Ah, QFest. One of my favorite times of the year! It’s when people from all over the world come to Philadelphia to share stories, laughs, tears and joy. We’re more than half-way through the festival but this weekend is packed with some great films: documentaries like “Born This Way,” about the courageous activists fighting in Cameroon, where homosexuality is illegal; and “The Rugby Player,” about our own Mark Bingham, who helped storm the cockpit of United Airlines Flight 93 on 9/11. There are dramedies like “Big Gay Love” and “It Had to Be You,” thrillers like “Chastity Bites” and the closing film “Hot Guys With Guns,” and the always-popular local filmmakers’ shorts program “Queeradelphia.” This week we spoke to Shanel Sherese who is starring in not one, but two of the films being shown July 19.
PGN: So, West Philadelphia, born and raised. Is the playground where you spent all of your days? SS: [Laughs.] Yes, in the Wynnefield part of the city. It’s a great section of town.
PGN: Any siblings? SS: No, I’m an only child.
PGN: Really? You don’t seem to have only- child syndrome. SS: Ha, normally I hear the opposite!
PGN: [Laughs.] I guess I don’t know you well enough yet. So what do the folks do? SS: My mother works in administration for a health-care company and my father is an electrical contractor and has his own business.
PGN: So what would they say if I asked what kind of kid you were? SS: Definitely talkative. And I always had some kind of random injury occurring. I was very active but clumsy and would come home with bruises from running into doors and poles and tripping over things.
PGN: [Laughs.] Were your parents afraid of a visit from child services? “We swear, she really did walk into a door!” SS: Yes! When I was a baby, not even walking yet, I fell off a bed when my aunt was watching me and fractured my arm. As soon as I started walking, I ran into a door and from then on had random injuries and stories to go with them. My poor mother actually did have to talk to a social worker about it!
PGN: Were you a hyper kid? SS: Yes. I was very active. Every year I had something else that I did. Whether it was learning Tai Kwan Do or playing the piano or clarinet or violin or playing volleyball, I was a jack of all trades when I was younger. My mom was a single mom until I was about 7 (the man that I call Dad is actually my stepfather). She had me when she was just 16, still in high school, and so we had a lot of help and support from my great-great-grandmother Edna, who I called Granny. I had a nice solid baseline with them and they always made sure that I had a lot to do that would open up my world. I did a lot of dancing and took classes at Philadanco for years — ballet, jazz, tap and acrobatics. She wanted to make sure I had everything she didn’t, including the chance to go to college.
PGN: What was a fun adventure from childhood? SS: My grandmother had a timeshare in Florida and every year we would go down. It was Florida in June/July where it rained every day at noon and dried up by 12:30. The best time ever was when I was in eighth grade. Usually, as an only child, I’d hang out with just my family. They would do the rides and all, but in eighth grade I got to bring my best friend and my cousin. It was my first taste of independence, doing Disney World and Universal on our own. It was my year of emancipation! Except that we were on Cinderella time.
PGN: What was Cinderella time? Was that like gay or CP time? SS: [Laughs.] No, no! It just meant that we had to be home by midnight.
PGN: In addition to dance, I understand you also played volleyball? SS: Yes, I played in high school and in college.
PGN: Where did you go to college? SS: I went to Ursinus in Collegeville.
PGN: So you were active as a kid: What extracurricular things do you do now? SS: I’m a drag-king performer and that takes up the majority of my time right now. I perform with Liberty City Kings, aka LiCK, under the name Rough RydeHer. I started at the Philly Drag King event in 2011 where I came in second. Last year, I won the title of Mr. Philly Drag King and I’ve been performing with LiCK at various places, from college campuses to fundraisers and clubs. I haven’t written in a while but I do write short stories and I’ve really gotten into photography. My partner, Tara Lessard, is a photographer and she bought me a camera for Christmas. Ever since then, I’ve been bitten by the photography bug. This year we started a company called Freedom G. Photography and we’ve been shooting everything from social events to weddings and it’s been a great experience and something new to add to the list.
PGN: Along with acting. How did that happen? SS: Danielle Erwin put out a casting call for a three-part series of short films she was doing called, “Crazy, Sexy, Cool.” I thought, I’ve been doing this drag-king thing for a while, maybe it’s time to expand. I auditioned for a role as the friend of someone involved in an abusive relationship. It went well and the director asked me to stay and audition for a role in the second film. I ended up getting both parts, which was thrilling as they’re both pretty substantial parts.
PGN: Including a love scene. That must be interesting for a first-time actor. SS: Yes, I play one of a couple trying to work out some intimacy problems. It was interesting. Originally I was very nonchalant, “nothin’ about it, nothin’ of it,” but then I started working with the other actor in the scene, Nateshe Williams, and she kept busting my balls. We’d have a real intimate scene and then she’d look at me and say, “Wait a minute! Did you eat garlic today?” [Laughs.] She was totally busting my balls and it would throw me completely off. I’d burst out laughing. Well, no, originally I wasn’t laughing. I got really self-conscious until I realized she was joking. It was good to work with someone who’d acted before who kept me from being so serious.
PGN: How did you and Tara meet? SS: We met at PDK in 2011. I was performing and she was photographing. We were friends and I’m a ball buster too so at every event that she attended I’d find a way to tease her. Someone told me it’s a Capricorn kind of thing — that we punch you in the arm and then run away when we like you. I’d see her at an event, she’d come in with a big bag and ask, “Is it OK if I leave my stuff here?” and I’d say, “No, absolutely not. You cannot leave your stuff here, you have to put everything on your back and walk around like that the whole night.” [Laughs.] She’d just stare and wait for a second and then say, “OK, I’m going to put my stuff here anyway.” So that year we were hanging out together a bit more and I was kind of watching her out of the corner of my eye, trying to be cool and nonchalant about everything. We finally got together when Stimulus Productions screened “Girl Rising” at William Way. I’m kind of weird and awkward around women, especially women I like. Anyway, we were having a conversation about going out to eat — “I think you’re cool … Me too … Let’s have dinner somewhere where we can talk” — that sort of thing. So through the whole movie, in my head I was thinking, I think she just means let’s go out to dinner sometime, she didn’t mean tonight. Or did she? No, she didn’t mean tonight, that would be weird, did she? I was confused. So when the movie was over I grabbed my jacket and bolted. I was headed to the car and having a full-fledged dialogue again with myself. Wait, maybe she did mean tonight? Maybe this is the night! So I made a bargain with myself: I decided if I went back to the car and there was still time on my meter, I’d go back and check.
PGN: So your relationship was hinging on PPA? SS: [Laughs.] I guess so! I had time left so I went back and she was standing there waiting for me going, “Uh, I thought we were going out to eat?” I tried to play it off saying, “Of course, yeah, I just needed to check my meter.” Later on I told her the truth and she was like, “But, I thought we’d had a whole conversation about it!” I said, “I know we did, but I get nervous around women I like and I hear a whole different conversation in my head, usually that they think that I’m corny, awkward and uncool.” So we went to Silk City where she ordered beet salad. I hate beets so I had more anxious moments trying to explain why I didn’t want to try her beets. I started talking too much and the whole thing was embarrassing. But we ended up having a great conversation and scheduled a date for the Art Museum.
PGN: Sheesh, that wasn’t even the first date? SS: No, and on the first date she got a flat tire!
PGN: What was your biggest mishap on stage as Rough RydeHer? SS: I was doing a song called “Crystal Vases” by the Last Royals. The way I interpreted the song, the guy lost his girlfriend and is getting dirty and nasty. So I had a full beard and I was crying and sobbing and smoking cigarettes. In the number I’m wearing boxers and as I was moving around, I started to feel my packer sliding on me. So I had to do a full-bore hand-in-the-briefs move trying to pull the dick back in. It wasn’t happening so now it was hanging down about mid-thigh and I knew everyone can see it. And it’s hard — no pun intended — to find a chocolate packer! There are plenty of light flesh-colored ones but you have to pay extra to get a large chocolate one, so mine was caramel coffee-colored; it matched the color of the bottom of my feet but that was it. So it’s hanging out but I’m just hoping I can get off the stage without it falling to the ground. I finished the number and was headed to the side when our DJ, Rudy — the Notorious OMG — called me back on stage. Of course he started teasing me and asking how long my shortcomings were. I responded in Rough’s voice, “Six-and-a-half … soft.” The whole crowd laughed.
PGN: So it seems as if your timidity leaves when you’re on stage. SS: As shy as I am as me, my awkwardness totally disappears when I’m Rough. I get to project a character and remove myself all together. It’s so much fun!
PGN: I forgot to ask, what’s your day job? SS: I’m a health-care recuiter. I get to travel to conventions and college fairs to recruit physical therapists. If you post something on Career Builder or Monster, I’m one of the admins who would look at it and call you about work.
PGN: So you like to travel? SS: I do, and when I go to a new city I always try to explore the Gayborhood. I just came back from Salt Lake City and it’s a very interesting city that I hope to never go back to. There was a lesbian bar called Paper Moon and the people there were really warm and friendly and gave me the lowdown on life in Utah. They weren’t Mormons but they told me that even though the Mormons insist they don’t run the state, they actually do.
PGN: Random questions. RV, sports car, SUV or bicycle? SS: RV, you can go anywhere and park and see the country.
PGN: Is there a story behind your name? SS: Shanel for Coco Chanel, my mom just changed the spelling, and Sherese is actually a middle name that I’ve adopted as a last name.
PGN: Who would you want on your dream volleyball team? SS: Hmmn, Lisa Leslie, she’s a professional basketball player from the L.A. Sparks, so I’d love to have her height. There was a TV show called “Out of this World” and the girl’s dad was half-alien so she had all these random powers. She was kind of nerdy and weird but still cool and someone I would have wanted to hang out with, so I’d put her on my team. And Gabrielle Reese. I met her and she is a beast! Tall and built and beautiful and cool. I’m actually trying to get a team together now to go to the Gay Games in 2014.
PGN: I forgot to ask what are your movies tonight about? SS: “Sexy” is about intimacy problems and “Cool” is about domestic abuse.
PGN: One of the things I love about the festival is that so many varied subjects are put in the spotlight. SS: Yes, I don’t know if it’s my bias because now I’ve been in an independent film, but there’s something special when you can get the voice of Philadelphia out. I mean, I know it’s an international film festival, but they definitely make room for the Philly voices within it. This city is close to my heart and I love showing different perspectives that mainstream films and mainstream movie fests ignore or don’t hear — those small voices and small ideas that often get passed over. Small moreso in the money given to create them than in the ideas they put forth. As a minority, an LGBT person, you do have to get your own voice out there because if you look at Hollywood, they never tell the right story. So I look to film festivals like QFest where you can meet people like you who are active in the festival who you can talk to. A place where you can meet other filmmakers and film lovers and say, “Hey, I have an idea for a film. Can I talk to you about it?” You have a chance to bounce ideas around and be with like-minded people. And being international, you interact with people from around the world you wouldn’t normally get to meet. Because it’s a minority film festival, you are one in a crowd of community that’s there to support you, not just there looking for the next big film, just one that tells a good story.
“Sexy” and “Cool” screen as part of “Queeradelphia” at 7:30 p.m. July 19 at Ritz East, 125 S. Second St. For more information, visit www.qfest.com.