Atlanta Fringe Presents LGBTQ Performances To Celebrate Pride October 8-9, 2021

To celebrate Pride month Atlanta Fringe has partnered with Metropolitan Studios to present "A Queer Day's Night," a two-day lineup of LGBTQ performances October 8-9. The lineup includes cabaret and burlesque performances, a feel-good TED Talk-style comedy performance celebrating gay history, a panel discussion featuring queer artists, and a virtual drag story time.

Atlanta Fringe Festival veteran artist and Atlanta native Will Nolan will perform "Gay History for Straight People," where his alter ego Leola, a Kelly Clarkson-obsessed, redneck senior-citizen lesbian, breaks down "the wonderful world of gayness; taking audiences on a guided tour through the alphabet from Anal Beads to Unicorns." Winner of the 2020 BroadwayWorld Cabaret Award for Best Spoken Word, a 2019 review said of Gay History: "when [audiences] weren't laughing and spit taking into [their] cosmos [they] were cheering and applauding."

Metropolitan Studios, home of the Atlanta School of Burlesque and the award-winning burlesque troupe The Candybox Revue, will host "A Big Queer Cabaret!" featuring local and regional burlesque, drag, and visual artists. They will also play host to "COLORFUL: A Queer Arts Panel" a panel discussion featuring a variety of artists from spoken word to performance art. Artists have led the creative charge for LGBTQ Rights over the years through their shaping of social views, sexual and gender norms and more. This panel discussion will center on the intersection of Queerness and Art and how its impact is far reaching.

Local comedian and drag performer Brent Star will host a free family-friendly Drag Storytime virtual event where he'll read children's stories live on Facebook for viewers to watch from anywhere. Star hosts his own show at the Laughing Skull comedy club in Atlanta, has won Best Comedian for local magazine GA VOICE for more than seven years in a row, and was a featured extra in Netflix's 2018 "Dumplin'.

Tickets are $25 for "Gay History for Straight People" and $35-$30 for "A Big Queer Cabaret." Attendees can purchase tickets to both events and save $10. Tickets can be purchased here. The Drag Storytime virtual event and the panel discussion are free. Performances will take place at Metropolitan Studios, located in East Atlanta Village at 1259 Metropolitan Ave SE, Atlanta, GA 30316. COVID-19 protocols: All attendees will be required to show proof of vaccination before admittance. Masks are required of all attendees and staff, while artists will perform mask-less. Anyone unable or uncomfortable attending in person, will have the opportunity to purchase access to recorded videos of the programs after the event.

Schedule:

Friday, October 8

7:00 p.m. Gay History for Straight People with Leola Ladyland

9:00 p.m. A Big Queer Cabaret!

Saturday, October 9

2:00 p.m. Drag Storytime with Brent Star via Facebook Live

5:00 p.m. COLORFUL: A Queer Arts Panel Discussion

7:00 p.m. Gay History for Straight People with Leola Ladyland

9:00 p.m. A Big Queer Cabaret!

Learn more at www.atlantafringe.org.