Jason Barnes wants drag to be something more than entertainment.
“I want to talk about drag academically,” says the man behind the city’s coolest drag performer, Pussy Noir. “I want to put drag into performance art and really mold that aspect of it.”
To that end, he’s been extraordinarily successful. Last summer, Barnes was invited to perform at the Hirshhorn Museum for a major performance art-focused event. Meanwhile, the popular bar Trade has played host to packed crowds for Sissy That Tuesdays, Pussy Noir’s “one-man drag show” held every third Tuesday of the month.
Ropeburn — Photo courtesy of Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington DC
Barnes is a significant part of next Saturday’s “Ropeburn,” a new fall event from the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington. Billed as “a celebration of the queer underground,” it kicks off the GMWC’s provocative, politically-charged “Make America Gay Again” season. The fundraiser features atypical chorus activities ranging from vogue dance battles, to fetish demonstrations, to a Tom-of-Finland fantasy live model display.
Members of the chorus will perform throughout the evening, as will Barnes, who, in addition to “whipping out the burlesque, the androgynous drag, and things like that,” will perform with local musician Rich Morel as the electro-punk duo, Sistr Mid9ight. The name pays tribute to David Bowie and Iggy Pop, who, in 1977, recorded a duet by that title.
“Rich and I have been working together for about three years,” says Barnes, a classically trained opera singer. “We spent a full year really getting to know each other and experimenting with sound and music, and recording as we go along. Last year we started performing live.” The primary focus of the partnership at the moment is on writing and recording. And in fact, RopeBurn is Sistr Mid9ight’s only live show currently on the books.
Pussy Noir — Photo: Stephen Benedicto
Pussy Noir has never been a character separate and distinct from Barnes. “When I started drag, I wanted to have an image that was not about covering and transforming the self, but rather revealing the self, which is why I wear such little clothing. The makeup…is to enhance the features of my face, not to change [it]. Pussy Noir is the most honest version of me. So that glamor, that freedom, that sexuality, that sensuality, comes off stage with me and comes home with me.”
Ropeburn is Saturday, Oct. 7, at 7 p.m., and is preceded at 6 p.m. with “The Ropeburn Panel: A Discussion on Kink and Ball History, Culture and Identity,” hosted by Rayceen Pendarvis. Dupont Underground, 1500 19th St. NW. Tickets are $75. Call 202-293-1548 or click here.
On Presidents Day, a few singers with the Gay Men's Chorus broke out into song while attending a large anti-authoritarian protest near the Capitol Reflecting Pool. Their a cappella rendition of the national anthem garnered what the New York Times reported as a warm round of applause from the crowd.
Thea Kano, director of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, remembers how inspiring the moment was, and one encounter from that day that has stuck with her.
"A man came up to me afterward with tears in his eyes," Kano recalled. "He pointed to the Capitol. 'I work over there in those halls, and it has been rough. This is the most joy I've felt in a long time, hearing you all sing.' And he said, 'A bunch of my fellow staffers, we're all recovering musical theater kids, and we'd love a chance to sing. Is there any opportunity?'"
In another swipe at the transgender community, the national monument honoring what is widely seen as the seminal event of the modern LGBTQ rights movement has erased all mention of transgender and queer people.
Each June, the Stonewall National Monument in New York City typically decorates the fence surrounding Christopher Park -- the small park adjacent to the historic Stonewall Inn and part of the official monument -- with various Pride flags.
In past years, the display has featured a mix of flags -- the familiar six-stripe rainbow Pride flag, the blue, pink, and white transgender Pride flag, and the "Progress" flag, which adds stripes for Black and brown communities and a chevron design incorporating transgender and intersex Pride colors.
Pop star gushes over romance with Big Brother co-star Chris Hughes while saying she felt pressured to identify as a lesbian — fueling right-wing backlash.
Last weekend, queer pop star JoJo Siwa abruptly canceled her upcoming performance at a Chicago Pride event scheduled for Sunday, June 29.
Back Lot Bash Chicago, host of the two-day outdoor event, announced on Instagram that Siwa would no longer be performing, citing a "scheduling conflict," according to the Daily Mail.
No further explanation was given for the cancellation.
Siwa, 22, recently released her latest single, "Bulletproof," independently after parting ways with Columbia Records, which had issued her 2022 EP Guilty Pleasure. Neither she nor the label commented on the split.
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