Vulgar Performance Art Lab (Anti-fascism focus)
With Melina Gaze
Join us in this five-week series to work on an original act and perform it workshop-style before an audience of family and friends. This will be a low-stakes and loving environment where you can experiment with new ideas and debut a fresh number! Who: This Lab is open to anyone who wants to produce an original 3-7 minute performance piece or refine a piece they’ve already been working on (think cabaret, burlesque, spoken word, mime, clown, etc). We welcome new and seasoned performers. Program: In each session, we’ll work on different elements of your piece (voice, text, movement, etc) and you’ll get a chance to workshop with other performers. Imagine it like a performance support group with deadlines and a final show where you can show off your work. This Lab’s focus: Right now, as anti-LGBTQIA+ and anti-migrant violence continue to rise, we need spaces where we can collectively unpack what's happening and build strategies for resistance. We believe performance is an amazing medium where people can share ideas, tell stories, and make art that moves others to action.
- Dates
- Wed 14 Oct, Wed 21 Oct, Wed 28 Oct, Wed 4 Nov, Wed 11 Nov, Wed 18 Nov
- Time
- 18:00–21:00
- Cost
- €50-150 (+ €5 membership fee for new members)
- Attendance type
- You should attend the full course
- Class type
- Theatre, Activism, Performance
- Space
- Theatre
- Desired audience
- For young people—particularly queer and trans participants, people of color, low-income youth, and people with a migration background. Young people interested in connecting to anti-fascist organizing, or who want to channel their organizing background into performative practices. Or who want to use performance as a means to explore antifascist organizing and possibilities. Young artists, educators, and facilitators who want to explore performance as a live medium for storytelling and community building. Our goal is to bring these groups together to carve out a space centered on anti-fascist political reflection and organizing.
- What should I bring?
- This series is for anyone ready to workshop an idea for a 3-7 mins performance piece. You don’t need a theater background or any prior experience to join. Just bring your idea, and we’ll workshop it together in a supportive, low-stakes space. We do, however, expect participants to come in with an idea of what they would like to produce.
About the artist
Facilitator bio 1: Hi, I’m Melina Gioconda Davis (stage name, “Melina Gaze”), a queer performance artist, community organizer, and researcher. I have worked with grassroots collectives in the US and Mexico for the past ten years and am co-founder of Vulgar.mx, a Spanish-language sex ed organization with a focus on pleasure and social justice. I also have an active performance art practice and love working with friends and collaborators to make on political theater magic. Facilitator bio 2: [PENDING} Collective bio Vulgar is a bilingual sexuality education and research collective based in Mexico City. Together, we lead workshops and activist retreats, write curricula, and conduct original research on sexuality. We prioritize intermovement collaborative work with other social justice collectives.
Instagram: @melina.gaze// @vulgar.mx Portfolio (not for public sharing): https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ziMw1vyMIBoG2_--gOMkAZeU3gdcL1I9S7hLt08Qrlw/edit?usp=sharing // www.vulgar.mx //
Accessibility
Solidarity spots are available for this course at no cost. Please write to 90milartschool@gmail.com to book. 90mil is wheelchair accessible. Please see the yellow section below for more on accessibility. Add LINK to Application Form (?)
Sliding scale
We use a sliding scale to make courses as affordable as possible. Here’s how to use it: Lower end: You don’t have a stable income. Mid range: You have a less stable financial situation and are more selective about where you spend your money. Higher end: You experience relative financial stability. Solidarity spot: You’re experiencing financial precarity and wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford to come to a workshop.