Presented June 2025 at Hollywood Fringe Festival
Eastwood Performing Arts Center
A GAY 80s MELODRAMA
TOLD IN 70 AWESOME MINUTES
In this neon-coated farce, wide-eyed Jessie Blade flees his Midwest home for the bright lights of the City that Never Sleeps (with the same person twice), only to get sucked into a labyrinth of sex, “angel dust”, and DANCE.
This totally campy 70-minute melodrama follows Jessie as he accidentally becomes the top go-go dancer at the Gomorrah Nightclub in 1980s New York. The Madam (drag queen and owner of the club) takes Jessie under her sequined wing as he loses his innocence amid nasty competition with the club’s resident dancer, the dastardly Billy Panache.
Eternal Flamer! The Ballad of Jessie Blade is written by Tommy Jamerson, Josh Julian, & James Tison, is directed by Matthew ZanFagna, and co-designed by ZanFagna and Gnosis.
Cast:
James Tison, Ross Knight, Jordan Paradise, Gnosis, Joan Nelson, Giselle Austria, Sadé Ayodele, & Tanner Hayes.
CAST & CREATIVE
James Tison* - "JESSIE BLADE" / co-writer
JAMES TISON is an actor, comedian, and writer. Credits include: off-Broadway show Safeword, a brief appearance on New Amsterdam, a lead turn in Jessie Gender's short film Identiteaze, and a supporting role in festival darling Chrissy/Judy. Variety called them, "Hilariously deadpan... instantly able to create vivid characters that feel so delightfully specific they leap from the screen and demand more of our attention." But if you didn't see any of that then do you really care? Is anyone reading this part? James Tison is Meryl Streep if she had Jeff Hiller's charm. He/they moved to LA in May 2023 after 17 years in NYC, and they're actively seeking representation.
Ross Knight- "THE MADAM"
ROSS KNIGHT (he/him) Originally from Chicago, Ross began his training at Columbia College Chicago, Second City, and Remy Bumppo Theater. He eventually made his way to Los Angeles where he’s been fortunate to have continued his training and also do work in various shorts and indie projects. He is most well known as part of the main cast of the miniseries, Work In Progress (HereTV).
Jordan Paradise - "BILLIE PANACHE"
JORDAN PARADISE (he/him) is an LA-based actor, excited to make his Fringe debut! In real life, Jordan is not the role he's been given in this play, contrary to popular belief.
Joan Nelson - "MAMMA BLADE"
JOAN NELSON (she/her) bicoastal beauty, and delicious dyke. She has appeared Off-Broadway in URINETOWN and XIMER and a supportingrole in the feature film MIDWINTER (currently streaming). She recently debuted an Off-Broadway production of her one-woman experimental show DORIS at Theater 154.
Follow the old broad at @oh_n0_joan.
Gnosis - "RUDY" / Lead Producer
GNOSIS (they/he/she) is an LA-based visual and performance artist. They are an experienced drag performer and makeup designer. This is Gnosis’ fifth collaboration with ZanFagna, their most notable projects being music videos for John Cameron Mitchell’s album, NEW AMERICAN DREAM.
IG: @gnosiszoey
Giselle Austria - "MUFFY DIVER"
GISELLE AUSTRIA (she/they/what have you) is an actor, writer, and all around silly person that's very excited to be joining this group of Flamers. She received her acting degree from the University of California, Riverside, acted in a few shows (Box Play, The Last Gift), co-wrote a show (The Last Gift), took a brief hiatus to "find herself" and is now coming back into acting with a fire both in her heart and under her ass!
Sadé Ayodele - "MONICA"
SADÉ AYODELE, an actor-singer-writer based in Los Angeles, is just thrilled to be making her Fringe debut! She has regional theatre roots and can be seen in the upcoming season of Amazon's Fallout. Other LA credits include Rhoda in Celebration Theatre's A New Brain. Catch her in another Fringe show this season, STARLIGHT. As she continues to write her bio, she's looking to keep telling fun, unhinged stories that give her more lines.
Tanner Hayes - "SKIP"
TANNER HAYES (he/him) is excited to be making his Hollywood Fringe debut with ETERNAL FLAMER! Tanner is an actor, writer, and producer, whose horror comedy short Good Boy is currently playing festivals. He is a student of UCB and Anthony Meindl’s Actor Workshop, and is always looking to make fun, cool sh*t! REP: BAM Management & First Class Talent Agency.
IG: @hannertayes
Matthew ZanFagna - Director
Matthew (he/him) is a New York-bred, Los Angeles-based theatre director. His background in art and design bring frenetic, expressive, and saturated visuals to his collaborations. His collaborations with Gnosis have been deemed "bonkers" by Rolling Stone. From readings to full-scale productions, Matthew has helped stage new work at every level of the developmental process, and is passionate about learning and teaching within the medium. He thrives on a limited timeline and uses all available resources to produce deliberate, fantastical choices. In addition to directing, Matthew is an actor and props designer, served as Head Properties at Brooklyn’s Theatre for a New Audience for four years, and has contributed as an artisan to many productions, most recently at Pasadena Playhouse and Boston Court Pasadena. Portfolio can be found at MatthewZan.com
IG: @i.think.i.zan
Alyssa Barron - Associate Producer
ALYSSA BARRON (she/her) is thrilled to be an Eternal Flamer. She’s worked on and off stage from the desert to the west coast, across the pond in beautiful, soggy England and back again. Some favorite credits include Ru Paul’s Drag Race, Project Runway and Drag: The Musical. When she’s not crewing theatre or tv, you can find Alyssa performing her one-woman cabaret as Barroness. To find out more and listen to her original music, follow on Instagram and Spotify @alyssabarron, and visit alyssabarron.com.
Tommy Jamerson - Playwright
TOMMY JAMERSON has received over three hundred productions across the globe. Notable works include his stage adaption of the Vincent Price classic, The House on Haunted Hill, the one-act campy comedy, Rags to B***hes: A Battle of Wits & Wigs (originally starring Rupaul's Drag Race alums Alexis Michelle and Brita), and his full-length comedy, Eternal Flamer! The Ballad of Jessie Blade, which played at the historic Cherry Lane Theatre in the West Village. Career highlights include the Fresh Fruit Festival (Winner), The Downtown Arts Festival (Winner), The Playwright Forum (Winner), and the Rave Theatre Festival (Finalist). He studied under Pulitzer Prize and Tony winner Marsha Norman, holds a BS in Theatre from Indiana State University and an MFA in Playwriting from the University of New Orleans. He is currently the Resident Playwright for the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts in Hammond, LA. He lives in West Orange, NJ with his husband, Mark, and their dog, Darby. Tommy is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild.
Josh Julian - Playwright
A little about me. Many moons ago, I earned a BA in communications and an MA in English Literature from Indiana State University, with minors in Theatre and Creative Writing. After college, I went to Atlanta to work for the Horizon Theatre Company. While there, I began work on Vivian’s Lament!, an homage to the Grande Dame Guignol films; as well as Eternal Flamer: The Ballad of Jessie Blade, a bawdy dance comedy that you’re sure to love. I now reside in Hilo, Hawaii, where I am a high school English teacher. I am currently working on a few graphic novels and other works, including Deep-Fried Flags, a pastiche of 1990s slasher movies.
Gnosis & Matthew ZanFagna - Production Designers
GNOSIS
👗 Costumes & Makeup
📽 Projections & Video
🎬 Lead Producer
MATTHEW ZANFAGNA
☎️ Scenic & Props
🎼 Sound
💡 Lighting
THANK YOU
to our generous supporters
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