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| D' Lo - Photos by Ken Sawyer |
Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center
presents D’Lo D’FunQT A dedication to Queer and Trans Lives of Color written
and performed by D’Lo , directed by Ken Sawyer and Produced for the Los Angeles
LGBT Center by Jon Imparato, through May 3rd, 2015.
What make D’Lo so different? Is it the haircut? No, that’s not it. The slight Mohawk is pretty
normal, and might even be a little blasé in Hollywood these days. Is it the color of his skin? No that’s not it either; there are plenty of
brown people walking around Los Angeles who are just as dark, darker, darkest. Pretty, in a manly sort of way, dressed up in
a Dodger cap, blue t-shirt, black shirt, jeans, black adidas, and strutting
around like he owns the joint. Yep,
pretty normal stuff.
On this night, the set is eccentric. Robert
Selander’s Set Design/Scenic Artist/Master Carpenter sets the stage projecting
the events of the night. Stage right, handwritten
jottings – inscribes a life – “Tamil pride” – and young photos of D’Lo as a
young girl in a argyle like sweater – littered thoughts splayed out like a
diary page and fulsome annotations - descriptions of the photos plastered across
the scrapped filled wall. And small
lights, improperly laid out, that illuminate the diary, placing shadows on
things that were, are, and might have been. Birthday cakes, king’s crown, little
red heart above “#Tamil Pride,” parents and loving family embraced in that one special
moment.
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| D' Lo |
Upstate center, more writing, but now projections, looking
like scratches on a medical professional tablet, except for
“1) folly… (Good thing I’m single),
2) …. I ≠ in 8 w Mass, I’m in.”
“? Masculinity Beautiful in
– Dick – Transition”
And all around there are words, thousand of words that make
a life, but only for someone willing to stop a moment and read. Which leads us
to stage right, of baby pictures, pictures of sisters, beautiful loving
sisters, and an obtrusive mic suspended and ready to be reached, to project,
and make a point.
From the skylight above, peacefully, soft lights hang from
the ceiling and burn like wickless candles, a faint flicker of something that
was, that might have been, that moves on to another stage.
These are all a marvelous accouterment to a brilliant
evening of theatre of a life, from a person who will not give up to tell his
part of a wonderful story – all in a somewhat linear fashion – divided by
thoughts that flash from the edges of a steady stream of consciousness.
And there D’ Lo stands, telling us his life, a life, one
life, of being someone special, different, but the same as you and me, all told
from another perspective, his perspective.
“D’Lo is a
queer/transgender Tamil-Sri Lankan-American interdisciplinary artist…” – The
program.
The night starts out with D’Lo coming out like a rock star
with a hoodie draped over his head, styled as an urbane hip hop artists ready
to shout lyrics to this capacity crowd.
But that was not to be as D’ Lo explains: “I don’t talk like
that.”
Now, D’ Lo’s voice is calm and in a higher range, his face
clement, an ethereal beauty, in his manner and presentation. He tells us this night is going to be
different, here on the stage, he is going to do this, this part of the stage is slam poetry, and this part is his
family.
And overall, the night is filled with rhyme, fun filled
dramas, heartbreaking intense events in his life. The night, in short, is an emotional story of
color and light of how one is treated after a lifestyle is presented in full
living color.
Little is said about D’ Lo’s relationship to other women,
they come, they have a relationship, and then someone is thrown out, usually D’
Lo. One would like a few more details to
even out the night.
That said, D’ Lo is a splendid performer who manages to
bring his entire family to full light. The father and mother are both marvelous
characters richly portrayed complete with faults of their own. One scene, with
her sister, has her kissing her “girl doll” a little too long and being
embarrassed by it.
“Only bad people have sex!” – D’ Lo
Ken Sawyer, the
director, does a fantastic job turning bit of pieces of D’ Lo’s life and giving
it a structure, a movement, a time and a place saying don’t be alarmed this is
a story of a man with a different perspective, but in another reality, normal, a
new normal.
Other members of this delightful crew are as follows:
Matt Richter –
Lighting Designer
Patricia Sutherland
– Production Manager
Adam Earle –
Board Operator
Kathleen Jaffee –
Stage Manager
Caitlin Rucker –
Electrics
Ken Werther Publicity
– Press Relations
Norman Cox –
House Manager
Jon Imparato – Director,
Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center
Katie Poltz –
Program Manager, Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center
Matt Walker –
Coordinator, Lily Tomlin/JHane Wagner Cultural Arts Center
Norman Cox, Giorgis
Despotakis, Dominic Fury, Josh Goldman, Sofia Varona – Box Office Staff
Jon Imparato
makes it a point to welcome everyone to the Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Arts Center
and particularly to The Davidson/Valentini Theatre. This is one of the best intimate theatres in
town.
Run! Run! Run!
And take someone with a wild imagination who likes to dress up.
Davidson/Valentini Theatre
1125 N. McCadden Place
Hollywood, CA
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| D' Lo |
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