Workshop

Krishna Istha: Creating Autobiographical Performance Work

September 27, 2024
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

A portrait of Krishna Istha, a comedian of South Asian descent, who is posing for the camera in a crouched position. Their face rests on their left hand; their elbow propped up by their knee. They are wearing a light olive blazer, a loose black skirt, and high top sneakers. Behind them is a warm colored back-drop.
Krishna Istha’s “First Trimester” (Five Star, Whats On Stage). Photo credit: Jordan Rossi.

Join London-based performance artist, screenwriter, comedian and theater maker Krishna Istha for a workshop exploring how trans artists and performers can craft autobiographical, genre-pushing, gender-pushing works. Delve into idea-generating exercises, examining the use of personal experiences to shape diverse stories and experimenting with form and structure. Participants will be encouraged to create their own material during the workshop.

Co-presented with The Bearded Ladies Cabaret in conjunction with John Jarboe: The Rose Garden.

Event Information

September 27, 2024
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

The Fabric Workshop and Museum
1214 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107

The Green Room, Second Floor Gallery

 

Free (suggested $5 donation) | Advance registration required

Register

Museum Hours

Please note that the rest of the museum, including The Rose Garden exhibition, will be closed during this event. To plan your visit to the gallery, please reserve timed tickets during our regular museum hours.

About the Participants

A portrait of Krishna Istha, a comedian of South Asian descent, who looks at the viewer with their right hand pressed against their jaw. They are wearing blue nail polish and a blue sweater with sleeves pulled back to reveal a flora-inspired tattoo on their right arm, while standing in front of a blue backdrop. They have a light mustache and wavy black hair, which rests at their ear.
Photo credit: Christa Holka

Krishna Istha (they/them) creates socially conscious form-pushing works about taboo or underrepresented experiences of gender, race and sexual politics. They have written for Netflix’s Sex Education (S4, E3), and was featured on the Netflix Special Hannah Gadsby’s Gender Agenda. Krishna was a Barbican Centre Open Lab artist (2021–22) and an Arts Admin Bursary Artist (2020–21). Their theatre show First Trimester (Five Star, Whats On Stage), in which Krishna interviews 100s of participants live on stage in a quest to find them and their partner a sperm donor, was nominated for an Off West-End Theatre Award (2024). In 2023, Krishna and their partner Logan Rea were recipients of the Netflix Documentary Talent Fund, and made the short film SPERM DONORS WANTED!.

Learn more at krishnaistha.com

Support

Major support for John Jarboe: The Rose Garden has been generously provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

Major support of FWM is provided by the Marion Boulton “Kippy” Stroud Foundation. FWM receives state art funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Additional support is provided by Agnes Gund and the Board of Directors and Members of The Fabric Workshop and Museum.