A Bawdy, Bard-y Burlesque & Drag Show
Featuring
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Friday, June 16, 2023
9:00 PM
Hosts
Delusiona Grandeur (they/them)
Seymour Hiney (he/they)
Performers
Dolly Partner (they/them)
Salem Le Fay (she/her)
Candy Hearts (they/she)
NecroNancy (they/them)
Hanging Chad (they/them)
Ball Out Girl (she/her)
Crew
Andro Hathaway (they/them)
Special thanks to our sponsor:
ShakesQueer is supported by the generosity of tens of thousands of contributors to the annual ArtsWave Campaign, the region’s primary source for arts funding.
Delusiona Grandeur (they/them) is a draglesque performer and cat lover from the hills of Kentucky who lives to make you laugh, gag, make out with them, or run away screaming depending on the day. They are a reformed theater kid excited to touch back to their roots for the evening.
Seymour Hiney (he/they) is just a little guy. Just a dude. Things you’d put in a trap to catch him include: a bag of sour patch kids, a weird Al cd, and a pair of platform boots. Seymour is the producer of S&Q’s Drag King Night, Cincinnati’s only all-drag king show and has been a longtime Rocky Horror performer with The Denton Affair.
Dolly Partner (they/them) is a draglesque performer known as Cincy’s gay disco cowboy. Dolly has been with Smoke and Queers since 2020, but has had the pleasure of performing with Queen Bee Cabaret, BurLex, and Louisville’s Bizarre Bazaar. You may have even seen them in Cincy’s Fringe Festival. They’re excited to put their theater degree to work here tonight!
Hailing from the witch city, Salem le Fay (she/her) has only just begun enchanting Cincinnati/NKY audiences in the last year, but that doesn't mean she hasn't been casting her spells elsewhere. Transforming herself through belly dance, ballroom, aerials, tango, pole and so much more, she's ready to throw down her runes (and her clothes) to make sure you have a bewitchingly good time.
Candy Hearts (they/she) is a local performer who mixes drag, burlesque, and clown into one goofy package. This longtime dancer and aspiring juggler got her start in the scene with Smoke and Queers last October, and has since been getting silly all over Cincinnati. This clown came down to mess around! She’s sure to cause an uproar with balloons, tricks, horns and more.
NecroNancy (they/them) joined Smoke & Queers in 2020 as an accomplished performer in their own right but have managed to cast a spell in front of any audience. A notable childhood ruiner, mess maker, and risk taker, they will charm you AND your grandma from the grave. Make sure to check out Joe Burrow’s (allegedly) favorite performer, NecroNancy!
Hanging Chad (they/them) is a draglesque enby boiyyy who has been performing with Smoke and Queers for a year and a half. They have a BA in theatre and costuming from Northern Kentucky University in addition to being a graduate from the Cincinnati School for Creative and Performing Arts. They have been performing theatre, music, dance since they were 4 years old. Other endeavors include performance art and spoken word noise music as Paradise Kittens, and co-owner of Casablanca Vintage in Northside.
Coming back to the stage after taking a year-long break, Ball Out Girl (she/her) is ready to Ace her next performance at ShakesQueer. This flow artist and circus performer is in her wench era and it's Hot Wench Summer. Come see her juggle and maybe she will show us her ankles!
Andro Hathaway (they/them) is a draglesque performer who has performed with Queen Bee Cabaret, S&Q, & BurLEX- but will be gracing the stage tonight as stage kitten. They in fact love cats, playing D&D, and rollerskating. If you’re impressed by their stage kittening, check them out in a future performance!
Smoke & Queers is a Cincinnati-based, queer-led, co-ed burlesque, drag, and performance art troupe that encourages all weird and wild expressions of self, gender, identity, and sexuality. Our mission is to help connect and unify the LGBTQ+ community in Cincinnati and beyond to create a space where those outside the typical standard of beauty feel sexy, celebrated, and empowered. S&Q has performed at Cincinnati Fringe Festival, the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC), Cincinnati Pride, and around Ohio and Kentucky. Smoke & Queers was rated #2 Best Dance Group by Cincinnati CityBeat in 2023.
For information, booking, or community partnerships, contact smokeandqueerscincy@gmail.com
Gender nonconformity is ubiquitous within the works of Shakespeare where, contemporary to Shakespeare himself, all female roles were played by men. But more than that, almost one fifth of Shakespeare’s plays feature a character who cross-dresses as a plot point. These characters resist gender conformity for myriad reasons such as to free themselves in a patriarchal society, to live their own truth and execute their desires with free will, or to achieve the love and partnership they want. The one thing still relevant today that they all have in common? The universal human need to invoke agency over their lives. CSC is proud to celebrate with Pride with this “Shakes-Queer-ian” experience where all wild expressions of self, gender, identity, and sexuality and welcome.
All proceeds support our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access (DEIA) commitment, which will help us continue our mission of bringing Shakespeare and the Classics to life for ALL.
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company strives to be an inclusive space for all races, ethnicities, genders, identities, orientations, abilities, creeds, and ages, where artists and audiences of all backgrounds see themselves and their stories represented, where voices that have been historically silenced are amplified, and where the experience of live theatre is reachable for all.
Your gift to support the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access Fund helps us become Cincinnati's Shakespeare Company, fostering a community of theater makers, patrons, supporters, and stakeholders who are representative of Cincinnati, united in their desire for artistic excellence, and unabashedly welcoming to all who wish to be a part of it. Because a world in which theatre matters to more people is one worth living in and one CSC commits to help to build.
Closer Look
The summer of 2020 made us pause and reflect on our mission as a resident ensemble theatre company bringing Shakespeare and the classics to life for all. While we aspire to this ideal daily, we have historically fallen short at ensuring that “for all” extends beyond individual programs to the broader audience, Board, staff, and leadership at CSC. We have listened to the lived-experiences of our BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) colleagues and friends and heard them when they say they have felt excluded, exploited, not welcome, diminished, and silenced. It is up to companies like ours to be a part of the solution.
Facilitating community conversation (“feeding the dialogue”) is a foundational principle of our work, but we recognize that it is an unfulfilled promise if the “dialogue” is only among a small group of homogenous individuals. CSC risks becoming irrelevant to our community and our stakeholders if we do not acknowledge and address this moment in an authentic and forthright way.
Simply said, CSC wants to live the change we aspire to see in our community.
Your contribution to the DEIA Fund supports:
• ongoing Anti-Racism and DEIA training for all CSC employees
• funding for DEIA-focused recruitment, donor and audience cultivation, marketing, engagement, and outreach efforts
• commissions of new plays by BIPOC playwrights, women, and members of the LGBTQ community
• improvements to accommodations for visually-impaired, hearing-impaired, and neurodivergent audiences at Mainstage and Park productions
• new initiatives and programs created to support strategic DEIA Plan goals