Bimbos In Space! Program

bimbo disclaimer:

The characters and world presented in this show are NOT consent to touch us, say inappropriate things to us, or make assumptions about us outside the bounds of the stage. As in all situations in life: what we wear, how we talk, and our general vibe is not an invitation. Respect us.

production

Director Kit Simmons (they/them)

Stage Manager Kristina Kuhnert (she/her)

Playwright Claud Spadafora (she/they)

Producer Claud Spadafora

Crew

Set, Prop, & Costume Designer Kit Simmons

Fight and Intimacy Coordinator Kit Simmons

Lighting Design Kit Simmons

Operator Kristina Kuhnert

Set and Prop Builders Kristina & Claud

Sound & Projection Designer Claud Spadafora

Graphic Design & Photography Claud Spadafora

cast

Imperator Shadowban Kitoko Mai (they/them)

Trix the Dominatrix Catherine Allen (she/her)

Father Vulva Tarah Ahmad (any/all)

Tampon of Eternity (voice) Kristina Kuhnert

Captain Jezerley Renegade Claud Spadafora (she/they)

Moratoria Severine Salvador (any/all)

Jeff Shakespeare Mykola Paskaruk (they/them)

Elon Musk’s Head In A Jar (voice) Kristina Kuhnert

SESTA (voice) Claud Spadafora

Narrator (voice) Claud Spadafora

This story is partly a reaction to old-school views of heaven and hell; as described by enslaver piece of shit Jonathan Edwards in his sermon ‘Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God’: “The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider…and is dreadfully provoked…he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else but to be cast into the fire”. This worldview is defined by fear– fear of hell, fear of pain, fear of powerlessness, fear of making mistakes, fear of being disposable, fear of being unworthy, fear of an all-powerful father figure who is watching everyone at all times. Fear makes us value production at any cost, self-sacrifice, self-sabotage, restraint, control, rigidity, punishment, binaries. Fear makes us tired, sick, mean, and angry. If we are the spider, “self-preservation” justifies violating the human rights of other people. If we are the spider, we can only strive for the promise of another world, and stop caring about (and caring for) the world we’re currently on. If we’re the spider, we don’t control our actions and are therefore unaccountable for them. If we’re the spider, the only reason to cling to other spiders is to escape the fire.

We’re not the fucking spider. Being kind is its own reward, and caring for broken things until they are fixed is divine. And this world is a very very broken thing. Do we give up on it, give up on ourselves, and turn our misery on others? Or do we invest in pleasure, upcycle words and sometimes people, and lean on each other when we can’t? Hopefully, we start to look at broken things (including ourselves) as projects, not trash. It wasn’t just budget that made us decide that the set would be made of cardboard, old abandoned toys, and thrifted power tools painted to be futuristic weapons. It’s camp. It’s the continuation of a great tradition where we’re neither covering up the grime nor wallowing it in– we’re sticking glitter on the grime and calling it fashion.  xoxo Claud

director notes:

my bimbo journey started late in life. i am not usually perceived in a way that permits bimbo as a state. But like, the more I try the more I love it?

when Claud invited me 2 join a show about Bimbos in Space, i jumped in. i love Claud, so that’s an easy choice. and i loved the idea of learning a new way of being - a bimbo and in space. i don’t have a lot of experience with either. those 2 forces have been woven throughout every aspect of this show - content and process: Love Makes the Easy Choice, and New Ways of Being Can be Learned. S. S. Slutbucket lives these lessons with grace and ease, and it’s been so cool trying 2 implement them in how we tell this story and share this world. we’ve had rehearsals with care that I’ve never thought possible. we’ve made jokes with props and lines I would never have expected to have onstage. throughout, generous and silly and responsible love has made all those choices feel so easy. we had a tech rehearsal that everyone felt good about after! i can’t write about this show without writing about its process - i hope u enjoy the show as much as i enjoyed the process of making - seriously.

4 what it’s worth: in recognizing and actualizing a full world based on, in reference 2, and yet completely separate from this lived one u and i share, we’ve taken some recognizable Earthly things and thrown them up onstage. u may be seeing them through Earthly eyes (hey, i won’t assume. i’m just glad ur here). nothing about what’s onstage is an invitation 2 see these actors as anything other than characters in a role - if u find urself judging unintelligence, or slutty costumes, or violent choices, please remember the message of the prophets: it’s not that serious. Said other ways: the content u are about 2 watch may or may not represent the lived realities of the people creating and portraying said content. it’s not ur business if it does or doesn’t. <3

anyway, that’s pretty much it, but 1 more thing to remember (if it’s not too much):

Gaze deep into the nothingness with us. We may not know much but we know exactly what we’re doing.

Spoilers! More about our villain

Let’s talk about the villain of our story: SESTA. In our show, it’s an evil alien masquerading as a vulnerable little girl. In real life, SESTA/FOSTA refers to a set of laws passed in the United States in 2018: The Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act and the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act. While this may sound like a good thing, there’s way more to it. These laws make all internet platforms liable for the content their users produce, meaning that internet companies are forced to censor any content that could conceivably be perceived as sexual solicitation. This has three main effects. Firstly: banning something does not end the demand for it, and by banning online sexual solicitation, SESTA/FOSTA doesn’t actually stop sex traffickers from trafficking, it just makes it easier for them to hide. Law enforcement relies on online platforms for evidence in cases of human trafficking, and by censoring certain language from the internet, SESTA/FOSTA effectively scrubs away leads and evidence, making it easier for cases of human trafficking to go undetected. Secondly: these laws make sex work (a job, which is NOT the same as sex trafficking), more dangerous than before. Sex workers relied on the internet to create networks, advertise, screen and approve clients, and schedule appointments from the safety of their own homes. When internet platforms ban anything related to sexual activities, sex workers are quite literally pushed back onto the street, where they can’t plan client meetings ahead of time. This forces them into dangerous situations, making them more vulnerable to violence from un-screened clients and harassment by law enforcement. Thirdly: these bills amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, popularly known as “the twenty-six words that built the internet,” which allows user-generated speech and sentiments to remain uncensored, without holding platforms and ISPs responsible for that content. We depend on this freedom to work, socialize, and exchange ideas online at all, no matter who we are or what we do.

SESTA represents a common trap— something claiming to protect us from a danger, when all it really does is hide the danger out of sight and mind; something which inspires panicked cries to destroy the whole when only one part is harmful; something which takes its own values so far that it comes back around and betrays those values.

This show wouldn’t exist without the culture, discourse, and labour of sex workers. Decriminalization of sex work is vital, possible, long overdue, and will ensure health, safety, autonomy, and rights for all.

bestie, why is the program a whole novel? i thought the thing was bimbo energy, no thoughts, head empty?

bimbo theory is actually incredibly complex and nuanced, situated in cultural context and lived experience!

don’t those things conflict? complex discourse and bimbo-ness?

oh ok, cool! can i be a bimbo?

no, bestie! bimbo culture is about choosing ease, care, joy, accessibility, and community. it’s a reframe of what can and should be valued! ya! anyone can!