Recalling ‘90s-era TV like In Living Color and SNL, women of color perform sketch comedy, spoken word, song, and dance
After the sold-out presentation of last year’s Mighty Real: A Sketch Variety Show, community social group ItsQwere is proud to announce an encore performance happening Saturday, June 17 at SOMArts in San Francisco as part of Queer Cultural Center’s National Queer Arts Festival.
Recalling ’90s-era TV shows like In Living Color, All That, and SNL, this scripted variety show is led by a cast of women of color and features performances of sketch comedy, spoken word, song, and dance.
Cultural events like Mighty Real encourage community action and radical change by inspiring the imagination, and the ItsQwere team has created something entirely different, for the community, by the community.
"What makes our show unique is that our sketch writers are all folks of color who focus on celebrating our community,” says Tony Taylor, ItsQwere founder and event producer. “We’re bringing our joyful talents to the forefront of entertainment without centering trauma, perseverance, or strength."
New sketches will intertwine with memorable favorites from the 2022 Mighty Real production, including the laugh-out-loud family dinner scene featuring the sassy, opinionated, tipsy, unfiltered character Aunt Tea, and Gwen Stafani’s 2004 hit “Hollaback Girl” becomes a hilarious music parody, “Take It From a Black Girl''.
Now in its fifth year, Mighty Real takes its name from the 1978 Billboard chart-topping hit “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” by Sylvester, the Black, flamboyant, San Francisco chanteuse whose unmatched acrobatic vocals made him an international music sensation and a queer icon still revered over 30 years after his passing.
“We’re bringing the spirit and worry-free energy of the song, and Sylvester himself, into each performance,” adds Taylor. “Whether it’s through music, comedy, thought-provoking themes, or the grounded, raw poetry, during those two hours, we want you to feel fully authentic and uninhibited.”
ItsQwere began in 2018 as a conversation salon among local queers gathered in a San Francisco living room. Since then, the social organization has engaged LGBTQ community members across the country and internationally through poetry readings, panel discussions, social media, a monthly book club, and an annual live production.
Mighty Real contains adult themes and attendees must be aged 21+.
ItsQwere is a 2023 beneficiary of Queer Cultural Center’s National Queer Arts Festival (NQAF) grant, which will fund the San Francisco production of Mighty Real: A Sketch Variety Show. NQAF is an annual multidisciplinary festival held May through July throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Each year, over twenty performances, visual arts exhibitions, and interdisciplinary showcases are commissioned.