After a few years of various performing arts opportunities in different venues and under various management, The Troupe decided they were ready to take full autonomous control over their creative work as performers. The creatives in The Troupe wanted to offer a space for all manner of creativity and expression for the LGBTQ+ community in the Yavapai County area.
Thus, House of Hues was born. Kicking off their first full season of shows as an independent entity, The Troupe produced the show RED at the Elks Performing Arts Center in Prescott, AZ. Since then, The Troupe has continued to develop and produce performing arts experiences for their community and shows no signs of stopping any time soon!
House of Hues has hopes to expand with programs to serve not just performance art but expression of all sorts. Keep an eye out for the exciting work HoH is brining to Northern Arizona.
Sylvia Ximi is the premiere president of House of Hues, after functioning as Troupe Manager as the Troupe moved between various owners before finding home under House of Hues. By day, Sylvia works as a graphic and web designer, and enjoys offering her design skills to House of Hues when not running things as a board member. Her passion lies in creating space for queer people to authentically express their truth, and values allowing identity to be discovered as it is celebrated. Sylvia is also a published writer and illustrator, and has worked in community theater in all variety of roles from performer, to prop and set designer, to director. Letting the community tell HoH how they wish to celebrate and share their own stories is the most exciting part of this work for Sylvia.
Whitney Williams has been a member of House of Hues since 2019. She was elected to the board as our Vice President in 2021 and was a part of the incorporation process that has led to House of Hues being a non-profit. She has her Bachelors in Elementary Education and is a local public school educator. Whitney is a born and raised Prescottonian and has been an avid queer rights activist in our rural town of Prescott working towards truly making her community “Everybody’s Home Town". Creating safe spaces for queer art expression is vital to moving forward as an inclusive community and combatting systemic discrimination. She thinks we can create sustainable change while dancing in heels. Whitney also moonlights as Swan Marie on occasion.
Clinton Slay is a proud father of two. He is heavily involved in local theatre, both on stage and behind the curtain. As a gay man, queer representation is important to him. He is proudly a founding member of House of Hues because it creates a space for his community to explore, grow, and blossom in self expression in alignment with the authentic self. Clinton performs with the Troupe as his drag persona of Mary Belle, the Northern Belle of the South. He was raised in Prescott, and has recognized the need for an organization for queer people who have been here like he has, but have been left disenfranchised in the past. The number one virtue Clinton hopes to teach through all that he does is empathy, so that one day his children may grow up in a world that truly values the meaning of love.
