The Posture Queen

What a life! For the first time on stage, the unique morality tale of a sailor, drag queen, junkie, commune leader, and finally, Zen Buddhist Master who took the excesses of the flesh and the greatest lengths of the spirit to the farthest either could go.

From Tommy “Issan” Dorsey’s hot days as a cute young sailor among the well-muscled men of the US Navy, to an impressive stint as a gorgeous female impersonator, Tommy Dee experienced a descent into drug and alcohol addiction. After an introduction to Zen enlightenment Issan (One Mountain) turned his Zen compassion towards the AIDS epidemic, converting the Hartford Zen Center into one of America’s first AIDS hospices and fighting desperately to give victims a death with dignity. Tommy met with dignity and real confusion and pain his death by AIDS. Tommy died as one of the most respected and adored Zen teachers in the country.

Hand2Mouth’s version of this story took place in a Zendo, where eccentric Abbot Issan Dorsey leads daily rituals from which wisdom and memory spin out and lead to played out scenes from his long and colorful life. By the end of the day, we approach Issan’s early and untimely death in the form of his ascension of the Mountain Seat.

The Posture Queen is a post-modern morality tale inspired by the life of Tommy "Issan" Dorsey, a sailor, drag queen, junkie, commune leader and Zen Buddhist master who took the excesses of the flesh and the wonders of the spirit to the farthest either could go. Never a real devil even when at his most debauched, never a true angel when at his most spiritual, the life of Issan Dorsey defies typical moral judgments and dances between the boundaries of sexuality, death, love, and euphoria. Memories from his life play out over the course of one day in the zen monastery. This play uses movement, dance, songs and ritual chanting , sound and video to capture Issan's wild lust for life and kindness of spirit.