Queer Voicesearl daxpenny arcade queer performance

Come 'Homo For The Holidaze' With This Quarterly Queer Performance Showcase

"I'm always striving to get people together that you wouldn't typically see in the same room."
James Michael Nichols
By 

HuffPost Queer Voices Editor

Krys Fox

If you're in New York City, there's only one place where you can find yourself going "Homo for the Holidaze" this weekend.

Sunday, Dec. 13, will mark the holiday edition of queer promoter, performer and nightlife aficionado Earl Dax's quarterly performance series "PUSSY FAGGOT!."

Throughout the many shades and hues of queer performance in New York city, events like the ones curated by Dax and resident host Penny Arcade are somewhat rare. "PUSSY FAGGOT!," named after a drunken insult once hurled at Dax by a fellow promoter, brings together performers and influencers from a number of different scenes with a special focus on intergenerational and intersectional community building.

"I'm always striving to get people together that you wouldn't typically see in the same room," Dax told The Huffington Post. "There are so many niche communities in New York, which is great, but I like a heterogenous mix of homosexuals, dykes, misfits, queers, trans and gender-variant folks and cool straight people! I guess that's what New York City means to me at a fundamental level -- being pressed up against a broad tapestry of humanity and enveloping yourself in it. I'd like to think 'PUSSY FAGGOT!' is a queer iteration of that experience."

In honor of another full year of the PUSSY FAGGOT! queer performance series, The Huffington Post chatted with a number of individuals who have proved seminal to the evolution and long-term success of "PUSSY FAGGOT!," as well as performers involved in this Sunday's event.

Check out what they had to say below and head here for the full line-up of this Sunday's "Homo for the Holidaze."

Earl Dax, Curator
Heath McBride
"As suggested by spelling of 'Holidaze,' I find the incessant drum march to Christmas rather stupefying. Every bodega and retailer is playing Christmas songs nonstop from Thanksgiving on. I'm a queer orphan. My parents and grandparents have passed. I've seen my extended family once in ten years. So this relentless drive to the holidays has just about zero resonance for me. I realize that underneath the commercialism people can have authentic experiences, but it feels very difficult to exercise free will when the entire culture seems to be shoving Kris Kringle down your throat. PUSSY FAGGOT! 'Homo for the Holidaze' is a respite from that and a chance for queers --orphaned or not -- to come together and drink from the well of queer culture, to embrace each other and fortify ourselves before going back out into the land of 24/7 Noël."
Penny Arcade, Resident Host
Yann Morrison
"It is a space for everyone. No one is turned away who is friendly and not abusive or annoying to others. It is intergenerational, which is so rare these days, and it is incubator for performance not only by local artists but by international artists who may not have other opportunities to be introduced to the NY audience. NY queer community has always ridden on back of Cafe Society -- a nightclub , bar or cafe where people who were likeminded, often new to NY could meet people they resonate with. In this post-hyper gentrified real estate market it is hard to have a permanent outpost. So Pussy Faggot is a temporary autonomous zone with no fixed schedule. It can be once a month or once every 3 months but it WILL return!"
Dusty Childers, Guest Co-Curator
Liz Liguori
"PUSSY FAGGOT! is so special because you never know what is going to happen. There's wiggle room allowed for last minute brilliance. Performers use PF as a way to workshop an idea because they know it's a safe space. No one is there to call time on a performance as well, which is very freeing. I want participants to take home the fact that the New York City performance art scene is thriving and I also want them to walk away with a few new favorite artists that they feel compelled to go out and support further."
Mister Wallace, Performer
Bobby Miller
"Pussy Faggot is important because homogenized art scenes sound boring and counterproductive. Actually, anything homogenized sounds horrible. We, civilians and artists, need to be inspired by the difference between us as well as the ubiquitous nature of humanity... My line up for the late night show gives voice to the marginalized. I want people to hear those voices. I want people to laugh and feel good about who they are because they can see that we all struggle with this horribly beautiful thing called life."
Glenn Marla, Performer
Yann Morrison
"I became involved with Pussy Faggot from the beginning when I was working as NYC's Hottest Fat Go-Go Boy! I danced weekly at Unisex Salon. Unisex Salon ended in a fight where one promoter was violent toward Earl calling him a 'Pussy Faggot!' Earl then morphed the party into the fab performance event Pussy Faggot! I think evolved is the right word. There are always new artists and people, but somehow always feels like coming home for the holiday! For this edition my role is to curate the early set, bringing back my performance series HEAVY! I created HEAVY years ago at Rapture Cafe as a space for artists to take risks and try new things. At the time I was performing a lot in Burlesque and queer nightlife, and most often pieces that were booked were flashy, had no text and required very little attention from the audience. I wanted a space where artists could challenge the audience and share some of their "heavier"work -- and that is how the series was born."
Max Steele, Performer
Ves Pitts
"I think what makes Pussy Faggot so special is the kind of wild energy that happens there. It's excessive and chaotic and thrilling and sexy and hilarious and sometimes even scary or dangerous. It's totally unexpected and, y'know, free. It reminds me why I moved to New York. It's the closest I've come to seeing what are so often called the Glory Days of life in New York. Pussy Faggot is the glory days, we're in them."
Justin Vivian Bond, Performer
Anastasia Andino.
"The fact that PUSSY FAGGOT! has managed to last as long as it has in the siege-like climate of NYC nite-life is practically a modern miracle. But what makes PUSSY FAGGOT! important is that it remains a vital intersection where many generations and nationalities of queer artists get the chance to meet, interact and get to know each another's work. Thanks to Earl Dax and PUSSY FAGGOT! we continue to form lasting alliances and friendships which have resulted in many collaborations that have been seen all over the world. Plus it's a good place to meet kooky freaks and get laid! I think it would be very difficult to overstate the influence Pussy Faggot has had on what remains of queer and underground culture."

Want more info about the "Homo for the Holidaze" edition of PUSSY FAGGOT!? Head here.

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