Ian MacKinnon’s The Gay Hist-Orgy
ONE Culture Series
Sunday, May 20, 2012, 2-4pm
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90007
Admission is free – suggested donation of $5
Performance artist and activist Ian MacKinnon brings the past to life by tracing the history of gay people in new ways never before seen on stage. With the aid of his magic time-traveling hot pants and sexy Genie guide, MacKinnon cruises a plethora of gay historical figures in his one-man multi-media romp. Along the way he covers thousands of years of homo-history to create a hot and horny afternoon of laughs and lust, fun and fucking, humor and heroism.
The Gay Hist-Orgy revives our hidden history in living color, beginning in the ancient world, and tracing the evolution of gay consciousness up to the present day. Including but also going beyond the already famous icons of gay history, MacKinnon introduces the audience to more obscure, but equally fascinating figures who bravely pioneered gay liberation against the odds. MacKinnon shows how these bold and affirming individuals risked persecution and even death to honor the calling of their hearts, and to create the artistic and philosophical works that inspire us all.
A tour de force of historical research and theatrical flair, The Gay Hist-Orgy draws on primary source material from many epochs, including love letters, philosophical treatises, spiritual poetry, 19th century novels, political tracts, and early scientific inquiries into the meaning of homosexuality. The show engages current controversies in queer theory while considering fundamental questions of gay meaning: Who are we as a people, and why are we here? In a radical departure from social-constructionist theory, MacKinnon emphasizes our connections to this history through the shared bond of same-sex love.
The Gay Hist-Orgy is more than a show; it is an avant-garde historical retelling, depicting not just the lives of important gays but how their love has influenced the progress of art, philosophy, culture, and politics. These pieces draw from the roots of gay liberation to reveal gayness as something unique, radical, and beautiful, with the potential to change the world for the better.
