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Obsidienne Obsurd is not your typical drag performer, and, in a one-night only performance this weekend, they will showcase their avant-garde artistry in a production that is two years in the making. Their upcoming show, titled “The Last 7 Days of Obsidienne Obsurd” will be held at the Calvin Simmons Theatre, inside the recently renovated Oakland’s Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts. The show delves into Obsidienne’s gender transition, the mental health and financial struggles that came with that decision, and the family dynamics at play with their parents and Obsidienne’s identity as a classical musician.
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Obsidienne — whose real name is Ezra Costanza — is a Chinese American genderless performer and classically trained violist who got their start in drag during the pandemic, when artists had to move their shows online. One of their first performances of the song “I don’t want to fight” by the band Alabama Shakes paid homage to the Black Lives Matter movement that erupted in the summer of 2020.
Their work intertwines their cultural identity, their life as a classical musician, and their drag identity. They use cultural elements, such as Beijing Opera masks, as inspiration for their intricate black-and-white face painting with a pop of color.
obsidienne obsurd
When: Friday, Dec. 5
Where: Calvin Simmons Theater (inside the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts), 10 10th Street, Oakland Ca
Time: Red carpet, 7 p.m. Pre-show, 7:45 p.m. The show starts at 8 p.m. and runs an hour and a half with one 15 minute intermission
Tickets: $25-$75 (before ticketing fees)
“By blending all these worlds, we have created this secret third thing, the non-binary thinking about taking a visual and running with it, or trying to express things through movement or arrangement of people on stage. The people that I’ve chosen for this piece all reflect, in many ways, the same aims and goals as what I have,” Obsidienne said at a recent artist’s talk before a preview of the show. “It’s really cool to have this singular medium that is super weird, undefined and difficult to put into words, to be the connective tissue between all of us.”
Obsidienne is currently the artist-in-residence at Oaklash, an arts organization co-founded in 2018 by drag performers Mama Celeste and Beatrix Lahaine. The residence, which launched in 2023, provides queer and trans artists with the financial resources and support to bring their creative endeavors to a larger stage and reach a broader audience, according to Mama Celeste.
“They’re definitely a product of that [pandemic] time, which was these close-ups of this hyper-psychedelic [face] that they have,” Mama Celeste told The Oaklandside. “They had already stood out to me as someone who was doing something different aesthetically.”
Mama Celeste and Obsidienne have been working on the upcoming show “The Last 7 Days of Obsidienne Obsurd” for two years. Obsidienne composed the show in its entirety, designed the set, and crafted all five elaborate costumes they wear in the show. They also selected the performers who will be on stage with them, including drag performers Sassi Fran, Lola Ren, Cult Baby, and Lisa Frankenstein.
From left to right: Mama Celeste, co-founder of Oaklash, and Obsidienne Obsurd. The duo has been working to bring the show to live for the past two years. Credit: courtesy of Dominic Saavedra
“Obsidienne has this power of getting a bar full of drunk gay people to shut up for five minutes so they can perform an acoustic viola solo,” Mama Celeste said. “It is part of their power where you’re watching the intricacies of what they’re doing. You cannot not be hyper-fixated on the sheer amount of talent pouring out of that person’s body.”
The show includes the world premiere of an original composition developed in collaboration with Paul Wiancko of the Kronos Quartet, which Obsidienne will perform on viola alongside their parents, violinist Debra Fong and cellist Christopher Costanza. The show also includes an eclectic soundtrack, featuring “Blackstar” by David Bowie, “When I Grow Up” by electronic-pop Swedish artist Fever Ray, the 1939 Jazz classic “Harlem Nocturne,” and “Do you Doubt Me, Traitor” by American singer and pianist Kristin Hayter, who performs under the stage name Lingua Ignota.
Obsidienne Obsurd is a classically trained musician. They will incorporate solo viola pieces as part of the show. Credit: courtesy of Matty Lynn Barnes
“Young people are interested in classical music, just not in a traditional concert setting, per se,” Obsidienne said. “Queerness is so magical and so illustrious. There’s a lot of beautiful visuals that can come out of it. That’s sort of what we’re doing without saying it.”
Mama Celeste hopes this one-day show helps catapult the conversation about funding projects that showcase queer and trans artists.
“Drag deserves stages like this, and we want to show that it is possible,” Mama Celeste said.
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