Amando Hauser. Photo by Maia Saavedra.
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*Advance tickets for this program are sold out. An in-person wait list will open at 7:00 P.M.
Organized by independent curator Alessandra Gómez, this program showcases three innovative performances that blend humor and critical social commentary, with each artist approaching their work through clowning, drag performance, or a combination of both—each form having its own distinct and rich history. Amando Houser’s DeliaDelia! is comedic performance inspired by the "witch hunt" against trans rights in America. Reed Rushes’ Twilight Zone is a drag king performance exploring birthing, domesticity, and consumption from a queer masculine perspective and MTHR TRSA’s I DON’T THINK THAT WAS MOLLY takes us on a conversational journey between inner demons, the MTA, and RuPaul. Together, these three artists illustrate how humor can serve as a powerful tool for social commentary in contemporary performance.
OPEN STUDIOS is a series of work-in-progress showings held regularly throughout the year, organized by guest curators, and serves as an incubator for new work, inviting the public into the artistic process.
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PROGRAM
Amando Houser: DeliaDelia! The Flat Chested Witch!
DeliaDelia! The Flat Chested Witch! is a solo comedic clown hour inspired by the “witch hunt” on trans rights in America. DeliaDelia is a witch from the swamps who happens to be as nasty on the eyes as she is on the basketball court. On a quest to become a “real girl” and fit into the human world to play for a team. Will she finally get to display her talents and become the greatest of all time? Or be cursed forever and turned into a serpent?
Created and performed by Amando Houser
Directed by Kedian Keohan
Research and development support from Fisher Center LAB, the Fisher Center at Bard‘s residency and commissioning program.
Reed Rushes: Twilight Zone
As night falls the living room is cast in an unfamiliar hum blue. Darkness grows the TV light, which flickers brighter casting shadows that lick the living room floor, sofa, walls. Edges begin to take new forms, shifting. Half asleep, sound distorts. From the TV, from this room, (“things get strange at night”) from this half light, Stan’s world unfolds…
Twilight Zone takes inspiration from films that explore female hysteria and body horror. Channeling the voices of both hysterical women and rebel boy icons from classic Hollywood body horror thriller movies, Rushes presents a drag king performance that examines birthing, domesticity, and consumption from a queer masculine perspective. Using drag, abstract movement, and theatrical costumes made by Kate Williams Twilight Zone is a humorous, surprising and emotionally moving experience.
MTHR TRSA: I DON’T THINK THAT WAS MOLLY
I DON’T THINK THAT WAS MOLLY reflects the collective experience of those who feel like they can never slow down, no matter how desperately they need to. It’s a disorienting energy of modern life, where nothing feels tangible or secure, and every attempt to grasp onto something is met with uncertainty. The chaotic rhythm of NYC heightens this dissonance, making us question if we are in control, or simply SPIRALING. The struggle to hold onto anything — a routine, money, stability, trans healthcare — feels increasingly futile as everything slips through our fingers, evoking a sense of panic and helplessness.
As the line between pleasure and paranoia blurs, we ask ourselves, “Was that actually Molly we just took?” There is no relief, there is no finish line, and the J train is not coming. The overwhelming sense of burnout becomes palpable. The opinionated demons and insecurities begin to march into the room alongside the haunting voice of RuPaul and the allure of queer success. Just another impossible standard! A reminder of how even within queer spaces, the forces of capitalism and conformity press down upon us.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Alessandra Gómez is an independent curator based in New York. She recently served as a curator for Luna Luna, the world’s first art amusement park, originally created in 1987. Gómez was part of the core curatorial team for Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy and worked on the early development of new artist-designed rides, attractions, and games. From 2018–2023, she was part of The Shed’s founding curatorial team, where she developed over seventy-five visual arts and performance commissions during her tenure including shows by Shayne Oliver & Anonymous Club and Maxwell Alexandre. She currently serves as the guest curator for public art at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and is working on a number of forthcoming curatorial projects, including one with NIKE.
Amando Houser is a trans-masculine clown and actor born and based in NYC. Following a sold-out run at The Brick, their solo show DeliaDelia! The Flat Chested Witch! debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and will have its US premiere at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Off Broadway: Midnight Coleslaw! Tales From Beyond The Closet! (The Tank); Snatch Adams and Tainty McCracken (Soho Rep). They have performed in and devised work at venues and variety nights around town as well as at The Signature, The Elysian, New York Theatre Workshop, Vox Populi Gallery, The Wild Project, JACK, and The Richard B. Fisher Center at Bard College. Amando is a recent graduate of École Philippe Gaulier in France and has trained with Pig Iron Theatre Company in Philadelphia, and Julia Masli (ha ha ha ha ha ha).
Reed Rushes is a British-American performance artist living and working in Queens, NY. Rushes has a multimedia performance practice that centers queer fantasy. Combining drag, movement, video, found and self made objects Rushes’ performances unpick the hierarchical distinctions between human bodies, emotional affect and objecthood. Rushes graduated with a Masters in Fine Arts from Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts Bard College New York (2022) and holds a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature and Performance with honors from Queen Mary University London (2015). They began their performance art practice in London's queer club and drag scene. Their work has now shown at Park Avenue Armory, Performance Space New York, CPR – Center for Performance Research, The Yard Theatre London, Rich Mix London, BOFFO, and Art Omi and has been supported through public funding by Arts Council England. They cofounded and curated Low Stakes Festival London and collectively run the performance residency at Otion Front Studio New York.
MTHR TRSA IS A PERFORMANCE ARTIST, PHOTOGRAPHER, CHOREOGRAPHER, STYLIST, DIRECTOR, MODEL, DJ, LAWYER, DOCTOR, SECURITY GUARD, THERAPIST, FREE LANCER, ACCOUNTANT, CHIEF & PROFESSIONAL COMPLAINER.