A Queer Story of the Boy Band
2018
I conceived, wrote the script, composed/arranged the music, music directed, and performed in this 80-minute musical revue. In Queer Story, the performers discuss their experiences of embodying non-normative masculinities amidst musical performances of queer interventions into classic male vocal ensemble formations such as barbershop, doo wop, and Motown. I conceived the piece for my ensemble, The Singing Bois, a queer/trans retro ensemble that performed locally in the San Francisco Bay Area and nationally from 2014-2019.
This original work grew out of my research on racialized masculinity in U.S. popular music, which draws on theoretical work on queer temporalities, the gendering of the voice, intersectionality, and post-drag aesthetics. Ultimately, the piece asks: How can trans and genderqueer people create new, non-normative masculinities?
The show was presented in multiple national performance venues including the National Queer Arts Festival, Fresh Meat Festival, UtahPresents, UC Riverside, Freight and Salvage, EastSide Arts Alliance, and the Association of Performing Arts Professionals annual conference and showcase. An important component when presenting the show at universities were campus residencies in which myself and the ensemble met with students and faculty, were featured speakers in courses on gender or the arts, and conducted workshops detailing the historical and cultural research that underpins the live performance.
The development of the piece was supported by grants from the California Arts Council, Horizons Foundation, Zellerbach Foundation, and the Queer Cultural Center. The project was featured as the cover story for national arts magazine, Inside Arts, in 2018.
Included video excerpts:
0:00 — A celebration of the slick masculinity cultivated in Motown.
0:24 — A take on the mid-century film musical dance interlude featuring a polyamorous tap sequence.
0:43 — A queering of the onstage serenade with multiply-gendered audience members.
1:34 — A spoken doo wop bridge raises questions about how safe the night is for street corner harmonizers.
2:20 — A falsetto battle erupts as vocal prowess becomes the evidence of masculinity.
2:44 — A rock tribute to the life and death of trans teenager Leelah Alcorn, our original offering to the boy band musical canon.
Highlight reel
Reviews/reflections:
“The presentation at UtahPresents was a resounding success.” — Jake Stepansky, Inside Arts
“It is entertaining, it is culturally relevant, it is beautiful, and if you can see them perform it, please do.” — Kylee Howell, queer business owner