The
first time I saw
Jade Esteban Estrada
he was
rushing from rehearsing
and
checking the
acoustics on his way to wardrobe and makeup. It
was a quick flash into the glimpse I have
gotten, not only from his show,
"ICONS: The
Lesbian and Gay History of the World, Volume I,"
from meeting him, later talking with him and through email, I am
beginning to see what it is that makes Jade who he is.
Thankfully
his show is not the typical campy-thing one
might expect. "ICONS" entertains, educates, but
grandest of all, these shows are done for the
benefit of foundations, organizations and GLBTI
centers. Instead of using his talents for his
own financial gain, he chooses to be a part of
what is being done to care and advocate for the
community.
Critiquing
Jade’s show had never been in my thoughts for
this article, however I did write down two
things that would go into that category of
notes: “excellent characterizations” and
“transitions between characters excellent.”
He performs as Sappho, Michelangelo, Gertrude
Stein, Oscar Wilde, Sylvia Rivera, and Ellen
Degeneres, telling their part in gay history
through visualization, speech and song. I look
forward to seeing
Volume II.
He
walks in dressed as Sappho. Walking down the
aisle, asking each person face-to-face who our
icon was and why; each participant with a
different icon and reason, allowing Jade the
opportunity to get a good picture of the
audience that he is performing for. For a
one-man show, this makes it not only extremely
intimate, but allows a personal connection to
continue as he journeys through the centuries.
If Jade is coming to a city near you, I highly
recommend seeing his show.
Jade
and I had an opportunity to speak and the first
thing I noticed was how genuine he is. He could
not love what he is doing more—a dream come
true for an artist. I asked him who his icon was
like he had done with me. Jade replied, “Jane
Austen.” 2005 is a big year for Jade he
performs his 100th show in Los Angeles and is
“excited about” turning 30 this year. He
will be performing in Hartford, Connecticut,
that day.
With
"ICONS" being about gay history, I wanted to know
what he enjoyed the most about being gay and
being able to express it his own way.
Matter-of-factly he stated that he did not
“think about it because he sees everyone the
same.” During his Michelangelo scene one of
the things that jumped out at me was the
statement: “Happiness is from your own
perspective.” I could hear the surprise in his
voice when I mentioned it to him. Jade told me
that he felt that there are “so many ways to
be happy” and that “was one of the most
important lines in the play.”
When
he embarked on this adventure with "ICONS" he set
upon a new direction. He saw the importance of
doing this from the “grassroots” perspective
and wants to go anywhere he can, especially
rural America--performing his play in small
towns, in church buildings, homes, wherever he
can perform. Taking the lead showing the
importance of reaching out of the cities and
getting in touch with the rest of the world. He
hopes this helps “get people to start groups,
sign petitions, because we have got to get it
together as a community.”
Jade
feels he gets to “touch people personally
through live performance, watching the audience
take in his work.” He admitted to it being a
“natural human thrill,” and said, “We have
become faceless in an internet society.” With
"ICONS
I" & "ICONS
II", he has created “twelve
children to take care of” and that in caring
for them, they, like children, “grow.”
It
was Inauguration Day and I could not help but
ask his comments about it and about the
protesting. His comments on Republicans struck
me, to use his word, as “balanced,” when he
said, “to leave them alone, that is just the
way they are.” He feels that balance is
extremely important and through this balance
there will be “enlightenment over all.”
Loving
quotes the way that I do; I will close with
Jade’s favorite: "Something
done well once is done well forever." - Thoreau
©2005 QBliss.net
