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The three young artists are “self-identified as queer” or “address queer themes in their work,” according to a press release. But “queer” covers a lot of ground, and Harper, Kling, and Lora are a diverse lot. Lora, 31, is a Latina lesbian trained in modern dance. Harper, 27, is a gay African-American actor. And Kling is a white 24-year-old transitioning from male to female. Their autobiographical pieces, which I saw in rehearsal at the Center on Halsted last month, are innovative, engaging, and sometimes provocative blends of art, therapy, and activism.

Harper is a native of Arlington, Virginia, and holds a BA in theater from the University of Pittsburgh. Inspired by the 90s gay black performance trio Pomo Afro Homos, he earned an MFA in performance from Arizona State University, where he first studied with Miller. “Tim is very fearless, and I’ve learned that you have to go really deep into yourself,” says Harper. He does just that in You’re Worth Keeping, which relates how his mother–who abandoned him as a child–stole his identity, opening bank and credit card accounts, and even having a male friend buy her a car, in her son’s name. Harper mines humor from the contrast between his real domestic situation and his ideal fantasy family–the Huxtables.