The show is created by interdisciplinary artist and community engagement facilitator Ryan Conarro (ALAXSKA / ALASKA, this hour forward) about his experience growing up gay in the Catholic church, and he’s performing the show IN a church.  The show will play at the Lafayette Ave Presbyterian Church (85 South Oxford St. Fort Greene, Brooklyn) beginning October 24, 2019, with additional dates through November 9, 2019.

Conarro takes his audience on a journey through self-discovery by sharing a series of histories and memories to explore deep questions about LGBTQ identity and the American Christian experience and what ensues when these identities collide. He tackles these questions with humorous and brutally honest anecdotes while painting his body with direction from makeup designer and performance coach Risha Rox (Random Act of Flyness, The Paris Project), an interdisciplinary artist working in the mediums of painting, performance installation, and sculpture.

Conarro tells his story in a setting that has brought him equal amounts of pain and freedom. By performing Saints of Failure inside the Lafayette Ave Presbyterian Church, a religious space with a long history of social justice and advocacy, Conarro brings a visceral potency to the stories and histories in the piece. Saints of Failure will inspire and challenge the audience to confront their own belief systems and identities.