At Atlas Performing Arts Center, Intersections isn’t just a festival. It’s a philosophy — and increasingly, a lifeline.

“For me, it’s a reflection of the district we live in,” says Jarrod Bennett, Atlas’s executive director of the annual festival. “I think it’s an opportunity for people who don’t have the capital to stand up a performance on their own, so they don’t get those opportunities as frequently.”

That reflection currently spans five weeks and 35 shows, filling all four Atlas venues with a kaleidoscope of music, movement, theater, cabaret, and hybrid works that resist easy categorization.

What began years ago as a modest two-week experiment has grown into one of the region’s most democratic arts platforms. Intersections is part incubator, part showcase, part communal gathering. But this year, Intersections feels especially vital.

In the wake of the artistic demolition at the Kennedy Center due to President Trump’s needless and hostile takeover, Atlas has seen a surge in artists seeking rehearsal rooms, performance slots, and stability. “We are receiving a lot of requests from artists, both formally and informally, looking for spaces to land,” Bennett says. That influx has pushed Atlas into an even larger role than it imagined when it was founded twenty years ago.

The Intersections festival itself was built to remove barriers. There is no application fee. If accepted, artists don’t shoulder production costs. Atlas provides lighting, sound, staging, ticketing, and technical staff. And 50% of ticket sales go directly back to the artist.

“I truly believe that the artists need to make that money so that they can go out and continue to work on their art,” Bennett says. “We’re not really trying to generate a ton of revenue on that. We’re just trying to be there, break even to support the artists that are here and give them a little money so that they can go out and continue to produce their art and hopefully come back next season with a new show.”

One could almost say that buying a ticket to an Intersections show isn’t just a night out, it’s an investment in the artists who keep the local performing arts scene vibrant and thriving.

For many of this year’s participating LGBTQ artists, it’s also a first. Adam Greczkowski — who performs under the moniker Lemonboy — never imagined he would be here.

The 31-year-old grew up in a small Connecticut town where severe food allergies once reduced restaurant outings to “an ice water with extra lemon,” which he would nibble on. The nickname Lemonboy stuck. Years later, when he recorded his first album, he honored the community that shaped him by releasing it under that name. Now, just two years after finally stepping into the recording studio, the artist, whose gentle, folk-oriented music is suffused with a sincere and gentle poignancy, is mounting his first full live headlining performance.

When Atlas accepted him into Intersections, his reaction was instant.

“I felt terrified and excited,” Greczkowski, who also sings with the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, laughs. “I think when I was applying, it felt like a cool ‘what-if?’ and I didn’t really allow myself to entertain what reality would look like if I actually were to be given this opportunity. And so then when I got the email, I was scrambling. I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I have so much to do!”

For someone who once considered his music a “cute party trick,” the affirmation hit hard. “For a group of artists that I really respect and value, for Atlas to say, ‘We want you here,’ is just really meaningful,” he says.

The visibility matters. “In terms of being a queer artist, especially right now, it is so important to be visible and to not hide that part of myself,” he says. “I know that there are people out there whose minds might be changed or whose attitudes might shift if they can just see themselves in me and in the art that I’m making.”

RAWRA, meanwhile, is navigating a leap of her own. Born Iara Rogers Benchoam, the performer is presenting Joanie’s World, a 75-minute “soft rock musical or concert play” that blends live music with theatrical narrative.

The story follows a protagonist experiencing a queer awakening that threatens to trigger relapse from an eating disorder, embodied in an externalized drag monster alter ego. The piece began as a film script and evolved through Atlas’s Arts Lab. It has now been reshaped again for Intersections.

“It’s been an opportunity to try on something new,” RAWRA says, “but still with the goal of developing this piece into something more professional. And having the backing of the crew at Atlas for the day-of-show tech is really helpful and beneficial.”

The journey has required assembling a team of more than a dozen collaborators, raising grassroots funds, all the while balancing her full-time job at Arena Stage. “It’s been a challenge,” she admits, but notes that it’s reassuring to have “an institution behind you when you’re a newer artist who’s still trying to show people your professionalism and show people your work.”

For Miss Kitty, the leap to Intersections is both artistic and existential. An AMAB non-binary, genderqueer, trans-feminine Helen Hayes–nominated performer, Miss Kitty is debuting her first solo live cabaret, Life’s Other Plans, a deeply personal meditation on transition, resilience, and survival.

“It is my live one-woman show debut,” she says, her voice virtually a purr. “It’s a cabaret of story and song about one person’s journey into the second act of life within a newfound queer body.”

When Miss Kitty received her acceptance email, her first thought was panic. “I said, ‘What? You weren’t supposed to say yes. I’m not ready'” she recalls. “But it was like, ‘Okay, I guess I now have to put together a one-woman show.”

Festivals like Intersections “give artists, especially artists like me, the opportunity to try,” says Miss Kitty, adding that “as long as at least one person gets the message of what I’m trying to put across in this show, then all the stress and the struggle and the nerves was worth it.”

Dana Nearing brings a different form of celebration. His 75-minute headlining set pays tribute to 16 iconic female vocalists, from Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, and Anita Baker to Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera, and Ariana Grande.

Performing as a self-described baritenor, Nearing — Director of Operations for The Musicianship, a D.C.-based nonprofit that provides free after-school music education for local youth and the Executive Producer of the Washington Area Music Awards (The Wammies) — reinterprets songs like “Don’t Rain on My Parade” through his own instrument, sometimes experimenting with more gender-fluid presentation as part of the performance.

What strikes him most about Intersections is its support system.

“They’re giving us sound engineers and audio engineers, equipment that they don’t charge us for,” he marvels. “They’re giving us the stage, and then on top of that, they’re helping us market and promote. And then on top of that, they’re going to pay you to be there. It’s just really amazing, incredibly generous.”

In a climate where diversity initiatives are under siege, Nearing sees Atlas’s commitment as quietly defiant.

“It’s in a time where differences and diversity are being sort of tossed as unimportant,” Nearing says. “But we know that’s not the case. And so Atlas is standing true to that and helping us celebrate each other.”

Established institutions like the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington provide another kind of anchor. Artistic Director Thea Kano, now in her 22nd year with the venerable arts organization, sees the answer to Intersections’ importance in its name.

“When you think about the diversity of arts in our city,” says Kano, “this festival really brings together a sampling, a cross-section, a smorgasbord of what this city has to offer.”

The chorus’s cabaret performance — Bawdy — adds polish and draw, and potentially introduces audiences to artists they might not otherwise encounter. Unlike the Chorus’s full-scale productions at the Lincoln Theatre, this is an intimate, small-ensemble evening built around soloists who auditioned specifically for this format.

“The Cabaret is a selection of soloists,” Kano explains. “But what makes it a cabaret is that they each tell a story.”

She curates the material into what she describes as an arc — not simply a collection of showstoppers, but a structured evening that threads together humor, vulnerability, and provocation.

For Kano, Intersections represents something Washington doesn’t always get credit for. “Washington, D.C. is so much more than a political city,” she says. “It’s always been a city rich in the arts.”

If the Gay Men’s Chorus brings scale and audience loyalty, the emerging artists bring risk and vulnerability. Under the Atlas roof, the forces sit side by side, and the proximity is intentional.

Bennett, himself a singer with the GMCW who will appear in Bawdy, understands the stakes from both sides of the curtain.

“It’s really cool to see the emotion on the artist’s face after their first professional show,” he says. “To know that they’ve worked so hard on something and now they’re getting to share it.”

But Intersections, he adds, isn’t about producing hits — it’s about creating space.

“We’re just trying to be there,” he says. “Trying to break even. Trying to support the artists that are here. Give them a little money so that they can go out and continue to produce their art and hopefully come back next season with a new show.”

For artists like Lemonboy, Rawra, Miss Kitty, and Nearing, Intersections is a challenge and a starting point to possibly greater things to come.

For audiences, however, Intersections is a reminder that the local arts scene is personal, precarious, and present. And buying a ticket, whether it be to a single show or a pass to many, is, quite wonderfully, participation of the best kind.

Intersections continues through March 15 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Individual tickets range from $25 to $37 plus fees. Festival passes are also available in limited quantities. Call 202-399-7993, ext. 501 or visit atlasarts.org/intersections26.

The remaining Atlas Intersection shows follow:

Guzheng Meets Jazz

Qi Yu Quartet
Saturday, Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m.

Blends traditional Chinese melodies with jazz harmonies and improvisation, creating a fresh fusion that honors tradition while exploring new paths.

Urban Steps

Darby, Fujimoto, Umami Playground Dance
Saturday, Feb. 28, 8 p.m.

A dynamic triple bill from three choreographers exploring how the cities of D.C., New York, and Tokyo shape identity.

Lemonboy

Saturday, Feb. 28, 8 p.m.

A vulnerable, autobiographical song cycle reflecting on self-discovery, grief, and compassion through personal reflections and the voices of chosen family.

Recess

Kate Mullis & Melissa Wilson
Sunday, March 1, 5 p.m.

Follows five elementary school students throughout the school year as they navigate family, friends, politics, and life’s big questions.

Life’s Other Plans

Miss Kitty
Sunday, March 1, 5:30 p.m.

A cabaret of story and song about one person’s journey into a “second act” within a newly discovered queer body.

Open World

Project Fusion & Good Beats
Sunday, March 1, 6 p.m.

A collaboration featuring new chamber music by living composers and music inspired by video game adventures.

Until The Streetlights Come On

Elements Dance Company
Sunday, March 1, 6 p.m.

A vibrant dance journey honoring the freedom and boundless joy of childhood, calling for its return in today’s world.

Baal

Jaemi Theatre
Friday, March 6, 7:30 p.m.

A dystopian drama set in a toxic city where birth is banned and a nonbinary doctor fights for life amidst slime and protest.

Color Me (Curly): Detangled Stories

A.J. Collabs
Friday, March 6, 8 p.m.

Uses movement, voice, and sound to explore the cultural and emotional weight of Black hair, challenging bias and honoring resilience.

We Are Somebody’s Ancestors

Anushka Raje & Co-Choreographers
Friday, March 6, 8 p.m.

A dance showcase led by children of immigrants exploring inheritance and the ways we harness our personal stories.

Family Fun Day

The Great Zucchini
Saturday, March 7, 10 a.m.

Free interactive performances, crafting stations, and surprises for families.

Joanie’s World

RAWRA
Saturday, March 7, 7:30 p.m.

A story of secret shame and a “drag-monster” inner persona screaming for attention, featuring a bathroom, a bassline, and a beast.

Bawdy

Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington
Saturday, March 7, 8 p.m.

The chorus’s annual cabaret featuring soloists performing stories and songs with a “bawdy” theme.

Keeping Time

Percussion Discussion
Saturday, March 7, 8 p.m.

A captivating tap dance exploration of the relationship between rhythm, music, and the journey of life.

Clocked In

Antoine Lee
Sunday, March 8, 5 p.m.

A stylized comedy show with live music offering a hilarious satire of office and work culture in modern America.

Seeing Maya

Bardin, Makhlouf, Hodsoll
Sunday, March 8, 5:30 p.m.

A comedy-drama about an American man and his Tel Aviv neighbor, who begin an affair during the Gulf War.

High Heels…Higher Notes!

Dana Nearing
Sunday, March 8, 6 p.m.

A performance channeling iconic female vocalists of all time to bring powerful songs and high-glamour energy.

Amalgamas (Encuentros)

Furia Flamenca Dance Company
Sunday, March 8, 6 p.m.

A dynamic fusion of cultures celebrated through Flamenco music, song, and dance, honoring the form’s rich evolution.

ETHEReality

Aerial Ignition
Friday, March 13, 8 p.m.

Breathtaking aerial artistry presenting stories about the courage to be different and transcend a world of sameness.

TEXTURES

TEXTURES Dance Theatre
Saturday, March 14, 8 p.m.

Original contemporary works weaving identity and resilience through movement ranging from intimate solos to ensemble surges.

The Church Bizness Meeting

Tonia Ford Vines
Sunday, March 15, 6 p.m.

A hilarious gospel comedy about a community church facing closure due to changing leadership and a rapidly gentrifying D.C.