A Night at Switch n' Play

A Night at Switch n' Play is a 2019 American documentary film produced by Chelsea Moore and directed by Cody Stickels. The film is about the long-running, Brooklyn based drag and burlesque artist collective, Switch n’ Play. The documentary features performances and commentary by Divina GranSparkle, Pearl Harbor, K. James, Miss Malice, Vigor Mortis, Nyx Nocturne and Zoe Ziegfield. The film had its world premiere at the Inside Out Film and Video Festival in Toronto on June 1, 2019 and its New York City premiere was at NewFest on October 26, 2019, where it won the Audience Award for Best Documentary. It also won Best Ensemble Performance at the Fargo-Moorhead LGBT Film Festival, and won for Best Feature Film at the Trans Stellar Film Festival. The collective has also won 'Best Burlesque Show' at the Brooklyn Nightlife Awards in 2017, 2018, and 2019. It was filmed on location in Brooklyn at the Branded Saloon, where the group regularly performs.[1][2][3]

A Night at Switch n' Play
Film poster
Directed byCody Stickels
Based onArtist collective
Produced byChelsea Moore
Starring
  • Divina GranSparkle
  • Pearl Harbor
  • K. James
  • Miss Malice
  • Vigor Mortis
  • Nyx Nocturne
  • Zoe Ziegfled
Cinematography
  • Matthew Heymann
  • Benjamin Dewey
Edited byCody Stickels
Music byGeorge Miata
Production
companies
Release date
  • June 1, 2019 (2019-06-01)
Running time
70 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Synopsis

Bringing the stage to the screen in an unblinking portrayal, A Night Switch n’ Play follows a single evening at a Switch n' Play show: an intimate night in Branded Saloon featuring acts from all seven collective members: Divina GranSparkle, K.James, Miss Malice, Nyx Nocturne, Pearl Harbor, Vigor Mortis & Zoe Ziegfield.

From an exploding twinkie to a bachelorette strip tease, a Switch n' Play offers a variety of gender queer performance. Accompanying this footage is a series of interviews with the collective and their community, providing a window into of the world of queer nightlife performance. [4]

Cast
Appearing as themselves
  • Divina GranSparkle - a queer, Muslim, latinx immigrant drag and burlesque performer[5]
  • Pearl Harbor - non-binary poet and drag performer [5]
  • K. James - transmasculine drag king who explores iconic masculine images through a queer and trans lens [5]
  • Miss Malice - queer high femme drag performer and femmecee, with a stacked red bouffant[6]
  • Vigor Mortis - award-winning drag king who identifies as a non-binary boy[6]
  • Nyx Nocturne - multi-disciplinary artist known as the "babe who goes bump in the night" [5]
  • Zoe Ziegfield - burlesque dancer, go-go artist, circus performer and general nightlife mischief-maker[6]

Critical reception

AM New York Metro said the film makes a point of making sure that "everyone in the room — performers and audience — are in a safe space where they can do some exploring, subverting, and defying the rules of social acceptability".[3] Jude Dry wrote in his review for Indie Wire that the documentary shows that the artists collective is a "tight-knit family of outsiders who welcome queer audiences into their world and create a safe, tantalizing space where everyone can be themselves...and sprinkles in a generous helping of delicious live performances...if you spend just one night with Switch n' Play, you'll never want to leave".[7] The Queer Guru said the film is not for the "faint-hearted and neither will it ever pamper to a mainstream audience, it is for queers...and was made by a group of enlightened and talented queers".[6]

TheWrap said the film's structure was "uninventive" and "Stickels' subjects are far more memorable than the piece that contains them". They went on to say that the "doc does reflect the sensitivity required to portray these individuals mindfully in all their non-conforming rawness, from their preferred pronouns to the reclamation of their physical traits, not as inadequacies, but as parts of an unapologetically beautiful whole".[2] Film Daze also commented on the director making sure to connect with every member, and "allowing them to express themselves unapologetically to the camera". They concluded that the film is "charming and genuine in its exploration of identity...well-crafted and well-needed dive into drag culture...and films like this one may not be revolutionary in terms of film-making, but are innovative in terms of their celebration of LGBT culture, and that alone is enough".[8]

Accolades

See also

References
  1. "And the Winners of the 2019 NewFest LGBTQ Film Festival Are..." The Advocate. October 29, 2019.
  2. Aguilar, Carlos (June 4, 2019). "'A Night at Switch n' Play' Film Review: Transgressive Drag Outshines Pedestrian Doc Direction". TheWrap.
  3. Krasner, Bob (October 15, 2019). "'A Night at Switch n' Play' is a 'love letter' to the Brooklyn drag collective". AM New York Metro.
  4. ""A Night at Switch n' Play"". Cody Stickels.com. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  5. Members - Switch n' Play.com http://switchnplay.com/members.html. Retrieved November 20, 2021. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. Walker-Dack, Roger (May 29, 2019). "A Night at Switch 'n Play is a Queer night you will never forget". Queer Guru.
  7. Dry, Jude (May 17, 2019). "A Night at Switch n' Play Trailer: Drag Kings, Burlesque, and Glitter — Oh My!". Indie Wire.
  8. Farner, Ezra (June 3, 2019). "'A Night at Switch n' Play' Review: A Well-Crafted and Well-Needed Dive into Drag Culture". Film Daze.
  9. Blichert, Frederick (May 27, 2019). ""A Night at Switch n' Play" gets world premiere at Inside Out Fest". RealScreen.
  10. Mickelson, Ethan (August 14, 2019). "Award-winning films celebrate the lived experience of the LGBT community". The Arts Partnership.
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