Johnny Drago is a writer who likes to tackle everything from 6-foot tall vaginas to soap opera dinner theater.

But Drago has also been writing "erotic satire" under a pseudonym, "Dale Vigor," that takes on the subjects of pornography, gay relationships and, well, seafood.

Vigor makes his debut reading on Wednesday, Jan. 25, at 8 p.m. at the Drive-By Theater Project. Drago answered a few questions about himself and Vigor ahead of the reading dubbed "Pornography vs. Art." The reading will include explicit material and is intended for mature (mature?) audiences only.

What will you be reading?
I'll be giving my first public performance as my pseudonym Dale Vigor, with a reading of a short story called, "All-You-Can-Eat Seafood Feast." It's a hilarious, absurd tale about a gay couple trapped on a desert island, and the lengths they go to in order to be rescued. Also, it's about three-way sex. Oh, and it's also about how much I love shrimp.

Why a fake name?
My short, erotic stories feed into a larger-scale art project I'm working on, about the intersection of pornography, internet voyeurism, and gay relationships. I like the idea that I can explore this issue in a variety of forms and media, and unify them all under one pseudonym.

The name itself, Dale Vigor, is a lazy, yet surprisingly satisfying anagram for my all-time favorite novelist, Gore Vidal. I like to think of the character of Dale Vigor as a sophisticate, an intellect, a man's man. And above all else, an irresistible lover, like his namesake.

What happens at 'Pornography vs. Art'?
When I first suggested doing a reading of these naughty stories, Timothy Gray (www.oddmanouttheater.com), whose baby The Drive-By Theater Project is, and who does an amazing job of organizing and curating the festival, was totally open to the idea. In fact, he paired me for the evening with another writer/performer of sexual material, Mary Jane Amelia, who does a character called The Pussy General. The performances will be followed by an audience discussion on the theme of Pornography vs. Art, and I can't wait to see how everyone responds.

What is your erotic satire like?
Like much of my writing, my erotic satire is gleeful and surreal, full of twists and turns. Even when my characters have sex, it's more frequently funny or bizarre than actually sexy. Pornographic content aside, I'm much more interested in treating these stories as fables or parables about gay culture — our consumerism, our hedonism, our experiences of rejection, our love of the perfect dance beat.

What else are you working on?
I'm currently working on my first novel, and I'm looking forward to once again playing Annie Potts play Mary Jo Shively in The Process Theater's next installment of Designing Women Live at Onstage Atlanta this March. As for Dale Vigor, he's at work on a collection of stories entitled, Masculine Adventures for Men. It's kind of an homage to the pulp adventure stories of the 50s and 60s, but with gay dudes having sex all over the place and making complete and total jackasses of themselves. As in life.

Pornography vs. Art
Drive-By Theater Project
Jan. 25-28
Wednesday, January 25 - Writer's Block: Pornography vs. Art
8 p.m. at The Arts Exchange
Dale Vigor and The Pussy General
Tickets: $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Online tickets available at at oddmanouttheater.com.

Top photo: Johnny Drago as Dale Vigor. (by Julian Modugno)