Next BIG Announcment

So it’s time for my next BIG announcement!  I have been commissioned to devise a brand new Cleaning Closets script with the stories of the students at my alma mater.  I’m super excited to return to Morehead State University and see how it’s changed!  This is my way to give back to the school that taught me so much.  It’s also a region of the country that still needs to be educated on the issues of homophobia.  In fact, I’m going to do a giant workshop on LGBTQ competency, open to the whole campus.  But I hear that their gay straight alliance (the ALLYance) is quite active on campus, which is a huge improvement since my day there.

I’m hoping it’s a successful enough program to be picked up by other colleges.  But it’s a little soon to be thinking about that.  First, I must think about creating my lesson plans for the rehearsal workshops.  I had almost four weeks of daily lesson plans ready to go on a flash drive.  I know that sounds like an antiquated way of storing data, but I still find them easier to use than online databases such as Google Drive.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the convenience of being able to access online storage from any computer.  In fact, I’m smart enough to keep back ups of my work online.    However, Google Drive can be a bit fickle at times.  And sometimes Google Drive, like Dropbox, requires me to have to download the document first before editing it.  So it’s just easier to plug in a flash drive and open up a folder and save changes directly to it.

But the flash drive that I’ve been using is the first flash drive I’ve ever owned, so obviously it’s quite old (and awesomely called the Mighty Drive).  It’s been working fine for years.  I even used it this past weekend.  But the next time I tried to use it, it just didn’t register in the computer.  In any computer!  And of course I hadn’t yet backed up my most recent lesson plans.  They were complex and exciting, and now they’re gone!  FOREVER!  I’m trying to spin this into a positive and tell myself that those just weren’t the lesson plans that were meant to be.  The new ones that I create will be EVEN BETTER.

Happy Pride Month!

Venue Booked

Well, it’s official!  I finally have a date and venue reserved for Cleaning Closets:  A Night of Storytelling.  It took a lot of hard work and dedication to get this event booked, but there’s nothing more satisfying than when things fall into place!  This one-night storytelling event will highlight pairs of storytellers who will both tell the same coming out story but from opposite perspectives.  If you or someone you know is interested in submitting a story, check out this link for details.  Novice storytellers are encouraged to submit!  Save the date:  September 27, 2014 at 7:30pm at Parlour on Clark.

Venue Scouting

As I mentioned in my last video blog, searching for a venue is one of the most difficult tasks as a producer!  I'm SO SO SO close to booking a space for the upcoming storytelling event, but I need to close the deal so that I can start the search for talent!  It's super frustrating trying to find a balance between being too pushy and not being pushy enough.  I don't want to bug the venue manager to the point where they don't want to work with me, but I also don't want them to forget about me while they take they sweet-ass time!  You would think these venues would want my business, but I suppose the rest of the city is also trying to reserve all of the same places!  I've almost secured a bar, though, so I want you all to keep an eye out for when I post an ad looking for story submissions!!!  P.S.  Sorry I missed last week's blog, but I was trying to nail down this darn venue! 

Setting Up

For me, the film process is always exciting because I don't know much about it.  I've done a little bit of unpaid extra work before (which can actually be boring).  I've had friends get paid really well for being an extra, though, and so I'm sure they didn't mind being bored.  I have done a few shoots with Tello Films (an awesome lesbian production company).  But overall, I really don't know much about how it all works. 

So when Charli, my camera person, and I interviewed our first film documentary subject, there was a lot of set-up that needed to be done.  Sure, there's a lot to prep before a play.  You have to test the sound equipment and the lights.  It's the same with film.  You have to test the same things.  But in previous interviews, the only thing I've had to set up was my laptop and the audio recorder on my iPhone.  So having to check the sound, and get the microphones put together, and check the camera and adjust the light coming through the windows is a lot of work.  Then in the middle of the interview, we have to pause to readjust cameras and repeat questions.  It's all part of the process, but we have to be conscious not to disturb the flow and thought process of the storyteller for too long.  It's definitely a balancing act that I have to get used to.  And I'm still learning how to conduct a good interview on top of it all.  So there's lots to think about besides the final product when interviewing people for Cleaning Closets. 

First for Film

I recently interviewed the first storyteller for the upcoming film documentary!  My friend Charli, from one of my many jobs (oh the life of an artist), has agreed to use her brand new (at least new to her) hand-held camera to record the documentary.  I'm super excited to be gaining more stories for the archives, while also equally excited to be collaborating with a new artist and friend!  And my film "crew" and I both learned so much from our storyteller.  I met this storyteller at Tribe, a discussion group hosted by Project Vida.   

This middle-age storyteller admitted that she still struggles with her identity.  To herself she identifies as a heterosexual transgender woman, but due to health reasons she'll never be able to fully transition which makes her feel like the woman inside is sometimes dead.  Therefore he outwardly identifies as a bisexual man so as not to confuse the people around him.  However this doesn't always make things easier since like the T in LGBT, the B is quite often the least accepted letter in society.  According to several of the interviews that I've conducted, many of the people who identify as transgender and/or bisexual are often ostracized by both the heterosexual and the homosexual communities.   Being bisexual is often misconstrued as being confused or being greedy or even as being a stepping stone to becoming gay. 

I won't share the whole interview with you because you'll have to wait to see that when the film documentary is finished.  Instead I've included one of my favorite anecdotes from the interview in a small sound bite in the Archives.  Be sure to check back next Friday when I talk a little bit about the actual filming process which is always new to me as a theatre artist!

A LETTER TO A SON

In light of the new launch, my father emailed me a letter to post on the website so that I could show a little bit of his point of view.  Before I share the letter with you, let me first preface it with the fact that Daddy and I have never had a horrible relationship.  In the earlier days, we may not have always had the best relationship, but I always felt loved by him.  He worked tirelessly for years to provide for me and teach me what he knew about life.  He always instilled in me the importance of travel and seeing new cultures.  That's why it came as a confusing contradiction when he would make homophobic remarks.  

I will never forget those nights when we were sitting in the family room watching TV while eating dinner as was tradition in our family.  That was our way of bonding amidst our hectic extracurricular schedules.  I recall those days fondly.  One night in particular, we were watching Ellen, a sitcom that Ellen Degeneres had in the 90's.  All of us loved that show because Ellen was hilarious and wholesome.  But then she came out as a lesbian on the show and then in real life, and it changed Daddy's views completely.  On this particular night, Daddy referred to Ellen Degeneres as "Ellen Degenerate."  I will never forget it.  But I don't want to forget it because it gives me a point of reference for how far my father and I have both come in life and our relationship.  Here's a little excerpt from his letter.  Be sure to check out the entire letter in the Archives.  

"I used to be so anti-gay for many years.  Even to the point that I would make fun of gay shows.  Even to the point of saying the words like fag, queer and so on, not knowing how much I was hurting you until I found out that you were gay."