The Lion & Pirate invites you to a Disability Pride Month In-Person Showcase.
Hosted by Alienated Majesty Books, Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, and Art Spark Texas.

Hey there Lion & Pirate Family! We’ve got some news to share with you. Unfortunately, there won’t be an Open Mic this month, but don’t you worry, because we’ve got something even better lined up for you!

Get ready to mark your calendars and clear your schedules.

WHEN: Sunday, July 14th from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM CT

WHERE: Alienated Majesty Books, 613 West 29th Street, Austin, TX 78705.

WHY? Because we’re hosting a super special in-person event in honor of Disability Pride Month!

This Disability Pride Showcase, put together by the awesome Coalition of Texans with Disabilities and Art Spark Texas, is going to be off the charts!

Picture this – a stellar lineup of disabled Austin writers, featuring the incredible talents of Lauren E. Gerken, MsBoye, Eric Clow, Sueitko Zamorano-Chavez, Amy Elizabeth Litzinger, and Benny Kolbeson, all under one roof!

It’s going to be a celebration like no other, a chance to show our PRIDE and support for the amazing writers in our community.

So, don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity to come together, share the love for Disabled Artists, and have a blast!

See you all there!

Register for free tickets

Questions? Please email MsBoye.

Featured performers to be announced; then, it will be your time to shine! There will be 10 sign-up slots. We ask that you sign up ahead of time. Any sign-ups after 10 will be held on a backup list.

Join us on Zoom:
Use this Link to attend our virtual open mic.

Stay tuned to our Facebook Group for event updates, signup sheets, and links, and invite your friends, too. You can tune in just to connect with your community and give us those “clap” reactions.

Questions? Please email MsBoye.

Featured performers to be announced; then, it will be your time to shine! There will be 10 sign-up slots. We ask that you sign up ahead of time. Any sign-ups after 10 will be held on a backup list.

Join us on Zoom:
Use this Link to attend our virtual open mic.

Stay tuned to our Facebook Group for event updates, signup sheets, and links, and invite your friends, too. You can tune in just to connect with your community and give us those “clap” reactions.

Questions? Please email MsBoye.

Featured performers to be announced; then, it will be your time to shine! There will be 10 sign-up slots. We ask that you sign up ahead of time. Any sign-ups after 10 will be held on a backup list.

Join us on Zoom:
Use this Link to attend our virtual open mic.

Stay tuned to our Facebook Group for event updates, signup sheets, and links, and invite your friends, too. You can tune in just to connect with your community and give us those “clap” reactions.

Questions? Please email MsBoye.

Featured performers to be announced; then, it will be your time to shine! There will be 10 sign-up slots. We ask that you sign up ahead of time. Any sign-ups after 10 will be held on a backup list.

Join us on Zoom:
Use this Link to attend our virtual open mic.

Stay tuned to our Facebook Group for event updates, signup sheets, and links, and invite your friends, too. You can tune in just to connect with your community and give us those “clap” reactions.

Questions? Please email MsBoye.

Featured performers to be announced; then, it will be your time to shine! There will be 10 sign-up slots. We ask that you sign up ahead of time. Any sign-ups after 10 will be held on a backup list.

Join us on Zoom:
Use this Link to attend our virtual open mic.

Stay tuned to our Facebook Group for event updates, signup sheets, and links, and invite your friends, too. You can tune in just to connect with your community and give us those “clap” reactions.

Questions? Please email MsBoye.

Featured performers to be announced; then, it will be your time to shine! There will be 10 sign-up slots. We ask that you sign up ahead of time. Any sign-ups after 10 will be held on a backup list.

Join us on Zoom:
Use this Link to attend our virtual open mic.

Stay tuned to our Facebook Group for event updates, signup sheets, and links, and invite your friends, too. You can tune in just to connect with your community and give us those “clap” reactions.

Questions? Please email MsBoye.

At this inclusive open mic, we’re open to work in any genre: music, spoken word, improv, skits, storytelling, dance, poems or prose… Anything you can perform!

Join us to hear from local creatives. Sign up at the event if you want to perform. Contact us if you have questions about our sound set up.

What to Expect:

• The performer sign-up opens at 2:30 PM.
• This is a disability-inclusive open mic, so all performers are welcome, regardless of their abilities. It’s a supportive and welcoming environment where everyone is encouraged to share their gifts.
• The Lion & Pirate Open Mic is a great way to showcase your talents and connect with other artists.
• We encourage a variety of performers, including musicians, poets, comedians, storytellers, and more to join us.
• We will have amplification.
• The house, porch, and backyard are all accessible, please email MsBoye for individual accessibility questions or requirements.
• The event is free and open to the public. All ages are welcome.

As always, we’re open to work in any genre: music, spoken word, improv, skits, storytelling, dance, poems or prose… Anything you can perform!

Featured performers to be announced; then, it will be your time to shine!

Stay tuned to our Facebook Group for event updates, signup sheets, and links, and invite your friends, too.

Questions? Please email MsBoye.

As someone who lives with significant physical limitations, I know all too well the obstacles that prevent people with disabilities from getting out and being a part of their community. On any given day, I might face challenges with caregivers, transportation, medical equipment, and assistive technology on which I depend. Even when everything aligns for a perfect outing, my body might disagree, or I may arrive at my destination to find that it isn’t accessible. The bottom line: my ability to participate is often determined by a combination of flexibility, accommodation, and luck.

This is why I, and so many others with disabilities, have been alarmed by the recent spate of restrictive voting laws. Along with people with disabilities, these restrictions also disproportionately impact people of color and low-income communities, of which we are a part. While I have not personally experienced difficulty accessing the polls, I understand that this is thanks to the privileges I enjoy: I have a (mostly) reliable vehicle, I have a caregiver and others who can assist me, I have accessible voting locations only a few miles away, and I have flexible hours at work that allow me to vote on a Tuesday or any early voting day. But, again, this is assuming that my body and all the services and equipment I rely on cooperate. So, you can imagine the added struggle that anyone without these privileges might experience in trying to vote.

Mail-in ballots, early and curbside voting, the wide availability of ballot drop boxes—these are just a few of the means that allow us to exercise our democratic right without fear that a health flareup or some transportation snafu will stand in the way of our vote. If we have several options, we know that, more than likely, one is going to work. If, however, these options are curtailed or eliminated entirely, this casts our vote in question. As each election approaches, we will have to work much harder than our non-disabled counterparts, or risk sitting it out.

At the same time, we recognize the tremendous power of the Disability Vote. With one in four Americans experiencing some form of disability, we represent a formidable voting bloc. Through our vote, we can shift misguided attitudes about disability, protect and fortify our rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and continue to expand services that enable us to participate in every aspect of community life, be it employment, education, the arts, and so forth.

It’s in celebration of this power that Art Spark Texas partnered with REV UP Texas and channelAustin to create Don’t Dis the Vote, a choreographed flash mob set to an original disability voting anthem. Even more exciting, you can join us in this project! The flash mob will take place Saturday, March 26. Register here.

People from across the political spectrum often question whether their vote even matters. I know because I’ve done it myself. But, at a time when voting restrictions are being enacted throughout our country, we have to ask ourselves: if our vote has no power, why would anyone try to suppress it? In reality, I think our vote is the greatest, and perhaps the only, power that we truly wield. Let’s show the power of the Disability Vote!

Audience members are encouraged to join the zoom room to emulate a live sculpture court with audience members interspersed. You will have the option to pin performers, write in the chat, focus on one group, join the sculpture court yourself or just observe.