“I’m telling the truth as I saw it—because that’s all I got,” says actor Jennifer Lanier of her autobiographical performance None of the Above—in which truths aren’t black or white. Neither is she. The African American/Native American actor also known as the drag king Bruce, identifies as a two-spirited woman and says, “I really do walk around with both [genders].”
That dual-presentation makes people uncomfortable, Lanier contends. “People feel such a strong need to identify us in some form or another and to come up with a cause…‘Is the reason you’re a lesbian because of your father and the sexual assault thing?’ I’m always like, ‘No. I’ve been a lesbian ever since I was born.’ [People] need a reason. [They] need to see this connection as being direct, black and white. [But] who I am as a person…is so not black or white—quite literally.”
The performance deals with her real-life experiences with racism, abuse and sexual assault, but Lanier argues, “that’s not the end all be all of this human being that I am. And I don’t wear that all the time. I can still laugh. My biggest survival technique has always been to laugh.”
Which is why Lanier likes to “keep a lot of humor involved” in heralter ego Bruce TD King: “Bruce thinks that he’s slick, but he’s not. Not getting the girl is way funnier than getting the girl.”
Still, Bruce’s fan base isn’t limited to the trans women who regularly attend his shows. In fact, when Lanier debuted her drag persona a few years ago at Hawaii’s Wild Women’s Weekend, she’d just started to belt out Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark,” when, Lanier recalls, “women started screaming [and] running up to the stage!”
Later, Lanier realized she could use Bruce to spark dialogues about gender, and took the act to universities and colleges, where she says, “Professors love it because it’s…not particularly dry and academic. [I] transform there in front of them.”
After performances, Lanier says, “People come up to ask me if I’m trans. I tell them, ‘No. I’m an actor.’ I’m very clear:…I do drag, which is a performance form. Then there are folks who are trans, which is a life. I know, ultimately, that I’m a woman. At the end of the night, I take my make-up off and put my cock and harness away.”
Still, Lanier admits, “I am two-spirited, so I believe that’s a lot of what [audiences] are seeing. [They]’re seeing that part of me really showing itself .”
Earlier this year Lanier made history, becoming the first drag king to win the title of Mr. Gay Pride Vancouver (Washington). Fittingly, Lanier’s real-life partner and fellow performer, Dustina Haas, was crowned Ms. Gay Pride Vancouver.
“I can really get behind pride,” remarks Lanier. “That’s something I think is important…for every community to find a way to celebrate. And the fact that this particular festival is this big family friendly thing? I think it completely rocks!”
Lanier won the Mr. Gay Pride competition with Lollipop Guild-based formal attire and swimwear inspired by Poseidon. Wearing “a tiny little Speedo or something,” Lanier jokes, was “so not going to work out for me.”
A classically trained actor, Lanier has worked on film, TV and commercials; mostly “just the stuff that you do as an actor…semi-bad films and a few decent ones and lots of disease-of-the-week TV movies,” but for four years Lanier served as a spokesperson for the Christian Children’s Fund replacing Sally Struthers. “It’s kind of an odd thing,” Lanier acknowledges, “but it’s something I’m very proud of because they do good work.”
With Portland’s youth-focused Theater Brigade, Lanier directs student-actors, who receive professional theater training and then go on tour, bringing theater to area schools at no cost.
“The performances are in story theater style,” she says. “Which is precisely the way I like to work. It’s just great getting to teach younger folks that style.”
Looking forward to doing more with the Portland/Vancouver theater scene, Lanier says her pet project, doing a “completely gender bent” Dangerous Liaison, may have to wait for 2010; but she will be performing None of the Above this spring at Portland’s Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center (IFCCArts.org).
In the meantime, Bruce will remain a central part of Vancouver’s North Bank Club’s bi-weekly, queer variety show, Lipz Cabaret. And, as Mr. Vancouver Gay Pride, Lanier will co- host Queers in ToylandVancouver Gay Pride’s holiday party, which raises money for next year’s Pride celebration.
hey Jake
good to see you here!
Posted by: helen | November 30, 2008 at 10:36 PM