On July 10-12 Gender Fucked Productions, in partnership with the Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks, unveiled the inaugural Transilience: A Trans Pride Festival.
The festival was ambitious in scope—spread out in three city parks with each segment featuring a stacked line-up of LGBTQ+ performers and venders. The various acts were wildly varied so as to accommodate any taste, but the festival was labeled “family friendly” and offered a strong welcoming vibe.
Another positive point was that despite the current political climate Transilience was focused on joy and exuberance. The day I attended, Saturday July 12 at Gill Park at 825 N. Sheridan Rd., the weather co-operated, and small children ran around doing somersaults. Friday’s festival took place in Hamilton Park and Thursday’s festival took place in Humboldt Park.
Of the performances that I caught, musical circus artists Maria Tate and Shelly Miller kicked off the event with a short song, dance and acrobatic piece on the subject of belonging and feeling welcome. Singer vocalist may5A accompanied played acoustic guitar and managed to address trans romance, gender and the environment in her quiet but elegant songs (“English Muffin,” “Eating My Veggies”). Jordan d’Bose and Julian Weslander of Trans Voices Cabaret performed selections from theatrical productions Godspell and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which drew an enthusiastic response.
Then Evern Page took the stage, and the festival went off the rails in a good way. Page inserted an electric charge through the park with a guitar style that was reminiscent of Pat Metheny and Mark Knopfler, and his haunting yet stinging playing took the afternoon in an entirely different direction. Acrobatic dance troupe Such Creatures skewed the unpredictable vibe even further with a performance that stunned the crowd.
Toby Blunt took over the stage with their drag kings Ricky Ruff and Dr. Luv venturing out into the audience for a high energy kid friendly performance that rocked the park.
Next up came celebrated psychedelic art rockers Glad Rags, featuring chanteuse Lily Mac having a grand old time vamping through a short set while keyboardist Mable Gladly attacked their instrument with primal fury. Comedienne Delilah Orizaba brought the temperature back down with a monologue that touched on her loving parents and immigration.
It was wise of the festival to put Orizaba in that spot, since metal-art-rock jokers Dog Guitar went haywire even before they hit the stage. Co-vocalists Hugo Beckett and Kellie Wyatt made their entrance as a conjoined tall man and then peppered their set with songs about Ariana Grande, fun with mayo and see-through clothing (the chorus of “Nipple Shirt” was the chant “I CAN SEE YOUR NIPPLES!!!”). The wildly physical set ended with an invite to do backflips (which was taken up by audience members) and dance jam which had everyone on their feet.
#Queer Country Bandwagon brought the festival back down to earth with a set that included the late Patrick Haggerty’s “I Can’t Shake the Stranger Out of You.” DMB the Etymology also performed.
There was far more at the festival then the performances onstage. The Second City Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were on hand to paint faces, while Pride Coffee Roasters offered a variety of coffees from all over the world. Other venders included Watson Wares, Clem Fox, Lotus Holistic Wellness LLC, QueerCare Inc., Camp Stardust Memories, The Hinterlands, The Equity Illinois Coalition and Ceal’s Rose.
Transilience is the creation of Gender Fucked Productions co-artistic director and co-executive director Dawn Heilung. The organization, which just celebrated its third year of operations, has slowly been building an arts ecosystem by presenting community events and activities featuring trans and nonbinary artists. Previous and ongoing events by the organization include June’s Trans Scribe: A New Works Festival, the Queer Dance Freakout and regular meetups along the lake called They Beach.
