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What was the show like? It was a night of drag performances, contemporary dance and poetry. Read the story to get a better glimpse of who the performers were.
How much were tickets? Free-99! Well, technically it’s pay what you can between $0-15. If you have the means to support LAist, we'd deeply appreciate that. But if you can’t, don’t let that stop you from joining in.
Will there be more? Yes! Our next Queer LA LIVE event is on November 30, and it's all about wellness and joy.
How we experience joy was the big question on my mind recently. Why? Because Queer LA, our project exploring LGBTQ+ stories through joy, went LIVE with our first event.
On a recent Thursday evening, we explored the idea of queer joy through three performers' personal journeys to self-expression. There was drag, dance, poetry and a lot of fun — all at the Crawford, our events space in Pasadena.
Below, watch the recording from that night and learn more about the people behind these performances. Want more? Check out our next Queer LA LIVE event, Wellness for Joy, on November 30.
For Maya Salameh, who will be performing a slate of poems, her love for writing really started around the fourth grade.
She’d write short stories that kept getting shorter and shorter until Salameh felt like it was the right time to call them poems. They embarked on this journey without any formal training or inherited connections to the art world — that’s one of the reasons she fell in love with it.
Today, Salameh is a nationally recognized poet and the author of the book How to Make an Algorithm in the Microwave. Their poems cover a breadth of topics with a mastery of illustrative techniques, but her main focus is on writing to “imagine queer Arab futurism in an age of mass extinction.”
Among her many accolades, Samaleh is the winner of the Markowitz Award for Exceptional New LGBTQ Writers, is a National Student Poet, and has even performed at the White House. But at the beginning, Salameh says she’d spent hours searching the internet just to find someone like her.
“I was a huge internet warrior. Whether that literally just meant opening up Google and typing, like, ‘Arab lady poet,’ and discovering writers like Hala Alyan [a Palestinian American poet]… who really took poetry and made it reflect them,” Salameh said.
She followed in their footsteps, playing with English in ways that de-center English’s hegemony over everyday life and the white gaze. Poetry has allowed Salameh to find new language for her experiences. She says as a queer Arab American woman, being able to follow in a lineage of other Arab women has helped her understand both pains and joys.
“It was really a self taught love for me,” Salameh said. “You don't need to be driven to theater practice. You don't need singing lessons. All I needed was a pen, myself and a notebook.”
For Joey Navarrete-Medina, who will be performing a contemporary dance, their story of queer joy comes from healing the relationship with their father.
It started with their thesis project, where Navarrete-Medina choreographed a dance that explored their gender expressions and identity as a first-generation Mexican American. The 50-minute solo performance was an avenue to collaborate with their father, who plays the accordion and favors norteño music. But their father had a request.
“It was very vague, like ‘mijo, write me something so I can pull information and start writing [the song] for you,” they recalled to me earlier this year.
This was during a time when family health issues and talks of loved ones passing away were happening, so the dancer got to thinking.
“It became a self-reflection. If my dad would pass, or if I were to pass tomorrow, what would I want him to know?” Navarrete-Medina said. “The thing that kept coming into light was the fact that I never came out to him. I never verbalized ‘Hey dad, I'm gay.’”
Navarrete-Medina gave their father a belated coming out letter, which was later translated into Spanish for ease of communication. It included an apology for not being the son their father expected and acknowledged that he may feel shame or confusion about them being queer. (Growing up, Navarrete-Medina says their experience was marked by conservative values and machismo culture.) But ultimately, the hope was that their father would feel joy seeing them live a full life.
How did Navarrete-Medina’s father respond? By composing and singing a song called “Niño de mi Alma” — meaning child of my soul. Navarette-Medina choreographed their dance around it, and the song played as they gradually moved across the stage in a hoop skirt dress.
“When I heard it for the first time, I was bawling,” Navarrete-Medina said. “I think for me it was that idea of queer joy — like wow, this person who I have loved for the 32 years that I've been on this world, they're able to see this new version of me.”
I think for me it was that idea of queer joy — like wow, this person who I have loved for the 32 years that I've been on this world, they're able to see this new version of me.
For Johnny Gentleman, who will be putting on a drag show, being a drag king and creating space for Black and brown kings to perform is what brings him joy.
Gentleman recalled a moment before his more than five-year performing career when he saw a drag king named Havoc Von Doom in Long Beach, performing as the green Power Ranger — his fantasy idol as a kid.
“The way they interpreted the character was just so captivating,” Gentleman said. “It just kind of hooked me in.”
He fell in love with drag — and challenging the assumptions of it — after that. Gentlemen runs Dapper Puss Entertainment, a producing company where he focuses on the inclusion of Black, Indigenous and trans performers of color in events.
Gentleman grew up in Chino without seeing any trans people around him, likening it to a “Latino misogyny” where the community stayed away from LGBTQ+ people. This backdrop, coupled with a white and cisgender-dominated drag field, informs his view.
“I made it my goal to just fight for visibility for BIPOC folks and for trans folks,” he said. “We have just as much talent.”
He pushes back on the notion that drag performers need to be ultra-pretty and put together, or do more dangerous moves like death drops (when someone throws their leg in the air and falls to the floor). Drag kings, he says, can be just as entertaining without all the wigs and dresses.
Gentleman says that drag came at a crucial time in his life, and it gave him an avenue to becoming a person that he liked being on stage. He says it helped him see his truth with his heritage and trans-masculine and nonbinary identities. It’s a way for him to release emotions and anxiety, and to learn more about himself.
“Drag saved my life,” he said. “The moment I saw myself in masculine makeup, I felt the most validated I've ever felt in my life. I was able to be this character that was the braver version of what I wanted to be or could be.”
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It’s taken over a decade and $1.3 billion, but Hollywood Burbank’s new terminal is finally ready for action. On Tuesday, Oct. 13, the first passengers will be taking off and arriving at the brand-new structure.
Why it matters: Hollywood Burbank was already the airport of choice for many passengers who want to avoid LAX's chaos. The new shiny terminal gives it even more bragging rights.
The biggest changes: The terminal entrance has moved from Thornton Avenue to the intersection of Winona Avenue and Hollywood Way. There’s also a central security checkpoint, an indoor baggage claim, and cool Hollywood references in the decor.
It’s taken over a decade and $1.3 billion, but Hollywood Burbank’s new terminal is finally ready for action. On Tuesday, Oct. 13, the first passengers will be taking off and arriving at the brand-new structure.
Visitors note: The new terminal entrance has moved from Thornton Avenue to the intersection of Winona Avenue and Hollywood Way. There’s also a central security checkpoint and an indoor baggage claim.
The project stemmed from Burbank’s Measure B, passed in 2016.
LAist reporter Cato Hernandez got a sneak peek inside the building last week and reported on the scope and the thinking behind the decor.
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Following months of public safety issues and drug enforcement operations in MacArthur Park, business owners, faith leaders and community members will join a town hall meeting tonight on the future of the park. The event is open to the public.
Hosted by the local nonprofit California Rising, the event aims to address safety and accessibility issues. L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and LAPD Rampart division leaders will also attend, according to spokespeople for their offices.
Topics will include:
Claros said California Rising will ask local officials to hear the community’s input and meet with stakeholders within 30 days after the town hall to discuss how they might put ideas into action.
When and where:
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William Contreras hit a tying homer in the fifth and singled home the go-ahead run an inning later as the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-4 on Monday in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. Four relievers combined to retire the last 15 Dodgers batters in order as the Brewers took a 2-0 lead over the two-time defending World Series champions in this best-of-seven series, which heads to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Wednesday.
The backstory: The Brewers are chasing their second pennant and first in the NL. They made their lone World Series appearance in 1982, when they were in the American League. Los Angeles is trying to become the first NL team to win three straight World Series. The Dodgers last rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win a series in 2020, when they beat the Atlanta Braves in a seven-game NLCS before going on to win the World Series.
William Contreras hit a tying homer in the fifth and singled home the go-ahead run an inning later as the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-4 on Monday in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series.
Four relievers combined to retire the last 15 Dodgers batters in order as the Brewers took a 2-0 lead over the two-time defending World Series champions in this best-of-seven series, which heads to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Wednesday.
The Brewers are chasing their second pennant and first in the NL. They made their lone World Series appearance in 1982, when they were in the American League.
Los Angeles is trying to become the first NL team to win three straight World Series. The Dodgers last rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win a series in 2020, when they beat the Atlanta Braves in a seven-game NLCS before going on to win the World Series.
The Dodgers will need more punch from their lineup to have a chance at getting back to the Fall Classic. They mustered just three hits Monday and went 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position to drop to 2 for 26 in those situations this postseason.
Los Angeles couldn’t even get a boost from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who entered 8-1 with a 2.14 ERA in 11 career playoff appearances. Yamamoto lasted just 2 2/3 innings for his shortest postseason start.
The Dodgers took the lead on three occasions in the first five innings. Milwaukee responded each time, the last coming when Contreras tied the game with a 436-foot homer to center off Kris Bubic in the fifth.
That turned the game into a battle of the bullpens, where the Brewers again had the edge.
Dustin May, JoJo Romero, Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby combined to shut down the Dodgers after Logan Henderson’s early exit.
The score was tied 4-all when Milwaukee’s David Hamilton was hit by a pitch from Brock Stewart to lead off the sixth. Stewart attempted a pickoff throw that went off the glove of first baseman Freddie Freeman and into foul territory for an error, advancing Hamilton to second.
After Jackson Chourio grounded out, the right-handed Stewart walked the left-handed-hitting Brice Turang to face the right-handed Contreras, who had homered in his previous plate appearance.
Contreras singled to left this time to bring home Hamilton with the go-ahead run.
Turang and Jake Bauers added RBI singles in the eighth to extend Milwaukee’s lead.
The anticipated pitchers’ duel between Yamamoto and Henderson didn’t work out according to plan.
In three previous playoff starts following Dodgers losses, Yamamoto had gone 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA. When he faced the Brewers in last year’s NLCS, he threw the first playoff complete game since Justin Verlander did it in 2017.
This time, Yamamoto couldn’t even make it out of the third inning before leaving with the Dodgers behind 3-2.
Henderson entered Monday having not allowed more than three runs in any of his 24 career starts (including the postseason). That streak ended when he allowed four runs over four innings.
Because Henderson committed two errors — matching his previous career total — only two of the runs were earned.
Milwaukee trailed 2-1 in the third when Bauers capped a 12-pitch plate appearance by taking a 3-2 offering in the dirt to load the bases with a walk. Christian Yelich followed by lining a single up the middle that brought home two runs and knocked Yamamoto out of the game.
Los Angeles bailed out Yamamoto by scoring twice in the fifth.
After Kyle Tucker hit a leadoff double, Tommy Edman sacrificed him to third. Henderson fielded the bunt and made a wild throw to first, enabling Tucker to score and moving Edman to second.
Edman advanced to third when Mookie Betts grounded out, and scored on Freeman’s sacrifice fly.
Henderson also had made a wild throw to first on a pickoff attempt in the third inning that allowed Edman to score from third.
Robert Gasser (5-5, 3.87 ERA) is expected to start for Milwaukee in Game 3. Gasser allowed one run over five innings when the Brewers won 3-1 at San Diego to clinch their NL Division Series.
The Dodgers hadn’t announced their Game 3 starting pitcher.
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Actor and disability rights advocate RJ Mitte, who brought a lifetime of experience with cerebral palsy to fictional family struggles in an essential role on “Breaking Bad,” died Monday at age 34, authorities and his representatives said.
Authorities said: Cameron County Justice of the Peace Cyndi Hinojosa told The Associated Press she declared Mitte dead at about 1:30 p.m. at what she believed was his home in Brownsville, Texas. She said she was unable to provide a cause, but an autopsy will be performed.
Actor and disability rights advocate RJ Mitte, who brought a lifetime of experience with cerebral palsy to fictional family struggles in an essential role on “Breaking Bad,” died Monday at age 34, authorities and his representatives said.
Cameron County Justice of the Peace Cyndi Hinojosa told The Associated Press she declared Mitte dead at about 1:30 p.m. at what she believed was his home in Brownsville, Texas. She said she was unable to provide a cause, but an autopsy will be performed.
Mitte played Walter White Jr., the son of Bryan Cranston’s chemistry teacher-turned-meth dealer Walter White on nearly every episode of the five seasons of the AMC show, which recently ranked as the best of the 21st century in a New York Times poll.
Diagnosed at age 3, Mitte told the AP in 2014 that his disability and the surrounding struggles with physical therapy, family problems and exorbitant medical bills — all key subjects on the show — made him better at his job.“You develop a different mentality and you develop a different look at how the world sees you and how you see the world,” he said. “You’re able to use that. And I think it’s an asset instead of something that would hinder.”
Mitte was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi.
He landed small guest roles on sitcoms after moving to Los Angeles to act in 2006. Like his character, he was in his mid-teens when he began his work on “Breaking Bad,” starting in 2007. The show ran from 2008 to 2013.
“Mitte brought authenticity to the role and built a platform on disability awareness and inclusion,” the actor’s representatives said in a statement announcing his death. The statement said he used “his platform to challenge stereotypes and promote greater representation.”
His later credits included the ABC Family series “Switched at Birth” and the superhero satire series “Guardians of Justice.”
He was also a producer of several independent films.
As an advocate, he served as an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy and Shriners Children’s. He was also president of his own Mitte Foundation supporting philanthropic and community initiatives around disabilities.
