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LIFE SQUARED opens the FTF#9

It has been a while! After performing ‘T/HE/Y’ (Josep Caballero Garcia) at HAU in 2015 and 2016, I had a 3-year hiatus from the stage to take on theater training at The Acting Muscle in Berlin and write LIFE SQUARED. It is an honor to have been invited by La Ménagerie de Berlin to open the Francophonic Theater Festival on November 15th, 2019 at the ACUD in Berlin!

This new show is a patchwork of different forms and modes: monologue and standup, media art and poetry slam, the serious and the silly, shifting between these in the blink of an eye and without any fear of contradiction. After all, every moment can reveal an illusion  - especially on stage. 

Because: Is there anything about ourselves we can really trust?

Life SQUARED is a story of why we should challenge the things we seem certain of - our own physicality, time, space, and possibly love - without losing sight of what matters most. To ask: who are we, but more importantly, why do we care? What are we doing in life to make sense of it all? Is it all in vain? What happens once we’ve lost all illusions? Can we square it all before we die? 

 Follow me to get the last insights!

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T/HE/Y CONFUSE HAMBURG!

So Berlin got it right - see the Tagesspiegel post below, whereas ZEIT Online believe T/HE/Y are men without any parts nor testoterone... Seriously? Read the full article here to discover I even started as a Drag Queen - real NEWS indeed :-D

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T/HE/Y are real men.

Says the press... and if the press says, well. There must be at least something about it... Thanks to the Tagesspiegel for their nice critique!

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T/HE/Y are an art installation.

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T/HE/Y are an art installation.

Last night, we had the opening night of T/HE/Y at the Männlich Weiss Hetero Festival @ HAU3 - the performance piece of Josep Caballero García in collaboration with Black Cracker and myself has been reviewed by the BerlinArtLink, the insider's guide for Contemporary Art and Culture and ranked in the top 10 events of the Berlin Gallery Week End: "a must-see' performance art work that promises to be a profound and memorable exploration of masculinity in pop culture, in dance, and in society as a form of relation and a practice".

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Entweder.Oder. My speech @ DOCKVILLE Kunstkamp

Erstmal möchte ich natürlich warnen: ich bin kein Kunstwissenschaftler, der mit intellektuellen Begriffen auf höchster Ebene jonglieren wird. Ich habe zwar 2 Jahren lang Philosophie und Linguistik studiert, ich habe jedoch keine fundierte Kenntnisse im Kunstbereich. Ich BIN ein Künstler und mache Kunst (wenn man das so sagen/nennen kann). Nun könnte ich ad absurdum das Thema "Kategorien in der Kunst?" behandeln und auf die Schwierigkeit hinweisen, zu definieren, was überhaupt Kunst ausmacht. Das als erste Kategorie: um als Kunst anerkannt zu sein, muß man schon sich in die Klassifikation erarbeiten! Hier könnte man schnell auch in die Debatte verfallen: bleibt Kunst an sich eine hermetische Kategorie, wo nur auserwählten/initierten/kultivierten Zugang haben, oder hat es nur mit ästhetischen Spaß zu tun, eigenen Geschmack und subjektives Einschätzungsvermögen, was universell ist? Ich könnte auch auf die von Hegel definierten Kategorien hinweisen, die sich mit den Jahren weiter erweitert haben (von den 6 ursprünglichen Kategorien über der 7. -cinema - bis hin zum 10. mit digital). Ich könnte sogar auf die Klassifikation von Francis Parent (abstrakt, figurativ, spirituell etc) erweitern! Und dann hätte wir eine richtig langweilige Rede. Der neulich verstorbene Chris Walker ist das beste Beispiel dafür: unkategorisierbar. Auch meine Arbeit ist nicht kategorisierbar. Weder bin ich ein Sänger, noch ein Tanzer, weder ein Filmemacher noch ein Tanzer, aber ich berühre alle diese Genres (was auch mit meinem nicht kategorisiert-werden-wollen- Einsatz zu tun haben könnte).

Gerade Kunst soll die Kategorien an sich transzendieren. Kunst an sich als höchstes Freiheitswesen, der allen Grenzen sprengt, weil Horizonten eröffnet, Imagination fördert, Träume über die Realität hinaus zeichnet. Im Sinne von Kant: nicht mal Homère könnte berichten, was sein ganzer Werk zum Ausdruck bringt.Kunst kann sein/existieren als solche, ohne unter besonderen kulturellen Normen oder Regeln eingeordnet oder verstanden zu werden. Dafür sollte Kunst als Frucht seines "Schaffer"/des Künstlers, und ganz ausgeliefert zur Schätzung des Betrachters existieren, also als Brücke, als Einladung, also nicht als Entweder oder sonders als und. Mehr nicht, aber auch nicht weniger.

Ich möchte auch nicht weniger vom Leben haben. Mir ist es bewußt, in dem ungemeinen Luxus zu leben, wählen zu dürfen, hier, lebend in Berlin, und sicherlich!! auch in meiner privilegierter Position als weiße, gebildete Person. Was für eine bequeme Position! Auch wenn das Erleben des "Zwischen der Stühle sitzen" alles andere als bequem ist - sei es zwischen der Staatsangehörigkeiten, der sozialen und kulturellen Kreisen, zwischen Subkultur und kommerziellem Erfolg, zwischen Gender, Städte, zwischen privat und öffentlich! Und es ist noch nicht mal so, daß "dazwischen" zwischen zwei Pole heißt, denn was ist schon linear und hat zwei Enden? Hier möchte ich zu einem Artikel von Katrin Triebswetter im Magazin "fiber. werkstoff für feminismus und popkultur" weiterleiten: http://www.oceanleroy.biz/blog/2010/01/zwischen-den-stuhlen-der-strand/

Aber diese Position habe ich ja ausgewählt. Die strengt mich an und gibt mir eine Spannung, bis ich meine Grenzen spüre, Grenzen die ich eigentlich nie finden möchte. Das nenne ich Freiheit, und die Kunst zu leben - oder überleben.

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Entweder. Oder. Show @ DOCKVILLE in Hamburg 03.-04.08.

Bis zum 5. August 2012 leben, arbeiten und interagieren über 50 KünstlerInnen aus der ganzen Welt gemeinsam auf dem Festivalgelände in Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg. Zu »Entweder. Oder.« wurden sowohl installative Arbeiten kuratiert, an deren Entwicklung die Besucher sich beteiligen können, als auch ein örtlich eher flüchtiges Kunst- und Musik-Programm zusammen gestellt. Alle Kunstwerke spiegeln die Ideen des Kategoriesetzens und –auflösens in verschiedenen Nuancen wider. Kategorien sind Denkhilfen, lassen uns aber manchmal auch in Schubladen denken. Das MS DOCKVILLE Kunstcamp benennt diese Schubladen, öffnet sie, stöbert in ihnen und bringt Unerwartetes ans Tageslicht.Dieses Jahr besteht das Kunstcamp-Programm in seiner Gesamtheit aus Gesprächen, Workshops, Spaziergängen, einem Symposium zum Meta-Thema Entweder.Oder., Performances und Konzerten sowie den beiden großen Parties Butterland Open-Air und Vogelball. Das Butterland Open-Air lockt alle Freilufttänzer am 29. Juli 2012 an einen liebevoll gestalteten Bühnenort zum MS Dockville Kunstcamp und verwöhnt sie mit einem exquisiten Line-Up. Neben Érobique stehen DJ-Größen wie Move D, Smallpeople, AKAAK, Tilman Tausendfreund und Psychedelic Artwork auf dem Programm. Mit dem Vogelball am Samstag, 4. August 2012, etabliert das Kunstcamp nunmehr im zweiten Jahr einen queeren Maskenball, bei dem sich die Lust auf einen Wechsel zwischen den Welten – seinen diese musikalisch, geschlechtlich oder styltechnisch – auf unterschiedlichen Ebenen widerspiegelt. Im Kunstcamp-Veranstaltungsort Nest schlüpfen dieses Jahr, präsentiert vom Missy Magazin und Hugs and Kisses, bereits um 16:00 Uhr die ersten, frühen Vogelball Programmküken. Check it out Dears! And see you there.

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it's just porn, mommy!

I guess this close up on my belt makes clear what it is all about! The first Lesbian-Trans* Porn Comedy with all a great mix of Berlin, Paris and West Coast porn stars is in the movie theaters from March 8th! Couldn't be a better date, right? At any case: test your limits and see for yourself if you make it until the end.. ;-) watch the trailer on http://mommyiscoming.com/

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Shooting for [dos santos]

I was very proud to wear the outfits of the leather brand of the year [dos santos] for their last photo shooting! it was a pleasure to work with Marcel Steger. Océan for [dos santos]

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3D Tears

I think this was the smallest studio I had to act in, and certainly the biggest camera I ever saw - with multi-lenses directed on my eyes, and a crew waiting for me to cry on demand. The idea is so simple, so pure and so true: men so rarely cry in front of a camera, that the talented director Giuseppe Vaccaro  invited 13 actors, all men, to cry. And that in 3D... rebellious hair have all been waxed, shadows erased, so that the pure taers could explose the screen... A touching project - noone left that set without any tears - challenging each of us, to give an authentic insight into what pure emotion is.

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Mommy goes Berlinale

This is official! Mommy is coming, the latest Film of Cheryl Dunye, is to premiere next February 9-19th at the A Film festival in Berlin! Yay!!!

I actually must have the only role who does not fuck in that movie... of course: I play the club owner, hehehe... not the biggest, but certainly the most interesting part to check what everybody was doing ;-) We all can't wait for the Berlinale to see you laugh and sparkle - or simply hate it, depending on how much you can handle, Darlings!!!

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Ice Bar melting in Oslo

Well, I must say - perform in an ice bar was quite an experience that could actually beat the previous record (a church in Sao Paulo..) At -5°C I was quite happy that I could perform in the very next room. Otherwise for sure everything would have been melting!

But this is only the performing part. I enjoyed at least as much the film festival part, being a jury member for the second time... we picked “Weekend”, which also was the Critics’ Pick of IndieWirein the following week. If you get a chance, watch it. The insight into this gay intimate story is so awesome tht it nearly has a documentary character. Our Nominee Eu Não Quero Voltar Sozinho won 3 weeks after the Iris Prize in Cardiff.  So Aquavit did not eventually prevent us from a good job ;-)

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Balance

Well, I really did not want to sing Femme like you in Berlin, as I conceived this performance 6 years ago - and Diane who invited us to participate to her Book release Party knew this one as we met at the King Village in Rome in 2008. But as I am parallely shooting a new film in which we needed the images, I eventually perfomed it just before my lastest performance. Balance ;-)

Sex, Drag, and Male Roles: Investigating Gender as Performance by Diane Torr and Stephen J. Bottoms

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TLVFEST

After a week of screenings, my Jury in charge of the Feature Films gives the prizes to Man at Bath (Christophe Honoré) and Madame X (Lucky Kuswandi).

Here are the Statements of the Jury: Man at bath: Man at Bath is a beautiful, daring and provocative look at a seemingly simple situation: The breakup of a gay couple. Director Honoré manages to take us on a tour de force into the days after the end of a love. The films' fragmented style, switching back and forth in genre, form and place is a brilliant analogy for the fractured state of its protagonists. Eventually, Man at Bath is a complex and smart interrogation of what it means to see and what it means to be seen, a film about invisibility and overexposure, a statement on sex and intimacy and how it is so often confused in a gay male subculture.

Madame X: Madame X took us on a truly cinematic adventure into a hilarious utopia between comic style, glamour and trash. Director Lucky Kuswandi tackles the big issues of homophia, transphobia, oppressive political regimes and lets its superhero, a transgender hairdresser in rural Indonesia eventually dance it away. The Jury would like to honour the filmmakers for their courage to tell a difficult story in a funny and empowering way, for their strong political statement and for their social consciousness to bring more peace to the world.

I leave the town with the nicest memory: an encounter with Pyuupiru, the Japanese artist I discovered together with the Tel Aviv TLVFestival Director Yair Hochner at the Asian Hot Shots Film festival in Berlin l last year in a great documentary about her life... beautiful private moments between english and japanese words to exchange about our lives...

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TransScreen 2011

Lying down on the warm metal plates along the river just in front of the club where we perform on that night, I cool down with Geo Wyeth, my artist fellow from the States. I am amazed he knows the work of Gainsbourg so well and we sing the first notes of l'hôtel particulier together. Nice moment between screenings, long rehearsals and the excitement of the audience. credits Océan le Roy

TransScreen Amsterdam Film Festival 2011

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acting class - back to the beginning in NYC

Studio Manager Leo welcomes me, pointing out that the calendar today is dedicated to the ocean - a good sign for a successful class today, he says with his charming smile. Well, the class today will be quite a challenge for all of us, as Brad is pushing us back to our childhood when we had a vision of what we would like to be. Every actor in the room will be improvising from that starting point: "as I was a child, I wanted to be...." Hardly any of us will leave the class today without having left a drop of body liquid. Well, at least a tear or some sweat. It is an incredible excitement to go back to these very moments of innocence and purity, when you are genuinely yourself, into yourself, with yourself and your intimate dreams, your envision of what life, your life could be, and not wasted by the views of parents or society, not shaken by doubts, not crushed by deceptions, not poised from ambition, vanity or the illusions of fame. Not an easy exercise to take that back on stage in front of a professional, however supporting audience. But a great one. A great first class announcing a series of new practices and techniques to be more fluid through different shells, still strongly anchored in the character you are incarnating. Great stuff, as Brad would keep repeating. Yeah, great stuff!

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back to the Bask

Somehow crazy to get into the location for a sound check and there are only old men playing chess in the room. Never could I have imagined that these somehow surprising settings in a beautiful but quite bourgeois bask town would turn into a really hot queer party at night...

... in a really cool mix of Tolosa inhabitants, friends & visitors from Bilbao and San Sebastian who I had already met last month or last year. Loved to see the fascinated eyes of excited children during our repetition, the outraged mothers leaving the room as our beautiful queer punky grrrrls undressed during the artists' dinner, and simply enjoyed the openness of all others staying all night long. Something special binds me to the Bask country... feels like home ;-)

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in memoriam David Kato

review by the gay online magazine 7Pekados on my show in Bilbao: "Los espectáculos de drag queen son muy comunes. Pero quizá no tanto los drag King, mujeres que se transforman en hombres. Por eso, la organización de Zinegoak quiso sorprender a su público con la actuación de Ocean Leroy, que muestra su cara femenina y la masculina al mismo tiempo, con un espectáculo de baile y canciones reivindicativas. Señalando que aún queda mucha lucha para erradicar la homofobia, dedicó uno de sus temas a David Kato."

photo: Iker Guerrero

read more about the festival here

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Net Premiere in Zinegaok, Bilbao

Just back from Bilbao! Quite a closing night, with a real premiere - for the first time the full show was streamed live on the net. Keep in touch here, some extracts will be posted soon!

This is what you call an optical effect... It looks like a small desk top computer, but is was the 15x5m TV-stage of the Bask TV station, seen from the gallery (like 50m away from it). Thanks to the very professional technicians' team!! And: see you next month - in San Sebastian!

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"not your life inspiration" Berlin premiere @ZMF

For those who can't make it to Spain or the States... let's go BERLIN next week-end, 22 january @ WAREHOUSE will be the place to premiere "not your life inspiration", hardcore electro style... Wanna know more about the fact that being sucked sucks?! Then COME! also performing Marianne Vlaschits, Phil Plastie and  Signora Bianca Fox. at the turntables Tomas Hemstad, Helga P. und Almodovar-Spezi Luis Miguelez.

more ZMF info: www.zurmoebelfabrik.de

Don't forget to regularly check out my up.coming shows here: www.oceanleroy.biz/shows. the year is filling up fast!

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