It’s unlikely that many people have heard of William Dorsey Swann. Some people have recognized Swann as the first LGBTQ+ person to lead a resistance movement, and he was known as a leading drag figure.
And Swann—a Black person—did these things in the late 19th century in the South.
In the upcoming production The Real Black Swann: Confessions of America’s First Black Drag Queen, creator/storyteller Les Kurkendaal-Barrett—who’s based in Los Angeles but who has also lived in New York City, Madrid and Munich—channels the spirit of Swann while reflecting on his own life as a Black gay performer. Kurkendaal-Barrett talked with Windy City Times about his interpretation of Swann and his own life and political struggles.
Note: This conversation was edited for clarity and length.
Windy City Times: You describe yourself as a storyteller. In general, what do you tell stories about?
Les Kurkendaal-Barrett: Up until this show, I told first-person narratives about myself, my life and coming out. But writing this show is a whole new thing for me; it’s the first time I’ve written a show about someone else. I’ve incorporated my story into this, but it’s mainly about William Dorsey Swann.
WCT: And how did you come across William Dorsey Swann? I had never heard of him.
LK-B: So, there’s this person named Channing Joseph, and he’s writing a book about William Dorsey Swann that’s coming out next year. So when he first started writing this book in 2020, he got all this press because no one had heard this story before. One of my friends, Eleanor, sent me a text message with an article about Channing Joseph and said, “This sounds like a great show for you.” Until I received that article, I didn’t know anything about William Dorsey Swann, either. [Chuckles]
WCT: Was there anything surprising that you discovered about William Dorsey Swann?
LK-B: Absolutely! First of all, it was surprising to me that they had drag balls in the late 1800s. Also, there was the fact that he was pretty open; I don’t know how out he was but he wasn’t “in,” either.
WCT: I saw in Joseph’s book House of Swann: Where Slaves Became Queens where he described Swann as “the first queer American hero.” I want to get your thoughts on that.
LK-B: Yes, it’s true—and he was the first queer American activist. What happened was—and it still happens today—that he was throwing these drag balls and police started harassing him and his friends. So he and drag-queen friends would fight back, so he was the first queer activist on record. He was the first queer activist to protest with groups of people. But as we [constantly] see, history gets whitewashed, so that’s why we don’t know anything about him.
WCT: Do you see any similarities between what Swann went through back then and what’s going on today?
LK-B: Oh, absolutely! There are certain states that are working on making having drag performances a crime and are trying to make things like Drag Time Story Hour illegal. So, it’s sad to say, we’ve almost come full-circle. We’re now having to fight against the same things [Swann] had to.
I don’t know how woo-woo you are, but this astrologer said that the [cycle] we’re going into is the same as the one for the Civil and Revolutionary wars. And I think one of the things we’re going to have civil unrest about is queer identity.
WCT: It does seem that things are coming to a head. Regarding the show, what can people expect? As you’ve said, you weave your life into Swann’s.
LK-B: Right. As a matter of fact, the show starts with me and I turn into William Dorsey Swann. By the end, I am him. I weave my life as well as my experiences with racism and homophobia into his story.
One of the things that I’ve always felt is that people are racist and/or homophobic because they don’t see people of color or queer [individuals] as actual people. So one of my goals is to have audiences see me as a person as I tell my story. That’s why I wove my story into it—so audiences see me as a person. I’ve had people say, “I’ve never thought about it that way.” I want to have that personal connection with the audience.
WCT: Is this a traveling show that will have you in red states as well?
LK-B: I’ve been to red states. I’ve done this show in Indianapolis three different times. The District Theatre there was the first place to produce it.
I don’t have any bookings to the Deep South. If I did get booked, I would not be averse to going because I believe the message needs to get out there. I’d need to be protected. [Laughs] But I believe those states need the message more than anyone.
WCT: Ultimately, what do you want people to draw from your performance?
LK-B: I want people to take away that we need to stand up for ourselves and fight because history is repeating itself. Also, I want people to know that queer people and people of color are just like non-queer people; we have feelings and emotions. When we are the recipients of racism and homophobia, no one focuses on how it hurts us emotionally as well as physically. People are people, no matter what—and those slurs hurt us.
WCT: What does queer representation mean to you?
LK-B: To me, queer representation is not only on the stage, but it’s also on film and in writing. It’s also behind the scenes as well—queer directors, producers, filmmakers, camerapeople and writers. Also, it goes past the stereotypes. At one point, you would have a movie with a queer person in it—but then that person would die. And then, of course, we’d have movies and shows about queer people—but no queer people were playing the roles.
Queer representation [involves] roles for queer people with [LGBTQ+] people playing them—but they can’t be roles in which you put us in a corner. They should be roles that everyone can identify with. We’re not aliens. There are queer people with families, too; I have friends with grandkids. My husband and I are in the process of adopting, too. The point is that, yes, we are different—but we are the same as well.
WCT: Is there anything you wanted to add?
LK-B: I’m making a documentary about the show [with the same title as the production]. It’s going to be about William Dorsey Swann and why we don’t know more about him. The show is going to be the throughline but I’m going to have interviews with talking heads. I want to dig deeply into the mystery. Channing Joseph’s book is coming out—but why aren’t there more?
The Real Black Swann: Confessions of America’s First Black Drag Queen will take place July 18-20 and 25-27 at Open Space Arts, 1411 W. Wilson Ave. For tickets ($25-$30 each), visit this link.