STRONG FEMALE PROTAGONIST - A Queer Solo Performance By Wayne Bund Opens 2/23

Strong Female Protagonist, a comedic, queer solo performance that prioritizes the power of femininity and sass, premieres in its first full-length staging, presented in association with Risk/Reward and PNCA.

Little Wayne grows up wanting to be a pop diva. When he grows up and becomes a drag queen called Feyonce, he struggles with self-doubt about where his inspiration comes from and is taken to an appropriation fantasy. He is judged by Judith Butler, his ego, and his mother, until he lets go of his dreams and finds a new lineage. One-part autobiography, one-part 1980s nostalgia, one-part drag fantasy, this queer solo performance celebrates the powerful feminine role models we all admire.

Wayne Bund has been exploring the character of Feyonce since 2009, with appearances at Disjecta, Linfield College, Homomentum (Fez Ballroom and Egyptian Room), Blow Pony, Seattle Art Museum's REMIX (Olympic Sculpture Park), and 100 Performances in the Hole (SOMArts). "Sass Manifesto," which was featured in the Risk/Reward Festival of New Performance in 2013 and was also performed at On the Boards in Seattle as part of their Northwest New Works festival. His work as a photographer and visual installation artist has been exhibited regionally in Seattle, San Francisco, throughout Portland, and beyond.

Since Feyonce's Risk/Reward Festival premiere in 2013, we've been anticipating the next time we'd see that fiery, fierce, bold beauty back on a Risk/Reward stage. In partnership with PNCA, and through a well-deserved 2017 RACC grant, Feyonce is bringing her sass BACK with a brand-new piece about love, loss, and female power.

Wayne Bund is a visual artist, performer, writer, and educator living in Portland, OR. His multi-discipline practice includes photography, performance, video, painting, and playwriting. His works and performances have been exhibited nationally and internationally at venues such as Seattle Art Museum, On the Boards, and Gage Academy of Art in Seattle, the Ludlow Festival in the UK, SOMarts in San Francisco, and Risk/Reward, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, the Q-Center, Pacific Northwest College of Art, East End, PLACE PDX Gallery, and c*ckGallery in Portland. Bund's practice has received attention in print and online from Bad at Sports, the Oregonian, The Willamette Week, the Stranger, Artforum, and Portland Monthly. He has taught classes at Pacific Northwest College of Art, and the Independent Publishing Resource Center in Portland, and the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology in Otis. He has received grants from the Ford Family Foundation, WESTAF Foundation, the Oregon Arts Commission, and the Regional Arts and Culture Council. He served with Teach for America from 2004-2006, and is a 1999 Ford Family Foundation Scholar. He currently works as a First Grade Teacher in Portland. www.waynecbund.com

To post a comment, you must register and login.