My most likely way to meet someone new is:

performer Sofia Woods brings gay cliches and less familiar subtleties into the traditional theatrical arena with a personal journey in her one-woman show, Blurred Lines.

Woods steps into the shoes of "the butch", "the high femme", "the androgyne" and "the drag king". Static trapeze and contemporary dance represent the striving for balance between possibilities, conformity, and individuality.

Onstage for 50 minutes, the self-described "gender misfit" changes costumes in front of the audience, "so they can see what it's like to transform from one identity to the other".

"In the show, trapeze is this transporter that can take me to different places, different ideas of how I see myself and different personas, and pose questions for me," the QUT graduate says.

Recognising that far more gay men's stories are portrayed on stage, in television and cinema, Woods says she wanted to add balance by giving voice and profile to the female queer perspective.

After working in the underground London queer scene for nine months, grants from the Australia Council and Arts Queensland gave her a platform to speak to the broader community, rather than just its fringes through nightclubs, cabaret, burlesque or vaudeville.

Woods also wanted to counteract popular entertainment's often-gimmicky depictions of lesbianism as a fashion statement straight women might try on.

"That sets it up that the only reason women are lesbians is that we can't get a man," she says.

 "It's a dangerous and misogynistic moral to be feeding people, that true sexuality is false."

Woods, however, hopes the themes of identity, belonging and individuality are broad enough "for anyone", gay or straight, to identify with.

"We're all trying to find somewhere to fit in and feel comfortable and, at the same time, having a good time doing it, and being concerned with how we want to be seen," she says.

 Brisbane Powerhouse Visy Theatre, 7.30pm daily until August 9. Bookings www.brisbanepowerhouse.org  or 3358 1888.

Ref :Courier-Mail