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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 2001)
16 , 2001 ? THEATER V iiiuGscriuaimy delirious Seattle performer brings wacky act to Portland by O riana G reen Dina Martina is one big elf U | ts hard for even me to appropriately I describe her,” creator Grady West says of ■ his alter ego, Dina Martina. “You want to I say drag and comedy, but that pigeonholes her. Sh e’s not a standup comic, and there’s no lip-syncing,” he further explains. O r not. I feel better knowing W est can ’t capsulée what Dina does, because even after chatting with him for a half-hour and viewing some videotape o f his performance, I’m not sure what to say, either. So let’s start at the beginning. “In ’89 a ffiend was creating a performance piece called A Tawdry Lounge A ct Peepshow. T he audience literally watched us through peepholes in a wall, and all we could see were eyes peering at us through the holes," West recalls. “It was the perfect setting for me to overcome my stage fright. Luckily, people enjoyed Dina.” So for the next few years whenever people put together cabarets they’d ask her to perform. “1 totally got wigged out once I could see the audience,” W est confides. “But after four years I realized I liked doing it, so then I started doing it more often and put more effort into it. My act used to be all improv. Som e nights it worked, and some it didn’t.” Now, after 13 years, Oregonians finally will get a chance to experience the weirdness that is Dina when she plays Echo Theater on Nov. 24. “It’s a special show just for Portland: T he D im M artim H oliday Show, about all the holi days of the year,” W est enthuses. “Dina is cre ating a new kind o f holiday,” he promises. So what exactly does she do onstage? W ell, first you have to adjust to D ina’s appearance. Looking a bit like the love child o f Tiny Tim and Sandra Bernhard in a dress no respectable drag queen would wear to take out the garbage, she is a study in contradictions. “She doesn’t realize how ridiculous she looks. She has no self-awareness basically. But she’s very sweet,” W est says tenderly, always talking about Dina as a separate entity. And who does her makeup? O r a better question might he: Does she own a mirror? “Dina does her own, inspired by Clarabelle the clown,” W est admits without ego. Then there’s her singing talent or, more to the point, her lack thereof. Has she ever been heckled? “No, not really. She can never really sing, but luck ily no one has booed her off,” he says protectively. W est describes the show as a mixed bag. “It’s singing, it’s talking, it’s film ...D ina gives out bizarre gifts including Dina records, 3-D photos o f Dina and scarves by Vera,” he explains. “I grew up in Seattle in the ’60s and 7 0 s , and I was either glued to T V or Top 40 radio. S o Dina is an entertainer. T h a t’s all she knows. Though as a teen she worked at a Radio Shack,” he adds, fleshing out her bio. T h e tape I viewed showed Dina prancing around the stage singing something 1 didn’t recognize while alternately playing air violin on an acoustic guitar and interrupting herself with various asides— which seem to be the real meat o f the show. West says Vegas was a big influence on him. “I fell in love with it and was also repulsed by it.” Because W est has been playing Dina for so long now, does she age as he ages, or is she ageless? He [»uses to consider this, then says, “People describe her now as an aging, washed- up Vegas never-been.” W est feels fortunate to share his life with Dina— and only Dina. “Yeah, I’m definitely a fag...available but not interested in dating. I’m gay through and through, though I really iden tify as me, who happens to be a gay man,” he says with a strong sense o f himself. “My mom’s in the front row cheering me on, and I’m really lucky to have such a supportive family.” So I asked West to give us his best pitch why someone should come meet Dina. ‘T h e two uni versal things people say who like her are: They’re pleasantly surprised because she’s not bitchy or catty or mean-spirited. And that there’s no X-rated element at all,” West claims. “I never set out to do that. It just happened that way.” Rather like Dina herself. j n D in a M a r t in a takes over Echo Theater, 1515 S.E. 37th Ave.,8p.m. Nov. 24. Tickets are $ 1 7 at the door or $14 in advance from Gai'Pied, the G old D oor or Fasdxx. For more info call 503-203-3305. THURSDAY DECEMBER 13 NORTHWING PORTLAND ART MUSUEM GRAND BALLROOM ticUatmaator 503.224.4400 • 503.790.ARTS • TICKETMASTER.COM G.l. JOE'S • MEIER & FRANK • LAMB'S THRIFTWAY • PORTLAND ART MUSEUM BOX OFFICE PR O D UCED RY SILVA TO U R IN G . IN C . N itk OooooiDoooo CONCERTS. A A ND REW N C W ITT •5
