Odnośniki
- Indeks
- Smith Ready Jeri [Aspect of Crow 02] Voice of Crow
- 283. Stephens Susan Wieczory w Toskanii
- Cz[1].1 Susan Mallery Podarunek Ayanny
- Stephens Susan Najbogatszy Hiszpan
- Susan Wilson Dobry pies
- Guy N. Smith Miasto zludzien
- Guy N. Smith Snakes
- John Maddox Roberts Stormlands 04 Steel Kings UC FR6
- Amanda Hocking [My Blood Approves 02] Fate (pdf)
- Kruczy Dwór 03 Krwawy ksićÂśźyc Geoffrey Huntington
- zanotowane.pl
- doc.pisz.pl
- pdf.pisz.pl
- anapro.xlx.pl
everywhere.
They walked up the steps into the back room and saw that it was
empty. Through the glass doors Rosalind could see two women at the
table on the patio. Linda and Marilyn. She quelled an instant feeling of
dislike when she spotted Marilyn, not wanting to believe jealousy had
such a firm hold on her. True, the woman was a little too collected, and
gorgeous, and subtly but explicitly interested in Taryn. So were a few
others. She could stand a little competition, she told herself.
There was a candle lit in the center of the table, the flame dancing
in the red glass, casting elf shadows on the faces of the women. Ready
to swim with the sharks? Ellie asked, her hand on the door.
Rosalind looked through the glass and saw Marilyn watching
Taryn. Her face gave away nothing; her interest was cautiously divided
between whatever Linda was saying to her and the figure through the
door. It was a minute shift of her eyes, but to Rosalind, it was as brazen
as neon.
The motion of Ellie s hand drawing the door back broke Marilyn s
concentration. She shifted her gaze to a neutral spot and smiled
graciously. Linda followed her look and smiled at them in welcome.
Thought you d be right behind us. Pull up a couple of chairs. We were
just talking about the auction.
About Taryn, in particular, Marilyn said, and smiled at
Rosalind.
Rosalind managed to choke down the urge to smack her and
smiled sweetly in return, as Taryn held out a chair for her.
I m glad you re here, Ellie. You can back me up. I was just saying
that the auction was great theater, Linda said as they sat.
It was a spectacle, entertaining, but not controlled enough to be
theater, Marilyn said coolly.
What is theater if not a spectacle or entertainment? Linda
asked her.
" 219 "
SUSAN SMITH
It was great performance. It gave a promise, drew you in, fulfilled
it, then gave you what you weren t expecting, Ellie said, leaning
forward on the table. I send my students out to see drag shows in my
basic acting class. They can learn more about presentation, gesture,
about being responsive to their audience, in one night than a week of
exercises can teach them.
Willing suspension of disbelief. Drag has its own culture built
in. The audience is in on the joke, knows what to expect, and feels
included. The perfection of the illusion is admired, but not needed. If
it were truly about the art of it, the perfection, it would be different.
A perfect illusion is more real than the real article, Marilyn said, her
gentle tone making the words seem inoffensive. Rosalind wondered
why they sent her back up, immediately.
Linda snorted and put her beer down on the table. Listen, I grew
up in Buffalo. It s a blue-collar town to the bone. You can talk about
levels of sophistication in an audience, suspension of disbelief. What I
saw when Taryn came out on that stage, when she pulled Rosalind up
there with her for a kiss, was theater. Buffalo is no arts capital, but it is
full of communities that do theater, that give time and effort to put their
own representations onstage. Lemme give you an example. There ain t
that many Puerto Rican/Haitian dyke professors walking around for me
to bond with, you know? But when I go to Ujima and see some Ntozake
Shange, I m at home. Part of me is up there, giving back.
Validation. When you see a reflection of yourself, larger than
life, it creates as much hunger as it feeds. It s like being& praised, for
having the courage of your desire, Rosalind said.
Linda looked at her, amazed, then gestured with her beer bottle.
Yes! That s it. Having the courage of your desire. I looked at those
women s faces when Taryn threw you the wallet and pulled you up
there. I thought I d see a lot of disappointment, but it wasn t that.
These women were eating it up, the sight of the two of you. There was
something genuine and powerful. Like it wasn t something they got to
see before. Not that way.
People know when something s real, when they get to see the
heart, not something made up to satisfy them. When it s done for love,
look out, said Ellie. An image like that has the power to move the
world.
" 220 "
Of Drag Kings & the Wheel of Fate
Linda nodded, lifting the bottle to her lips.
Marilyn s silvery laugh cut the silence that had settled on the
table. You are visionaries, more than I expected to find in such a city.
It s refreshing to listen to you speak.
Come on now, Marilyn. Tell me that it didn t knock your socks
off when Taryn kissed Rosalind. We can be all sophisticated and all
that, and still have a primal need to see our own desire reflected, Linda
said.
It was engaging, of course. Desire reflected is powerful, Marilyn
said, her eyes on the candle.
It was more than that. I think there s something there, waiting.
Egyptia had a good idea, but it was only half an idea, Linda said
thoughtfully. She looked like a woman in the grip of a vision, at the
beginning of something that will change many things. She paused,
letting the words form in her mind before she spoke again.
I sense a project, Ellie said, glancing at Rosalind.
Yeah. A project. That audience was hungry, and they got an
appetizer. What if we gave them a whole meal? Linda drawled, leaning
back in her chair.
You mean Ellie started, but Marilyn cut her off.
A whole show. All women.
You re with me now. A little attitude, a little feast for the eyes,
some performance. The whole spectrum. High femme, passing drag.
Drag kings. Plural. Linda s excitement made the words run together.
Taryn, who had been silent for the entire exchange, leaned forward.
A women s drag show? she said slowly, as if learning the words. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]