THEYFRIEND Nonbinary Cabaret - OCTOBER
Thursday, October 17, 2024
7:30pm (7pm doors)
Brava Theater Center’s Cabaret
2773 24th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
$15 early bird | $20 general admission
Limited Pay-What-You-Can: $5-10
Host: Vin Seaman / LOL McFiercen
Featuring Live Performances by: 2024 THEYFRIEND Festival Advisors Aïma the Dreamer, Gothess Jasmine, Rawiyah Tariq & Rishikesh Tirumalai
About the Event
Ready to juice up on your NONBINARY energy but can’t wait until the THEYFRIEND Nonbinary Performance Festival next month? Well enbies, you’re in luck! This month we’re offering a special festival sneak peak with performances from our THEYFRIEND 2024 advisors:
Multidisciplinary artist and activist Aïma the Dreamer
Drag performer Gothess Jasmine
Writer and storyteller Rawiyah Tariq
Devised theater artist Rishikesh Tirumalai
Hosted by multidisciplinary artist Vin Seaman, aka drag queen LOL McFiercen, this will be a thrilling night of live performance uplifting, centering and celebrating nonbinary identity!
THE FUTURE IS NONBINARY! And so are we - save the dates for the THEYFRIEND Nonbinary Performance Festival happening November 13–17.
ACCESSIBILITY: Brava is wheelchair accessible with ADA-accessible all-gender restrooms. The space also includes an upstairs mezzanine with additional seating that is only accessible by stairs. All videos will have open captions. If you need ADA seating for this show, please indicate so during the ticketing process. For any questions about accessibility, please email kiana@diamond-wave.org.
COVID: Masking REQUIRED, KN95 masks available at door. Participating artists and staff are COVID tested before the event.
This event is made possible with support from the California Arts Council and the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation, and is presented in partnership with Brava! for Women in the Arts. Diamond Wave is a fiscally sponsored project of Intersection for the Arts that is supported by Grants for the Arts, the Horizons Foundation, the Walter & Elise Haas Fund and the San Francisco Arts Commission.
About the Artists
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Aïma Paule aka Aïma the Dreamer, artistry is a catalyst for liberation, blending diverse disciplines to amplify marginalized voices and uphold QTBIPOC empowerment, intersectional feminism, and anti-racism. Their co-founding of Soulovely, a thriving QTBIPOC dance party, highlights their commitment to creating safe spaces for Oakland's vibrant Queer and Trans* BIPOC community. Aïma anlso produces Groove Gallery, which centers QTBIPOC, Black Women, and Femmes in a monthly open mic and artist showcase. Their involvement in organizing transformative events like Femme Rage and 'Brown Love Black Pride; Oakland to Stonewall' further demonstrates their dedication to providing platforms for rage, release, and renewal. As a musician and vocalist, Aïma captivates audiences with socially conscious content, drawing inspiration from a range of genres. Their artistic expression extends to visual arts, showcased in prestigious exhibitions and artist residencies, including their evocative short film "Femme Rage," which explores raw expressions of QTBIPOC femme anger. Aïma Paule's unwavering dedication to social change and empowering marginalized communities shines through their work, serving as a beacon of inclusivity, justice, and celebration of diverse voices.
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Founder and CEO of AMAZING AEFFECTS, this Goth Goddexx is an award-winning artist specializing in makeup, body paint, and unique performance. Gothess Jasmine celebrates the power of art as a language and tool for healing. Gothess proudly represents undervalued and underbooked performers and artists and uses its platform to uplift others in marginalized communities. Gothess aims to inspire others to use artistic practices such as painting, storytelling, and visual performances as a means of radical self-expression and spiritual healing. Through these artistic outlets, it intends to inspire people in a manner that transcends culture, language, and ability.
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Rawiyah Tariq is a gender non-binary multi disciplined artist and kink aware professional with roots in queer, poly-amorous, fat community. Their tone is reflective of these roots and their work is informed by how these intersect with their Blackness. Magic, massage, storytelling and performance art are tools they use to liberate, heal and reclaim space for marginalized communities. Rawiyah Tariq has danced on stages throughout the country with the award winning and internationally traveled troupe Rubenesque Burlesque as Magnoliah Black from 2009 to 2015. As a solo performer their work (often performed on mainstream stages) continues to reflect body liberation, visibility and self possession. They are the 2022 recipient of Queer Cat Production’s Artist Grant and as of 2023 have been asked to join the company as a member and their Disability Justice Lead. Rawiyah is also one of Diamond Wave Arts’ Theyfriend 2022 featured artists.
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Hi, I'm Rishi! Performance artist, community organizer, leadership coach. Most of the time, I think of myself as a gardener, after Masanobu Fukuoka. Spreading seeds, noticing what grows, cultivating patience in myself. This is most fun when collaborating and creating with others. I enjoy weaving spaces and designing containers that inspire creativity in everyday contexts. I enjoy enlisting participants to become performers and facilitators. This helps me relax into being one with the many. My favorite space to organize is called Stone Soup. It's a flexible hierarchy container where everyone is the owner. Stone Soup is an experiment in syndicated anarchism, a space for each of us to explore organization from the heart and carry the load together. These days, I'm particularly motivated to explore disobedience. Disobeying gender / sexuality mores, imperialist impositions, even simple social patterns. I consider myself a channel for trickster / fugitive energy. Let's dance in that together!
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Vin Seaman is an interdisciplinary artist, drag queen (LOL McFiercen) and the director of Diamond Wave. Drawing inspiration from sketch and stand up comedy, queer nightlife, internet aesthetics and their own nonbinary identity, Seaman’s work blends mediums and forms to create dynamic and interactive performances with the potential to shift minds and change hearts. Their work exploring queer identity and drag culture has been presented at The Stud, Brava, Oasis, El Rio, CounterPulse, the de Young, the Salesforce Tower, Frameline, the Tank NYC, the Austin International Drag Festival, SATELLITE ART SHOW Miami, the National Queer Arts Festival, Stockholm’s Stolt Scenkonst, Atlantic Center for the Arts, and Yale School of the Arts.
To Attend
$15 early bird
$20 general admission
Limited pay what you can tickets
About the Festival
Now in its 4th year, THEYFRIEND is the world’s first performance festival uplifting, centering, and celebrating nonbinary identity! This year the festival will take place November 13–17 in partnership with San Francisco presenters, nightlife venues, and community organizations.
With THEYFRIEND, we’re creating a space of trust and growth for nonbinary artists to connect and present their work. Applications for performers are estimated to open in June!