March 2008
New Book of Poems for 2008
Alan's new book of poems, undone, is going to be self-published in 2008. For an excerpt, click here..January 2007
Alan in New Antero Alli Film The Mind Is a Liar and a Whore
Alan has a lead role as Blake, a gulf-war vet landlord, in Antero Alli's seventh feature film, The Mind Is a Liar and a Whore. World Premiere THURSDAY JAN. 25, 8pm, at 21 GRAND, 416 25th St. (at Broadway) Oakland. $7-12. Filmmaker in person. San Francisco Premiere SATURDAY FEB. 3, 8pm, at A.T.A., 992 Valencia (at 21st St) San Francisco.
$6. Filmmaker in person. Synopsis: The routines of four roomates, a live-in boyfriend and their visiting landlord are unexpectedly interrupted by the news of an alleged bioterrorist attack in their city. Ona, a webcast diva with her own show, thinks the feds are staging this attack to shift into a full-blown police state. Her roomies think she's paranoid. During a 48-hour citywide biohazard lockdown, they are all forced to come to their own conclusions about what is happening during their current state
of escalating uncertainty. View the trailer by clicking here.February 2006
BAD GAYS! the Movie!
BAD GAYS! is underway as a script in 2006-2007, with plans to be a film in 2008.Watch this space for more information!
September 2005
BAD GAYS! at Jon Sims Center for the Arts for September...plus a Few Appearances!
BAD GAYS!, Alan's new comedic performance piece about life and love inside a backstreet bathhouse, is playing FRIDAYS, SATURDAYS, and SUNDAYS, SEPTEMBER 9 through OCTOBER 1, at the Jon Sims Center for the Arts in San Francisco. Friday and Saturday shows are at 8:00 p.m.; Sunday shows are at 6:00 p.m.; there is no show on Sunday October 2. This version of BAD GAYS! will feature all the characters, all the hilarity, and all the go-go men, with the added benefit of being directed by Jon Lowe. For more information, go to the Jon Sims BAD GAYS! Page or the BAD GAYS! page on this site.Alan will also be appearing at the QComedy Monday Night Showcase, at the SF LGBT Center, 1800 Market Street, San Francisco, on Monday, September 12 at 7:30 p.m.
He is also the featured reader at the queer open-mic event Smack Dab, at Magnet, 4122 18th Street in San Francisco's Castro district, on Wednesday, October 19 at 8:00 p.m.
August 2005
COCOVISION! with Ray Ferrer a Sims Center Success
Saturday, August 20, Alan helped celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the Jon Sims Center for the Arts' AIRspace artist-in-residence program. As part of the events for this occasion, humorist Ray Ferrer appeared as Cuban spitfire Coco Lopez in COCOVISION! In this talk show gone wrong, Coco took a groundbreaking look at gay life in San Francisco, and she talked to some actual Z-list BAD GAYS!, all played by Alan. Coco struggled to regain control of her talk show gone wild as the guests took the show in their own racy directions. Thanks to the fabulous audience who showed up that night!June 2005
BAD GAYS! Premiered at Eros July 20, 2005
BAD GAYS!, Alan's new comedic performance piece about life and love inside a backstreet bathhouse, premiered in its entirety at Club Eros on Wednesday, July 20. It was a packed house and a great audience!February 2005
Alan Channeled the "BAD GAYS!" at Eros in San Francisco
BAD GAYS!, Alan's new piece about life and love inside a backstreet bathhouse, was excerpted as part of an erotic performance cabaret at an actual sex club in San Francisco, Club Eros. Produced as part of a new erotic reading series by poet and DJ Jamez Smith, it happened Wednesday, March 9. BAD GAYS! was also excerpted on Saturday, February 18, 2005, at the PAWS Lit-bear-ary Festival, part of IBR, San Francisco, sponsored by Ron Suresha.October 2004
Alan in I Do/I Don't
Alan appears in the anthology I Do/I Don't: Queers on Marriage, released by Suspect Thoughts Press. Alan is honored to be included among such noted writers as Dorothy Allison, Margaret Cho, Patricia Nell Warren, and many, many others. Give it a read, as it is the most comprehensive compendium of discussion on queer marriage from within the queer community.Also coming up: BAD GAYS!, Alan's new comedy about life and love inside a backstreet bathhouse. Just in case you need an antidote to all this gay-marriage talk! A premiere in San Francisco is in the works, so watch this space.
December 2003
A Year Off from Art
Alan took a year off from art projects to work on several technical/creative projects for Adobe Systems Inc.June 2003
Alan's Film Debut in "Under A Shipwrecked Moon"
Alan plays nursing intern Carl in Antero Alli's newest film "Under A Shipwrecked Moon." The film debuts Thursday May 29, 9 p.m., at CELLspace in San Francisco, and Friday June 13, 8 p.m., 911 Media Arts Center in Seattle. For more information on those and other screening dates on the West Coast, click here!
February 2003
Alan in a Film
Alan has a small part in an independent film that has yet to be announced. Preliminary release dates for the project are May 2003. Alan is shooting his scenes in the Bay Area for week in February, visiting San Francisco from Seattle once again.January 2003
Poem in Online Magazine Verisimilitude
The poem "Holiday at the Baths" appears in the first issue of Verisimilitude, an online "Cultural Quarterly for Engaging Masculinities," the brainchild of Bear History Project founder Les Wright.September 2002
Columbus and NYC were Touched....
On September 12 and 13, Alan presented Touched by a Monster at MadLab Theatre, Columbus, Ohio, as a double bill on the 12th with Neal and Deb Havener's film called "Kill, Ratboy, Kill" and on the 13th with the band Wigglepussy, Indiana. Then on September 23, 24, and 25, Alan presented the performance at Surf Reality in New York City, as a double bill with upcoming New York dancer and performance artist Anne GadwaJuly 2002
Alan Premiered Bear-A-Go-Go 2002! at Club Fab in Guerneville, CA
On Thursday, July 18, Alan premiered an updated version of his hit show, Bear-A-Go-Go 2002! for Lazy Bear Weekend. The show was at Club Fab in Guerneville, CA, about 70 miles north of San Francisco. Alan updated the piece with new characters since its successful run at the National Queer Arts Festival in June of 2001, and the house
was packed. John Caldera provided terrific go-go dancing between sets. The movie "Leather Jacket Love Story" was also shown. The next night, Alan also appeared in "Viva Variety Lazy Bear," also at Club Fab, and that show benefited Lazy Bear Weekend Charities. The fabulous night featured Tom Orr, Peggy L'Eggs, Mark Wiegle,
Matthew Martin, Janis Lipton, Danny Williams, and the Whoa Nellies and was hosted by San Francisco's hottest producer, Steve Murray. For more information, click here.
June 2002
In-Store Appearance at Tower Records, San Francisco
On Friday, June 21, at 3:00 p.m., Alan appeared at Tower Records, 660 3rd Street (a few blocks toward downtown from Pac Bell Stadium) to promote his CD "4 Seasons in a Day." Alan did the show as "Monster Folk Songs" in his mask from Touched by a Monster. CDs are available there for sale.May 2002
Fetish Nite in Vancouver, B.C.
On May 25, Alan read a new erotic piece at Fetish Nite, at the Body Perve Social Club, Vancouver, B.C. His gay piece was received with mixed reviews by the mostly straight crowd.Alan Premiered Touched by a Monster at Western Front in Vancouver, B.C.
On May 24, Alan premiered the full version of Touched by a Monster at Western Front, Vancouver, B.C. This is the arts center that commissioned the piece, and he performed the full multimedia version of the show that night, having workshopped it at Zeitgeist in New Orleans in April. The piece was received with glowing accolades from the small but devoted audience.Alan and John Presented "The Bearded Lady Cabernet," A Cabaret in Progress!
On May 18, Alan and John Ashfield premiered part of a cabaret piece they are developing together called "The Bearded Lady Cabernet Reads Your Cards" at the Odeon Bar in the Mission District of San Francisco, as part of a new series there, "Tiki Drinks and Card Tricks." Essentially, Alan, as "The Lady" (a washed-up 50s-ish lounge singer on a combination
of male and female hormones, Prozac, and various substances) mangles pop standards beautifully but peculiarly played by the multi-instrumental Ashfield--such as a waltz version of Prince's "Kiss."
April 2002
Oxygen Bar Fun
Alan excerpted his album "4 Seasons in a Day" in an acoustic set with guitarist and songwriter John Ashfield on Tuesday, April 23, at SAFE, the fabulous bimonthly event hosted by DJ Jamez at Oxygen Bar in San Francisco. Alan's and John's albums are both available on Pop Squared Records. Oxygen Bar is located at 795 Valencia St. (Valencia & 19th), San Francisco, and the phone is 415.255.2102.Alan Workshopped Touched by a Monster in New Orleans
Alan premiered an initial version of Touched by a Monster April 12, 13, and 14, 2002 at Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center in New Orleans. This performance was a chance for him to workshop the piece before it goes to Western Front in Vancouver, B.C. (the space that commissioned the piece), this May. Alan also performed Bear-A-Go-Go! for one night as a benefit for Zeitgeist on April 11.March 2002
"4 Seasons in a Day" CD Release Party March 30!
Alan's concept album about life in San Francisco, "4 Seasons in a Day," has been released! The double CD launch, with John Ashfield (who released his own album, "Harmony Bunny") and John's band the Bobbleheads, took place March 30, 2002, at Amnesia in San Francisco's Mission district. For more information, click here.
February 2002
Alan Excerpted Touched by a Monster at Urban Ch@os Benefit February 22
Spike00 productions presented Urban Ch@os, a benefit for Paper Tiger TV, New Neutral Zone, and Fierce. Events included DJ Spike spinning indie and punk sounds and the screening of short films from the Queer Film Club in Seattle, plus three short films by Paper Tiger TV. Seeley Quest and Roger Pinnell also read. The event took place at ATA, 992 Valencia St. @ 21st, San Francisco, CA 94110, tel. (415) 824-3890. Click here for more information!Appearance at "LitBEARary Salon" February 17
On Sunday, February 17, Alan reprised a few segments of his hit 2001 show Bear-A-Go-Go! at the LitBEARary Salon, a reading, reception, and book-signing event, hosted by dynamic editor and writer Ron Suresha (his newest tomes being Bears on Bears and Bearotica, both available from Alyson Publications). Also appearing were Jonathan Cohen, author of Bear Like Me, Daniel M. Jaffe, Andy Mangels, Karl von Uhl, and erotic writer Simon Sheppard. Ghirardelli Room, Ramada Plaza Civic Center. Sponsored by Alyson Publications and American Bear magazine. For more information, click here.December 2001
Alan Wins Trophy at GLAM SLAM 2001 in NYC
The House of Xavier, headed by Emanuel Xavier and hosted by Mother Diva Xavier, held its 3RD ANNUAL GLAM SLAM, which showcased poetry, fashion, and music at the NYC hotspot, Cheetah. Alan connected with some folks who he participated with in Emanuel's "Realness & Rhythms" series when he lived in NYC nearly four years ago. The evening featured an open poetry slam competition, and Alan read his new poem "The Haunted Sex Club" in the "BEST EROTIC POEM IN SEXY UNDERWEAR OR LINGERIE" category, winning the trophy for that category! Proceeds from the event benefited the New York Peer AIDS Education Coalition, an organization that teaches youth about HIV prevention. The judges included indie movie actor Guillermo Diaz ("Party Girl," "Stonewall," "200 Cigarettes"), Lorie Caval (Paper, Next), and Willie Ninja, the fierce dancer featured in the movie "Paris Is Burning." For more information on other events that include participants in the Glam Slam, click here.November 2001
Alan Appeared in VIVA VARIETY XXI Benefit
After a fun time at VIVA VARIETY's Road Show in Guerneville in mid-October, Alan appeared in Make It So Productions' VIVA VARIETY XXI on Tuesday, November 13th, 8:00 p.m., Theatre Rhino, San Francisco. The show was a benefit for Tenderloin AIDS Resource Center (TARC), whose mission is to serve the frequently forgotten, often homeless residents of the Tenderloin with respect, compassion, and resources for a better life. VIVA VARIETY XXI featured drag performance artist Precious Moments, Pippi Lovestocking, and many other talented people. Hosted by Steve Murray. For pictures of that show, click here!October 2001
On the Road with VIVA VARIETY in Guerneville
Alan appeared in Make It So Productions' VIVA VARIETY XX: "The Road Show" on Saturday, October 13th, 9:00 p.m., Club Fab, Guerneville. The show was a benefit for Sonoma County Face to Face, whose mission is to provide compassionate care to people with HIV and their loved ones while promoting preventive education and responsive leadership to all the people of Sonoma County. VIVA VARIETY XX also featured eight other acts, including Peggy L'Eggs, the Whoa Nellies featuring Leigh Crow and Connie Champagne, and comic Scott Silverman. Hosted by Steve Murray. For pictures of that show, click here.August 2001
Four Seasons in a Day CD to be Released on Kuma Chan Records
The CD version of Four Seasons in a Day will be released and distributed by Kuma Chan Records, a newly founded Bay Area record label headed by Ed Boland, Phil Locke, and Hank Toet. "Kuma Chan" is Japanese for "little bear." Artists on the Kuma Chan label include singer-songwriter John Ashfield and rock group Ploughound. Some songs on the mostly spoken-word album will be produced by Boland himself. San Francisco songwriter and producer Ghetto Girl (aka Jeff Mitchell) is producing three of the songs on the 12-track album. In addition to pieces that feature reading and sound textures, a few of the tracks will have a rock flavor. To see more about the Kuma Chan label, go to the Kuma Chan web site. Four Seasons in a Day is expected to be released in early 2002.
July 2001
I have assembled poems and songs from my last two and a half years in the Bay Area (with a few from three and a half years ago, when I was still in New York) into a piece called "Four Seasons in a Day." Why the title? Well, the piece as a whole is about life in San Francisco, and there is a quote attributed to Bob Hope, "I love San Francisco! You get all four seasons here...in one day." (Bud-ump-bump.) There are twelve poems/songs, one for each month, each with a corresponding zodiac sign, starting with Scorpio (my sun sign) for the title piece. I plan to turn this into a CD available for purchase, along with the video of "Bear-A-Go-Go!", sometime this summer.
June 2001
Bear-A-Go-Go! Played in June as Part of NQAF 2001
A new version of my 1999 show, Bear-A-Go-Go!, played two times during the National Queer Arts Festival 2001 in June. This was part of the Best of AIRspace series sponsored by the Jon Sims Center for the Performing Arts, where I developed the piece two years ago. The two shows, on June 7 and 15, were well attended, and featured dancing from Derrick Benn, Jeff Mitchell, and Kevin Grgurevic. For more information on the Queer Cultural Center and the NQAF 2001, go here!
January 2001
Four Seasons in a Day
I presented the original version of "Four Seasons in a Day" at the beginning of 2001. Since then, there have been several rewrites and additions.
July 2000
Interview in Online Performance Poetry Magazine
Billy Marshall Stoneking's online Performance Poetry magazine presents many angles to the performance poetry world. I was the featured interview there this month. Take a look!June 2000
QCC's Month of Art
The Queer Cultural Center (QCC) here in San Francisco launched June 2000: A Month of Art. This online gallery event featured a Web-based artist a day for 31 days. I was the featured artist for June 14, 2000. Take a look by clicking here. This happened in conjunction with the National Queer Arts Festival 2000.
April 2000
VIVA VARIETY Benefit a Smash on March 21!
Make It So Productions' VIVA VARIETY VII was a variety show I performed in on Tuesday, March 21st, at Theatre Rhino in San Francisco. The show, hosted by series organizer Steve Murray, included me doing the "Mamabear" character from my 1999 show Bear-A-Go-Go! and featured many other great performers.This show was a benefit for LYRIC, a San Francisco-based community center for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth 23 and under.
March 2000
Alan Performed at "Bear Icons" in Boston on March 11th
Last March in Boston, I was part of the Bear Icons: Art + Artifacts of Queer Masculinity show. The show, co-curated by Les K. Wright, Ph.D., and TJ Norris, ran until March 19, 2000, in The Gallery at Mount Ida College (Carlson Student Center, 777 Dedham Street, Newton Centre, MA), and was part of the larger "Bear History" project Les has been putting together over the last several years. The Opening Reception was held Friday, March 10th. On the following evening, Saturday, March 11th, there was an Evening of Live Performance by three of us "bear-identified artists" (?), Ernie Lijoi, Martin Swinger, and myself (and emceed by co-curator TJ Norris) in the Auditorium adjacent to the gallery. For more information on art and artists in the show, click here.February 2000
MY2K
Here's an online art piece I did about the turn of the century in San Francisco: MY2K.
November 1999
"American Language" Launched
Bear-A-Go-Go! and Obliviotopia both closed in September 1999 to great reviews and terrific audiences! Thanks to all who made it possible!To find out more about the performance series that Obliviotopia is a part of, in my online book of live performances, click:
AMERICAN LANGUAGE
Alan Played VIVA VARIETY V Benefit!
Alan appeared at Make It So Productions' final VIVA VARIETY show of the millennium. VIVA VARIETY V, on Tuesday, November 16th, was a benefit for Breast Cancer Action, a grassroots advocacy organization committed to carrying the voices of people affected by breast cancer to inspire and compel the changes necessary to end the breast cancer epidemic. This show was the 5th in an ongoing series of benefits in the "old-style" variety show format that highlights queer talent around the Bay Area. Previous shows have raised thousands of dollars for local organizations such as Project Inform, Q-Spirit, CUAV (Community United Against Violence), and The Brownie Mary Fund. This show also included a fashion show and featured series regular Matthew Simmons (aka Peggy L'Eggs), comedian Marga Gomez, Paul Gallo fashions, Acidhousewife, singer Jo-Carol, keyboardist Geno Valle, the cast of Karen Carpenter Christmas, actor/writer Doug Holsclaw, and traditional Hawaiian hula troupe Na Pua O Ka Laakea. For information from the latest show, call the Make It So Productions hotline at 415-863-0741 or go to their Web site. Breast Cancer Action can be reached at 415-243-9301 or on the Web at the bcaction website.August 1999
Show Reviewed on QueerSF.com
In 1999, Tom Kelly of the SF Bay Times reviewed Bear-A-Go-Go! on QueerSF.com, which features an incredible variety of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender activities in the Bay Area. To read his faboo review, go to the show review.Bear-A-Go-Go! Interview on BearPress
Forrest from BearPress did a spectacular interview with me on the Bear-A-Go-Go! show as well. To read the interview, go here. To see what's up with husky guys internationally, go to the site that originally published the interview, Bear Pics (originally called BearPress).July 1999
Barry Wood Story
Writer Barry Wood wrote and dedicated a very short story called "The Clothesline" to me. Thanks, Barry! No, the story does not have to do with me directly, but in a sly way it is about how art is perceived in our culture.May 1999
Article Published in ArtsFusion
For the May 1999 volume of ArtsFusion, I had an article published (for all you artists toiling in the working world out there!) titled "Yes, I Have A Day Job!"Tour Links
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For booking info, or more information about Alan Reade's work, click here to e-mail him.