Q&A with Sex Workers’ Art Show performer Kirk Read

Kirk Read was one of eight performers who came to VCU Sunday night to perform in the Sex Workers’ Art Show at the University Student Commons Theater.

Author of “How I Learned to Snap,” Read wrote the memoir about his experiences growing up in conservative Virginia as a gay man. Read also founded St. James Infirmary in San Francisco, a free clinic for former and current sex workers. Read currently is working on his next memoir, “This is the Thing,” about sex work.

CT: What’s it like touring? Do you enjoy traveling?

Read: I love touring. The experience of crossing the country is life changing, and when you’re doing it with a gang of like-minded artists, it’s especially powerful. I travel a lot on book tours and on the college lecture circuit.

CT: What’s it like returning to the area where you grew up? Does it make you nostalgic, or does it remind you of why you left?

Read: I have a huge affection for Virginia and come back as often as I can. I grew up in Lexington and spent summers in Richmond doing theater with the Studio Theatre of Richmond. I spent three years living in Norfolk while I was the editor at Our Own Community Press, which was Virginia’s LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) newspaper. I have a lot of friends in Virginia and am always happy to reconnect with people.

CT: Is there a part of the show you find most audiences react the same to? Is there a part you find each audience reacts differently to?

Read: I do different pieces every night, depending on the audience and the venue. Every audience is really different. A college audience is often different from a rock ‘n’ roll venue, for instance. It depends more on the venue, how people are seated, whether people are standing in the back and sitting on the floors. I work with the energy of the audience, so that stuff is very crucial to me.

CT: What motivates you to speak across the country?

Read: I really believe that face-to-face contact with people is a major component of social change. As a culture, we’ve gotten so addicted to television and the Internet, but I think the intimacy and power of a genuine human interaction is our most important revolutionary tool.

CT: Why does humor play such a major role in your show?

Read: I think if you can make someone laugh, the cells in their body open up for new information. Their hearts open. It’s one way to conduct a dialogue, and it’s a pleasurable one.

CT: What kind of impact do you feel this show is making on audiences?

Read: I think there are places, like Huntsville, Alabama or Virginia, where the show is brand-new information for people. People are so grateful. I remember being a college student and seeing Susie Bright and Urvashi Vaid. Those events changed me in profound ways. I am so touched when people let me know that this show is doing that for them.

CT: Have you ever received negative feedback after performing?

Read: Rarely are there protests or conservative folks. Often they’ll come to the show, have some good belly laughs and be a lot more open to new ideas when they leave. I actually love it when I play to a conservative audience. I just did a show in South Carolina full of frat boys, and they gave me a standing ovation at the end. So you really can’t close yourself off to people just because they’re different than you are.

CT: What is the best thing about doing what you do?

Read: I have freedom to move through the world on my own schedule. I get to create my vision from the ground up. I don’t have a boss. I can take days off whenever I want them. I work from home, and I get to travel and meet people all over the country. The sex work allows me to support myself in a fraction of the time it would take in a regular job. I have a very charmed life. I’m lucky as hell.