Misused: Performance Artist

A "good" wick included anything that was a parody, subversion, or In-Universe example. Note that none of the wicks were any of those three things (except one that was also a ZCE). I also included "trope's whose relationships are described in the description" as a good wick, though the only wicks doing that didn't seem correct to me (so, there are no "good description" wicks here). The final criterion for a "good" wick that I looked for is: "The character is gay and is into theater performance." At first that seems like a loose definition, but there are only five such wicks out of 59. The other, potentially good wicks are mainly ZCE.

A "bad" wick included examples were a character is clearly not gay. There may have been one or two such examples, but they were also ZC Es, so I couldn't determine that. Other "bad" wicks included those characters who are simply performance artists, or gay characters who just happen to be performance artists. The distinction between "gay character & ordinary use in the bad way" and "gay character & ordinary use in the good way" is whether the example overlaps with other tropes, such as All Gays Love Theater. There was one wick where the character was clearly not into theater performances. Two wicks were also in the description, but they didn't correctly describe the trope's relationship with Performance Artist. And that's a bad wick as far as I can tell. Four wicks were troping RL persons, two of whom are straight.

A "neutral" wick includes those wicks that are just potholes. I can't tell whether that's a good example or a bad one, after all. There was one ghost wick, by the way. One entry was an index, and I think it's fine; I included the entry here. Now, I normally say that ZC Es are "neutral" because you can't tell if the example fits the trope or not. However, this trope has 30 ZC Es, and it seems that tropers believe that — since the character is gay — all they have to say is either (1) their name, (2) the fact they like theater performances, or (3) nothing at all.

• Good
  • good: 5 (8.47%)
• Bad
  • ordinary use: 7 (11.86% of total; 43.75% of bad wicks)
  • LGBT & ordinary use: 2
  • not theater: 1
  • bad description: 2
  • troping RL persons: 4 (6.78% of total; 25% of bad wicks)
• Neutral
  • ZCE: 30 (50.85% of total; 78.94% of neutral wicks)
  • Pothole / Sinkhole: 6
  • Ghost Wick: 1
  • Index: 1

1. Archive/Ad Of Win Archive 2010 : not theater
2. All Gays Love Theater : bad description
   • Also in "All Gays Love Theater" : ordinary use
3. Characters/American Girls Collection : zce
4. Characters/Barbie : zce
5. Literature/Beacon Street Girls : ordinary use
6. Big Beautiful Man : Pothole / Sinkhole
7. Characters/Bio Shock 1 : zce
8. Characters/Bratz : ordinary use
9. Cast Full Of Gay : ghost wick
10. Creator/Chris Colfer : troping RL persons
11. Comic Book/Circles : good
12. Characters/Circles : good
13. Roleplay/Cirque Mystique : zce
14. Creator/Darren Criss : troping RL persons
15. Characters/Degrassi Graduating Class Of Season 5 : good
16. Drop The Hammer : Pothole / Sinkhole
17. Western Animation/Earthworm Jim : ordinary use
18. Role Association/Film 09 A : good
19. Series/Gimme Gimme Gimme : Gay Theater Geek
    • zce
20. Series/Grandmas House : zce
21. Web Video/Husbands : zce
22. Webcomic/ISO : zce
23. Creator/Kenneth Williams : zce
24. Music/Laurie Anderson : troping RL persons
25. Characters/League Of Legends Others : LGBT & ordinary use
26. Toys/LEGO Friends : zce
27. Lesbian Jock : bad description
28. Characters/Metamor City : general misuse
29. Characters/Modern Family : zce
30. Toys/Moxie Teenz : zce
31. Redundancy/Music : troping RL persons
32. Webcomic/My Life In Blue : zce
33. Nobody Over 50 Is Gay : zce
34. Web Video/O Cast : zce
35. Characters/Pokemon Adventures Allies : zce
    • Pothole / Sinkhole
36. Characters/Pokemon Adventures Two : x
37. Pretty Boy : zce
38. Film/Pride 2014 : zce
39. Comic Book/Pride High : zce
40. Queer As Tropes : index
41. Reflexive Response : Pothole / Sinkhole
42. Video Game/Silent Scope : ordinary use
43. Characters/Six Feet Under : zce
44. Characters/Skins Generation One : zce
45. Slice Of Life Webcomics : Pothole / Sinkhole
46. Literature/Stellar Ranger Dark Star : zce
47. Characters/Steven Universe Gem Fusions : zce
48. Darth Wiki/Sweetworld Characters : ordinary use
49. Film/The Big Gay Musical : zce
50. The Nicknamer : Pothole / Sinkhole
51. Film/The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes : LGBT & ordinary use
52. Characters/Truth And Ideals The Unova Chronicles : zce
53. Characters/Twisted Metal : zce
54. Characters/Ugly Betty : zce
55. Film/Velvet Goldmine : zce
56. Wholesome Crossdresser : good
57. Characters/Will And Grace : zce
58. Wrestling Monster : ordinary use
59. Roleplay/XIRPG : zce

1. Archive/Ad Of Win Archive 2010 : not theater ; Found on the entry for the Performance Artist page, which explicitly states "A Flamboyant Gay, who lives for acting, singing, or performing in general." The ad? "Zac Efron vs. Rob Patinson: Who's Cooler?" from Sodahead.com. Even more bizarre is the Amazon ad at the bottom of a video with a still of...Steven Seagal. Who knew?
2. All Gays Love Theater : bad description ; See also Performance Artist, for gay men who perform theatre.
   • Also in "All Gays Love Theater" : ordinary use ; Jack from Will & Grace, who is also a Performance Artist sometimes.
3. Characters/American Girls Collection : zce ; Performance Artist: Budding singer and ambitious actress.
4. Characters/Barbie : zce ; she's into dancing and theater.
5. Literature/Beacon Street Girls : ordinary use ; "Genki Girl: Maeve Kaplan-Taylor, the Fiery Redhead and aspiring actress of the group."
6. Big Beautiful Man : Pothole / Sinkhole ; Circles has at least two of these. Marty is a chubby skunk who is at first timid about his weight, but his new roommate Taye actually finds him incredibly sexy, like a teddy bear, for which Ken derides him as a "chubby chaser". Then there's Arthur, the artistic Basement-Dweller — he's a...bear (both socially and literally), now in his 40s, who helps reassure Marty that there's nothing wrong with being portly.
7. Characters/Bio Shock 1 : zce ; Note that this character is apparently a Depraved Homosexual. The entry, however, just reads "Performance Artist: A lethal one."
8. Characters/Bratz : ordinary use ; Note that this character apparently develops interest in members of the opposite sex but any homosexuality isn't mentioned in her section. The entry reads "She has a talent for both dancing and theater."
9. Cast Full Of Gay : ghost wick ; "Performance Artist" isn't anywhere in the history, apparently.
10. Creator/Chris Colfer : troping RL persons ; Yeps. He's been doing musical theater all his life.
11. Comic Book/Circles : good ; The character is in a homosexual relationship at some point, but the description doesn't provide much context, which I guess is fine given that this isn't the entry for the trope? Quote: "Ken, part Straight Gay part Gym Bunny Part Anything That Moves; Arthur, an artist and one of Paulie's oldest friends; Taye, a Flamboyant Gay Performance Artist, and Marty, the Straight Man and audience stand-in."
12. Characters/Circles : good ; Still Taye. Still a gay character into performing on stage. Quote: "His father was an electrician and fixed the stage lighting while Taye loved to perform on stage."
13. Roleplay/Cirque Mystique : zce ; Possibly just the ordinary use. Quote: "Performance Artist: The characters."
14. Creator/Darren Criss : troping RL persons ; The main problem is that it's troping a RL person. However, Darren Criss is known for playing a gay character on Glee while being straight, meaning this falls under "ordinary use." Quote: "He was a fan of musical theater growing up, and plays six instruments, sings, acts, and writes his own material."
15. Characters/Degrassi Graduating Class Of Season 5 : good ; The character is gay. I'll count this as a "good" example. Judge for yourself with the QuOtE: "When Marco and Ellie have to film a commercial for their product advertisement he plans a bright, Bollywood-inspired version. She's the director and he's the actor. She rags on his version, calling it "flaming.""
16. Drop The Hammer : Pothole / Sinkhole ; In Steven Universe, the fusion gem Sardonyx (Garnet and Pearl), has this as her main weapon. It combines Garnet's gauntlets as the head and Pearl's Blade On A Stick as the handle.
17. Western Animation/Earthworm Jim : ordinary use ; Peter Puppy has used interpretative dance, splatter paint puppetry and poetry recital to describe his inner sadness. 
18. Role Association/Film 09 A : good ; The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: Agent Smith, a sweet-natured Drag Queen, persuades Performance Artist Leonard Shelby/Peter Weyland and lovelorn transsexual General Zod to take a road-trip through the Australian desert on a hot pink tour bus.
19. Series/Gimme Gimme Gimme : Gay Theater Geek ; Gay Theater Geek: As well as being a Performance Artist, Tom proves how focused he is on acting by randomly throwing out information about stage shows, movies, or even actors to Linda. He probably knows something about any actor that has ever existed, ranging from Hollywood to an extra in the background of a low-budgeted car commercial.
    • zce ; Performance Artist: Tom is a struggling actor trying to make it in show business. His most "memorable" role was playing a member of the public in the marketplace of EastEnders in 1994.
20. Series/Grandmas House : zce ; Character is apparently gay, though. Quote: "Performance Artist: Simon again."
21. Web Video/Husbands : zce ; Character is apparently gay, though. Quote: "Performance Artist: Cheeks"
22. Webcomic/ISO : zce ; Character is apparently gay, though. Quote: "Performance Artist: Jake is a dance major."
23. Creator/Kenneth Williams : zce ; This may be troping his stand-up comedy, but I can't tell because it only says the name of the trope. Other relevant tropes in this list include All Gays Love Theater.
24. Music/Laurie Anderson : troping RL persons ; "The Real Life straight female version, as, along with her music, she has presented various installations. Her concerts incorporate films and dances along with the music."
25. Characters/League Of Legends Others : LGBT & ordinary use ; Coupled with All Gays Love Theater. Quote: "Performance Artist: His day job? Musical theater director."
26. Toys/LEGO Friends : zce ; I can't tell if the character is gay or not. Quote: "Andrea is a female example of this, considering that she is a talented singer and young actress with a flair for the dramatic."
27. Lesbian Jock : bad description ; The relationship between Lesbian Jock is more clearly related to Gym Bunny, and the explanation of its relationship to Performance Artist seems long-winded and complainy. I'm not sure if the relationship is what this page says it is. Quote: "From this standpoint, the Spear Counterpart would be Performance Artist, where certain performance arts are 'reserved' for women and that any man who choose to partake in them are automatically more 'feminine' (and thus in turn inclined to homosexuality) than those who don't. The same logical fallacy applies."
28. Characters/Metamor City : general misuse ; "Occasionally adopts the persona of one, when an assignment calls for it."
29. Characters/Modern Family : zce ; Character is apparently gay, though. Quote: "Performance Artist: To some extent."
30. Toys/Moxie Teenz : zce ; I can't tell if the character is gay or not. Quote: "Arizona is usually off to auditions during weekday morning and she takes grueling dance and voice lessons in the evenings. "
31. Redundancy/Music : troping RL persons ; "An example is in the Elton John song "Love Lies Bleeding" by Elton John which contains the lines:"
32. Webcomic/My Life In Blue : zce ; Commented out. Nothing but the trope name.
33. Nobody Over 50 Is Gay : zce ; From the perspective of Nobody Over Fifty Is Gay, the entry is a ZCE, though from the perspective of Performance Artist, it has what it needs, I think. Quote: "Middle-aged African American couple Steve & Edy from the X-Files episode "X-Cops", a Straight Gay and a Performance Artist."
34. Web Video/O Cast : zce ; Character is apparently gay, though. Quote: "Performance Artist: Apollo."
35. Characters/Pokemon Adventures Allies : zce ; Just the trope name.
    • Pothole / Sinkhole ; "Brutal Honesty: Straight-up tells Burgh that his newer paintings look terrible, and much later teases Black about his love life."
36. Characters/Pokemon Adventures Two : x ; Same exact page as Characters.Pokemon Adventures Allies?
37. Pretty Boy : zce ; Character is gay, though. Quote: "Kurt Hummel. All he's missing are the sparkles… and even then, he sometimes provides his own."
38. Film/Pride 2014 : zce ; Character is apparently gay, though. Quote: "Performance Artist: Jonathan."
39. Comic Book/Pride High : zce ; "Performance Artist: Subverted with Capp. ("Just because he's a dancer doesn't mean he's gay.")"
40. Queer As Tropes : index ; "A Camp Gay who loves acting, singing, and/or performing in general."
41. Reflexive Response : Pothole / Sinkhole ; "Sgt. Frog: Keroro's natural showmanship gives him an irresistible need to run, slip and fall on any Banana Peel he sees."
42. Video Game/Silent Scope : ordinary use ; Two entries: 1) "The Star in #2 battles you on the stage of an opera house, complete with operatic opening and unique boss music. His weapons are even listed as 'Hand Gun' and 'Tenor.' Even the protagonists loudly wonder what the hell." and (2) "EX's boss Prince of Rose is awfully dramatic and mobile with his monologue, and uses a piano to input launch commands."
43. Characters/Six Feet Under : zce ; Character is apparently gay, though. Quote: "Performance Artist: Edie"
44. Characters/Skins Generation One : zce ; Just the trope name.
45. Slice Of Life Webcomics : Pothole / Sinkhole ; My Life In Blue: High school comedy/dramedy centered around gay teenager Aleksander "Alex" Charbonneau and his circle of artistically-inclined friends. The sequel My Life In Blue 2.0 focuses on his friend Marius' new life in London.
46. Literature/Stellar Ranger Dark Star : zce ; Apparently misuse. Quote: "Performance Artist: Octy fits this, though the trope typically has a Camp Gay character in this role."
47. Characters/Steven Universe Gem Fusions : zce ; I can't tell if the character is gay or not. Quote: "She's big, she's boisterous, and she loves to show off her talents."
48. Darth Wiki/Sweetworld Characters : ordinary use ; Two entries: 1) "Performance Artist:He eventually becomes one of the Nemefino circus." and (2) "His human AU counterpart is a member of a drama club,and is said to have a liking to musical theatre."
49. Film/The Big Gay Musical : zce ; I'm guessing that they're all gay, but are they all literally performance artists or are they all really into theater? Quote: "Both main characters. And most of the supporting cast."
50. The Nicknamer : Pothole / Sinkhole ; "On Glee, this is just another part of Sue's magnificently evil personality. Emma Pillsbury is called any woman's name but her own ("Wilma", "Edna", and "Edith", among others). Principal Figgins is "Figgy". Tina? "Asian". Mike? "Other Asian". Mercedes? "Aretha". Artie? "Wheels". Kurt? "Gay Kid", "Don Knotts", and "Ladyface"."
51. Film/The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes : LGBT & ordinary use ; "Apparently the Russian Ballet attracts these like flies. Gay, gay flies."
52. Characters/Truth And Ideals The Unova Chronicles : zce ; Just the trope name.
53. Characters/Twisted Metal : zce ; Character is apparently gay, though. Quote: "Performance Artist: As seen in his ending."
54. Characters/Ugly Betty : zce ; Character is apaprently gay, though. Quote: "Performance Artist: Justin is quite the little actor and dancer."
55. Film/Velvet Goldmine : zce ; "Performance Artist: Slade and Wild, along with Jack Fairy."
56. Wholesome Crossdresser : good ; "All three protagonists of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, to varying degrees. Terence Stamp plays a hard-drinking but patient transsexual, Guy Pearce a bitchy, high-strung Performance Artist, and Hugo Weaving is the timid, sweet-natured drag queen who persuades them to do a cabaret act in the middle of the desert. That breaking sound you heard was your brain."
57. Characters/Will And Grace : zce ; Also doubles as an entry for All Gays Love Theater (or is it the other way around): "All Gays Love Theater: Also a Performance Artist sometimes."
58. Wrestling Monster : ordinary use ; In the description. Quote: "Is he out to win championships? Does he live to entertain the fans? Is it all about the money? No, all he cares about is destruction, preferably the destruction of other living things."
59. Roleplay/XIRPG : zce ; Character is apparently gay, though. Quote: "Performance Artist: Maureen."