#operarox

[operarox]

Dancing, gay opera, and a grrrl punk rock band -- don't miss it! Tickets and info at bit.ly/operaroxmasquerade

[sodomighty]

A little sweaty post gym but my adrenaline is pumping! May and June were insane but it looks like July and August will keep up that momentum! Today, lighting tech rehearsal 3pm for #Operarox performances of #SweetsByKate a #romcom #lesbian #opera @thestonewallinn in July. Then bartending a private party followed by #MissStonewall2017 @fifiduboisdq taking over for Logan 10pm! Such a busy bear I be! And I plan on looking studly doing it! Love it! Visit www.houseofdandridge.com and follow me at facebook.com/djchaunceyd and facebook.com/houseofdandridge to stay in the loop with all things Dandridge! #busybear #guerillabear #androidbear #norestforthefierce #manifestation #makeitwork #shablam #feelingmyself #feelingqute #guapo #djchaunceyd #subwayseries #subwayselfie #happyness #workworkwork #ilovemyjob #ilovemylife #celebrateyourself #bearstagram #hunky #strikeapose #bedroomeyes

[skinnylittlelesbian]

Holtzbert or Toltzmann: first kiss

Patty halted in the front hallway.

She’d been in Holtzmann’s hole-in-the-wall apartment before, and there had generally been a constant state of messy chaos, from spare clothing thrown on chairs, unused parts covering all raised surfaces, and dog fur coating everything. When she visited, the mutt itself always jumped on her, too, but things were quiet and clean--and she was confused.

“Holtzy?”

“In the living room.”

Calling it a living room was a bit of a stretch, Patty thought as she headed there. There was just enough space for an old couch and small television that Holtz had rigged into an all purpose monitor for television, gaming, computing, and spying on a horse ranch in Montana.

Today, there was an addition to the room in the form of a step ladder. She narrowed her eyes.

“What’s all this?”

Holtz grinned as she climbed to the middle step. “C’mere.”

Patty walked grudgingly over and stood, arms folded over her chest. “Uh-huh?”

“We have been courting now for many a day.”

“Yeah, and?”

“And I have decided it’s time for our first kiss.”

Patty cocked an eyebrow. “Is it now?”

“Yes.”

After a moment of consideration, Patty nodded. “Fair enough. But y’all better understand that I take this seriously.”

Holtz threw a hand over her heart in a melodramatic fashion. “So do I, my fair lady.”

“Put that mouth to better use.”

Holtz leaned over the rim of the step ladder and cupped Patty’s cheeks. Patty looked fondly at her as the distance between them lessened until she felt the feather-soft touch of Holtz’s lips on hers. She leaned in and slid a hand behind Holtz’s neck.

While she’d known for sometime that this little weirdo had squirmed into her heart, she hadn’t known just how right kissing her would feel.

[verdiprati]

I have had a GRAND time traveling to see at least one opera, concert, or recital every weekend in March. The heavy weekend travel schedule combined with working full time on weekdays has made me an even slower blogger than usual but I would like to share a few more bits and pieces from my live music adventures.

One of the most fun things that happened along the way was also totally unexpected for me. After Sarah Connolly’s recital at the Park Avenue Armory on March 17, Kim (of @operarox fame, second from right in the photo above) & friends invited me & my friends to go along to a sort of late night opera open mic night—but without any mic because we’re talking about opera singers, duh—at a restaurant in New York. There was a piano at the restaurant and an accompanist who would play whatever music was put in front of him. Young singers took turns singing works from their repertoire. My non-singing friends and I sat at a table and had drinks and nachos and took it all in. What a blast!

(Also I think Kim looks cooler than cool in this photo.)

[operaroxproductions-blog]

Staging rehearsals for Alcina (Photos by Studio Artist Heather Bobeck)

[operarox]

Our NowThis video already has 300k+ views! I'm over the moon about how many people are learning about Sweets by Kate and OperaRox. Click the content source for the video. (TW: comments under the video contain strong language including instances of homophobia, transphobia, body shaming, mysogny, and general hate speech)

[operarox]

Some dress rehearsal shots from Griffin Candey’s Sweets by Kate at The Stonewall Inn (OperaRox Productions). Photos by Tommy Venus

Pictured: Kim Feltkamp, Emily Kate Naydeck, Ryan Colbert, Brandon Evans

[operarox]

OperaRox Productions and Sweets by Kate at NYC Pride March 2017

I know that people have mixed feelings about Pride, but I have to admit that I had a fantastically wonderful and emotional time this year as I marched with my opera company.

Besides the absolute fun of marching with my team (behind the Spotify float, of all things) and basically sharing a 4 hour dance party, the thing that really struck me this year about Pride was the overwhelming feeling of gratitude. 

As I have prepared for Sweets, which is set in the 1950s, I’ve learned and been reminded of the ugly history surrounding the LGBTQ+ community. Something as simple as wearing 3 articles of clothing “belonging to the opposite sex” or being seen dancing with the same sex at a bar could get you arrested. Society’s obsession with the gender binary, gender roles, and heteronormativity was even worse in the 50s than it is now. Basically, I would have been at risk of getting arrested or being sent to an asylum every day in the 1950s and it would have been nearly impossible to get a job unless I suppressed my gender expression and sexuality during the work day. And this is just the barest tip of the iceberg. 

So you can imagine how I felt marching through the streets of NYC publicizing my gender expression and sexuality. We literally promoted a lesbian opera at Stonewall, which is not only legally a gay bar but nationally recognized as one, and no one could arrest us for it. I couldn’t stop smiling but I also couldn’t stop thinking about all my LGBTQ+ siblings around the world who cannot openly be themselves, much less march and dance through the streets about it. 

I am so, so grateful to be living where and when I am. I am given the gift of celebration without an accompanying fear of danger to myself or my friends. This is a huge gift and one that not everyone has. I am continuously grateful and sobered by this fact.

So I am grateful. I am grateful for my freedoms and for all those in the past who have made it possible and for those who keep fighting every day to help spread this freedom to everyone everywhere. I can’t do as much as I’d want to, but I’ll do everything that I can and I’ll never, ever stop feeling grateful for all that I have.