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COURIER L 14 IFE, OCT. 11-17, 2019
DRAG FOR KIDS
Park Slope theater organization hosts
‘Drag Performance Workshop’ for children
Children will learn about the cultural history of drag as they perform dances and lip sync.
BAX
BY AIDAN GRAHAM
A Park Slope theater class is inviting
youngsters to don genderbending
costumes and perform on
stage as characters of the opposite
sex on Nov. 7.
The event at Brooklyn Arts Exchange
on Fifth Avenue, dubbed
“Drag Performance Workshop,” is
designed as a fun, playful way to introduce
children to the complex issues
surrounding gender identity,
according to an organizer.
“We’re using theater and performance
as a vehicle to explore important
issues of identity,” said Lucia
Scheckner. “By participating in
this workshop, and by trying on a
notion of gender that is more fluid
than the traditional ‘male and female’
— you start to actually understand
these issues more.”
At the workshop, the kids will
learn the ins-and-outs of theater
based drag, including acting
classes, makeup tutorials, and
dance instructions to ensure they
look — and feel — like members
of the opposite sex, according to
Scheckner.
“There’ll be dance activities as
well — figuring out how you’re going
to be in your body as a character,”
she said. “It’s a chance for kids
to move around to different songs
and feel liberated in their bodies.”
Children ages eight-and-up can
attend the workshop without a parent,
and younger Brooklynites can
attend with a guardian — where
they will learn and engage in a variety
of activities centered around
gender fluidity, said Scheckner.
“It will begin with an introductory
ice-breaking experience, that
will transition into...actually creating
content with each other,” she
said. “And then, there’ll be group
work and a period of performance
and ref lection.”
Scheckner expects between 20
and 25 people — including both children
and parents — to attend the
workshop, where thespians young
and old will gain a more in-depth
understanding of gender roles
than they would by attending some
stodgy lecture.
“A lot of the time in schools...
it might be more like a town
hall, or an instructive experience,”
she said. “This is more
creative and exploratory.”
The progressive theater class follows
the rise of Kings County drag
kid Desmond Napoles, 11, who made
headlines in December after preforming
at Meserole Street gay bar
3 Dollar Bill in Williamsburg.
That appearance sparked intense
controversy from conservative
and pro-life news sites, and
Napoles’ family was subsequently
bombarded with death threats and
forced to endure months of drop-in
visits from social workers .
Scheckner said she understands
the possibility of backlash from
some less open-minded community
members — even in the comparatively
liberal Park Slope — but so
far the reception has been positive.
“There may be people who are
upset by it, and I guess we’ll deal
with that,” she said. “As of now we
haven’t received any controversial
remarks.”
“Drag Performance Workshop”
at the Brooklyn Arts Exchange 421
Fifth Ave. near Eighth Street in
Park Slope. www.youth.bax.org/
home. Nov. 7 at 5:30 pm. $5–$25.
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