SYNTHESIS
RUNTIME: Approximately 100 minutes including an intermission.
This performance contains the use of water based haze and strobe lighting
Parts of this production includes the use of fake blood, a gunshot sound, explicit language, and references to sexual violence.
Poster by Alotta McGriddles
Synthesis is a theatrical variety show presenting nightlife performers in the queer community and celebrating an array of disciplines and identities. This incredible evening of music, drag, and burlesque carves out space for traditionally marginalized performers to nurture and grow their craft. Synthesis aims to allow artists to present their work in an elevated environment with more technical support, enabling a grander vision to come to life.
Synthesis features performances by:
ACT I
MIZ JADE
Folded
Choreographed by Miz Jade in collaboration with Marjay Smith and Mary-Angela Granberry
Performed by Miz Jade, Marjay Smith, Mary-Angela Granberry
Music by Kehlani
Costumes by Miz Jade in collaboration with Marjay Smith and Mary-Angela Granberry
Thank you to my incredible dancers and for the power of R&B music. You pull at my heart strings always and forever.
TIP MIZ JADE | TIP MARJAY SMITH | TIP MARY-ANGELA GRANBERRY
SHERRY POPPINS
Lead Me On
A playful and funky story of love and desire, “Lead Me On” is a dance between Sherry Poppins and Daniel Gold. With Teena Marie being one of Sherry’s favorite musical artists, she wanted to take this opportunity to showcase her cumulative skill set over the course of her 10+ year drag career. Inspired by elements of swing dance, contemporary partner dancing, and waacking, Sherry is eager to share her first fully choreographed piece in many years, with collaboration from the infinitely talented dancer/choreographer Daniel Gold.
Choreography & performance: Sherry Poppins & Daniel Gold
Sound Design: Sherry Poppins
Special thanks to Daniel Gold, Triskelion Arts, and those who celebrate queer artists across New York City.
BLUE
Human Nature
Choreographed and Performed by Blue
Special thanks to my drag sister Rayne who helped me conceptualize this performance & my mother for teaching me to be confident & love myself everyday of my life.
SHIA HO
The American Dream
Concept & Direction by Shia Ho
Costume by Shia Ho
Hair by BaeJing
*This piece contains the use of fake blood.
MIZ JADE
What About The World Tour
Choreographed by Miz Jade
Performed by Miz Jade
Costumes by Miz Jade
Special thanks to irony.
*This piece includes a gunshot sound, explicit language, and references to sexual violence.
-INTERMISSION-
ACT II
MIZ JADE
Not YOU again!
Miz Jade in collaboration with Christopher Rand
Performed by Miz Jade, Christopher Rand and Kevyn Octavio
Here We Go (Uh Oh)' by CoCo Jones
Costumes by Miz Jad and Kevyn Octavio
Collaboration with Phaedra Faded
Cinematography and editing by Christopher Rand
Special thanks to irony.
CUNNING STUNT
Shared and Spontaneous Joy
In a very unpleasant world there are fewer and fewer moments of light spontaneity. This piece begins with a man battling his own thoughts, and an uncertain future and ends with a moment which will be different for each show. My goal is creating a final physical piece of art which is unique to the moment we will all share together in this room tonight, hopefully sparking some joy and acting as a reminder of the power of levity and light.
Created By Cunning Stunt
Choreography by Nirah Burwell
Costuming by Cole Vande Zande and Cunning Stunt
Huge thank you to my beautiful Cole for their help and inspiration bringing this number to life.
BERTHA VANAYSHUN
Bertha Vanayshun Goes to the Beach
Bamboozled by Bertha Vanayshun
Special thanks to Pabllo Vittar
BOB VOYAGE
Bob Voyage will help you book your next hyper-local travel experience.
Created and performed by Francis aka Fantasy Grandma aka Y2Kaleb of Earls2Gearls aka Bob Voyage!
Directed by Bell
Appreciation goes out to Citibank for being a dry pit of hell.
MIZ JADE
Stand up For Love
Choreographed & Performed by Miz Jade
Stand up For Love by Destiny's Child
Costumes and styling by Miz Jade
A special thanks to my chosen family, friends, therapist and ancestors who give me the strength to persevere, show up, nurture and love hard!
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
MIZ JADE
Miz Jade is a Black, trans, gender-fluid drag performer, host, and professional dancer taking NYC nightlife by storm. Fierce, sensual, and razor-witted, she blends elite dance training from SUNY Purchase with high-impact drag to create unforgettable performances. A celebrated competitor, collaborator with drag icons, and featured artist in Revry’s Queens of Kings, Miz Jade is also a passionate educator and activist, advocating for inclusivity through Drag Story Hour and national LGBTQ+ health campaigns. With multiple award nominations and a reputation for turning every stage into a spectacle, Miz Jade is truly in a league of her own.
BERTHA VANAYSHUN
Bertha Vanayshun is Brooklyns Premiere White Woman Of Color and the creator of Drag History Minute and Drag History Hour. Her comedy and charm has quickly made her a staple of NYC nightlife, you can catch her all around the city and occasionally the tri-state area.
BLUE
Blue is a queen of major versatility in more ways than one. Hailing from the borough that brought us so much cultural artistry, the South Bronx. She has been doing drag for 7 years & has 2 major weekly shows that have been going for 5 years, Mad Mondayz & Bad Judy’s. She wants the world to know that no matter where you come from or what life has given you, you will always have the power to be your own super star.
BOB VOYAGE
Francis (creator/performer) is a writer / comedian / performance artist, creator of Fantasy Grandma & Y2K drag boyband Earls2Gearls, DAD, We're For Men and now Bob Voyage. Their work has appeared at The New Museum, The Met, the Brooklyn Museum, Joe's Pub, Bushwig, Zanies, and the Hollywood Improv and has been featured in NY Times, Motherboard, ARTFORUM, The Wall Street Journal, and the Village Voice. They were a member of the NY Neo-Futurists from 2008-2018 and their work was nominated for a Drama Desk (but didn't win!). Earls2Gearls is a sexed up heterosexual early 2000's boy band making music just for u, Gearl. We're For Men is an early 90's deeply-closeted country western girl group. Bob Voyage is a lost man in a large world. Fantasy Grandma is your grandma and has been making music and Jello™ for you since before you were born but the accomplishment your grandma will always be proudest of is you. Francis is an average alien waitress who doesn't really use their first name anymore, and so is looking for a new last name. Francis Francis? Open to suggestions!
Bell (director) is a writer, performance and visual artist with over 14 years of experience across commercial events, festival production, and community organizations in Ireland, the UK, New York, and Los Angeles. They have a background in clown (Gaulier, Lecoq) and trained in Theatre of the Oppressed at Goldsmiths and with Ulex in Spain. Bell has performed throughout the UK and Europe, co-creating Womb With A View for Shambala Festival (Unique Festival Arena Award), creating and performing Spectrum, a show about revolutionary thinker and autistic advocate Temple Grandin for Edinburgh Fringe and performing in Dada for Girls where they won Most Outstanding Performance (London Fringe) and Most Groundbreaking Performance (Gothenburg Fringe). They are a creator of Earls2Gearls and We're For Men and are currently writing a short film.
CUNNING STUNT
Cunning Stunt is the impossibly possible man. He is a Drag King, emcee, and producer based in NYC. He hosts Manhattan's only Drag King and Thing Revue, Drag King Competition, and Drag King Bingo. You can catch him in the upcoming World Of Wonder program Club Cumming playing himself, streaming 3/30. His work has been featured in Rolling Stone Magazine, The Washington Post, Thotessy, and Singola Italia. In the daytime he is a food and history tour guide for the city (who also runs ghost tours!) and would love to take a stroll around town discussing the history of the greatest city in the world. Cunning Stunt is a drag king, a heart throb, and definitely the boy your mother warned you about.
SHERRY POPPINS
Sherry Poppins is a Queens based Drag Artist who started performing in drag in 2011. After Synthesis’ very own Miz Jade put her in drag for her first time in college, Sherry quickly became inspired to express her various interests and passions through the lense of drag. As a disco loving loud mouth who loves to laugh, Sherry Poppins strives to find the balance between her comedic prowess, and her absolute love for dance! Now, an award-winning drag artist who performs all over the city, Sherry is honored to perform at Synthesis 2026.
SHIA HO
Shia Ho is a Japanese-American drag artist and event producer who weaves her Asian and queer identity into bold performances and immersive parties across NYC. She is a creator of Made in Asia, the largest AAPI drag festival in the U.S., and passionate HIV advocate!
ANNA WOTRING (LIGHTING DESIGN & DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION) is a community-minded dance artist, designer, and production stage manager, dedicated to the practice of collaborative leadership. As the Director of Production at Triskelion Arts, Wotring shapes programming that makes production design accessible to movement artists, whether they're starting to explore an idea or deep in research. Trisk serves as a home, allowing artists to materialize their production vision and find imaginative pathways around and through tangible possibility. Wotring holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the Five College Dance Department in Western Massachusetts. She has had the privilege of working with a wide range of dance artists and organizations, including Alvin Ailey Studios, Annie Heath, Attack Theater, Ballet Des Ameriques, BalletNext, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, the Dance Conservatory of Pittsburgh, Dance Place, H2O Contemporary Dance, Jennifer Nugent, Lauren Horn, Monica Bill Barnes & Company, New York Live Arts, the Pillow Project, Prayers of the People, RoseAnne Spradlin, Scapegoat Garden, slowdanger, Time Lapse Dance, and many others. Wotring is deeply grateful and honored to be working, imagining, and making magic with the Trisk team and community.
We respectfully acknowledge that the work of Triskelion Arts is situated on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of Lenapehoking, the homeland of the Lenape peoples. We pay our respects to their land, water, and ancestors, past, present, and future. This acknowledgment demonstrates a commitment to the process of working to dismantle the ongoing legacies of settler colonialism and to learning to be better stewards of this land.
NEXT UP…
VERBAL ANIMAL
APRIL 9-11, 2026
8PM
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