Attendees at this year’s Healthy Friction event in Palm Springs were treated to a (un)dress rehearsal for Stake In The Ground, written and performed by sexologist Dr. Jallen Rix. Coming this Sunday, May 17 to Highways Performance Space in Santa Monica, and Saturday/Sunday May 23/24 at The Desert Rose Playhouse, Stake In The Ground, describes pivotal moments in Rix’s life as he grew from a shame-riddled Southern Baptist boy into a sexually liberated adult.
He focuses on the shame that plays such a powerful role in keeping us separated from our sexual nature, and his stories are engaging and vividly described. As he tells of his boyhood in an uptight Baptist home, and his imaginative escape into the lush forests of Northern California, Jallen recounts how outer and inner forces of nature drew him into a loving self-acceptance. He describes several episodes where the shame of masturbation was a crushing blow to his developing psyche (in several chilling episodes with his parents) and how the process of finding his own way has liberated him into moments of adventurous and powerful sexual discovery.
The staging by director Richard Jessup keeps the material lively and fun. Jallen’s Puckish, animated delivery is punctuated by leaping about the stage, but it’s the point of his storytelling that makes the most impact. There’s a strong message about the benefits of self-love, in all its forms. Throughout the show, Jallen changes in and out of costume, and in much of the second act he’s completely naked. I especially enjoyed his Radical Faerie costume, with the goggles and buttless loin cloth.
Stake In The Ground is an engaging and provocative show filled with delicious nudity, memorable moments and a thoughtful perspective. For those of us scarred by religion, it’s a particularly warm recognition of our shared experience in finding our own true nature.
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Jallen is also a musician and published author. His book (including Kindle version) Ex-Gay, No Way and his CDs Time On A Chain and The Sacred And The Queer are available on Amazon.com.
