Jonathan Wilson and Daniel Krolik, Photos by Kevin Connery
Presented by Convection Productions
Blake and Clay are plucky gay actors. They aren’t getting much work, but are committed to helping straight actors—we, the audience—land those gay roles! They’ve crafted this seminar to familiarize us with all the relevant terminology and context. This is Gay for Pay with Blake & Clay.
Johnathan Wilson and Daniel Krolik, as the titular Blake and Clay, are a hyper enthusiastic pair. From the moment they bound onstage, hands clapping, their intense energy is manic. They are determined to capture our attention and sustain it for all they’re worth; there will be no room to breath, to reflect, to let their guard down. Savvy spectators will recognize, early on, this desperate mask for what it is.
Writers Curtis te Brinke and Krolik provide a punchy, gag-a-second whirlwind of double entendres, clever quips and scathing satire. Harnessing their abundant gay experience, Blake and Clay present gayness as a set of skills to be systematically identified and honed.
Labels and cliches are their key points of reference. At the top, they list various types of gay, from Bear to Silver Fox. Though comfortingly familiar, the cartoonish, stifling ubiquity of these categories is abundantly clear. The slides they use to represent the oh-so-contemptible Twinks killed me.
As they reach the final stretch of their presentation, cracks in their flamboyant armour begin to show. Tension mounts during a segment addressing the capital R Responsibility of proper representation. The mood shifts and each, in turn, makes themselves vulnerable to us.
In his direction, te Brinke handles this sudden tonal shift elegantly. Their facades drop in way that feels authentic. Both Krolik and Wilson have given us enough subtle, human clues along the way that their abrupt vulnerability feels earned.
The script, after a barrage of performative stereotypes, begins to unpack experiential gayness—in media, sure, but also in a broader context that is simultaneously intimate and expansive. There is a jarring shift from the confident, declarative affirmations of the seminar to the uncomfortable murk of complex feelings.
The cheerful finale picks all of us up though—Blake, Clay, the audience—and dusts us off with a playful shove towards a happier future. Those unresolved feelings remain, of course, but we can work through them on our own time.
Gay for Pay with Blake & Clay is a lot of fun. It has sting and plenty of heart.