A new play written by an Atlanta native is coming to town this week.
In rural Georgia, drag star Courtney Berringers (given name: Anthony Knighton) would like to welcome you to her wake. She has recently died from complications due to AIDS. But make no mistake, this isn’t your grandma’s funeral. There will be no black frocks, no perfumed flowers, and no crying. Tonight is a celebration.
At the Wake of a Dead Drag Queen is written by Terry Guest, a former native of Atlanta. Now based in Chicago, Guest is an award-winning Playwright, Actor, Director, and Teaching Artist. With his play set in Georgia, this is a full circle moment to have its premiere at Out Front and is a tremendous success story of a playwright who originated their work in Atlanta.
The play is also directed by Damian Lockhart, who also directed a production in Florida in 2021, and has a strong attachment to the piece.
Guest said it feels special to have a showing in the city where he was born and it’s a full circle moment.
“It’s special to have the show at Out Front because the audiences that the show is truly about the Black queer people in Georgia will for the first time have the opportunity to see the show,” he said.
Guest also said the play is “full circle” because he’s from Atlanta.
“When I was there I had so many limitations around who I thought I was as a person and as an artist, and I didn’t even think that I could write a play for real. I certainly didn’t think it would ever be produced by anyone,” he said. “Leaving home and building a career outside of Atlanta has been so fruitful and it’s taught me in so many ways, my power. It’s really special that my play is happening in Atlanta, a play that I thought I would write.”
Additionally, Guest said he had been thinking about writing this play since his late uncle Anthony passed away in 2005.
“I started writing it in 2016, the year Lemonade came out. I wrote it very quickly actually once I sat down and committed myself to it, but the idea took a long time to ruminate and I would write one page and throw it away,” he said.
At The Wake of a Dead Drag Queen’s inspiration is about family, Guest said.
“It’s ultimately about family, including my Uncle Anthony and his life/death. He died from AIDS when I was 15 years old. I, being also queer, just had a really hard time and felt very confused by it,” he said. “I remember one time I asked him if he thought he was going to hell because he was gay and he said yes, and that really struck me as a child who was also gay. So, I think I just felt like I needed to write out that confusion, fear, and sadness.”
The play, Guest said, is a personal story.
“Take my Uncle Anthony, a person who was always destined for stardom, and to make sure that even after he dies, people are still saying his name and talking about his story for years to come,” he said. “I don’t think he ever imagined this. It’s [the play] about two poor drag queens in Albany, Georgia, and the ongoing AIDS crisis with black people in the South. It sounds very serious, honey, I promise, it’s fun and a celebration.”
Guest said he wants the audience to have fun and most importantly, feel they know a group of people more intimately, who they may have not taken seriously before.
While discussing topics that may be heavy, Guest said the importance of making it into a celebration is “the most southern Black thing of all”.
“That’s how my grandma was,” he said. “Her life was tough, but she was hilarious, and my uncle was like that. His life was very tough, but he was hilarious, my mom was hilarious, my dad was hilarious, my whole family was. So, I think it wasn’t even intentional, it’s simply a personal, authentic way of expressing grief.”
As for advice, Guest passed on a message to other Black queer boys and men in the world.
“Build a community of people around you who will challenge you, make you laugh, tell you the truth, and grow with you as well. I think that has been important to me and I look around now, and I am so proud of the people that I surround myself with because they’ve really kept me afloat,” he said.
At The Wake of a Dead Drag Queen premieres from Feb. 1-17 in select venues near you.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit https://outfronttheatre.com/event/at-the-wake-of-a-dead-drag-queen/.