Being Queen is My Resistance: Lessons in Drag Mythology and Migration” is a cabaret-style, one-person show that blends storytelling, drag performance, dance, and video to weave together milestones in KaMani Sutra’s story of discovering their femininity while being an adult immigrant to the United States. This autobiographical multimedia program contrasts the freedom to express their true self in a foreign land with aesthetics and inspirations rooted in the richness of Indian drag. Interspersed with short performances and (consensual!) audience participation, KaMani Sutra’s lecture-performance-workshop challenges the myths of the model minority, binary gender, and colonizer saviorship. It is a celebration of intergenerational queerness, LGBTQ+ community, saris, mujras, divine femininity, and self-love.

KaMani Sutra will be giving this workshop, hosted by Rangoli Pittsburgh, at Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation on Friday, May 26 from 6-8pm, as part of Rangoli’s LGBTQ+ AAPI Day of Visibility celebrations.

On June 1st of 2019, Rangoli Pittsburgh introduced LGBTQ+ AAPI Day of Visibility, and it’s since been recognized for 5 years in a row by official proclamation from both Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania. For the past five years, it’s been a day of celebration and of visibility for this unique intersection of identities, right in between Asian American Heritage Month and Pride Month.