Photo Flash: The Cell Theatre Presents LIFE IS DRAG LIVE!

Nancy Manocherian's the cell theatre is presenting LIFE IS DRAG LIVE!, a series of weekly live pop-up performances inspired by their LIFE IS DRAG exhibition of work by Rachel Rampleman. LIFE IS DRAG LIVE! is presented in the windows of the cell theatre in Chelsea with viewers on the sidewalk on Saturdays at 6:00 PM (EST). Past performers include Darlinda Just Darlinda, Mimi Silk, Anna Monoxide, Foxy Belle Afriq, Chartruice, Fem Appeal, Unforgivable Emotional Carnivore (God Complex, Esther, Menthol Menthol and Pinwheel Pinwheel).

Check out photos below!

The upcoming Saturday April 3 performance will feature Uncle Freak, Egregious Philbin, Chevy Lace and C'etait Bontemps.

The performances are free of charge however tips and donations are greatly appreciated. Masks are required and audiences are asked to maintain social distancing practices from other members throughout the length of the pop-up performance. The exhibition will extend hours until 7PM on the day of the performance and will be available to view on the cell's third floor Gallery. Visitors will have the opportunity to engage with the performers during gallery hours prior to the performance.

Exploring subjects such as gender, artifice and spectacle, Rachel Rampleman's LIFE IS DRAG documents the most innovative and singular per formers of the currently exploding international alt-drag and burlesque scenes, a portion of which have been filmed throughout the pandemic at the cell's space on West 23rd Street. On view since February 13th on the Gallery Floor, this exhibit is free and open to the public. Patrons are required to follow all city mandated COVID-19 precautions including mandatorymask wearing, filling out a contact-free survey for symptoms and potential exposure, and a digital tempera ture check before entry.

Rachel Rampleman utilizes processes ranging from directorial to curatorial to anthropological to showcase exuberantly irrepressible personalities who revel in challenging clichés associated with masculinity and femininity. A sampling of subjects include Girls Girls Girls (the world's first and only all-female Mötley Crüe tribute band), Tazzie Colomb (the world's longest competing female bodybuilder), and LACTIC Incorporated (an avant-garde clothing brand that takes the detritus of corporate life and reinterprets it into one-of-a-kind structural garments that challenge the polarization of gender) as well as drag and burlesque stars like Untitled Queen, Dick TransDyke, JAX, Robyn Edges, Sham Payne, Just JP, Stixen Stones, Kiara Chimera, Barbie Crash, Bunny Wonderland, Robin from Human Resources, Geo Soctomah Neptune, Jayden Jamison, Mike Hawk, Arabella LaDessé, Bender Bluefish, Zayn-X, and more.

LIFE IS DRAG already features over 5 hours of video featuring over 70 portraits of artists from all over the globe. Ram pleman plans to create as many as 30 more video portraits during her residency and will incorporate all of these into the exhibition.

LIFE IS DRAG is open Saturdays and Sundays from 12PM-6PM until April 18, 2021 at Nancy Manocherian's the cell the atre (338 W. 23rd St. New York, NY 10011). Masks are required and capacity will be limited. Follow the cell on instagram at @thecelltheatre for updates or go to www.thecelltheatre.org for upcoming events.

To post a comment, you must register and login.