The Inaugural Baton Rouge Pride Talent Show
a reflection of the First Inaugural Baton Rouge Pride Talent Show
On Saturday, June 03, Leur and Baton Rouge Pride hosted the Inaugural Baton Rouge Pride Talent Show at Theatre Baton Rouge as a way to celebrate the talents of the LGBTQIA+ community here in the capital city.
After a series of rehearsals, the small cast of LGBTQIA+ youth and young adults were selected:
(from left to right) Noelle Allison, Cade Allison, Victoria Simmons, Drew Vessel (host), Piper Ward, Syndle LeJeune, Brian Howell.
My intention with this event was to provide an opportunity for our local community of LGBTQIA+ storytellers, singer-songwriters, entertainers, and all performative artists of the like. I’d imagine performers of all ages coming together and sharing their stories through a series of various mediums of storytelling. After hosting our auditions on April 29, at Theatre Baton Rouge, most of our auditions consisted of LGBTQIA+ youth and young adults aged 13 -18.
WINNER - Brian Howell, 16
(He/His/They/Them)original poetry reading of "Picture a Body"
Brian was unexpected for me. I had my fingers crossed for a poet to show up, and Brian was our one and only poet for auditions. As someone who normally deals with poetry submissions via email, it was refreshing to hear Brian read about his trans experience. From his tempo to his descriptive imagery, the poem was a personal plea for understanding, respect, and survival. Here are some of the lyrics from Brian’s reading of his original piece, “Picture a Body”:
“In the beginning, I wanted your understanding. Now I just want your silence. When you ask me the first time, the second, third, forth, fifth, hell even the sixth time, I wanted you to understand - but there is only so much of myself that I can give to you before I run out. And I have given up on understanding.”
I give you the “pretty” definition. I give you the “sterile” traumas, the pushes and shoves. I give you my aorta in a blood-red corsage box. But, for once, i need you to see.”
“Picture a body, it is yours, but it is not. The hand that grabs the lump in his throat is made of chicken wire, and it reminds you of the day you flossed plaster off of a wired sculpture unable to face yourself in the mirror because you couldnt visualize living passed fifteen.”
The remainder of Brians poem goes on to talk about how no matter how many metaphors he can use to describe his experience for other people to understand, they truly will never know the dysphoria of being trans. He then goes on to dedicate his poem to his trans community acknowleding the troubles and tribulations they go through on a daily basis:
“I am reaching out to every trans person in the audience. Every trans person hearing this right now, every one of us who has had to explain the inexplicable to people, who depsite their intentions will never understand. I am reaching out to every trans person who has been told you are too angry, too hurt, too scared, too sad, too stuck on this - too much of anything - by people who have never had to rise and wrangle the half-ghost of a soul into the slip of an unyielding and unwanted body.”
Brian will be performing a reading of “Picture A Body” on Friday, June 16, 2023, during the Why Pride reception at the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Victoria Simmons
(She/Her/They/Them)stand-up comedy performance
Our comedic performance of the night was performed by Victoria Simmons, a multi-talented artist here in Baton Rouge. Victoria has performed in several productions with Theatre Baton Rouge, such as A Christmas Carol, and she is also a craft artist in her spare time. She will be joining the list of local queer artists participating in The Queerative Market, A Southern Queer Arts Market, on Saturday, June 24, 2023 as part of the Baton Rouge Pride Festival. Make sure to come and check out Victoria’s LGBTQ+ wearable resin pieces including earrings, charms, and pins.
Syndle LeJeune, 13
(She/Her/They/Them)performance of an original song
Syndle was the youngest contestant in this year’s cast. She had written an original song about a girl falling in love with another girl, who ultimately ended up not choosing her in the end. For her young age, she showed a refreshing sense of maturity, as well as a passion for performing. Syndle also shared her experience of growing up and being adopted by her father who is a trans man, and how that experience has shaped her own journey of self-expression and acceptance.
Her father, Kennedy LeJeune, learned about the talent show after connecting with Baton Rouge Pride and tabling during our recent Spring fundraising event, Call Me Crawdaddy: A Community Crawfish Boil & Social. This is an excellent example of how these small family-centered events can allow more opportunities for our local LGBTQIA+ families in Baton Rouge to be involved.
Piper Ward, 16
(She/Hers)performance of "Waving Through A Window" from Dear Evan Hansen
Since her audition, Piper has shown the most growth in her confidence and in her overall delivery. From laughing at herself during rehearsals, to improving her overall showmanship for the final performance. She was a delight to listen to during her cover of Waving Through A Window. During her interview portion, Piper talked about how she could relate to feeling isolated as an outsider who is still figuring out their identity, and why she chose that particular song for the pride focused talent show.
Noelle Allison (She/Her) & Cade Allison, 18 (They/Them)
performance of "Fragile Things" from Centaur World
Noelle & Cade were our final duo of auditions, and within five seconds of listening to their family dynamic, I knew they were something special. Cade began sharing how they came to the realization of them being non-binary during the pandemic, and Allison shared how nonchalant Cade was in their delivery of, “ Hey mom, I asked a girl out and she said yes…”
“That’s exactly how casual I imagined that ever being if any of my kids were to come to me about their sexuality.” Noelle shared. It was comforting hearing the story of how loving and accepting a mother can be for their queer and questioning children. Noelle also shared with us how she learned more about herself thanks to Cade and their discovery of themselves. “Now, I feel that we have more language today to help us navigate our identities and become more aware of how special we all are.”
For their performance, they covered the song “Fragile Things” from the Netflix animated show Centaurworld. The song was about the contrasts between a controlling and smothering “mother-like” character and the rebellious and independent character who believes that “only you can take care of you”. The dynamics of learning how to balance taking care of others, as well as taking care of yourself.
Basically, how to foster inner strength and confidence in those you care for, while still supporting them in their self-confidence and autonomy. It was such a special song to hear between a mother and their queer child. It made me think about how many parents of queer kids worry about their child’s safety, but also understand that their children will have their own strength and confidence in navigating the world.
It is safe to say, that they were my personal favorite of the night.
Thank you to Theatre Baton Rouge for partnering with us to produce this successful fundraising event for Baton Rouge Pride. We look forward to making this event even bigger next year!
