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Calendar: Oct. 28

Parties, meetings, exhibits and more through Nov. 3

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Alexis Mateo, from the third season of ā€˜RuPaul's Drag Race,’ will be performing at the Lodge tonight as part of the final night of Araya Sparxx's All American Drag Off. (Photo courtesy of Mateo.)

TODAY

NADS 7.0 presentsĀ “Emerald Elegance,” the annual Green Lantern (1335 Green Court, N.W.) employees annual drag show, tonight at 10 p.m. This year the show will benefit the D.C. Center.

Synetic Theater (1800 South Bell St.) in Arlington, is continuing itsĀ Speak No More: The Silent Shakespeare Festival with Othello starring Roger Payano and Salma Shaw, tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $45 to $55 and can be purchased online atsynetictheater.org.

Busboys & Poets will be hosting American Sign LanguageĀ open mic poetry tonight at 11 p.m. in the Langston Room at its 14th and V streets location (2021 14th St., N.W.). Anyone with sign language knowledge may sign up to recite a poem or sign a song by e-mailing[email protected]. There is a $5 cover.

This week is the final night ofĀ Araya Sparxx’s All American Drag Off at the Lodge (21614 National Pike) in Boonsboro. The finalists, Alondra Sancheez, Russia DaCock and Chasity Vain will be judged by Sparxx and Sasha Renee. Alexis Mateo from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” will be performing alongside Sparxx, Renee, Ashley Bannks, Nicole James and Jessica Jade. Cover is $5 before 11:30 p.m. and $3 afterward. Doors open at 9 p.m.

The Department of Communication and Performing Arts at Montgomery College (7995 George Ave.) in Silver Spring, presentsĀ “Sex and Education,” a comedy which features a duel of wits between a graduating high school basketball star and his retiring English teacher tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 for general admission, $10 for seniors, $5 for MC students, faculty and staff. For more information and to purchase tickets, visitcms.montgomerycollege.edu/cac/

Saturday, Oct. 29

Lady Lenore and Maxine Blue presentĀ “Grown and Sexy,” tonight at Lace Lounge (2214 Rhode Island Ave., N.E.) at 9 p.m. There’s a $5 cover before 11:30 p.m. and all attendees must be 25 or older.

Studio Theatre (1501 14th St., N.W.) presentsĀ ā€œThe Habit of Artā€ by Alan Bennett, today at 2 and 8 p.m. ā€œHabitā€ takes place in Rehearsal Room Two of London’s National Theatre as rehearsals fall apart after the director gets called out of town and the stage manager tries keep things together. Tickets range from $35 to $53 and can be purchased online atstudiotheatre.org.

The Black Cat (1811 14th St., N.W.) has two events going on backstage today. First up is the free event,Ā Hellmouth Happy Hour, featuring an episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and drinks specials at 7 p.m. This week’s episode is “Anne,” the third season premiere. Then DJ lil’e takes over the space for herĀ ā€˜80s Alt-Pop Dance night, Right Round. Tickets are $7 and doors open at 9:30 p.m.

Stephen Sondheim’s first musicalĀ “Saturday Night” will be presented as a concert event at Signature Theatre (4200 Campbell Ave.) in Arlington, for four performances today at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 and 7 p.m. The cast is led by Broadway’s Geoff Packard and many of D.C.’s leading talent.

Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint (916 G St., N.W.) presentsĀ Junesong Arts’ “We Fight We Die” by Timothy J. Guillot tonight at 8 p.m. “We Fight,” guided by a modern day chorus, tells the story of Q, a homeless graffiti artist who gets caught and must license his talents to the local government. Tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for students and seniors. The show will run through Nov. 12.

Sunday, Oct. 30

The 53rd annualĀ Washington International Horse Show is at the Verizon Center (601 F St., N.W.) today at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets to the 7 a.m. program are $15 and the 7 p.m. program range from $40 to $60. All tickets can be purchased online atĀ ticketmaster.com.

Nellie’s (900 U St., N.W.) will be showing the Baltimore Ravens at home as they take on the Arizona Cardinals today at 1 p.m. and the Washington Redskins take on the Buffalo Bills at 4:05 p.m.

Omega (2122 P St., N.W.) presentsĀ Church Lady Bingo hosted by Kristina Kelly tonight at 8:30 p.m. featuring $4 rail vodka. For more information, visitĀ omedadc.com.

Monday, Oct. 31

WEAVE, a support group for LGBT survivors of intimate partner violence/abuse will be meeting from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Lighthouse Center for Healing (5321 First Place, N.E.). For more information and to register, callĀ 202-280-6391.

Busboys & Poets is having an open mic poetry night with professional spoken word performers, open mic rookies and musicians at its Shirlington location (4251 S Campbell Ave.) in Arlington, tonight at 8 p.m. Wristbands for this event are $4 and will be on sale in the Global Exchange store today starting at 10 a.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 1

Nellie’s (900 U St., N.W.) presentsĀ Drag Bingo and Beauty Queens tonight to help raise money for Echoe Malone for Novembers Miss D.C. USA 2012 pageant, the official preliminary to Miss USA. For every Nellie beer sold, $1 goes toward her campaign. All guests must arrive at 6 p.m. Also tonight at Nellie’s is theĀ ā€œGleeā€ watch party at 8 p.m. on the deck in the pub room.

JoinĀ Burgundy Crescent Volunteers to help pack safer sex kits from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight at FUK!T’s packing location Green Lantern, 1335 Green Ct., N.W.

Wednesday, Nov. 2

Riot Act Comedy Theater’s (801 E St., N.W.) monthly gay and gay-friendly comedy showĀ ā€œGay-lariousā€ returns tonight at 8:30 p.m. with Adrienne Iapalucci, Brad Loekle and co-founders Chris Doucette and Zach Toczynski. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online atriotactcomedy.com. This month, $5 from every ticket will benefit Capital Queer Prom.

The Washington Ballet’sĀ “The Great Gatsby” opens tonight at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $20 to $125 and can be purchased online atkennedy-center.org.

The Tom Davoren Social Bridge Club is meeting tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Dignity Center (721 8th St., S.E.), across from the Marine barracks, for Social Bridge.Ā  No partner is needed.Ā For more information, visitĀ lambdabridge.com andĀ Ā click on ā€œSocial Bridge in Washington, D.C.ā€

An exhibit calledĀ ā€œShower of Stolesā€ is on display at Little River United Church of Christ (8410 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, Va.) today from 6 to 9 p.m. and through Nov. 6. The exhibit, organized by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, includes 50 stoles representing the lives of LGBT people of faith. The exhibit can be viewed on Sundays and during office hours on weekdays as well as tonight and Thursday evening (same hours). VisitĀ lrucc.org for more information.

Thursday, Nov. 3

Girlyman plays tonight at Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Rd.) in Vienna with special guest Coyote Grace at 8 p.m. at the Barns. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online atwolftrap.org.

Chely Wright and Lucy Wainwright Roche play the Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave.) in Alexandria tonight at 7:30 p.m. This show is rescheduled from Oct. 20 and all tickets for that date will be honored. Tickets are $27.50 and can be purchased online atticketmaster.com.

D.C. Lambda Squares is having its plus with as-needed mainstream club night tonight from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at National City Christian Church (5 Thomas Circle, N.W.) with Dayle as the caller. For more information, visitĀ dclambdasquares.org.

 

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Theater

Timely comedy ā€˜Fake It’ focuses on Native American themes

Arena Stage production features two out actors

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Eric Stanton Betts (standing) and Brandon Delsid in ā€˜Fake It Until You Make It.’ (Photo by Daniel Rader)

ā€˜Fake It Until You Make It’
Through May 4
Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St., S.W.
Tickets start at $59
Arenastage.org

A farce requires teamwork. And Larissa FastHorse’s ā€œFake It Until You Make Itā€ now at Arena Stage is no exception.Ā 

The timely comedy focuses on Native American nonprofits fractiously housed in a shared space. Friction rises when rivals River (Amy Brenneman), a white woman operating in the Indigenous world, goes up against the more authentic Wynona (Shyla Lefner) to win a lucrative Native-funded grant.   

While Brenneman (best known for TV’s Judging Amy) is undeniably a big draw, it takes a group collaboration to hit marks, land jokes, and pull off the well-executed physical comedy including all those carefully timed door slams.

As members of the six-person ā€œFake Itā€ cast, Brandon Delsid and Eric Stanton Betts, both out actors of partly indigenous ancestry, contribute to the mayhem. Respectively, Delsid and Betts play Krys and Mark, a pair of two-spirited Native Americans who meet farcically cute and enjoy one of the play’s more satisfying arcs. 

For Krys, every attractive man is a potential next fling, but when Mark, handsome and relatively reserved, arrives on the scene, it’s something entirely different. 

Both onstage and sometimes off, Betts plays the straight man to Delsid’s waggishness. But when it comes down to real life business, the friends are on the same page: not only are the L.A.-based, up-and-coming actors intensely serious about their film and stage careers, but they’re also particularly engaged in the themes of Indigenous People found in ā€œFake It.ā€ 

On a recent Wednesday following a matinee and an audience talkback, they were ready for a phone interview. 

In establishing whose voice was whose, Delsid clarified with ā€œI’m the one who sounds a little like a Valley girl.ā€ 

WASHINGTON BLADE: Brandon, you’ve been with the show since its early work-shopping days in 2022 and through its debut in Los Angeles and now Washington. Have things evolved? 

BRANDON DELSID: Definitely. I’ve grown up in the last couple of years and so has my character; it’s hard to know where I end and Kry begins. There’s been a real melding.

Eric and I are both queer, and to get to play these roles that are so human, imperfect, sexy, and interesting is really joyful.

As queer artists you don’t always get the chance to do work like this. So many stories are queer trauma, which is incredibly important, but it’s liberating to feel joy and ride it off into the sunset, which, without revealing too much, is kind of what we get to do.

BLADE: There’s some race shifting in ā€œFake Itā€ particularly with regard to ā€œpretendianā€ (a pejorative term describing a person who has falsely claimed Indigenous status). 

ERIC STANTON BETTS:  The last few years I’ve been on a journey with my cultural identity and place in the world. I’m a mixed BIPOC artist, my dad is Black and Native American by way of the Cherokee tribe and my mom is white. 

Since 2020, I’ve tried to figure out where I belong in this cultural history that I haven’t had a tie to throughout my life; it’s gratifying to find my way back to my indigeneity and be welcomed. 

In the play, race shifting is introduced through farce. But it’s never in a disrespectful way; it’s never mocked or done in a way to take away from others. The playwright parallels race shifting with gender fluidity. 

DELSID: But in life, there are people posing as Indigenous, actively taking grants, and the play goes there, we don’t hold back. Larissa, our playwright, has made it clear that she’s not trying to figure it out for us. With that in mind, we hope people leave the theater interested and curious to learn more. 

BLADE: Mark arrives kind of the middle of some crazy drama, bringing along a jolt of romance. 

BETTS:  Yeah, when I show up, we’re all sort of shot out of a cannon, struggling to keep up with the initial lie. 

DESLID: A very gay cannon. 

BLADE: What’s up next for you two?

BETTS: Both Brandon and I are up for the same part in a TV pilot, so one of us may be getting some very good news. I also have a Tyler Perry film coming out soon [he plays a model, not an unfamiliar gig for Betts]. 

DELSID: Coming up, I have a recurring part on HBO’s ā€œThe Rehearsal,ā€ and a supporting part in ā€œJune and John,ā€ a John Besson film. But doing ā€œFake It Until You Make Itā€ in L.A. and now D.C. has been a special time in our lives. It’s 23/7 togetherness. There’s that hour for sleep. 

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Out & About

Taste of Point returns May 7

Annual reception honors LGBTQ student scholars

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A scene from last year’s Taste of Point reception. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Point Foundation will host its annual ā€œTaste of Point Receptionā€ on Wednesday, May 7 at 6:30 p.m. at Room & Board.Ā 

The popular event will take place on the top floor and outdoor terrace at Room & Board, featuring small plates from area restaurants, hand-crafted cocktails from local mixologists, and a speaking portion where guests will hear directly from Point Foundation scholars. This year, Point is supporting a record-breaking class of 755 scholars and guests’ support will allow Point to continue its mission. Point Foundation is the nation’s largest scholarship-granting organization for LGBTQ students of merit. 

Tickets are tax deductible and can be purchased at Point’s website.Ā 

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Calendar

Calendar: April 25-May 1

LGBTQ events in the days to come

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Friday, April 25

Trans Discussion Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This group is intended to provide an emotionally and physically safe space for trans* people and those who may be questioning their gender identity/expression to join together in community and learn from one another. For more details, email [email protected].Ā 

Go Gay DC will host ā€œLGBTQ+ Community Happy Hourā€ at 7 p.m. at Uproar Lounge and Restaurant. This event is ideal for making new friends, professional networking, idea-sharing, and community building. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.Ā 

Saturday, April 26

Go Gay DC will host ā€œLGBTQ+ Community Brunchā€ at 11 a.m. at Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant. This fun weekly event brings the DMV area LGBTQ+ community, including Allies, together for delicious food and conversation. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

Black Lesbian Support Group will be at 11 a.m. on Zoom. This is a peer-led support group devoted to the joys and challenges of being a Black lesbian. You do not need to be a member of the Beta Kappa Chapter or the Beta Phi Omega Sorority in order to join, but they do ask that you either identify as a lesbian or are questioning that aspect of your identity. For more details, email [email protected].Ā 

Sunday, April 27

ā€œTrans Open Mic and Author Talk with Jeanne Thorntonā€ will be at 5 p.m. at Busboys and Poets 14th & V. It’s a difficult time for trans people in the USA, and Jeanne would like to extend the opportunity to local trans fiction writers to build community by coming on stage and sharing their work as part of an opening ā€œopen micā€ to this event. There are spaces for up to 6-8 readers to share work of up to five minutes each. If you are interested in reading, please select the ā€œOpen Mic Ticketā€ and find Jeanne before the show at 4:30 p.m. The reading will be arranged on a first come, first served basis on the night of the event. For more details, visit Eventbrite.

Monday, April 28

ā€œCenter Aging Monday Coffee & Conversationā€ will be at 10 a.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ+ adults. Guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of choice. For more details, email [email protected].Ā 

Queer Book Club will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This month’s reading is ā€œAll Systems Red and Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries Book 1 & 2)ā€ by Martha Wells. For more details, email [email protected].Ā 

Tuesday, April 29

ā€œOutPro Meaningful LGBTQ Networkingā€ will be at 6 p.m. at Number Nine. Out Pro creates an environment that is welcoming to the full diversity of the LGBTQ community, as well as supportive allies. Guests are encouraged to embrace purposeful networking with the goal of helping connect people with opportunities. If you’re hiring, please come and meet motivated, aspiring LGBTQ professionals. As always, our events warmly welcome community allies. For more details, visit Eventbrite.Ā 

Wednesday, April 30

Job Club will be at 6 p.m. on Zoom. This is a weekly job support program to help job entrants and seekers, including the long-term unemployed, improve self-confidence, motivation, resilience and productivity for effective job searches and networking — allowing participants to move away from being merely ā€œapplicantsā€ toward being ā€œcandidates.ā€ For more information, email [email protected] or visit thedccenter.org/careers.

Thursday, May 1

API Queer Support Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a support group for the Asian and Pacific Islander queer community. For more information, email [email protected].Ā 

Virtual Yoga with Charles M. will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a free weekly class focusing on yoga, breath work, and meditation. For more details, visit the DC Center for the LGBT Community’s website.

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