Artists Reach Out: Ashley R.T. Yergens

Dear friends,

Welcome to Artists Reach Out: reflections in a time of isolation. I dreamed this series of interviews out of grief for my work both as a documenting arts writer and curator of live performance. In this time of social distancing, we are called to responsibly do all we can to safeguard ourselves and our neighbors. It is, literally, a matter of life and death.

But there's no distancing around what we still can share with one another--our experiences, thoughts, wisdom, humor, hearts and spirit. In some ways, there are more opportunities to do so as we pull back from everyday busyness out in the world and have time to honor the call of our inner lives.

So, let me introduce you to some artists I find interesting. I'm glad they're part of our beautiful community, and I'm eager to engage with them again (or for the first time) in years to come.

--Eva Yaa Asantewaa, InfiniteBody

Ashley R.T. Yergens

Ashley R.T. Yergens
(photo: Fred Attenborough)

Ashley R.T. Yergens is a byproduct of growing up on tater tots and WWE SmackDown. He was a 2016 boo-koo artist-in-residence at Gibney and a 2016-17 Fresh Tracks Artist at New York Live Arts and is currently a Live Feed resident. Please text him your favorite emoji combination at (507) 412-1381.

Ashley R.T. Yergens
(photos: Fred Attenborough)

Do you have a current or planned project whose progress is affected by the pandemic?

Yes, I was scheduled to show an in-process showing of CU*T C*NTEMPORARY on Friday, March 13 in the New York Live Arts studios. I thought this showing date was a good omen. However, as the COVID-19 crisis unfolded, New York Live Arts  and I decided to cancel the event on this ominous date. I’m partially bummed. I’m mostly relieved. Total theater is important to me. It’s hard to accomplish spectacle in a studio. Now, surprises get to remain surprises until the final production.

For those who are curious, CU*T C*NTEMPORARY is a destination wedding where queer nationalism joins American assimilation of trans bodies in holy matrimony. CU*T C*NTEMPORARY utilizes trans-regurgitated contemporary dances, costumed gay characters, and queer baiting soundtracks to create something akin to a queer tourist (thirst?) trap. The world premiere of this work will be part of New York Live Arts’ 2020-2021 Season.

Briefly, tell me about how you got involved in the arts and in your particular practice.

I grew up launching myself off of ladders and playsets in my backyard to Queen's and Journey’s greatest hits. I didn’t realize this could be dancing until I was 18 years old watching Louise Lecavalier perform in La La La Human Steps’ Human Sex in the confinement of my St. Olaf dormitory, and I’ve been chasing dance ever since.

While I no longer launch myself off of physical ladders or aspire to move like Louise Lecavalier, I think about these moments often. The freneticism I connected to as a kid and as a young adult unlocks me over and over again.

Recently, I’ve turned to an alter ego of mine named Peg. She’s the child of Ryan Trecartin and Cindy Sherman. She has the permission to clang without pathological consequence. She’s a suburban Midwestern dance mom. She only knows the bare minimum, and she's the prodigy where high brow meets the low brow.

As Peg, I practice seeing and naming popular culture without actually knowing it. For example, Peg believes Instagram is a place where people instantly become grandmas. She thinks everyone has hired an elite cleaning company called Spotify to eradicate COVID-19 from their homes. She’s heard of trans people who are like real life Transformers saving the world.

To me, Peg embodies the dialectical tension between the real and the illusory that people struggle within their pursuit of meaning, and Peg’s campy, illegible gender expression and outward display of ridiculousness mediate the gravity of living in a body marked trans.

In a more specific way, what are you practicing? And what are you envisioning?

I’m envisioning a world where the “good trans/non-binary person” politic is put to rest. A politic that becomes more and more clear with every new ad that targets queer consumers (double entendre: queer people who consume and non-queer people who consume queerness). Who and what is erased by queer respectability politics? Who benefits the most when we become walking queer tourist attractions? It’s a small world after all.

Briefly share one self-care tip that has special meaning to you now.

I no longer want to be held hostage by time and fear of missing out. I’m allowing myself to wait up until 24 hours to respond to non-emergency texts. For non-urgent e-mails, I typically don’t respond until two or three days have passed. My jaw has softened. The words I actually want to say travel to me with ease. I know how to say “no” to people and places that don’t serve me. I know how to say “yes” to the people and places I want and need to serve.

******

DISCLAIMER: In addition to my work on InfiniteBody, I serve as Senior Curatorial Director of Gibney. The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views, strategies or opinions of Gibney.

******

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prettygirl264264 checks in from Abrons Arts Center

Ashley R.T. Yergens
in character for prettygirl264264
(photo: Fred Attenborough)

What you focus on increases. Or, maybe it's, What you focus on expands. Or what...ever.

That favored quote of New Agey savants came to mind at last evening's world premiere of prettygirl264264, when I gauged the distance--physical and otherwise--between trans performance artist Ashley R.T. Yergens and a flat screen television displaying appearances by singer Cher, the late Sono Bono and their trans son Chaz Bono. My interest in Sonny and Cher had faded out quite early, with their pop star heyday and my youth, and has not made a miraculous recovery in the current age of celebrity tv and Twitter. So, I was content to train nearly undivided attention on the present moment and the live action before us at Abrons Arts Center where the Underground Theater's floor was nearly blanketed by a cheery layer of party balloons. Yes, party balloons for something Yergens billed as his "premature funeral."

The service served an atypical "In Loving Memory Of" funeral card in lieu of a program. The dearly not-quite-yet-departed took a while to appear, the buildup to that appearance including a standout, if painful, performance of "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" by lily bo shapiro, dolled up in gleaming, cherry pink unitard and oversized, rhinestone-encrusted glasses. Yes, a Celine Dion anthem at a premature funeral where evocation of Judy Garland's connection to blackface, Sonny Bono's death by skiing into a tree, and a full-out dance duet routine to La Bouche's "Be My Lover" are not only inevitable but completely appropriate.

Not too long ago, I read a New York Times obituary that told the story of how the late actor James Karen asked his buddies, unbeknownst to one another, to draft his obit long before he actually passed. His wife finally revealed to one friend, George Clooney, that Karen had a habit of doing this so that he'd be around to enjoy what people thought of him. Not a terrible idea. And, in his way, Yergens is doing the same--inviting us in to indulge one trans man's moment of celebration and to contemplate how rare acknowledgement and celebration can be at the end of many trans lives.

If neither the celebs onscreen (one, a "gay icon" who is cisgender and straight; the other, an early, selective and reluctant object of mainstream media spotlight on trans lives) can fairly represent the range of trans experience, neither can Yergens, keenly aware of his white, able-bodied visibility and privilege. prettygirl264264--the title comes from an old AOL handle--speaks from a particular sliver of experience and sensibilities, bringing wry lightheartedness in a time of serious political struggle. And, yes, we need that contribution, too.

Video: Rena Anakwe

Performers: Sydney Boyu, Nico Brown, lily bo shapiro, Mur, Kristopher K.Q. Pourzal, Ashley R.T. Yergens

Lighting: Jennifer Fok

Original Music: Trashed My Living Room and ErasedMur

prettygirl264264 continues tonight and Saturday evening with performances at 7:30pm. 50% of ticket sales benefit trans rights organizations. Although both performances have sold out, Abrons promises to get some walkups in. So try for it! For information, click here.

Abrons Arts Center
466 Grand Street (at Pitt Street), Manhattan
(Plan your visit.)

******

DISCLAIMER: In addition to my work on InfiniteBody, I serve as Senior Curatorial Director of Gibney. The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views, strategies or opinions of Gibney.

******

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That upcoming APAP theme is what again?

Have you heard? The theme of the 2018 Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) Conference in New York City (January 12-16) is...

trans.ACT.

Kind of makes your heart beat faster, doesn't it?

But hold on!

Not surprisingly, APAP's call for proposals for trans.ACT. caught the attention of trans dance and performance artist Ashley R.T. Yergens who noticed a curious absence of any mention of trans artists and their work.

Yergens took his questions about all this to Facebook:

The Association of Performing Arts Professionals, formerly known as the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, or more commonly known as APAP is calling for Professional Development Program proposals using the theme "trans.ACT."

They define the theme as the following:

"This year’s theme, trans.ACT, focuses on the transformative power of the arts and the multiple ways - 'trans' meaning across, beyond, and through – in which we 'act' upon our commitment to bring the full meaning, impact and experience of the arts to communities across the country and around the world."

While I understand the etymology of the prefix "trans," I can't help but notice that the theme reads as transact as in transaction. Also, it reads as Trans Act like an act that serves to protect trans people like me. This particular reading of the theme leaves me completely baffled.

There's zero mention of trans people - trans dance and performance artists - like me, which seems like a hugely missed opportunity and evidence of who was in the room to finalize this year's APAP theme for Professional Development Program proposals.

Again, I understand the etymology of the prefix "trans." I'm not here to police language. Words evolve. However, I question and I hold APAP accountable to how they're using the word at this point in the evolution of "trans." The word has finally entered the mainstream to describe people like me who don't identify with their assigned genders at birth. It's a word that empowers me and allows me to find other people who share similar experiences and hardships.

Honestly, this is like APAP naming the theme "Gay.ACT" and defining "gay" simply as happy and distancing the term from its loaded history pertaining to gay people.

Perhaps this theme wouldn't be so unsettling if it weren't for the fact that dance and live performance lacks history, documentation, and consistent opportunities for dancing and performing bodies of trans experiences. If you want proof of what this field is lacking, then 1) send money to my Venmo account, and I'll do the labor of sharing my research and personal experiences with you or 2) Google.

So, I'm holding APAP accountable to answering the following questions: 

1.) Did you consult any trans people when you selected this theme?

2.) Are there any trans people on your staff or board?

3.) How have you supported trans dance artists and performers in the past? How do you plan on supporting trans dance artists and performers in the future?

4.) While I understand the etymology of "trans," I find it odd that you chose to use a word that is currently used to describe identities that I and so many other people fight for on a daily basis. Why don't you mention trans people in your description? Was any of this discussed when selecting "trans.ACT" as a theme?

I look forward to APAP's thorough responses, and I am eager to see how they will transcend their faux pas with action.

I encourage you to contact APAP as well: https://www.apap365.org/About/Staff

Ashley R.T. Yergens

YERGEN'S QUERY

Yergens also sent the following email to APAP:

Hello,

My name is Ashley R.T. Yergens. I'm a trans dance artist and performer based in Brooklyn, NY.

I was reading your description about this year's PDP theme for proposals.

A few questions come to mind:

1.) Did you consult any trans people when you selected this theme?
2.) Are there any trans people on your staff or board?
3.) How have you supported trans dance artists and performers in the past? How do you plan on supporting trans dance artists and performers in the future?
4.) While I understand the etymology of "trans," I find it odd that you chose to use a word that is currently used to describe identities that I and so many other people fight for on a daily basis. Why don't you mention trans people in your description? Was any of this discussed when selecting "trans.ACT" as a theme?

I look forward to reading your responses and discussing this further.

Best,

Ash

APAP'S REPLY

Minutes later, Yergens received the following reply:

Dear Ash,

Thank you for reaching out with your questions about this year's APAP|NYC conference theme.  Given that we are heading into a holiday weekend, I wanted to be sure to reach out to you.

Our conference committee of artists, agents, presenters and producers spent a considerable amount of time discussing the multiple meanings of "trans" in creating the theme.  We hope to bring together a wide range of professionals, including transgender artists, next January to explore how we can collectively advance the role and value of the performing arts in today’s complicated world.
 
We invite you to submit a conference proposal or otherwise happy to touch base following the upcoming holiday.

Best regards,

Scott

Scott D. Stoner
Vice President, Programs and Resources
Association of Performing Arts Professionals
1211 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20036
202-331-1890 | APAP365.org

YERGEN'S REPLY

Dear Scott,

Thank you for touching base. I look forward to hearing your responses to my questions, learning more about the considerable time spent discussing the multiple meanings of "trans," how you arrived at the copy on the proposal form, and learning more about how you will include transgender artists at this year's conference.

Best,

Ash

Yes, I think it will be good to hear some direct, meaningful responses to Yergen's reasonable questions, and I welcome him to keep InfiniteBody's readers posted.

*****

Ashley R.T. Yergens is a 2016 boo-koo artist-in-residence at Gibney Dance, and a 2016-17 Fresh Tracks Artist at New York Live Arts. He's a former project coordinator for DanceMotion USA, a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State, produced by BAM. Currently, he works at New York Live Arts as a development associate.

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Drag for a good cause: Homecoming Queens light up Gibney

Homecoming Queens,
a benefit for New York's Harvey Milk High School,
featured drag performers
such as members of Haus of Umpteen Corpses
with Ragamuffin (second from right)
(photo: Eric Berey)

Kalandra Bankhead
(photo: Chris Barley)

Homecoming Queens--a drag showcase presented at Gibney Dance: Agnes Varis Performing Arts Center this past Wednesday--was a first for Gibney and fantastic fun. The brisk-paced program was hosted by Gibney Dance's 2016 boo-koo Artist in Residence, Ashley R.T. Yergens, who knows how to introduce just the right degree of looseness and absurdity. And it was supported by an excellent technical team, directed by Asami Morita, particularly nifty with lighting the intimate studio setting. We could almost imagine we were in a cabaret.

Highlights included Vic Sin, preternaturally limber and definitively regal in beard and mien; Ragamuffin (Jesse Forte White), powerful in energy and gaze, surprising us with Anne Carson's words on tragedy, rage and grief; the ebullient and warped lady bedbug (Kelindah Schuster) and her...er...was that a crocodile puppet?; transmasculine K.James in his perfect, smoking-hot tribute to the late George Michael, and lots of imaginative extra-extra from The Dauphine of Bushwick (Tyler Ashley), The Haus of Umpteen Corpses (Angelica Sundae, MEGABABE and Mini Horrorwitz) and Kalandra Bankhead.

A good time was had by all, and I certainly hope it raised a good amount of cash for its beneficiary, New York's Harvey Milk High School, founded in 1985 and dedicated to respect, safety, nurturance and excellence for all students.

Homecoming Queens is closed. For information on future events at Gibney Dance, click here.


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