Partners in life, love and creativity
By Jay Nachman
Multi-disciplinary artist Michael Biello and musician Dan Martin are true partners. They have been together in life, love and creativity since meeting a half-century ago.
Their relationship is expressed in the lyrics of a recent collaboration. “Elderland” is a work-in-progress musical theater piece. It is inspired by life stories gathered from a group of elders living in a retirement community in South Florida.
IT GROWS STRONGER, LOVE DOES
THE LONGER WE HOLD ON
NOT A TIGHT HOLD
BUT A GENTLE CARESS
LOVE IS THE ANSWER
TO EACH AND EVERY QUESTION
HOWEVER LONG LIFE MAY ALLOW
SO HERE, NOW, WITH YOU, TODAY
I AGREE TO STAY …
I AGREE TO STAY …
WE AGREE TO STAY
Both men are from the area. Biello, 73, graduated from West Catholic High School. Martin, 72, graduated from Abington Senior High School. They met at a workshop at Antioch College in Ohio. Biello was a dancer with Group Motion. Martin was working as a pianist, playing with dance companies and other artists.
“From the beginning of our relationship, I would set his poems to music. They were the first songs that we wrote together,” Martin says. He primarily plays piano but also plays guitar and flute. Thus, Biello added to his artistic portfolio as a writer and lyricist for musical theater.
The couple began presenting original performance-art musicals around the country about their relationship. They would take the stage together to tell their stories. We’re “not doing it to make a big point. But doing it because that was our truth,” Biello says. “We’re just telling our truth. If straight people can do it, so can I do it.”
Since the early 1990s, they’ve transformed their writing. It’s now critically acclaimed body of musical theater work.
“A lot of our work is very universal. It’s about love, it’s about family, it’s about spirituality,” Martin says. “We weren’t out to shock. We wrote passionate pieces because of our experience when we lost friends to AIDS. But it’s always been about love at the heart. We’re still doing that.”
In the 1980s, the couple moved to New York. They thought their sometimes provocative work would find greater acceptance there. It did — in both the gay and straight communities. While in New York, they started gathering LGBTQ musicians together in their living room. This organization was a first, they believe. This led to public concerts by the members of the community they had assembled. At the same time, Biello was showing clay pieces he was sculpting in galleries.
In the early 2000s, they moved back to Philadelphia to take care of Biello’s aging parents.
As a result of their collaboration, Martin says, “We’re mildly famous. (We) moved the needle, (and) moved forward queer self-expression. Owning it, loving it and sharing it.”
That doesn’t mean that the pair hasn’t faced homophobia. The artistic community has provided a shield of sorts. Being artists themselves, they were somewhat insulated from employment discrimination.
They are now working on “Michael & Dan’s Amazing Queer Songbook.” This musical documentary honors their shared life, LGBTQ activism, and legacy projects.
In addition to collaborating, Martin writes, arranges and produces music for other artists. Biello is focusing on his ceramic sculptures. He currently has an exhibition at The Clay Studio, called “holy.body.”
At this stage of his life, Biello is less concerned with people accepting his work. “At this age, with the show at The Clay Studio and the new musical we’re writing, ‘Elderland,” it’s my time to just be. I want to trust that what I’m doing is taking me where I need to go. …That’s why I’m here on the planet. And whether people have made a big deal out of them or not, they’ve changed some people’s lives. They’ve affected some people. And they are going to live longer than me because it’s art and theater.”
The artistic give-and-take with his partner makes the work special. Biello says, “To be doing that with the person I did it with 50 years ago, it only grows stronger. It just does.”
Michael Biello’s exhibition “holy.body” runs through June 29. It’s on display at The Clay Studio, 1425 N. American St. His sculptures depict what he calls the “holiness of the body.”
“Through art we heal,” Biello says. “Art has always been my path to finding center in a sometimes unsettling, ever-changing world. Art is my sanctuary, where I can feel safe in the midst of the madness.”
Jay Nachman is a freelance writer in Philadelphia who tells stories for a variety of clients.
