Actor Slash Model is the collaborative work of Simon Strikeback, an activist and  educator, and Madsen Minax, an artist and filmmaker.

Through both music and film Actor Slash Model addresses issues of gender identity, gender performance and politics, a sex positive ideal, and the art making process.

As a duet music project, Actor Slash Model creates fun, quirky, entertaining music exploring gender and sex positivity as well as the most basic inspirations to all people: love, heartbreak, joy, pain, etc., set up in what they like to call an “Indie-Grass” musical style, often incorporating costumes and vaudvillian performative styles. To learn more about Actor Slash Model’s music please visit the music page of this website. The duet has toured the United States including performing in New York, Boston, Philadephia, Washington DC, Baltimore, Pittsburg, Clevland, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Santa Fe, Los Angelels, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and of course, their hometown, Chicago, amongst other places.

As a filmmaking duo, Actor Slash Model recently completed the documentary Riot Acts: Flaunting Gender Deviance in Music Performance, chronicling gender identity and performance as it surrounds musicianship.

RIOT ACTS is a transfabulous rockumentary representing the whole lives of transgender and gender variant musicians, through a first-hand perspective of the intersections between gender performance and stage performance. This feature-length documentary highlights issues crucial to interviewees such as songwriting, voice presentation, presenting a body/bodies on stage, audiences, venues, the idea of the spectacle, media representation, performing gender and notions about “drag,” and the personal as political. The film culminates with the notions that identities and bodies are undeniably political, and that the trans experience isn’t always one of tragedy, but one of creativity and joy.

2009
Directed by Madsen Minax
Produced by Actor Slash Model
Cinematography by Malic Amalya
Running Time: 1 hour 12 minutes

Featuring

The Cliks
Coyote Grace
Jessica Xavier
The Shondes
Novice Theory
Systyr Act
The Degenerettes
Adhamh Roland
Ryka Aoki De La Cruz
Lipstick Conspiracy
Anderson Toone
Trannysaurus Sex
Katastrophe
Basic Fix
Ryder Richardson
Venus Demars
Tough Tough Skin

Actor Slash Model also currently co-organizes a quarterly queer film and video series in Chicago called Threat Level Queer Shorts. Please visit the Threat Level webpage for more info, and come to the next screening! in Chicago and NEW YORK!

The Actor Slash Model film project is made possible by generous supporters such as yourself. Please continue to help bring images and sounds of positive, talented, sexy, articulate trans and genderqueer people to the big screen by donating some cash and get a movie credit (donate via paypal, above)!