Feminist Performers - Interviews, reviews and profiles of feminist performers (Blog)

Statement:

What is this blog about?

This blog is about feminist poets, comedians, musicians, actors, dancers, cabaret and burlesque artists, and performers of all kinds. I’ll be reviewing and interviewing some of the many wonderful feminist performers out there. I’ll mostly focus on those who are not yet very well-known, because you can find out about the rest elsewhere.

As well as telling you the basics of who performs what and where, I’ll also explore questions such as:

How do feminist performers use humour in their work? In what ways are feminism and comedy in tension, and in what ways do they support one another?
What is it like to be a feminist performer in a male-dominated area such as slam poetry or stand-up?
What kinds of events and spaces are feminist performers to be found at? What are their experiences of different kinds of spaces?
Can performance art be a form of activism? How does it connect with other forms of activism?

Who counts as a feminist performer?

I’ll be writing about people whose performance relates to gender or feminism in some way, as opposed to people who happen to be both feminists and performers. If you do loads of feminist activism but your act consists of songs about kittens, that’s great, but you probably won’t be featured here.

While my main focus will be on gender, I try to be alert to other forms of oppression. I won’t promote someone as a feminist performer if I believe their work perpetuates damaging attitudes to any marginalised group. I’m looking for feminists with an awareness of intersectionality.

Who is this blog for?

This blog will be a resource for:

aspiring performers wanting to learn from others’ experiences
feminist event organisers looking for entertainers who will maintain a safe space for their guests
feminists looking for an entertaining night out, where the “comedy” doesn’t rely on oppression
anyone who’s tired of hearing that feminists have no sense of humour. I plan to provide plenty of evidence to the contrary!

Who is this blog by?

I was one of the founding members of queer feminist burlesque collective Lashings of Ginger Beer Time. In my three years with Lashings, I have written, performed and produced more burlesque shows than I can count, and I’ve been fortunate enough to share a stage with many talented performers. I’m going to be talking to some of the amazing people I have already met, and seeking out more.

How can I get myself/my favourite feminist performer featured here?

Contact me at annfeministperformers [dot] com and if I like the sound of what you do I will see if I can arrange to get to a performance and meet up for an interview. I only include performers on the index or write blog posts about them if I have seen their work, judge it to be feminist, and would recommend it. Performers who are feminist individuals won’t necessarily be included if their show isn’t particularly feminist in content. However, if I have seen you and haven’t included you yet, that doesn’t mean I’ve judged your work unsuitable! I may have just not got around to it yet (this is a work in progress!) so please do get in touch and remind me.

The events calendar and the twitter and facebook accounts associated with this blog do give information about shows I haven’t seen, so I’m happy to plug feminist shows there.

That sounds great! How can I support this project?

Thank you! You can support Feminist Performers by:

inviting featured performers to your events
recommending performers to be included on the website
telling me about relevant events to put on the calendar
linking other people to this site
if you’re feeling really generous, you can donate towards paying for the time and work that goes into running this site. As well as giving my time, I’m currently paying the cost of travelling to and attending events out of my own pocket, so any contributions towards those costs are very gratefully received!