“‘Poor little porn star,’ his somber, dark gaze seemed to convey, though in my mind I suddenly imagined I was seated at the head of a garishly decorated room, noise makers filling the air, the guest of honor at his surprise pity party, so generously thrown on my behalf.”
The opening line to gay adult film star Chris Harder’s HuffPost article titled “Exiting the Porn Star Pity Party” is one of many encounters Harder has had with individuals who have seen one of his movies and felt the need to tell him he’s better than that.
“I wrote that piece originally because when I was doing a lot of porn I ran into an acquaintance, like it says in the article, who just wanted me to know I was still a good person and that I was more than porn,” Harder says. “And while I appreciated that, I get where he was going, I think there is reluctance in most people, no matter how liberal we may think we are, that believe someone who is in the sex industry can’t be satisfied working in the sex industry.”
Harder —who along with being a porn star is a go-go dancer, burlesque performer, writer, comedian and stage actor— felt compelled to write the HuffPost article to address the “issues” people think he must have because he does porn.
“They always goes back to those stereotypes that if you’re in the sex industry, then you’re either a non-success or you have some kind of addiction or it’s like your last chance to do something with your life,” Harder says. “Granted, there are certain people you meet in all aspects of life that can fall into those categories but I can say I’ve met plenty of people in the industry who are just living their lives and enjoy the work they do. I rode that rollercoaster, quite literally, and I just moved onto other interests but I don’t regret porn.”
That led Harder to create his one-man show, Porn To Be A Star, which he brings to the Footlight Theatre at the Parliament House for one night only Feb. 3. Porn To Be A Star is a comedic look at the adult film industry and addresses those stereotypes people have associated with Harder and the entire pornography business, but the current show is a far cry from where Harder began with it.
“The show has gone under a large transformation over the past year,” Harder says. “I started writing it about a year and a half ago, and it was originally called Big Bright Star which was more of my life story told in a cheeky way. After I toured it in Ft. Lauderdale I decided to do a big rewrite to make it more of a ‘slice of life of porn.’”
Porn To Be A Star features Harder portraying several different characters, including himself, as they vie for the prestigious Porn Star of the Year Award at the fictional Dirty Dish Porn Awards.
“It’s a look at what winning this award would mean to each of them,” Harder says. “I take on these porn star stereotypes, based off of guys that I’ve worked with, and ask what it means to be a star, especially in today’s world of social media.”
Harder says the show isn’t just applicable to performers in the adult film industry but a broader look at what it means to have a “celebrity status,” especially online and on social media.
“Anyone with a presence on Twitter or Instagram will recognize some of these character traits,” Harder says, “and what it really means to have that fame and what you go through when it seems to slow down or go away.”
While Harder’s characters take on porn industry stereotypes—a social media obsessed twink, a seedy film director and a set of gay-for-pay, Irish twins just to name a few— this isn’t a tell-all, insider look where he names names.
“A lot of the characters are based off of my experiences but I never directly attribute anything to anyone,” Harder says. “I take plenty of shots at myself and I also take shots at other porn star identities, if you want to call it that. But one way or another it’s all based off of my experiences.”
One character Harder portrays in Porn To Be A Star that offers a different perspective of the porn industry is that of his own mother. The scene puts Harder in his mother’s shoes as she leaves him a voicemail about the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. She expresses her equal parts support and fear of not only having a gay son but a child in the porn industry.
Harder says it was difficult when he opened up to his family about being in the adult film industry, something he admits he did in a bit of a cowardly manner.
“I did it by email. I sent it to my close family when I was first starting to get into porn and it looked like I was going to be contracted for a while,” Harder says. “I wanted them to hear it from me for several different reasons. I’m from a small town and I am still fairly close with my family, even now after being in the porn industry. And, you know, understandably, they did not take it the greatest, but they didn’t disown me either.”
Harder grew up in North Dakota, about two hours north of the state capital of Bismarck, in a small town called Minot where he got into theater and art as a teenager. After graduating from the University of North Dakota he moved to New York to become a “serious actor.”
“I did a lot of children’s theater and I did a few Off-Off-Off-Broadway things, and then I very much randomly fell into go-go dancing. From there the rest kind of just became history,” Harder says.
Harder’s love of theater was another reason he wanted to create his one-man show.
“Part of me wanted to get back into writing,” he says. “I started writing short, one-act plays that had a lot of burlesque influence in them. I eventually got to the point where I was ready to write about my porn career. I wanted to have a more sex positive way to approach an industry that a lot of people think they know but don’t have a lot of firsthand experience with. I felt this shift in myself of not wanting to pursue porn directly as a ‘porn star’ but to see how I could examine it as a writer.”
Harder says that the response has been mostly positive, with several people surprised he wrote the entire show.
“Yes I can form sentences and have an opinion about things,” Harder says with a laugh. “A lot of people told me they didn’t expect to laugh as much. I feel like I present plenty of sex and sexuality in the show but I am also a comedic, weird person so there is that kind of John Waters-esque humor in the show as well.”
Something else Harder’s show contains, which one might think would be obvious with a title containing the word porn, is nudity.
“Funny enough I got several comments, mostly by male audience members, about my need to take my clothes off in the show,” he says, “which is just part of the deal. I go out of my way to amplify that this is a play and it’s a part of the story. It’s not me naked on the stage just talking about getting double penetrated. I mean, I do that, but it’s all in service to the stories.”
Porn To Be A Star runs at the Footlight Theatre at the Parliament House in Orlando Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $20 and are available at PHouseOrlando.Eventbrite.com.
