Place Them on the Altar: Local Artists Perform on the Trans, Nonbinary Experience
Next week for Boulder Pride week, Silen Wellington and Tessa Romano will be returning to their alma mater, the University of Colorado, to perform at their Place Them on the Altar event.
Wellington is an interdisciplinary artist mixing and crafting music, sound, poetry, and spirituality. This can be seen through works like “Body Like Sculpture,” which incorporates electroacoustic music, spoken word, drag, dance, and ritual. Romano is a mezzo-soprano singer of choral, opera, and ensemble music. Romano continues their research amidst their robust career; they recently completed their dissertation on the effects of testosterone therapy on the singing voice.
Place Them on the Altar is not only an event on the nonbinary experience and identity but will also divulge Wellington and Romano’s shared experience in coming out as nonbinary. They both collaborated on a set of cabaret songs with the same name as the event, all revolving around being nonbinary. The songs touch on gender expression through hair, gender-affirming language, coming out to partners, and the sacredness of the nonbinary identity. Pianist Barbie Noyes will be performing a set of songs by the same name.
Wellington will also perform Hollow: A Banishing Ritual with Playground Ensemble. Hollow contains music and poetry on the paradox of being both de-sexualized and hyper-sexualized as a transgender person.
“In public, mainstream narratives of desirability often preclude transgender bodies, but in private, in the anonymity of dating apps, I have experienced far more harassment and objectification from cisgender men (both gay and straight) after transitioning,” Wellington says.
After an intermission, there will be the chance for the audience to participate in the open mic and share any poems, essays, rants, etc. with the option to have Playground Ensemble musically improv to your piece.
The pieces at the Place Them on the Altar event also discusses transphobia, misogyny, dysphoria, sexual harassment and explicit messages, stigma against sex workers, and gaslighting.
Place Them on the Altar will take place on Sunday, June 12 at 7:30 p.m.at the Lory Student Center at Colorado State University. They will also perform the next day, Monday, June 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder.
Tickets will range from $5-20. For more on the Place Them on the Altar event, visit Silen Wellington’s website or follow @silen_creature on Instagram.
Photos courtesy of silenwellington.com
