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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 11, 2011)
-performance self how he was able to create a project like Genderfantasy at all. “During the rehearsal, I started to think about where I come from, and how it is that I’m able to parade around in fucked-up wigs, and messy but beautiful makeup,” recalls Pepper. “How is it I came to be who I am? That led me to really pay attention to my influences and my inspirations, and the bulk of those are dead queer artists.” Throughout preparations for the perfor mance, Pepper developed a keen apprecia tion for the challenges of a project so much bigger and more involved than his typical solo or group work. “Doing a project of this size is difficult because not only am I the creative direc tor, choreographer and danc er, and a collaborator with the music and the makeup, but I’m also the project man ager,” explains Pepper. “It’s a lot for one person to do.” And it’s been an at-times daunting journey. Pepper says he’s faced significant bouts of conceptual struggle as the creation of the piece has un folded. The organic nature of the performance, and the malleable notions derived therein, compete with each other for both visceral attention and a tangible takeaway. But Pepper says he’s more interested in challenging the audience’s perception of how they’re supposed to feel, and what they’re supposed to think about the piece. “The thing about Genderfantasy is that it really is an exploration of evolution and identity,” says Pepper of the morphing na ture of the show. “I feel that it’s always going to be evolving, just like our construction of gender is always evolving, and just like the construction of how we see each other in our own identities, how gender lays on the body, and how I believe that gender in es sence is a fantasy.” The final version of Genderfantasy is, in fact, still evolving. Three separate satellite performances—essentially early version ex NO VEM BER 11. 2011 MUSIC MILLENNIUM cerpts of the finished product—helped in form aspects of the show in the months leading up to its premiere. Up until opening night, it’s likely Pepper will be fine-tuning the various cogs of his drag/dance opus. Be fore that time comes, Pepper has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the final weeks of the project, and to sustain the tal ented artists he’s worked with for the past six months. The mystery of what this project is telling Pepper—and what it will tell those who see it—is something he says he won’t know until the opening. liS fk lf* • 3 9 _ MILLENNIUM SAVE 25 % OFF All used CD s, and DVDs. W i t h th is C o u p o n O n l y . N o L i m i t O f f e r g o o d th ro u g h 12 /8 /2 0 11 N o t valid w ith o t h e r o ffe rs . WORLD BEAT • SOUL • OLDIES • FOLK • CAJUN • NEW AGE • SOUNDTRACKS LOUNGE • COMEDY • ELEC TR O N S • ROCK • HIP-HOP • JAZZ • GOSPEL COUNTRY • BLUEGRASS • MUSICALS - BIG BAND • REGGAE - AND M O R E ... M U S IC k — — — — — — — — — ■ : : X L L-v— A s u p p c r - c lu b p le a s u r e in j s m a s h in g s e llin g . - The Oregonian “I really feel like the mystery is the rela tionship between the experience of what the dancers experience inside themselves, and then what the audience experiences with them,” explains Pepper. “ Genderfantasy works on the axis of authenticity and enter tainment, so I’m working really hard at cul tivating a level of realness in our movement, our characters, our presence and our ferocity. But it’s also a drag show. I hope people get to live at that intersection.” MAKE IT A HOUDATE & SAVE 50% Genderfantasy opens Ihurs., Dec. 1 and runs through Dec. 4 at The Headwaters Theatre (55 NE Farragut St.). Doors open and the Fliptogra- phy installation begins at 7:30 p.m., show is at 8. Tickets are on a S10-S15 sliding scale, and are available via Brown Paper Tickets. For more in formation, visit genderfantasy. wordpress. com. ON ANY THURSDAY PERFORMANCE* * f mm 503 . 222.5538 WWW.OBT.ORG K ick off the season with a splash Northeast Health Center 5329 NE MLK Jr. Blvd. 2nd Floor or mention this ad to get a FREE A ANONVMOIIi or CONFIDENTIAL test for HIV! -.J • 3 2 N D & E Burnside St. • 503.231 8926 A HOLIDAY RIM A w | ( ( M IL L E N N IU M EAST P O R T LA N D fu ll walk in je : FEATURING SUSANNAH MARS DECEMBER 10-22, 2011 / KELLER AUDITORIUM 'Empires 12/22/11. Limit 4 tickets. Not valid on previous purchases. May not be com bined with any other offer. T ,T (¿be I'HTQontan OREGONBALLETTHEATRE CHRISTOPHER STOWELL / ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
