Highlighting comedians of color, Mighty Real aims to be a knockout
Media Contact: Alexandra Si, info@itsqwere.com
San Francisco, October 21, 2019 — San Francisco-based conversation salon series Hear + Qwere will host its second annual Mighty Real event on November 2 at PianoFight in the Tenderloin. Benefitting Compton’s Transgender Cultural District, the stand-up comedy night features LGBTQ comedians of color from across the Bay Area.
Sylvester, from Warner Bros. Records Archives
Mighty Real is inspired by the 1978 disco hit of San Francisco icon Sylvester. Black, gay, and a picture-book definition of flamboyant, Sylvester fought to be recognized for his operatic vocals and respected for his bedazzled whimsy.
“Sylvester is at the heart of Hear + Qwere’s agenda: highlighting queer folks of all colors who feel overlooked and misrepresented,” says Hear + Qwere founder Tony Taylor.
Spanning multiple cultures and sexual identities, comedy headliners include Nori Reed, Sampson McCormick, Baruch Porras-Hernandez, Dominique Gelin, Sureni Weerasekera, and Sergio Novoa.
Premier event sponsor Radically Fit Oakland, an inclusive body-positive fitness center owned by Lindsey Page, is supporting a set of tickets for queer folks of color who may otherwise be unable to attend. Bay Area businesses providing additional support include Code Tenderloin, GLBT Historical Society and queer-owned Plant Therapy.
“Now more than ever, we need to strengthen community,” adds Taylor, a Black gay journalist and 15-year San Francisco resident. “As queer folks of color, we must be the ones to create authentic and safe spaces for ourselves because no one is going to do it for us.”
In just under two years, Hear + Qwere has partnered with LGBTQ organizations globally (Oakland, New York City, Paris, Los Angeles, and Istanbul) hosting conversation salons, a film screening, a community networking mixer, and a queer sex panel discussion. Last year’s inaugural Mighty Real: a live music event featured performances by model-actor-singer Laith Ashley, synth-pop duo TWINKIDS, and electro-punk band Karlina Covington.
This year’s Hear + Qwere’s Mighty Real: a comedy night is for and by queer and trans folks of color. Everyone’s welcome. It’s a crazy world out there — let’s laugh!
For tickets and information, visit itsqwere.com.
About H+Q
Hear + Qwere is a conversation and event series highlighting the LGBTQ spectrum’s most vibrant members. H+Q navigates, uplifts, and unpacks queer culture while building communities on an international scale.
