Djola Branner as Sylvester in Mighty Real, 2000, photo by Usry Alleyne, makeup by Lyle Jackson [Enlarge in New Window]

Djola Branner: Mighty Real: A Tribute to Sylvester

Djola Branner has a history of testing the limits. In the case of Mighty Real: A Tribute to Sylvester, this performance artist has created a multi-media work that pushes the boundaries of artistic genre, sexual identity, and high-low culture, all in one rambunctious show.

Branner, a founder of the influential San Francisco collaborative Pomo Afro Homos in the early '90s, here looks back at another performer and gender groundbreaker, the disco and funk superstar and drag queen Sylvester James -- aka Sylvester -- who died of AIDS in 1988. "Sylvester was the artistic forefather of stars like RuPaul and Boy George," Branner explains. Through his openness, innovation, and visibility, Sylvester helped start America on a path toward greater acceptance of gay men. "People who walked that fine line between male and female and did not apologize for it certainly paved the way for a lot of artists. That included musicians who are not gay, like Prince," says Branner, as well as drag queens like RuPaul who was hired to be a Max Factor cover girl.

Beginning his career as a dancer in the eighties, Branner describes his formative alliance with Pomo Afro Homos as a "trial by fire" that helped him develop a fearless approach to art-making. It also taught him the value of strong collaborators. "I go and find people who are not afraid to challenge me, because I usually walk into the room with an opinion," he says, laughing.

To research the story, Branner began by interviewing Sylvester's surviving family and friends. But to conceptualize form, he says, "I'm inspired by artists who can seamlessly meld disciplines" -- choreographers like Bill T. Jones and David Rousseve. With five actors playing several roles, Mighty Real chronicles Sylvester's life and times with a combination of cabaret and character, dance and drag. Mighty Real also marks Branner's most extensive use of media. Video montage sequences created by Susan Robeson add a dynamic layer to the work, providing a changing set backdrop and portraying life in America during the era of Anita Bryant, Ronald Reagan, and the onset of the AIDS epidemic. Throughout the piece, Branner's soaring falsetto captures the energy, humor, and intelligence of the diva's songs. (Branner has even issued a soundtrack CD on Innova Recordings.) Directed by Laurie Carlos, Mighty Real is a testament to Sylvester's liberating influence on contemporary pop culture.

As in each of Branner's performances, the audience is included in the action on-stage. "There are musical numbers where the stage becomes a cabaret and I walk into the audience," he explains. "I listen very carefully when I'm on-stage, so I can tell what is feeding them." In previous works, viewers have become part of a lecture, as in 2000's The House that Crack Built, members of a church congregation in 1998's Homos in the House, and dinner guests at a drag celebration in 1996's Diva X.

"I want to affect people on a heart level," Branner continues, which may explain the diversity of his audience. "I find I have a lot of women coming to see me, [as well as] a lot of queer people. But I don't create for one particular group. Whoever can be affected by the work, I hope they'll come into the theater."

The next stop for Mighty Real is San Francisco's 2002 Queer Theater Festival. "I'm really excited, because this will be a sort of homecoming for me and for Sylvester," says Branner. While Branner now calls Minneapolis his home, "San Francisco is where I came of age as an artist."

Two years after Mighty Real premiered, Branner continues to refine the piece, with the help of Robeson, Carlos, and the cast. In addition, he is also working on a number of new commissions for Minneapolis theater companies. An artist whose work can be personal, political, and funky all at once, Branner hasn't stopped breaking new ground.

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THIS PROJECT'S CATEGORIES: Performance > Performance Art / Theater / Spoken Word | African American Themes | LGBT | History | Politics | 2000