Persephone Theatre Bringing Back 48-hour Queermunity Theatre Race
Saskatoon, SK – In celebration of Pride Month, Persephone Theatre is hosting the third annual 48-hour Queermunity Theatre Race June 6-9, 2024.
“We’re excited to kick off the third year of Queermunity at Persephone,” said Olivia Swerhone-Wick, Marketing Associate and co-organizer of the event. “We look forward to creating a space for artists in our community to come together and feel joy and celebrate themselves. It may seem like high stakes, but it’s mostly about celebrating identity and being visible. Here’s our voices, listen.”
Queermunity has become an annual staple at Persephone Theatre. It is open to all in the Saskatoon Queer community (2SLGBTQIA+ and their allies).
“I am thrilled to sense the excitement and joy that these young people at being able to be part of a group where they can celebrate their identities and express themselves in ways that are rooted less in fear and more in fearlessness,” added Mike McCoy, Co-Chair of the Saskatoon Diversity Network Inc. (Saskatoon Pride). “Thank you and Persephone Theatre for providing the safe space for this program and for all the work that you do for our community.”
There was a registration process for the event, where people were encouraged to assemble their own teams to participate in June to create a Queer-centric performance in just 48 hours. This year’s teams are Typical Tokens With Nothing of Note, The Snapdragons, The Chokecherries, and Shenanigays.
The teams are excited to come back to the event each year. Nissan Gordon is part of The Chokecherries team and said they first signed up to be part of Queermunity for two reasons.
“(First) I thought the challenge of writing and performing a play in two days would be thrilling, which it was,” Gordon said. “Second, I signed up because it was a great opportunity not only to participate in the arts, which I love, but to connect with both the queer community and the arts community in a big way.”
Having an opportunity to perform at Persephone is also a huge draw for community members like Gordon.
“For me, Persephone has always held so much prestige, it’s almost bigger than life,” they said. “If you would’ve asked me a few years ago if I thought I’d ever be able to perform there I’d have said no.
“Persephone is such a big part of the arts community that having fun and innovative queer events sets the bar for others.”
Since Queermunity is growing every year, this year Persephone is pleased to welcome actor, singer, writer, and drag king, Titus Androgynous as host.
“Having a Toronto based performer like Titus come to host is a very cool way to bring queer theatre and performance in this country together into the spotlight here at home,” Swerhone-Wick said.
On June 6, teams will meet to receive inspiration packages, which will contain three to five items they need to incorporate into their play. In 48 hours, they will then need to write and rehearse a 10-minute performance.
“Writing and performing a brand-new performance piece in just 48 hours helps to spur the teams into action – the adrenaline kicks in and the ideas start flowing,” said Kristi Friday, Artistic Associate and co-organizer of the event. “It’s really cool to watch a team find its own way of collaborating with one another. And fun is definitely had – one team last year had a sleepover and pulled an all-nighter while creating!”
Last year, Queermunity was expanded to two public performances, something Persephone will be continuing this year. The public can join in on the fun to watch on June 8 at 7:30 p.m. and June 9 at 2 p.m. – giving more people to see the product of their hard work and join in the celebration of Pride Month.
Gordon hopes the Saskatoon community will come out to join the fun by watching the performances this year.
“I would recommend the event to anyone,” they said. “It’s a really fun, really silly exhibition of all the skilled artists we have in Saskatoon and has never failed to bring both comedy and drama.
“Queermunity has fostered connection in a really meaningful way for me and others and I hope it continues for a very long time.”
Tickets to the performances are $20 in advance, with Pay What You Choose available at the door. Proceeds from tickets sales will go to Saskatoon Pride Home.
Pride is a celebration of the 2SLGBTQIA+ members of Persephone Theatre’s community. Pride is also a protest, which ensures the fight for equal rights and visibility for all genders and sexualities continues. Social stigma still impacts the lives of trans and queer people around the world and Persephone believes celebrating Pride is one way we can all work towards eradicating the stigma.
More information can be found HERE
