Sunday, March 2 - Lessons in Drag, a performance by Kareem Khubchandani

8:30 at Public Space One in lower level of Wesley Foundation building at 120 N. Dubuque St.

Lessons in Drag explores South Asian popular culture (literature, film, performance) through anecdote, monologues, research interviews, stand-up comedy, and dance.  The show raises issues of gender discipline, diasporic nostalgia, film reception, racialization and racism.

Kareem Khubchandani is a PhD candidate in Performance Studies at Northwestern University writing a dissertation titled “Ishtyle: Queer Nightlife Performance in India and the South Asian Diaspora.”  He is an activist working with the LGBT South Asian organization Trikone-Chicago, amnd with the Bangalore Campaign for Sexuality Minorities Rights.  He is also a performance artist working in storytelling, drag, and dance.

Here are links to some of his work:

YouTube meme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4WDQ2MkJSE

Drag show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiWik-jl5-I

Monologue from Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla's Ode to Lata: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_fQ_NztGIQ

Spoken word piece (video at the bottom): http://gaysifamily.com/2012/05/04/diamonds/

This event is jointly sponsored by South Asian Studies Program and Department of Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies.  It is co-sponsored by International Programs, Theatre Arts Department, and UI Center for Human Rights.