A year ago I had the pleasure of hosting my favorite performance artists, the Eyes Wild Drag, on their first North American Tour. Around that time an article I wrote about them was published as a feature in Curve Magazine. As you wil read, these performers embody ferocity and tenacity. In a country where being out is a revolution onto itself, these folks continuously create art that pushes boundaries. As they gear up for their international arts extravaganza, Generotica, I wanted to share with you, my dear readers, a taste of true fabulousness.
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Wild in Italy
as published in Curve Magazine, 6/2012
After dodging a group of tourists armed with giant cameras, I hopped onto the bus and squished myself in between two women speaking and gesturing at lightening speed. I held on tight to the handrail as the bus zoomed past the Vatican, turned right onto via Colonna, and then snaked around Piazza Cavour. Within 20 minutes the bus arrived at my destination, a Centro Sociale Occupato, one of the socialist community spaces that support of free speech and liberal expression in Rome, Italy.
I slipped into the rehearsal that was already in progress. A striking woman with the feminine wiles of a young Barbara Streisand stood on the stage directing two masculine women. She spoke loudly. “Piu’ forte!” I sat straighter in my chair. She turned on the music and the trio began to enact a mimed story about a gender misfit set to the lyrics and rhythm of Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “Relax.” I smiled to myself. I was less than two miles away from the conservative-stalwart-who-shall-not-be-named and watching Italy’s first drag king group in action.
Eyes Wild Drag is Senith, Spruzzy, and Bianco, three mavericks, each with a signature style. Senith is the nexus of the troupe, the most “rompi coglioni.” Proudly the first faux queen in Italy, drag queens are often jealous of the attention she gets. They can eat her eyelashes, because she has talent to boot. Spruzzy is the physical comedian of the group with a joyous presence akin to Kevin Kline in “A Fish Called Wanda”—passionate, exuberant and zany. Bianco plays with gender lines like D.R.E.D., changing from masculine to feminine presentation within seconds. Delicious.
It takes guts to stage queer performances in a country where being publically gay or lesbian is an anomaly. Eyes Wild Drag not only performs, but with spunk, glitter, and pizzazz has created a community in which they are understood, supported, and celebrated—an incredibly fabulous way to create a revolution.
The Road to Gender Performance Revolution
Six years ago, after watching “Venus Boyz,” Gabrielle Baur’s documentary about drag culture in New York City, three friends were inspired to form their own performance troop. They had no role models to fall back on, no performances to compare to, beyond the few they glimpsed in the movie. They simply felt strongly, as queer individuals, that they wanted to explore gender on stage. That was their starting point. They made the rest up as they went along. And Eyes Wild Drag was their name.
At first they looked to their native Italian culture for inspiration. They used traditional forms of pantomime and cabaret to create a story of redemption for gender-variant individuals. In the process they subverted traditional gender roles inherent in those forms. They continue to do this while being thoughtful to their message, incredibly entertaining, and wholly charming—if not downright steamy.
As the troupe started to perform in club and cabaret venues around Italy, they quickly realized they had a problem. A large portion of their audience was baffled: What were these three people, with glued-on facial hair and/or high heels and wigs, doing on stage? Some people took offense, probably out of sheer shock from the novelty of it all. As Senith said, “We were creating new ways of being in society.” Lesbian feminists questioned the need to portray male characters, and drag queens laughed at the idea of a woman as a “female” impersonator.
The members of EWD realized that they needed to create the queer culture that would embrace their performance. They were already cultural pioneers, now they were becoming activists. They began with drag-king workshops. Afternoons were spent educating participants in how to incorporate “male” gender performance into their lives.
Enlightening small groups of people at a time was helpful, but the workshops fell short of reaching their entire community. So they got more clever. They knew that if an Italian audience sees foreigners performing in drag, they would more readily accept that type of performance for Italian artists. With this in mind they set about inviting a slew of international artists to Italy. Each artist they hosted was a hit and brought EWD closer to congregating their ideal audience.
The troupe became more ambitious. In 2009 and 2011, they hosted a transgression extravaganza called “Genderotica.” This daylong event included a drag show, workshops, and photography and video exhibitions. Artists from all over Europe and the United States showcased their work at the festival. Italian LGBT guests and their friends attended in droves and drank from the gender-bending well that EWD provided for them.
Bring in the Faux Queens
During our interview, EWD reiterated multiple times that although they have enlightened many, drag in all its shades it still something new to many Italians. Regardless, the trio continues to push the envelope. Starting last year, EWD began to educate their community about the faux-queen concept. In February 2011, they brought a little New York City flair to Florence, inviting the notorious Victoria faux queen party from Stonewall Inn to present. They coupled the performance with a photography exhibition about faux queens from around the world. To say it was successful is an understatement. Over a thousand people came—and surely left spotted with glitter and an appreciation of drag performance in all its shades.
“A little magical moment happens between us and the audience when we perform,” said Spruzzy. “And that is the most important thing.”
Like any dedicated artists, Senith, Spruzzy, and Bianco find all means necessary to produce and showcase their work. Next time you are in Italy check their website for performance dates. If you are lucky to be on the East Coast this coming June prepare yourself to be dazzled. EWD is stretching the wings they patched together in Italy and embarking on a tour to spread their message of queer vitality to the world.(www.eyeswilddrag.it)
as published in Curve Magazine, 6/2012
After dodging a group of tourists armed with giant cameras, I hopped onto the bus and squished myself in between two women speaking and gesturing at lightening speed. I held on tight to the handrail as the bus zoomed past the Vatican, turned right onto via Colonna, and then snaked around Piazza Cavour. Within 20 minutes the bus arrived at my destination, a Centro Sociale Occupato, one of the socialist community spaces that support of free speech and liberal expression in Rome, Italy.
I slipped into the rehearsal that was already in progress. A striking woman with the feminine wiles of a young Barbara Streisand stood on the stage directing two masculine women. She spoke loudly. “Piu’ forte!” I sat straighter in my chair. She turned on the music and the trio began to enact a mimed story about a gender misfit set to the lyrics and rhythm of Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “Relax.” I smiled to myself. I was less than two miles away from the conservative-stalwart-who-shall-not-be-named and watching Italy’s first drag king group in action.
Eyes Wild Drag is Senith, Spruzzy, and Bianco, three mavericks, each with a signature style. Senith is the nexus of the troupe, the most “rompi coglioni.” Proudly the first faux queen in Italy, drag queens are often jealous of the attention she gets. They can eat her eyelashes, because she has talent to boot. Spruzzy is the physical comedian of the group with a joyous presence akin to Kevin Kline in “A Fish Called Wanda”—passionate, exuberant and zany. Bianco plays with gender lines like D.R.E.D., changing from masculine to feminine presentation within seconds. Delicious.
It takes guts to stage queer performances in a country where being publically gay or lesbian is an anomaly. Eyes Wild Drag not only performs, but with spunk, glitter, and pizzazz has created a community in which they are understood, supported, and celebrated—an incredibly fabulous way to create a revolution.
The Road to Gender Performance Revolution
Six years ago, after watching “Venus Boyz,” Gabrielle Baur’s documentary about drag culture in New York City, three friends were inspired to form their own performance troop. They had no role models to fall back on, no performances to compare to, beyond the few they glimpsed in the movie. They simply felt strongly, as queer individuals, that they wanted to explore gender on stage. That was their starting point. They made the rest up as they went along. And Eyes Wild Drag was their name.
At first they looked to their native Italian culture for inspiration. They used traditional forms of pantomime and cabaret to create a story of redemption for gender-variant individuals. In the process they subverted traditional gender roles inherent in those forms. They continue to do this while being thoughtful to their message, incredibly entertaining, and wholly charming—if not downright steamy.
As the troupe started to perform in club and cabaret venues around Italy, they quickly realized they had a problem. A large portion of their audience was baffled: What were these three people, with glued-on facial hair and/or high heels and wigs, doing on stage? Some people took offense, probably out of sheer shock from the novelty of it all. As Senith said, “We were creating new ways of being in society.” Lesbian feminists questioned the need to portray male characters, and drag queens laughed at the idea of a woman as a “female” impersonator.
The members of EWD realized that they needed to create the queer culture that would embrace their performance. They were already cultural pioneers, now they were becoming activists. They began with drag-king workshops. Afternoons were spent educating participants in how to incorporate “male” gender performance into their lives.
Enlightening small groups of people at a time was helpful, but the workshops fell short of reaching their entire community. So they got more clever. They knew that if an Italian audience sees foreigners performing in drag, they would more readily accept that type of performance for Italian artists. With this in mind they set about inviting a slew of international artists to Italy. Each artist they hosted was a hit and brought EWD closer to congregating their ideal audience.
The troupe became more ambitious. In 2009 and 2011, they hosted a transgression extravaganza called “Genderotica.” This daylong event included a drag show, workshops, and photography and video exhibitions. Artists from all over Europe and the United States showcased their work at the festival. Italian LGBT guests and their friends attended in droves and drank from the gender-bending well that EWD provided for them.
Bring in the Faux Queens
During our interview, EWD reiterated multiple times that although they have enlightened many, drag in all its shades it still something new to many Italians. Regardless, the trio continues to push the envelope. Starting last year, EWD began to educate their community about the faux-queen concept. In February 2011, they brought a little New York City flair to Florence, inviting the notorious Victoria faux queen party from Stonewall Inn to present. They coupled the performance with a photography exhibition about faux queens from around the world. To say it was successful is an understatement. Over a thousand people came—and surely left spotted with glitter and an appreciation of drag performance in all its shades.
“A little magical moment happens between us and the audience when we perform,” said Spruzzy. “And that is the most important thing.”
Like any dedicated artists, Senith, Spruzzy, and Bianco find all means necessary to produce and showcase their work. Next time you are in Italy check their website for performance dates. If you are lucky to be on the East Coast this coming June prepare yourself to be dazzled. EWD is stretching the wings they patched together in Italy and embarking on a tour to spread their message of queer vitality to the world.(www.eyeswilddrag.it)
