Queer Lady Magician: Starting Sister Spit with a Detention
Hi everyone,
I’m writing in from San Francisco, the night before I head to Seattle to start off the Sister Spit tour (and Queer Lady Magician’s US debut).
Yesterday, on my way in, I was detained at Los Angeles airport (LAX) for two hours. The CBP officials first said it was to discuss rules around voluntary work. Instead, they made fun of me being obviously nervous, barked at me about my folder of paperwork, grilled me about Sister Spit and my MFA, and then made me perform some spoken word before they would allow me through the US.
I wish I was joking.
My Safety Team did step in to help inform others, especially since we were not allowed electronic devices in detention. They’ve also been pretty good at taking care of me through this. I set this up specifically for this possible scenario (my first Safety Team was actually for my 2017 trip to Indie Train Jam, but it ended up being redundant as nothing happened to me on that trip) and I’m glad I did because I would be in worse shape otherwise.
One of my QLM pieces, which I will be performing at Sister Spit, opens with a story about my grandfather, namesake and East Pakistan Customs Superintendent, grilling prominent magician P. C. Sorcar at the border and telling him to perform a magic trick to pass. (P. C. Sorcar used magic to bypass the command.) I usually end the piece by talking about how I’ve never had any issues with immigration before despite all the passports and visas I had to deal with in my lifetime, maybe because my grandfather and P. C. Sorcar teamed up in the afterlife to protect me.
But that’s no longer true. Worse still, it happened in a way that seemed like karmic poetic justice. My grandfather told a magician to perform for him at the border; his grandchild is told to perform some magic at the border.
I’ve never come close to being detained. Not even questioned heavily. Immigration systems around the world are traumatizing, but at least when I’ve travelled short-term I’ve been OK. I’ve been travelling internationally almost every year since I was a literal baby. I understand airports and airplanes more than anywhere else in the world.
After this detention, I never want to travel anywhere ever again.
(I knew things were extra bad when I found myself being homesick in San Francisco, my favourite city in the world. Normally I’m homesick in the other direction.)
The tour still marches on, despite detention and COVID-19. I’ve come so far already. Blake, one of the biggest reasons this show exists, is coming to see me - I don’t want to miss that for the world. I’ve been catching up with dear friends this way and I’m grateful for the opportunity. It’s pretty exciting to see this concept grow across the world, especially since I’ve pretty much rewritten the pieces being performed here.
But every so often, the trauma of detention hits me, and I get homesick again, longing for my apartment in Melbourne that isn’t necessarily anything special but at least there are no Border Patrol people forcing me to perform for entry.
I get into Seattle pretty close to our first show date at the Northwest Film Forum (to be fair, I didn’t choose this flight). I’m hoping I make it there on time, though it is still possible that I might miss the first show of the tour. But we’ll still be in the area for the next few days, so even if we miss NWFF there are still options. Here are our tour dates and locations - come on by and say hi, I’d love to see you there!
Seattle WA
Sister Spit Tour 2020 x NWFF
Mar 8, 2020 | Northwest Film Forum
Lacey WA
Sister Spit Tour Writing Workshop
Mar 9, 2020 | Lacey Timberland Library
Portland OR
Sister Spit Tour 2020 x Portland Community College
Mar 10, 2020 | Portland Community College - Southeast Student Life and Leadership
Sister Spit Tour 2020 x Psychic Sister
Mar 12, 2020 | Psychic Sister (entrance on 19th)
Tacoma WA
Sister Spit Tour 2020 x Tacoma Rainbow Center
Mar 11, 2020 | Rainbow Center
Olympia WA
Sister Spit Tour 2020 x Olympia
Mar 13, 2020 | Olympia Timberland Library
Oakland CA
Sister Spit Tour 2020 x White Horse Bar
Mar 15, 2020 | White Horse Bar
San Francisco CA
Sister Spit Tour 2020 x The STUD
Mar 18, 2020 | The STUD
Santa Ana CA
Sister Spit Tour 2020 x Makara Center for the Arts
Mar 19, 2020 | Makara Center for the Arts
Los Angeles CA
Sister Spit Tour 2020 x A Love Bizarre
Mar 20, 2020 | A Love Bizarre
Long Beach CA
Sister Spit Tour 2020 x The LGBTQ Center of Long Beach
Mar 21, 2020 | MADE by Millworks
A few people have asked how they can help me deal with the detention. Here’s what would be useful:
Come to any one of those shows - I understand that COVID-19 makes this difficult, but if you’re able to come we’d love to have you, and do find me to say hi!
Sign up for my Patreon or drop a few dollars, PayPal, Ko-Fi, or Beem It (@creatrixtiara) - because of my visa, I can’t actually be paid to do this (though most of my travel costs are being reimbursed) so I’m paying my own way!
Refer me to therapists or advocates I could contact while on the road in the US to process the emotions around detention (I do have a therapist but she’s in Australia so it might be a while before I get to talk to her)
I’m open to talking about this with media/community groups/etc (especially given how absurd it is that I HAD TO PERFORM SPOKEN WORD to get through the border) but I’d have to be pretty selective about it
Treat me to something fun either during the tour or during our downtime, like snacks or spa time (especially the dates I’m back in the Bay Area - 14-18 March and 22-24 March)
This is a mega pipe dream so I don’t expect even one percent of this, but some combination of Business/First Class upgrade on my flight back to Melbourne + a welcome party at Melbourne Airport + surprise home makeover/pamper party/community care/etc would blow my mind
Basically, community care would go a long way
I’ll send out regular updates on here during the tour - hopefully they’ll all be more optimistic and fun than this one. But I figured, just like I did with the original Queer Lady Magician show, that I’d be honest and open about the personal challenges that came with the art. Queer Lady Magician was a show about navigating societal and interpersonal trauma in the pursuit of art - it looks like that spirit still carries on no matter where this show goes.