Salvage Vanguard Theater (SVT) announces the world premiere performance of Naked as a Gaybird by Jay Byrd, a MADE IN THE SVT production directed by Jenny Larson.

In the eighth grade, playwright and performer Jay Byrd was a bit of a “sissy,” but he was also a good Christian boy, the son of a Fundamentalist preacher. And he shared a family secret with his closeted gay uncle. When the popular kids in junior high dubbed him Gaybird, he felt ashamed and embarrassed… and curious about how those kids might have figured it out.

Naked as a Gaybird is Jay Byrd’s journey through a life of discovery, of hiding in closets, of learning about the body functions of boys and beasts, of sex and shame and naïveté, and of a pivotal moment in life when he was forced to look in the mirror and admit things to himself honestly.

A hilarious one man show, Naked as a Gaybird is told through childlike animation, object puppetry, and conversations—like a tale told around a campfire to a new close friend after a couple of beers, with a song thrown in here and there for good measure. Jay Byrd bares his soul (and his ass) and reclaims the “Gaybird” as an important, fabulous part of the heroic survivor who lives inside him.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
November 5th- 21st 2015, Thursday –Saturday nights at 8pm in SVT’s Studio Theater.

SPECIAL EVENTS
November 6th 8PM – Performance and Post Show Panel hosted by OUTsider Fest
November 13th  7PM –  Performance and Post Show Panel hosted by YWCA of Greater Austin and BedPost Confessions. This performance is ASL interpreted.
November 21st 8PM – Gaybird’s Disco – a VIP event with free food, drinks and a post show performance by Gretchen’s Disco Plague.

ABOUT JAY BYRD: Jay Byrd is an actor and writer. His play, My Pet Homo, produced in 1990 in the basement of a Methodist church in New York’s East Village, starred RuPaul. In 1992, he donned a dress and cowboy boots and with Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer, formed a singing/storytelling duo called Y’all. They became the darlings of the Downtown alt-country scene, eventually making guest appearances on national TV (The Jon Stewart Show; Comedy Central; and MTV). Jay Byrd ended up in Austin, Texas, in 2005. He started taking improv classes at Coldtowne Theater in 2007. From there, he studied at all of the improv theaters in town, and eventually found himself onstage in Gnap! Theater’s production of 69 Love Scenes at Salvage Vanguard Theater in 2010. Since then, Jay Byrd has performed in a number of theater productions with SVT, the Rude Mechs, Rubber Rep, Paper Chairs, and others. In 2011, he read a story from his unpublished novel/memoir at BedPost Confessions. Since then, he has appeared on the BedPost stage numerous times, reading new and old stories, many of which together formed the beginnings of this solo show, Naked as a Gaybird. Jay Byrd hopes to tour with Naked as a Gaybird in the coming years, and he continues to perform in local productions, as well as offering more readings at BedPost Confessions.

ABOUT MADE IN THE SVT
MADE IN THE SVT are theater works created, produced, or presented by Salvage Vanguard Theater company members.

ABOUT SALVAGE VANGUARD THEATER

Salvage Vanguard Theater (SVT) is a theater company and performance hub located in East Austin. SVT creates and presents transformative high-quality artistic experiences that foster experimentation and conversation. 

This project is funded and supported in part by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts. Art Works, and in part by the City of Austin Economic Development Department/Cultural Arts Division believing an investment in the Arts is an investment in Austin’s future.  Visit Austin at  NowPlayingAustin.com.