SUMMER 2023 Premiere
OUT of Site: Sylvester, The Mighty Real
Created in a five-month residency and our community partner SF Heritage at the Doolan Larson Building
The Production has been completed. It ran from August 11th October 1st 2023
Photos: Robbie Sweeny
Written by the beloved writer and public theologian Marvin K. White & Directed by Michael French.
We're finally going to get to tell the hidden history of queer ancestor, Sylvester in the Haight!
In August 2023, Eye Zen created and performed one of our most ambitious and important projects in our two-decade history, about Sylvester, a gay, Black, gender-fluid San Franciscan singer who gained international celebrity status for his gold records that soared to the top of the Billboard charts.
Out of Site: Sylvester, The Mighty Real took place in the Haight-Ashbury where Sylvester first lived and later performed, elevating the hidden history of San Francisco’s very own international disco diva Sylvester who brought an uncompromising vision to his music and gender-non-conforming persona. The show looks at racial equity within the queer liberation movement in San Francisco’s Haight neighborhood of the 60’s and 70’s against the backdrop of the civil rights and anti-war movements, student uprisings, feminism, and gay liberation.
Directed by Michael French
Director Michael French wrote and directed the Ovation award winning play “The Rainy Season” and the much-acclaimed “Bellyache.” He has since directed over thirty-five plays in London, New York, San Francisco, and Oakland.
Visual Design by Sharon Virtue
Sharon Virtue is a British artist of Jamaican and Irish heritage, living in Fairfax, California. She is a multi-media artist, with a BA in Fine art and a Masters in Community arts from Goldsmiths University in London, U.K. She has a strong social practice and believes artists are agents of transformation.
Costume Designs by Kipper Snacks
Kipper Snacks (she/her) is a trans designer under the label Snackum Dackum based in San Francisco. She specializes in custom clothing and costumes for stage and screen.
Sound Design by James Ard
James Ard is a noisemaker with a focus on new works, interactive media, and immersive stage productions.Ard is a Resident Artist with both Golden Thread Productions and Crowded Fire Theater.
read more…
Written by Marvin K. White
Marvin K. White is a writer, artist, preacher and public theologian, articulating a vision for social justice. He earned a Master of Divinity from Pacific School of Religion, in Berkeley, CA, and is a well sought-out preacher, teacher and facilitator.
Featuring Nic Sommerfeld
Nic A. Sommerfeld (they/them) is a San Francisco based actor and playwright. They have also acted in and worked as a Trans consultant on developmental readings. When not writing or performing, they frequently perform as their drag king persona, Chester Vanderbox.
read more…
Featuring Cemora Valentino Devine
Cemora (they/them) is the drag alter-ego of Darrel Thigpen. Cemora has been performing for over two decades, relocating to the Bay Area 15 years ago. She was the host or Follies and Dollies at the White Horse in Oakland for 7 years.
read more…
Produced by Seth Eisen
Seth Eisen is a San Francisco-based artist creating a hybrid of live performance and visual media.
* PRESS *
“In The Mighty Real, the past and present harmonize like Sylvester and his backup singers... as performers invited us to participate in the queer “sainting” of Sylvester complete with invocations and beatifications of Sylvester’s virtues- I felt the spirit.”
“Sylvester’s tour thrillingly “mixes memory and desire.” It’s a one of kind promenade in the place where it happened...a divine pleasure.”
KALW - Click here to Listen to our interview on Crosscurrents
“...the very prospect of diverting a tour route specifically for a disco dance party is something from which nearly every tour could benefit...”
The commission and production of this premiere is made possible in part by the Gerbode Foundation Special Award in the Arts program, The Kenneth Rainin Foundation, Jonathan Logan Family Foundation and the The MAP Fund.
Thanks to our Community Partners:
