Wayward Voices · Original Solo Work

Becoming Austin Nation

Grand Central Art Center, Santa Ana · Wayward Artist · 2022

The work

From Crack to PhD

Austin Nation’s autobiographical solo piece: a drag queen’s story of survival, from an HIV/AIDS diagnosis at 26 to a life remade as a performer and a professor of nursing.

The telling

One voice, one stage

Staged for Wayward Voices (the company’s platform amplifying BIPOC artists), a single performer holding the whole room.

The becoming

Living his best life

The transformation that gives the show its name: Austin steps fully into the queen, no longer just surviving but, at last, living his best life.

About the Production

Becoming Austin Nation — from Crack to PhD: A Drag Queen's Story is an inspiring, autobiographical account of one person's overcoming of life's greatest difficulties and their finding even greater love.

Diagnosed with HIV/AIDS at the age of 26, this is the story of a person facing his own mortality until the release of the life-extending drug AZT. At 40, Austin beat back his demons and is living his best life as a drag performer and a professor of nursing at Cal State Fullerton.

Wayward Voices

A Wayward Voices production, a space to amplify, uplift, and empower BIPOC artists, producing work that inspires and reflects the truth of the world. Presented as part of Solo, Duo, Trio, a weekend of solo work featuring three talented Black artists sharing their individual experiences through storytelling, poetry, and stand-up.

Rovin Jay directed the original production for Wayward Artist / Wayward Voices. The show has since continued its life, carrying forward the same powerful story and vision.

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