I first learned of the playwright Sarah Kane through Houston’s Catastrophic Theatre and founder Jason Nodler in 2011, just a few months after I embarked on a dance theater collaboration with a contemporary ballet and dance theater company I had followed avidly for many years. I was running off the high of what the best collaborative relationships can be. It was through that collaboration that I would meet and date one of the actors cast in the Catastrophic Theatre’s production…
Unlearning Leviticus: Bridging the Gay-Christian Gap
Posted on December 29, 2021However, from the boundaries of my own lived experience, and despite Christ “ending the old law,” Christians who condemn LGBTQIA+ identities and experiences often cite one Old Testament passage in particular, and there has perhaps been no text with a larger influence on attitudes toward gay people than the biblical book of Leviticus.…
On Containing Multitudes: Discovering My Jewish Roots
Posted on December 20, 2021When I was seven years old, I asked for a rather unusual gift—a menorah. Now, if I had been growing up in a Jewish household, this might not have seemed so out of place; but, as a second-grader who was raised between two Baptist and Catholic families—and attended a Methodist church—this was an odd request. Nevertheless, my mom took me to a craft store and we picked out a paint-it-yourself clay menorah with beautiful Stars of David all across it.…
Texas, Why Don’t You Want Me Here?: On the Culture of the Lone Star State and My Trans Feelings
Posted on December 15, 2021Before I knew what “trans” was, I knew not to be it. As an overtly masculine Black girl in Texas, the state was already out to get me for my skin. Even worse though, my own Black community was out to get me for being different. …
Chamber Holiday Food Drive to Help Houston LGBTQ+ Seniors in Need
Posted on December 7, 2021Community takes care of its own. That’s why, on December 10, the Greater Houston LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce will host its annual Chamber Holiday Food Drive to ensure the city’s LGBTQ+ seniors have plenty of food on their plates this holiday season.…
Why World AIDS Day Matters to the Trans Community
Posted on December 1, 2021The language and sentiments surrounding this pandemic, from calls to action to “flatten the curve,” to the anxiety around human contact and intimacy, are reminiscent of another ongoing issue impacting our community—the HIV epidemic. …
Holding Space and Creating Magic: The Wanderoo Lodge is a Queer Haven for Travelers and Locals Alike
Posted on October 15, 2021By Barrett White The land where Eureka Springs, Arkansas, sits is Osage land. Though the Osage people protected their land from neighboring tribes, they allowed people from any tribe—hostile neighbors or not—to bring their ill onto the land to visit the natural springs, believed to have healing properties. This historic, benevolent gesture of goodwill is well-remembered in present-day Eureka Springs. Just ask locals David and Ethan Avanzino, who jointly run the Wanderoo Lodge—an LGBTQ-owned and -operated outdoor adventure lodge in…
Queer Artists Debut New Work at 2021 Houston Fringe FestIVAL
Posted on October 13, 2021The 2021 Houston Fringe Festival, which will present three showcase-style evenings of fringe performances hosted by the Pilot Dance Project and curated by Adam Castaneda, will take place October 15–17, 2021, at Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston (MATCH). Among the artists selected to perform are Urethra Burns, Ayan Felix, and duo Stephanie Saint Sanchez and Jay Mays, LGBTQIA+ artists who will present explorations of gender and sexuality. …
The DeLuxe Theater’s ‘Art for the People’ Celebrates History with a New Focus
Posted on September 29, 2021Art for the People pays homage to The De Luxe Show, one of the country’s first-ever integrated art exhibitions, which took place 50 years ago in 1971 at the old DeLuxe Theater. The DeLuxe Theater originally opened in 1941 and served the city’s Black community. After the Civil Rights Act passed in 1964, segregated movie theaters were no longer needed, and the DeLuxe Theater closed in 1969. However, the building remained standing and, in 1971 when the De Menils tasked…
Q Fest 2021 Hits Screens for the Last Time—With A 25-Year Legacy in Tow
Posted on September 26, 2021By Autumn Rendall After 25 years, QFest—Houston’s international LGBTQIA+ film festival—is hitting screens for the last time. The festival kicked off with its competition short film screenings on September 24 at Aurora Picture Show and will continue with two more in-person screenings of the feature film Swan Song (September 26 and October 2, both at 5:00 p.m. at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston). All feature and short films will also be available to screen virtually through the Cinenso platform…