D'Arcy Drollinger

D'Arcy Drollinger (born January 17, 1969) is an American actor, writer, musician, director, producer & choreographer known for his high-camp / vaudeville-style stage productions that combine slapstick, farce and often drag. He was a founding member of the post-punk art band Enrique. He is an owner of the San Francisco nightclub Oasis, along with drag performer, Heklina. Drollinger is also the creator of the dance-fitness brand, Sexitude.[1]

D'Arcy Drollinger
Drollinger as Frank-N-Furter in Ray of Light's 2015 production of The Rocky Horror Show
Born (1969-01-17) January 17, 1969
Occupation
  • Writer
  • actor
  • producer
  • director
  • choreographer
Years active1988 - Present
Websitehttp://www.sfoasis.com

Career

Enrique

In 1988, while attending San Francisco State University, Drollinger and artist Jason Mecier[2] formed the performance art band, Enrique.[3] The groups comedic stage antics and often twisted take on 1970s TV nostalgia, landed their first gig opening up for the Average White band at The Kennel Club in San Francisco. The over-the-top stage productions won them a loyal San Francisco following from the late 1980s to mid 1990s.

Theatrical Productions

Drollinger has a distinct style as a director, it's a mix of heightened slapstick with almost a commedia dell'arte-flavored rhythm and a sharp sense of timing, but all favored with the real truth of experience.

Cindy Goldfield, SF Chronicle[4]

In 1993, Drollinger's first full length musical, The Cereal Killers was produced at the Artful circle Theater in San Francisco. The production included many members of Enrique and was directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld. Drollinger and Wurmfeld went on to collaborate on two other rock musicals, The Possession of Mrs. Jones and Suburbia 3000. Drollinger mounted the long-running cult hit, Above and Beyond the Valley of the Ultra Showgirls[5] in 1997 before moving to New York City in 1998. While living in Manhattan, Drollinger wrote and produced Pink Elephants, Scalpel![6] and Shit & Champagne,[7] in which he also starred. After returning to San Francisco in 2011, Project : Lohan,[8] Mr. Irresistible,[5] were written. At the same time Drollinger began producing and directing live parodies of television sitcoms with long time friend and drag star, Heklina.[9] After the venue they had been performing in was sold they decided to open Oasis, their own performance venue. After opening Oasis Drollinger wrote and starred in two sequels to Shit & Champagne, Champagne White and The Temple of Poon'[10] and Disastrous.[11] Followed by the 1980s soap opera spoof, Bitch Slap.[12]

Sexitude

Sexitude is an ongoing body-positive, sex-positive dance/fitness program[13] created by Drollinger in 2011 in San Francisco, California. Drollinger taught the first class at the Academy of Ballet on August 7, 2011, as he desired as class that would be "fun, relaxed, and a good workout, both physically and mentally."[14] Since then, Sexitude classes have happened in local San Francisco area dance schools such as Dance Mission, City Dance and ODC. As a performance group, Sexitude has participated in number of performances in the San Francisco Area, including Daytime Realness at El Rio,[15] the Castro Theatre, and the Main Stage of San Francisco Pride. The group has worked with Drollinger as a professional drag queen as well as provided performances for programs organized by Peaches Christ.

The Oasis

The Oasis, a theater and cabaret nightclub located in San Francisco's SOMA district, hosted a grand opening event on New Year's Eve day 2014. D'Arcy and business partners, including drag personality, Heklina, signed a deal to purchase the former Oasis nightclub in October 2014. The nightclub's diverse programming features drag stars, cabaret and performing artists, live musical acts, and DJs.

Plays / musicals

  • The Cereal Killers (1993)
  • The Possession of Mrs. Jones (1996)
  • Suburbia 3000 (1997)
  • Above and Beyond the Valley of the Ultra Showgirls (1997/2003/2016/2017)
  • Pink Elephants (2000)
  • Scalpel! (2003/2010)
  • Shit & Champagne (2006/2014/2015)
  • Project: Lohan (2012)
  • Mr. Irresistible (2014)
  • Champagne White and the Temple of Poon (2015)
  • Disastrous! (2016)
  • B*tch Slap! (2017)

Parody adaptations (stage)

  • Designing Women
  • Friends
  • Golden Girls
  • Roseanne
  • Sex and the City
  • Star Trek
  • Three's Company
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer

References

  1. "SexiTude | KALW". kalw.org. Retrieved 2016-06-08.
  2. "Jason Mecier Art". Retrieved 2016-06-08.
  3. "Patterns and Tones: D'Arcy Drollinger: A Day in the Life of a Rock n' Roller". Retrieved 2016-06-08.
  4. "How a senior publicist found his inner drag-show diva". SFGate. Retrieved 2016-06-08.
  5. "D'Arcy Drollinger | Chad Jones' Theater Dogs". www.theaterdogs.net. Retrieved 2016-06-08.
  6. "Scalpel! is a Camped-Out, Crowd-Pleasing Hit at Brava". SF Weekly. Retrieved 2016-06-08.
  7. Schiffman, Jean. "Wild, wonderful 'Shit and Champagne'". The San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 2016-06-08.
  8. "'Project: Lohan' a Lindsay send-up". SFGate. Retrieved 2016-06-08.
  9. Rotter, Joshua. "'Sex and the City' even funnier in drag". The San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 2016-06-08.
  10. "Champagne White returns in hilarious 'Temple of Poon' - The San Francisco Examiner". The San Francisco Examiner. 2015-07-27. Retrieved 2016-06-08.
  11. "The Bay Area Reporter Online | Commedia Delle 'Disastrous'". Bay Area Reporter.
  12. "Drag queens and their shoulders tower at Oasis". SFGate. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  13. "September 2015 | No Experience Necessary | Dance Studio Life". www.dancestudiolife.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-29. Retrieved 2016-06-08.
  14. "The Bay Area Reporter Online | Sex-positive workouts
    draw on attitude"
    . Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved 2016-06-08.
  15. Smith, Heather (18 July 2011). "Daytime Realness". Missionlocal.org. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
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