Who do you think was the better cook: MLK or Malcolm? And why?

I have a sneaking feeling neither of them ever touched a pot or a pan in their lives.

Who would you rather have as your boss at a McDonalds: George W or John Kerry?

Bush, because he wouldn't even fire us for shortening up the register.

What sex would you like to be reincarnated as?

Prince.

You are discussing the music of Prince with Buddha, Jesus and Mohamed. Which of them turns out to be the biggest Prince fan and why?

I don't know how Mohammed would react to Prince because I don't know enough about his musical tastes. Buddha would be all about him, for sure, because he's all about everybody. But Jesus would probably be the biggest Prince fan because they are both doves. I quote the Book of Purple Rain, chapter 7, verse 3: "I'm not a human/I'm a dove/I'm your conscience/I am love/all I really need/is to know that you believe/I would die for you..."

Why are you an actor/musician?

Because I can't help it. And, given my lot, I hope that I can somehow help others with what I do.

You wake up severely hungover in las vegas hotel room with no memory of the previous night to find yourself clutching a whip and situated in bed between a snoring clarence thomas (wearing nothing but a white leather mini skirt and fishnets) and condoleeza rice in a catwoman suit. What are the first words out of your mouth?

Pass the Courvoisier.

You are running for president in 2008. What is your campaign slogan?

Don't elect anyone, stop human and environmental warfare!

What, if anything, do you have in common with Youth?

He feels irreparably separate from all his communities yet is deeply nourished by all of them.

If you could feel in everyday life the way you do when you're acting/making music would you still act/make music? And why?

I think I already feel the same way in life as I do when I work. Performance is just an exponentially intense version of our daily joys and sorrows and denials.

La Liz was fond of having her favorite chili sent from a Beverly Hills restaurant to wherever she happened to be working in the world. If you had it like that, (and who says you don't?) what transnational or transcontinental craving would you have satisfied during PS's run?

Well, it would have to be Cafe Gratitude's I Am Cool mint/carob shake, right, Chad? And a couple treats from Mexico City: a dessert flavored with rose petals from Los Girasoles, and the mole poblano at Cicero's.

What did you like most about being in Berkeley?

Being home. Spending easy time with family. Running into old school friends at the shows and on the streets. The air, the smells of the flowering trees on Shattuck Avenue as we walked home every night. The hills, the trails, the views of the Bay. A slower pace, one where you're not chasing THINGS on a treadmill everyday. I didn't like anything the most, I loved it all whole. Gestalt-style.

It is the future and the borough of Queens has been given over exclusively to women. Men, while not allowed to live or work there, are allowed 24 hour visitor passports as well as weekend passes - but at a very high cost. To the women: do you think you'd wanna live there? To the men: how often do you think you'd visit?

I'm sorry, but I live in Brooklyn. I'm a lover, not a fighter, but I can't even live in Queens in a thought experiment.

While browsing thru the Schomburg library you happen upon an undiscovered letter in which Frederick Douglas outs himself as a huge leather queen. According to the letter, he and Honest Abe spent a memorable weekend once in a cozy log cabin. Do you go public with this finding?

Stew, you are crazy. First of all, Frederick Douglass and I have exactly the same hair, so I'd be skeptical that he'd be rocking that style and a leather fetish too. But could I see him and Abe Lincoln chilling in a log cabin? I don't know if you're insinuating anything sexual, but everyone needs emancipation. I'd take it public, but exclusively to Dave Chappelle.

Why is it when you ask artists what they would do if they couldn't do art they usually say "teach"?

Teaching is also performance. Parenting is too. I think all performers want to share what they know, to love and be loved in return.

Which character in Passing Strange would you like to sit next to on a long plane ride? Which would you not like to sit next to? And why.

Oh I would have to sit in between Mrs Kelso and Mr Venus, no doubt. We could talk about the situationist functionality of potholders. I would hate to sit next to Joop because I think he would lick me after about five minutes on the tarmac.