Special Thanks to HATCH Youth, SPRY, Transgender Foundation of America, and University of Houston Women's Studies Program for their community support for Come As You Are: HOUSTON!