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.