If you’re wondering where San Diego’s edgiest and queerest performance art is taking place these days, look no further than T.M.I., the monthly reading series and open mic taking place in Ocean Beach’s Voltaire Space. An acronym for “Too Much Information,” T.M.I. is the brainchild of UCSD professor Anna Joy Springer and UCSD student Jenny Donovan, and caters to the queerest of the queer – namely homos, transfolk, hags, feminists, fairies, femme-ists, S.C.U.M. Manifesto Fan Club members, lesbos, queerpunx, womanists, polyamorites, tough old broads, baby-butches, lesbian schoolteachers, second-wavers, anarchist cheerleaders, bisexual plushies, bois, feminist straight guys, old-fashioned diesel dykes and their friends who like to perform word-based work and to watch writers and performers groove live on stage.

In a nutshell, it’s not your mother’s open mic.

“We’re trying to find a queer community that’s maybe not a traditional one,” explains Donovan. “We’re looking to bring people together who might not feel they fit in mainstream gay culture.”

The motivation behind the event is not new. Anna Joy Springer founded T.M.I in October 2001 in Providence, R.I., where she was a member of Brown University’s writing community. Then a women’s event, T.M.I. ran consistently for two years before Springer moved out west to join UCSD’s creative writing faculty. Arriving in San Diego, Springer discovered that an active women’s open mic was already in existence, and decided to tweak T.M.I.’s mission to target a more general, queer audience as well as focus on more experimental, inter-media works. She was also inspired to create a safe space for feminist artists after a reading with a few insensitive male poets at a downtown San Diego venue ended in discord.

Springer and Donovan met through mutual friends and originally considered hosting T.M.I. at Donovan’s house. Then by sheer coincidence one of Springer’s friends let her know that she was leaving Ocean Beach’s community arts co-op, the Voltaire Space, and needed someone to take her spot. Springer joined, enabling her to hold events in the cozy, quirky space, and T.M.I. was officially reborn.

“The opening show was incredible,” says Springer, who has not lost momentum since. This Friday, Jan. 21, T.M.I. will feature a handful of groundbreaking performers including Marriage, Stephen Remmington and Megan Palaima.

Marriage is the artistic project of James Tsang and Math Bass. According to their website, “this union of James Tsang and Math Bass sings songs, tells stories and takes its clothes off for public. Naked for blowing things up.”

For the past seven years, Stephen Remmington has been an artist working with experimental narrative through performance, video and installation. His work incorporates themes of intimacy, control, gender construction, anti-queer assimilation and confessional storytelling techniques. His most recent works have included “The Lap Dance Series” and “16 Down”, each of which have used a one-to-one, performer to viewer environment. Stephen has performed across the country and is a current Master’s of Fine Arts candidate at UCSD.

Megan Palaima is an installation artist, who will add her own flair to the Voltaire Space.

“So far, we’ve been trying to pair someone local with an out of town person,” explains Donovan, who is looking forward to Friday’s performances. “I’m really excited about Friday’s show because I’ve been hearing about Marriage for a long time. Also they are a trans act, and I’m trying to make sure that the trans community knows about it, since not very many [trans performers] come through town”.

Springer is looking forward to the February T.M.I., which will feature an appearance by the S.W.A.S. (Sex Workers Art Show), a cabaret-style event featuring music, spoken word, burlesque, video and other performance art – including a visual art installation that travels with the troupe. The artwork and performances offer a wide range of perspectives on the sex work, from celebration of prostitution and sex-positivity to views from the darker sides of the industry.

“It’s sort of like a Sister Spit thing,” explains Springer, referencing the awesome and infamous feminist/dyke spoken word tour that she toured with in 1999. “We’re really lucky to have [S.W.A.S.] at T.M.I.”

The Sex Workers Art Show, however, is not the only big name to come through the Voltaire Space. Sister Spit co-founder Michelle Tea recently made an appearance at T.M.I., to read from a work in progress. And local writer Ali Liebegott will celebrate the release of her novel, The Beautifully Worthless (Suspect Thoughts Press), in March at T.M.I.

“It’s going great,” says Donovan, reflecting on T.M.I.’s popularity with both traveling and local artists. “I’m really enjoying having people come out [to the show], and getting to know people that I wouldn’t have any other way of knowing, and hearing their work. It feels like a good space, physically and intellectually.”

Springer agrees and is pleased with the queer community she’s reconnected with here in San Diego – not that there isn’t still room for improvement.

“I’d like to see more readings, more authors coming, a more well publicized book tour type thing happening. I’d like to see more experimental theater and puppet theater, but I know that there is a lot of theater here that I just haven’t discovered yet.”

“Grass-roots, messy, funny queer theater would be great,” she adds.

For now it seems T.M.I. is a substantial step in the right direction.

“The work just keeps coming,” says Donovan. “We keep getting word about new shows that want to play San Diego, and I’m really excited about which shows are going to come. There’s a lot of people’s work that I haven’t seen or heard, and it’s great to be able to bring them here. We’ve had performers from Chicago, San Francisco, all over – even from the East Coast.”

As for whether or not this is “too much information,” that remains to be seen. As of now, T.M.I. seems to be just right.

T.M.I. takes place on the third Friday of every month (except for February, when it takes place Feb. 24) at the Voltaire Street Space, which is located at 4862 Voltaire St. in Ocean Beach. There is a $3-$5 suggested donation at the door, but no one is turned away for lack of funds. The Voltaire Space is an all-ages venue.