“Helaman Halls” performed at Queer Noise

“Queer Noise” is a curation of experimental, queer, interdisciplinary work organized by Verbal Animal. The festival was held at the TADA! Youth Theater in New York City’s Flatiron District and was sponsored by Emerging Artists Theatre’s Spark Theatre Festival NYC. Myles Woolstenhulme and I presented our new duet, “Helaman Halls,” alongside many other talented queer artists this evening.

The themes explored in ”Helaman Halls” are informed by both Myles’ and my experience attending a conservative, religious university, Brigham Young University (BYU). To attend BYU or to be a faculty member, one must sign and adhere to the Honor Code, which is a code of conduct originally written by students, for students back in 1948. After a revision in the 60s, which forbade queer students and faculty to date, the climate became increasingly unsafe for queer students. Any students or faculty who are found to be in queer relationships could be expelled or fired. 

For more context on queer history at BYU:

(https://www.usgabyu.com/single-post/byuhistory#:~:text=The%20Honor%20Code%20was%20born,as%20the%20White%20Key%20organization).

Our piece, “Helaman Halls,” is the result of our exploration of how members of a marginalized group find love and community with one another despite severe risk.

I’m thankful for the opportunity Verbal Animal provided us to share this piece. From this show, Myles and I plan to continue workshopping and build this duet into a longer work.