Drama Tops

Base Residency Entry Point: Drama Tops
Sunday March 3, 2024 at 4 PM

Drama Tops is co-topped by Elby Brosch, a transman, and Shane Donohue, a fairly cisman. As self-professed "Seattle's hottest postmodern, nightlife performance duo.", we are committed to creating queer performance that brings campy postmodernism to the clubs and queer nightlife to concert stages. Essentially, we are sassy li'l shits with an appetite for esoteric modern dance and pop music. Our signature sense of irony parodies macho archetypes by using our overwhelmingly masculine bodies to create work that illiciates cheering, crying, and throwing money.

The complex emotional and physical history of our dancing bodies experientially influences our movement languages and natural physical tendencies. To us, this is the basis of our Uranian (homosexual) exploration. We use our physical explorations and process as a way to connect ourselves with our lost queer elders by experimenting with meditative repetition, music, and exhaustion.

[Image Description: Two people in front of a large fountain thrashing their bodies. The tall person has a mullet and is wearing a short and button shirt combo covered in bananas. The short person is bald and is wearing a short and button shirt combo with flamingos on it. ]
*Photo provided by Erin O'Reilly*

In process, we find ourselves making objects. Elby, a woodworker, makes custom furniture for a living and Shane is interested in sewing, building, dramatic theater elements, and costume design. We are both invested in how the creation of objects aids in world building as well as creates and defines legacy for queer community. Movement based practices are often ephemeral whereas objects are left over long after the creators' bodies are gone.

Combining clear physical signifiers with abstract movements and sparse text, we share our unique perspectives on relatable topics. Weaving in pop culture references with niche modern dance tropes to create surreal realities that are often too real. Drama Tops allows us to live our dreams, learn about the world, and deal with our gay-ass lives.

In the past, you may have seen Drama Tops in the first of their self produced full-length shows, Boys! Boys! Boys!,Drama Tops, this is for you, at Washington Hall as well as in the international tour of The Jinkx + Dela Holiday Show. Their work has also been presented at On the Boards in Northwest New Works and at Velocity in Fall Kick Off. In the gay bars of Seattle you might have seen them in a drag show at Kremwerk's Family Meal, Sissy Butch, or Catharsis; at Cha Cha in Heels!; at the Unicorn in High F@ggotry; at Clock Out Lounge in Tush!; and more.