Celeb wannabes, “his and her” glamour icons, NYC's sweethearts. Move over Hollywood. Introducing ... Star & Stan.

Star & Stan love Celebrityism. They re-stage and subvert iconic moments from pop culture, British/American politics, fiction and myth to create their own horny, queer stories. Star, the epitome of high femininity, donned in evening gowns and faux-Geisha makeup, is Stan's heart throb, achilles heel, seductress. Stan, an evolution of Rushes’s Drag King persona Manly Stanley, charms Star with his manly might, his money and fine suits. Through high energy duets they “meld passion and aggression,” (The Brooklyn Rail) “lovemaking and conflict” (Paper Magazine) negotiating romance, power, life and death. Star and Stan's shows are a gay mash up of horror, rom-com and thriller.

Kate Williams and Reed Rushes (a.k.a Star & Stan) are interested in questions around the commodification of identity. Their work unpicks the power structures that arise when certain identities and cultures are sold and repackaged as superior, elite and more desirable against the backdrop of individualism and consumerism. Working together through fantasy is a way for Kate and Reed to reinterpret and process the world around them. Using live performance, drag, video and props they build the multifaceted world of Star & Stan.

Star & Stan have performed at raves, on streets and beaches, and at venues such as The Park Avenue Armory, Performance Space New York, Henry Street Settlement, Art Omi, Pageant and Entrance, to name a few.

PAGEANT PRESENTS DECEMBER 2023

STAR & STAN'S SHOWS : 

Slit slit peaking through the hole in the ground she longed for a repeat on the TV. Tape left on rewind, clicked to the start. Will they win or die? He walks under the blue street light, shudders. The only light on this long highway. 


E X U L T

Presented by The Locker Room NYC
with Dirty Magazine
Rockaway Art Week, Rockaway Beach
June 2023

THE BEACH

CORNDOG

Played at

Mansions Queens New York
Performance Space New York
Art Omi
Chaos Computer

CRY SEX
EXULT

The Park Avenue Armory
Presented by
Trans Oral History Project in partnership with Arca's Mutant;Destrudo

STAR &  STAN

video by Laura Carella from Performance Space New York BODY WORK

Star & Stan for BuckRock
Henry Street Settlement
April 2024