Friday August 13
OBERON, 2 Arrow St, Harvard Sq, Cambridge MA
doors 10:30 pm • 18+
Tickets: here

Featuring Heywood Wakefield (and his ex-wife Sela Morehouse), Becca d’Bus, Frieda Fries, Madge of Honor, Johnny Blazes, resident DJ Kat Fyte and guest performers Systyr Act.

SPECIAL ONE DAY SALE!
Get up-front cabaret seats (usually $40) for only $20 when you use the code VIP1DAY from 12:01am until 11:59pm on Monday August 2nd ONLY

Join the JOHNNY BLAZES MAILING LIST or become my fan on FACEBOOK to get the discount code for get $5 off any ticket price, redeemable any time!

Check out our tour schedule and see if we’re coming to your town!  And be sure to check www.thefemmeshow.com for updates and last-minute-added shows!

Saturday August 14: Worcester, MA
Lucky Dog Lounge, 89 Green St
3 pm• $10

Sunday August 15: Albany, NY
Steamer 10 Theatre, 500 Western Ave
9:30 pm

Tuesday August 17: Pittsburgh, PA
Shadow Lounge, 5972 Baum Blvd
6:30 pm • $5-10 sliding scale

Wednesday August 18: Philadelphia, PA
Studio 34, 4522 Baltimore Ave
9 pm • $10
Lesbian Dorkestra opens!

Thursday August 19: Philadelphia, PA
Giovanni’s Room, 345 South 12th St
7 pm
*a special evening of femme smut and other readings to benefit Giovanni’s Room, a queer Philly bookstore!

Friday August 20: Washington, D.C., TBA!

Saturday August 21: Baltimore, MD
The Windup Space, 10-12 W. North Ave
8 pm • $8

Saturday, July 24th
7:00PM-10:00PM
Cambridge Y Theatre, Cambridge MA
Donation: $13-$50

Savor the goodness…
*FAIRY and ANGEL CARD READINGS by the gifted Cat Waltzer
*CHAIR MASSAGE
*A SILENT AUCTION featuring local wears and services by the area’s most talented healers and artisans.

Featuring Performances by:

*The gender-bending genius JOHNNY BLAZES
*Tribal Fusion goodness of JESI (producer of Super Sassy!)
*A sword dance by TROUPE MOIRAE (these ladies are ridiculous)
*TH’ BONES & ROSES SIDESHOW CIRCUS (needs to be seen to be believed)
*ROGUE BURLESQUE (burlesque + humor = AWESOME!)
*Solo by NARAYA (a rare and wonderful thing!)
*VADALNA TRIBAL DANCE COMPANY
*Living Statue work by the stunning SAMARA
…….and much more!

RSVP to the Facebook event here

FEATURES:

Stuff Magazine “Rising Stars”: http://stuffboston.com/photos/stuff/category9682/picture282931.aspx

INTERVIEWS:

Gay RVA “Hir Say”: http://www.gayrva.com/2010/05/03/hir-say-interviewing-johnny-blazes/

Qtown VA “Cabaret, theatre, queerness– oh my!”: http://qtownva.com/tag/transgender/ (Scroll down for my interview)

MENTIONS:

Boston Globe feature on Dr Sketchy’s “Drawing attention”: http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2010/07/09/dr_sketchys_combines_art_with_spirit_of_burlesque/

Boston Globe review of Mischief in the Machine: http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2008/06/03/the_spirit_of_mischief_lies_in_flights_of_fancy/

Portland Phoenix blurb on my collaboration w/ Katie Diamond: http://thephoenix.com/BLOGS/abouttown/archive/2010/03/30/johnny-blazes-wo-n-man-show.aspx

Portland Phoenix review of TraniWreck “Drag city”: http://portland.thephoenix.com/Topic/Drag+City.aspx?rel=inf

Providence Phoenix review of Anti-Poetry Slam “Bring us your worst…”: http://providence.thephoenix.com/Music/45900-%E2%80%98Bring-us-your-worst-/?rel=inf

RADIO:

Touch Our Monkey Show segment on The Femme Show: http://touchourmonkey.com/files/immcast/168/The_Femme_Show_Interview.mp3

NPR segment on Le Cabaret Grimm: http://www.wbur.org/media-player?url=http://www.wbur.org/2010/04/08/experimental-theater&title=Despite+Grim+Moments%2C+Experimental+%26%238216%3BLe+Cabaret+Grimm%26%238217%3B+Rolls+Along&segment=experimental-theater&pubdate=2010-04-08

There are a few items in the article that I’d like to address.

Firstly, I was misquoted.  I’m quoted as calling myself: “A double triple threat. Singing, dancing, acting, circus arts, and drag.”  What I actually said was: “I like to call myself a double triple threat: singing/acting/dancing; circus arts/drag/burlesque.”  Not a huge misprint—but I don’t want my fans to go around thinking I can’t do math. Two times three is not five, it’s six.  For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a “triple threat” is someone who acts, sings and dances—usually in the musical theater genre.  I like to think that the cabaret equivalent to the triple threat is doing  drag, burlesque and circus arts.  Hence, double triple threat.

Secondly, I have never in my life packed with “a black sock.”  I’m not sure what the reporter thought she saw; I was wearing black socks earlier in the day, so perhaps she saw those in the pile of discarded costumes and made a leap of logic about what was in my drawers.  So, if you are one of the many who are still wondering whether I use a soft pack or my junk is homegrown, fear not, the mystery shall not be revealed: you may go on wondering.  Just don’t imagine anybody’s socks in my drawers, please, that’s not my thing.

Lastly, I’m sure you can’t have failed to notice the use of the pronoun “she” to describe me.  This happened because the author’s editor cited “style issues” and insisted that I choose one of the “traditional” pronouns.  I chose to be called “she” because, as I told Cate, “my stage persona at the moment is a rather feminine one, and it makes sense to me that if I’m going to be squeezed into a binary that I go with the option that fits my current characters.  I also experience privilege and oppression in many of the same ways that women do, so being called “he” assigns me power that I don’t have.”  However, in the article, Cate mentions that I “acceded” to feminine pronouns without any context for that concession, and mentions that I prefer to be referred to by gender neutral pronouns without ever naming what those pronouns are.

In response to this last issue, I believe that letters to the editor are in order.  Please join me in writing to the Editor of the Boston Globe encouraging them to rethink their exclusion of gender neutral pronouns from their style guide.  At the bottom of this post you’ll find instructions on how to reach the editor.  Below is my own letter.

To the Editor of The Boston Globe:

I would like to clarify the circumstances under which I “acceded to the feminine pronoun,” as reported in “Drawing attention” (Page G18, July 9).  The author, Cate McQuaid, told me in an email that my request to be referred to by gender neutral pronouns could not be honored by the Globe because of “style” issues.  Although I cannot address issues of style, I can address issues of respect and accurate reporting.  In my community, it is respectful to refer to individuals by the names and pronouns with which they feel most comfortable.  For me, those pronouns are ze (subject pronoun) and hir (direct object).  This has nothing to do with the biology of my body, but instead with my gender expression.  As McQuaid quotes in an otherwise very good article, “I don’t come down on one side or the other.”  Thus it is not only disrespectful but also inaccurate to call me she, as she doesn’t describe my gender.

I urge you to change your stance on gender neutral pronouns.  You will not estrange any readers by explaining and using them, but you do estrange many readers (more than you might think) by forcing people to choose pronouns that do not fit them.

Best,
Johnny Blazes

To submit a letter to the editor
e-mail letter@globe.com or use their form.

Letters may be sent by regular mail to this address:

Letters to the Editor
The Boston Globe
P.O. Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819

Or by fax to (617) 929-2098

Please include your full name, address, and a telephone number for confirmation purposes. Letters should be 200 words or less and are subject to condensation.

Well, in any case, this is going to be one hell of a show.  TraniWreck is, as always, Boston’s BEST all gender, all genre, variety/cabaret mess– a raucous, rabble-rousing exhibition of gender-bending irreverence.  Featuring your favorites drag stars Heywood Wakefield, Becca d’Bus, Frieda Fries, Madge of Honor and Johnny Blazes.

TraniWreck GOLD III
Friday July 16
doors 10:30 pm
OBERON
2 Arrow St, Harvard Sq, Cambridge MA
Tickets $15-30 in advance, $5 more at the door
Get tickets at: https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pe/8289975

Get on the Johnny Blazes monthly email list to get a $5 discount! Contact me here to sign up for the list and I’ll send you the code!

This all-star cast will feature:
Jamez Terry of the Tranny Roadshow [spoken word/performance art]
Bri Broken [often-sexy poetry/spoken word/righteous indignation]
Rob Crean [old-timey stand-up comedy]
& emceed by Johnny Blazes [wordcraft/glittery goodness/possible surprises]

Duæling Scorpio Studios presents

the Skewed & Screwed Revue
Saturday, July 3rd | 7:30-9:30 PM
at the Lily Pad
1353 Cambridge Street | Inman Square | Cambridge, MA
Tickets: $10.50 in advance | $12 at the door
Each ticket purchased at the door gets 1 FREE raffle ticket.
Each advance ticket purchased gets 2 FREE raffle tickets!

Tickets at: http://bit.ly/befzrB
More info on the Facebook invite

Last chance to see me perform in June!  I’ll be heading to San Diego next week for a teaching gig, and won’t be hitting the stage again until July.  Join me for a VERY FULL evening of revelry with my dear friends Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band and The Boston Circus Guild!  I’ll be hosting and performing, so you’ll get plenty of face time with me…

Summer Saturnalia
Thursday June 17
doors 8 pm, show 8:30 pm
Tickets $15 in advance, $20 at the door
Contact me for the DISCOUNT CODE

Celebrate summer in style with
An evening of dance, debauchery and delight
A gathering of spirits, sprites, libertines and revelers
Tempting, enticing, mysterious and arcane

Summer is here and with it a spirit of fun & frolic! The Boston Circus Guild invites you to celebrate the season with an astounding evening of music, dance, burlesque and circus artists galore! This is no ordinary variety show, this is a Summer Saturnalia!!!

For one magical evening see some of the most talented artists in New England transform Club Oberon into a bohemian bacchanalia! Enter a world that conjures forth old time carnivals, mysterious vagabonds, beguiling pageants & profane revelries. Come for the carousing and merrymaking and be entranced by the full coterie of artists.

BE A PART OF THE REVELRY!
Creative attire encouraged or come as you are!
Wear your formal, fantastical or flamboyant finery
Cabaret, Circus, Steampunk, Goth, Gypsy,
Faerie, Fetish, Disco, Pirate, Ninja
Anything goes, just come dressed to party!

Featuring Encanti, Boston Circus Guild, Dominique Immora, Eliza Blaze, Mortal Beasts and Deities, Rogue Burlesque, A Different Spin, Vadalna Tribal Dance Co. and many others!

Please contact PhinLi Bookings LLC with inquiries.  bookings (at) phinli (dot) com

Some programs I offer:

-My evening-length one-person vaudevillian performance “wo(n)man show”

-Workshops in drag performance, circus arts, and other performance-related topics

-3 or 7 Day Residencies in clowning/object manipulation, leading up to a class performance

-Hosting and performing for student drag shows/parties

-Guest lecture/demonstrations in Gender and Women’s Studies and Performance-based classes