The Southern Gents Tour was born out of the burnin' desire of two queer white Southerners
to git together and shake up perceptions about the South and Southerners
- in a polite and friendly manner, of course.
Touring the United States and Canada, these Blue Hearts from the Red States
will bring you multi-media performance and politics that address such topics as
gender, race, class, cowboys and Republicans
with a whole lotta sugar and a gentlemanly shine.
The Southern Gents have the aggressive issues of our time smothered'n'covered
better than WaHo hash browns...if that were possible....

THE GENTS

The Southern Gents are spoken word superstar, Katz of the Athens Boys Choir,
and your friendly neighborhood performance artist, Scott Turner Schofield.
These boys work for social change through art and think words are the best weapons available
in a counterinsurgency against hateful conservatism.
(That's *hateful* conservatism. We respect political differences. It's what makes us Southern Gents.)

BIOS & PICS

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Katz, with his Jewish roots dressed in cowboy boots performs under the persona of the Athens Boys Choir. His pieces take a brave dive into a deep pool of personal, political, and sexual perspective. 

     Touring nationally since 2003, Katz has performed with such artists as the Indigo Girls, Ani DiFranco, Bitch, The Butchies, Danielle Howle, and Michelle Malone, and has opened for poets of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam on more than one occasion. He uses his poetry to entertain and inform.  Transgender issues are one of his hot topics.

       A Miami native, he also finds writing inspiration from a Jewish upbringing, and a love/hate relationship with politics.  A line from one piece reads “ We all got these subliminal feeding tubes, ‘cause patriotic nourishment is easier when you don’t have to chew, when the heroic value of war is fed to you….”

     Of course, being a southern boy, Katz isn’t afraid to let loose and have a little fun.  Singing and New Kids on the Block dance moves are known to make an appearance at nearly every show.


photo by Nadja Goodman

watch
Scott Turner Schofield is a Southerner in constant transition. From many points in Texas to a stint in Charlotte, NC, to his current place of residence in Atlanta, Turner's regional dysphoria and constant touring reflects his relationship to his gender identity: always in flux, but still somehow specific.

An award-winning performer-writer, Turner finds the universal comedy in sticky social situations related to queerness and gender, and enjoys taking his clothes off in public
– for a purpose, of course.
.
Overall, Turner's stories (part stand-up, part performance art) touch the hearts and minds of diverse audiences. We may not all be trans or queer, but we all possess gender, sexuality, and an authentic journey we can laugh at too. All hail the King...er...Quee...er...
Court Jester of Gender!

THE MESSAGE

Being Southern Gentlemen, to us, means being friendly, open-minded, and especially polite
to people we don't know, don't like, or don't agree with: stopping hate where it starts.
It means coming out, debutante-style, and being the safe space for what anybody calls queer.
It means drinking sweet tea, working against racist / sexist / classist / heterosexist systems,
and organizing people to start a Good Old Boys network for social justice.
It means working out how our history still makes hierarchies and figuring out how to topple them,
all from our own screened-in porch.
It means making "Y'all" a part of speech that builds community.

THE GOSSIP

Athens Boys Choir

"With apologies to Alix Olson, spoken word has never been quite this good." Curve Magazine

"With the inclusion of class, culture, and race dynamics in transgender politics, Katz makes room for the evolution of a movement." Amy Ray, Indigo Girls

“Rapid fire spoken word missives that will make you wanna fight, f*ck and keep on livin'.”
Sugartruck

Scott Turner Schofield

“A transgender, feminist performance artist with a national buzz going …funny…revealing,
whip-smart and poetic”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“…a bright, sharp and an important new performer in this country.”
Tim Miller, performance artist

“…true underground theater – literally and figuratively.” BITCH Magazine

TOUR DATES

Spring 2006
January10th - Kenyon University, Gambier OH
January 18th - University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY

Fall 2005
October 7th - Agnes Scott College, Decatur, GA
October 17th - Bates College, Lewiston, ME
November 15th - Reed College, Portland, OR
November 16th - Portland State University, Portland, OR


Get you a date before they're all gone!

 

Contact the Southern Gents
(turner@undergroundtransit.com)


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