Coming out and a big move

Provoking thought, evoking emotion, sharing a perspective and calling for action. Those are all on the performance to-do list of artist Corian Ellisor. The 33-year-old Texas native (and current Atlanta resident) will be performing a unique storytelling experience he calls “On My Mind” at 7 Stages Theatre, Nov. 3 – 5. The performance, which mixes drag, dance, live singing, theater and comedy will also serve as Ellisor’s thesis for his MFA in Dance from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

“When I went up to D.C. to start researching the thesis work for this performance piece two years ago, I was learning about Black Lives Matter,” Ellisor said on how the idea began. “What was really resonating in my mind was that black people were being killed by police and me not feeling safe around these people who were supposed to be protecting me, and my civil liberties.”

It made the artist think back to lessons learned from his mother.

“She raised me to be strong but also to always keep in mind that I am a black man of color and people are going to look at me differently and have expectations of me that are not necessarily true, but they are social constructs that have been placed upon me,” he said. “I started feeling like I needed to say something.”

Prior to “On My Mind,” Ellisor’s work had been based on the human experience, rather then telling his own personal story through solo work.

“I do a lot of dance and come from a theater background,” he said. “I also sing and do drag so I wanted to make this a multimedia show so I could express the plight of my mom and how I was raised by my mom, my aunt and my grandmother. They shaped me into who I am. I find a lot of my strength from the feminine mother archetype.”

The first 20 minutes of “On My Mind” begins with Ellisor re-creating his coming out as gay to his mother.

“She was so upset. She gave me this speech about how hard my life is going to be because I’m a black man and how much harder my life was going to be when I throw gay into the mix,” he said. “Her brother was gay and he had some mental issues and problems. Part of it was like her putting his character onto me. But after she thought about it, she realized we are two completely different people and then she was okay.”

Ellisor said his mother laid the groundwork for him to be able to do the kind of

By SHANNON HAMES

CONTINUES ON PAGE 22

October 27, 2017