Family parts

Cooper, T. Lipshitz Six, or Two Angry Blondes

"Some parts are true, others are made up. Still others are made up, but from entirely true events" (429)

It took me a long time to fall in love with this book. The first 300 pages are a fascinating historical fiction family saga, reminiscent of Ragtime. The blurbs compared it to Middlesex;, though that wasn't necessarily the first thing I thought of while reading it. What didn't immediately come to mind was T. Cooper's first novel, Some of the Parts. Some of the Parts was a beautiful, angry, frustrated novel that I loved and admired even when it was painful. Lipschitz Six has all of that amazing craft and persona in it, but it has something else as well. It's extremely literary and feels more mature than the conflicted angst of Some of the Parts. It builds an entire story of family history and intricately flawed characters before introducing the queer craziness of the T. Cooper literary persona.

Out of Town

After an extremely busy and eventful week, I find myself in San Francisco. Arriving in the Bay, into the home of friends and former roommates, always feels like coming home, and I'm glad to be here taking some time off. My plans for the day include taking a walk and reading in a coffee shop. In fact, that is really my plan for most of the week. There may be a street corner barbecue or some drinking at the local dive gay bar, but that's about it until this weekend.

I also happen to be in San Francisco in the middle of the Queer Arts Festival, an amazing collection of queer performances. There are always many more shows than I could possibly attend and last time I was in SF during the festival, I only made it to one show. This week, I will be attending Fresh Meat on Friday (I already bought my ticket, because they tend to sell out!) and Michelle Tea's Slumber Party Cabaret on Saturday night. The Slumber Party Cabaret is a whole night of queer femme performance, which should be super fun, but I'm totally anxious about what I should wear considering that the wardrobe I brought with me to SF is limited and I will be in the presence of many fabulous and interesting queer femmes. Sigh. It's a good problem to have.

Transcend at LA Pride

Transcend at LA Pride: Lineup

If you're looking for something queer to do in LA this weekend, come to LA Pride! I know many people have excuses for not attending pride, but instead, I'm trying to make it better. We're putting on 2 really fabulous shows at the Empowerment Stage (next to the Abbey) . Here are the shows with artists in the order they will be appearing

Saturday, June 9th 8-10pm
with Hosts Ashley Love and riKu

Lavonna Marie
Imani Henry
Talia Bettcher (performance art)
Vanesa Camara (dance)
Kale (performance art)
Skim
Ryka Aoki De La Cruz
Imani Henry (he's doing 2 short spoken word sets)
Katastrophe!!!!

Sunday, June 10th 2-4pm
with hosts D'Lo and Ashley Love

Kali B. as Mr. TuffnStuff
Tuesday (music)
Solidad Decosta
Max (performance)
Vanesa Camara (dance)
Shawna Virago
Ariana (comedian)
Stephan Pennington and the Tritones (music)

A Town Full of Elvis

All Shook Up. Orange County Performing Arts Center. 5/31/06.

All Shook Up is a goofy little musical and it isn't exactly good, but it is fun. I actually enjoyed it. It's the story of a random small, boring town in the 1950s (which is, mysteriously, VERY integrated racially). Everyone's sad and bored until an Elvis-like rock and roll musician rides up on his motorcycle. He brings music, love, and excitement to the town and everyone goes a little crazy with the excitement. Hijinks ensue.

This play didn't exactly have an original plot - it was sort of Footloose meets Bye Bye Birdie meets As You Like It. But it was fun nonetheless. It started out slowly with "Jailhouse Rock" and "Heartbreak Hotel" before the plot really started, so those two songs didn't make a lot of sense or seem particularly relavant. But once the "Roustabout" rode into town, the integration of the Elvis songs with the plot was actually pretty interesting. And I even enjoyed the weird musical theater arrangements of the Elvis songs. It's interesting to see them adapt Elvis's music for a large black woman, an older 'unhip' white man, and a Buddy Holly-like sidekick.

My biggest problem with the show was the As You Like It plot in which the heroine does drag to get closer to the boy. Up until that point, I kind of like the heroine. She was a tomboyish motorcycle mechanic who never wears a dress. And I appreciate that putting on the dress didn't automatically get her the guy. But, her attempt to pass as a guy was, easily, the worst drag I've ever seen. It included a profoundly ugly hunting hat and soot on her face to imitate a 5 o'clock shadow. It was hideous. Why couldn't they have given her a haircut like Triumph of Love or even a wig? The fact that I had to watch her in that outfit for half the play made me actively angry. Why couldn't they have made her look like a cute little baby dyke? At first I thought it was homophobia - musn't have our lead appear at all unfeminine, but there was an absoultely brilliant unhomophobic plot twist at the end, so why appear so stupid at the beginning? Grrr.

Other than a few pet peeves, though, I actually really enjoyed this show. It may be my own current interest in retro nostalgia, but I thought this was a fabulous glorification of a loosening of the boundaries of race, sex, and gender through rock music in the late 1950s. While not exactly historically accurate, it's a fun idea nonetheless.

Do you know: What is Genderqueer?

This is one of probably several upcoming posts related to LA Pride.

Performers wated: GenderQueer Revolution on the Empowerment Stage at Los Angeles Pride, June 9 and 10

GenderQueer Revolution, as part of an unprecedented agreement with Christopher Street West, will be presenting at the Empowerment Stage at CSW Pride this year on June 9 and 10th. We are looking for genderqueer performers with presentations/performance pieces with a uniquely genderqueer feel that will enliven, entertain, energize, and also, educate the wider world about genderqueer at one of the largest Pride events in the world. Those selected will have the opportunity to promote their art and their uniquely genderqueer selves by performing before a vast and diverse audience at Pride (including the throngs of people in the entertainment industry) and by selling art and merchandise.

Interested? Then we need to hear from you ASAP!!!! Our selection committee will want to get a feel for you as a performer/presenter as well as your performance. You must provide video of the EXACT performance piece you would like to submit, preferably before a live audience (or reference past GenderQueer Revolution events at which you have performed). Your performance piece/presentation should fall between 10-15 minutes in length. We will have access to microphones, equipment to play audio CDs, and guitar amplifiers.

Send links to video to info@genderqueerrevolution.org.

Also: Don't forget Transcend: Transgender performance at LA Pride

A Twisted Memory Play for a Dying Art

Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean's The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch. Rouge Artists Ensemble. 5/25/07.

It cannot be denied that the Rogue Artists do weird and fascinating work. The dark storytelling of Neil Gaiman and the scary collage aesthetic of Dave McKean are a perfect match for their skillful puppet and mask work. As a result, The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch was a strange and twisted piece of theater suffused with nostalgia for a nearly lost art form.

Though the production used most of the text directly from Gaiman and McKean's graphic novel, some of the plot was rather unclear (in a way that it is more clear in the graphic novel), but the intertwinging of a strange personal history with the story of Punch and Judy shows communicated the general point even if some of the details were fuzzy. The idea of coming to terms with memories by creating puppet plays in your head suffused the piece with an odd sense of dream reality that explained when ideas were unclear.

What is remarkable about this particular project, however, is not the storytelling where something may have been lost in adaptation. Instead, the craftsmanship and artistry of the troupe, and particularly Director Sean T. Cawelti, Puppet Designer Joyce Hutter, and Mask Designer Pat Rubio, deserve recognition. The integration of puppets, masks, shadow work, and video made this performance a facinating collage of forms and styles. They captured the stange, dark atmosphere of the piece beautifully.

The show itself dragged in the second act, and there were bits that were weird and confusing in the storytelling, but in general I enjoyed this piece very much and resolved to keep abreast of future Rogue Artists productions. Their work leaves me with the impression that eventually they will do something absolutely transcendent, even if this wasn't necessarily that piece.

Trans Events at LA Pride: Info BBQ

Join us this Sunday for a pre-Pride/Memorial Day Weekend Celebration. It will be a fun afternoon of friends and food. Also it will be an opportunity to learn about Transcend's transgender events at LA Pride, how you can help, and how to earn free tickets to the festival. Food and drinks will be provided (veggie food too!).

SPREAD THE WORD!

Sunday May 27th, 2-5pm
West Hollywood Park
647 N. San Vicente Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069

Check out the website:
www.geocities.com/transcendlapride

In defense of Pride

I spent yesterday at Long Beach Pride. When, a few days before the event, I asked a very cute friend of mine if she was going down to Long Beach for Pride, her response was "I don't have to pay to be gay," which I found fascinating. It immediately put me on the defensive, even though I agree with her in some ways. Pride events are ridiculously overpriced. Long Beach Pride cost $20 to get in the door, and many people I know attended Saturday night (the Indigo Girls performed, which would have been amazing to see) as well as Sunday, which would be $40 even before the insanely overpriced food and drinks get factored in. That's a lot of money. Of course, I spent Saturday night at a house party with friends of mine, which didn't cost me anything, though I did buy a sixpack of beer as a contribution that I then forgot about and left in my car, so I suppose if I had been on top of things it would have cost me $8. I went down to the Parade on Sunday morning, which cost me $1 to take the bus back to the house I was staying at after the parade because it was a decent walk and my feet hurt. If I had left it at that, Pride would have been a very inexpensive bit of entertainment in all. Of course, I didn't. I went into the pride festival, which was fairly unimpressive in terms of booths and available information. I didn't really see anything I wanted to buy or organizations I wanted to join. The crowd, however, was fabulous, and that was, of course, why I was there.

It was by no means my first gay pride event, but it was the first time I went down to Long Beach and I find it fascinating how different regional pride events can be. I was impressed by the vibrancy and diversity of the crowd at Long Beach Pride, particularly at the wide range of lesbians and queer women I spotted. At LA Pride, which I have attended a couple of times in the past, the crowd seems heavily weighted toward gay men. Often young, clean, muscular gay men. If there are lesbians, they tend to be older, often LA Power Lesbian types or lipstick lesbians in femme-femme couples. There are a few cute butch ones, but almost always in couples holding hands or making out with femmey girlfriends. Not that there's anything wrong with that; if I had a cute butch girlfriend, I'd spend all of Pride holding hands and making out with her, too. The revelation for me at Long Beach Pride was the sheer number of people I found cute. There were more than just a few butch girls with girlfriends - there was a huge range of diversity in lesbians in terms of color, type, and gender presentation. There were more than just a few people my own age. There were more than just a few people I would flirt with or date (if I were good at talking to strangers). There were cute girls everywhere. And there were butch-femme couples, butch-butch couples, and roving packs of all sorts of queer females in which I wasn't sure who was with whom. I enjoyed spotting cute girls all day, and was reminded that there really are people in this world, even in (or near) LA, that I would gladly date - if only I knew how to meet them. Of course, I didn't manage to actually meet any cute girls at Pride (except a couple of baby dykes that my drag queen friend befriended). Plus, I somehow managed to get hit on by a straight man (one of the security guards), which I find ironic at gay pride. But, in general, my hope for the universe was marginally restored. There are cute girls out there, and I will meet them someday. Which, in existential terms, is rather worth my $20. It is weird to pay just to be allowed in the gates to see all the other queer folks out there, especially since I really only talk to the ones I already know (and those who wanted to take a picture with the fabulous blue-haired drag queen I was standing next to). And especially since, even at gay pride, I couldn't manage to be seen as gay (hence straight man hitting on me). But sometimes it is good just to see what's out there and that you're not alone, and that's what Pride achieves.

I look forward to LA Pride, where I'll be helping out with the newly instituted Transgender Pride events at LA Pride entitled Transcend: Yield for Gender Liberation. It will be a very different Pride experience, but it should be a great time. We're putting together a couple of pretty awesome shows.

Where will you be May 12th?

I don't know what's so exciting about May 12th, but I have approximately 1,000 things scheduled for that day. While I can't find even a single exciting queer event scheduled for May 13th or 14th to recommend to Katz, the 12th is triple booked. My day begins with a fabulous birthday party of which I will only manage to attend the very beginning. Then it's off to Trans/giving, which is always a fabulous show and everyone out there reading this should attend. I don't know much about any of the performers, so I look forward to learning a lot. Here's the info:

TRANS/GIVING!!!!

Join Us for an Extravaganza!
!Trans/Giving! an L.A. showcase of art, music, performance, and literature from trans*, genderqueer, and intersex artists

SATURDAY
May 12th at 6:00pm

at Great Hall in Plummer Park
1200 N. Vista St.
West Hollywood, CA 90046

With performances by:
Wanetta Renay -music and comedy
Maddy Deutch -performance
Jennifer -spoken word
Kalil Cohen -hip hop
Rubi Rodriguez -drag
Kale Likover -performance

and visual art by:
Drian -painting and collage
Kalil Cohen -photography
Leaf -phototography
Matt Nishi -comics
Debra Kate -photography

On the same night there happens to be a benefit performance by Alec Mapa:

Bootleg (Los Angeles, CA)
Proudly Presents a Benefit Performance of...
An Evening with Alec Mapa
ONE NIGHT ONLY!!
May 12, 2007

Come spend an uproarious evening of comedy with America's Gaysian Sweetheart! ALEC MAPA, the GLAAD award winning star of "Desperate Housewives" and LOGO's "Wisecrack!", returns to the LA stage in an all new solo show where he hilariously expounds on his recent marriage, the joys of same sex gift registry, the perils of exotic Filipino Cuisine, and the heartwarming sight of the Bush administration in flames!

AN EVENING WITH ALEC MAPA has played to sold out houses at the Renberg Theater and will be playing at the Bootleg for ONE NIGHT ONLY.

Saturday, May 12 @ 8pm To reserve tickets call (213)389-3856

All proceeds to Benefit Steve Roche and Kirk Wilson, celebrating Steve's remission from cancer!!!

Of course, I'm a little suspicious of any event where they call it a benefit and don't actually tell you the ticket price, but Alec Mapa is a fabulous, hilarious performer so it should be a good show. I'll be at Trans/giving, however.

Jockstraps and Unicorns

Katz of Athens Boys Choir has a new CD out, Jockstraps and Unicorns, which you can purchase at CD Baby or on iTunes. I've ordered mine, and I'll let you know what I think once it arrives. In the meantime, he's announcing tour dates to promote the CD. Those of you in SF take note! Sadly, there's once again nothing taking place in LA. What's that about? Katz says he couldn't hook up with a relevant venue or event. Which is dumb. There must be something out here. He says he could be here May 13th and 14th, which are a Sunday and Monday, not the best days, but surely someone could work something out. So if you have any good connections or ideas for Katz, get in touch with him on myspace. I'd be seriously happy if someone could remedy the skipping LA syndrome.

Here are the announced tour dates:

Saturday * May 5, 2007
Northampton, MA * Northampton Pride
Lampron Park
1:50-2:10pm
Katz will emcee entire event as well as a performance
Free

Sunday * May 6, 2007
Philadelphia, PA
LAVA – west Philly
4134 Lancaster Ave
7: 30 pm
$5
with Maple Rabbit and Natalie Joy

Monday * May 7, 2007
Manchester, CT
Manchester Community College
Fireside Comons
All day talks – performance at 3pm

Tuesday * May 8, 2007
Portland, ME
North Star Café
225 Congress St
Portland Slam – Open Mic
7pm

Thursday * May 10, 2007
Brooklyn, NY
Galapagos Art Space (this is an early show)
70 North 6th Street
7:30 – 9:30
with Lot Six and Chavisa Woods
$7

Friday * May 11, 2007
Washington, DC
Phase One
525 8th st. SE
9pm
$5
with Lot Six

Wednesday * May, 16 2007
Eugene, OR
University of Oregon

5/17 * Oakland, CA * CSU East Bay * 2pm

Thursday * May 17, 2007
Oakland, CA
House Show:
Where: Rocking Chair Compound; 826 Arlington (Off of MLK), Oakland
with imogen binnie and brescia bloodbeard
$3-10 suggested donations, no one turned away
7:30 pm

Friday * May 18, 2007
San Francisco, CA
Femina Potens
Located at 465 S. Van Ness SF,CA 94114 one block from the 16th st Bart Station.
8-11pm

Wednesday * May 23, 2007
Asheville, NC
Joli Rouge
130 College St.
10pm
with One hands Hold The Other

Events tonight

I'm not sure I'm ready to go out there alone, but for those of you who are or who have queer friends to accompany you, there are two great events tonight you should check out. Both are in the same area, so technically you could even go to both tonight.

unholy trinity :: the event
FELICIA LUNA LEMUS
reads from her new novel
<i>Like Son</i>
with
raquel gutierrez + claudia rodriguez
reading new + solo work off the page
Thursday, April 26, 2007
7pm @ IMIX Bookstore
5052 Eagle Rock Blvd. L.A. 90041
FREE

Afterwards, head on over to Butchin'LA at Mr. T's Bowl. I don't know anything about this month's performers, but the crowd alone makes the evening worth it.

Absenteeism

Hey all. I try not to talk to much about my personal life here, but I thought I should explain my long neglect of any loyal blog readers I may have out there. Oddly enough, I was dating someone, briefly. It was great -- she was great. I was giddy and happy and cute, and spending all of my time thinking about the girl and not going to shows or writing about them nearly as much. But it turns out she fell for someone else. No big deal, not a betrayal in any way, just a disappointment. But it's good to be reminded every once in a while that I can feel so much for someone, even though sometimes you get your ass kicked, and I did. It showed me that when things go right, dating can be a truly wonderful experience. But hopefully now I'll be back to current theatrical events and performance anaylsis and this blog will quit languishing from neglect. Thanks for hanging in there.

Where I'll be tonight and you should, too

I'm super excited that the new reincarnation of Sister Spit, Sister Spit Next Generation is on the road and rolling into LA tonight. And that they'll actually be in LA and not somewhere wacky that I have to drive forever in traffic to get to, such as Claremont or Santa Barbara or San Diego (although their tour does stop all those places). I'm super excited to see Michelle Tea perform. She's an amazing reader, writer, and performer. Eileen Myles is also super-cool and Ali Liebegott is totally hot. Along with these fabulous literary performance powerhouses are some people who I know nothing about, but look forward to discovering. It's a great mix of famous and emerging and I love the opportunity to learn about new voices as much as I'm excited and starstruck for the ones I know. I really hope there's a good showing to prove that LA isn't lame. Cheers to those at the EagleLA and the organizers of Shotgun for providing the space.

Also upcoming and interesting: Cornerstone Theater Company presents Beyond the Beyond: The Gay Futureworld! It's a collaboration between gay youth and gay seniors which will be presented April 12-22 at the LA Gay and Lesbian Center. It's some sort of wacky sci-fi gay play with puppets, which sounds like a winner to me! If i didn't already have tix for something on Friday, I would totally go to their reception, which includes a post-show party with Will Wright's "Moonbot."

An Unbelievably Boring Play about ADD

Distracted. Mark Taper Forum. 4/10/07.

I hated this play. Actively. It was a preachy play that held absolutely no interest for me. By the end of the play I disagreed with every position and hated every character. The play was slow and redundant with very little character arc or plot arc. It felt like once again a play for old people, which held very little interest to my queer, non-reproducing self. All it served to do was convince me that I never wanted to have kids.

The tragedy is that this play was actually in many ways well-done by many talented people, and yet it was still so boring and infuriating that I considered both leaving mid-scene and throwing things at the main character. There was absolutely no justification for this to be a full two-hour play. Nothing actually happened except a lot of whining.

The people involved in this distracted disaster of a play, however, were extremely talented. Rita Wilson is a beautiful and compelling actress. Why in hell did her character have to be named "Mama"? Why didn't she have a job and a life of her own instead of spending the whole time running around to doctors fussing about her kid? Ray Porter as Dad was also an extremely talented actor but not a particularly compelling character. The several supporting doctor and teacher characters played by Bronson Pinchot and Stephanie Barry were also well done and demonstrate impressive acting skill and range. Unfortunately, that's not nearly enough to liven up this infuriating play.

Even though Lisa Loomer, who is actually a quite talented playwright, disappointed me severely with this piece, her heart is clearly in the right place. Her skill with dialogue is impressive and I'm happy to see a play by a female playwright with a female lead, even if I hated her. She's dealing with issues of family and motherhood that don't get enough time onstage. While I would very much have liked this to be a better play, preferably including a few less priveledged and self-involved characters, I'm mostly glad that it got produced. Better this than more David Mamet, certainly. But I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I'm disappointed that the Taper seems to be doing plays exclusively intended for middle-aged rich white parents. Thus far, nothing I've seen there this season would appeal to anyone else. Boring.

A Nearly Perfect Modern Fairy Tale

Sleeping Beauty Wakes. Kirk Douglas Theater. 4/6/07.

Sleeping Beauty Wakes is a new musical created though collaboration between Deaf West Theatre and New York based musical trio GrooveLily. When that was all I knew about it, I had assumed it wasn't a show for me. I'm not deaf and I knew nothing about GrooveLily. Boy was I wrong.

It's a truly magical production, with all the simplicity and beauty that a fairy tale should have; its modern setting doesn't overwhelm or overburden the basic story. The music is beautiful and haunting, featuring striking harmonies between electric violin, drums, and keyboard that nonetheless showcase the human voices and the words and the story as a musical must. Even better, the musical itself had a feminist sensibility through which it reconciled itself to its female lead sleeping through much of the story: "aren't we all waiting for one great kiss?"

Everyone involved in this production was extremely talented, despite a confusing array of actors singing other parts. The lead actress, Alexandria Wailes acts and signs the role of Sleeping Beauty delightfully, but the character is voiced by the multi-talented electric violinist and co-writer/composer Valerie Vigoda. Together, the two of them create a lovely and complex character that manages to be spunky and compelling despite a great deal of sleeping. Similarly, her romantic lead is played by Russell Harvard with voice by keyboardist Brendan Milburn. Although other people sometimes also provide voices for both lead characters. Prominent local talents Kevin Earley and Erika Amato play many of the voices and supporting characters, changing their voices to switch between several roles, while also signing and acting. Amato's singing as the Evil Fairy was particularly powerful.

While it may be difficult to figure out who's singing for which character when, the story itself and its talented performers are so compelling that you don't notice anything but the story and the beautiful performances that create it. I applaud writer/composers Brendan Milburn, Rachel Sheinkin and Valerie Vigoda for their excellent show and all the actors for brilliant performances. I highly encourage you to go see this show.

Weekend Plans

Thursday seems as good a day as any to look forward to what I could and should be doing this weekend.

First of all, tonight (3/29) is Club Butchin' LA. Though I probably won't go because I don't have anyone to go with me and clubs/bars are much harder for me to attend alone than shows are, this is a great event. My previous experience demonstrated that the crowd is fun and very cruise-worthy with fascinating negotiations of queer masculinity and femininity. Very hot. When I went, I spent lots of time chatting with aquaintences, dancing a bit, and even watching someone I had briefly dated make out heavily with a cute girl. Totally fascinating.

Friday (3/30), The Miracle Whips and Shitting Glitter are performing at Pitzer. I don't know if I'm up for the drive, but I really enjoy the performances I've seen by the Miracle Whips thus far and I hear amazing things about Shitting Glitter and they'd both probably be worth the effort.

Saturday is when I get in real trouble because the butchlalis are performing at the LA Gay & Lesbian Center. It sounds like it'll be a great show. Plus, I haven't gone to see the Aqui No Hay Virgenes exhibit yet, so I sould really be there. Unfortunately, I'm instead committed to going to a sock hop out in Burbank with a friend who loves to dance. This should be totally fun, despite my lack of coordination or any sort of dancing talkent or skill, but I'm sad to miss the butchlalis. Though if not for the social obligations and beginners lessons starting early you could totally go to the sock hop after the butchlalis show, and I'm seriously interested in seeing queer folks at this event, so if you feel like subverting the heteronormativity of '50s partner dancing, let me know or just show up. No dancing skill required.

If neither of the above events are your thing, perhaps you will enjoy the fact that this is LA Leather Weekend. I'm not so much into the Mr. Leather 2007 contest on Saturday night or the Military Man after party (NSFW). But I might actually find myself tagging along with some of my gay guy friends at the streetfest on Sunday afternoon. It could be fun if the weather's nice.

365

365 Days/ 365 Plays. Suzan-Lori Parks. Circle X Theatre Company. 3/24/07.

I'm impressed. It's unfortunate that it took until Week 19 to get me to see any of Suzan-Lori Parks' 365 Plays. It's an amazing undertaking and an impressive amount of collaboration and participation across the country.

The set of plays presented by Circle X Theatre Company was a powerful suite of reflections on the war in Iraq and the resultant mindless patriotism, pagentry, and protest. They formed a lovely grouping of ideas and cultural criticism.

Running a bit under half an hour, Circle X performed the plays outside the entrance to the Ford Amphitheater, staging them as a walking tour/environmental piece that made excellent use of a beautiful space. While the earlier pieces were wonderfully self-explanatory but not simple in their responses to the war, posing questions about what it means to be a participant or a protester or even an audience member or television viewer in a time of war, the pieces toward the end of the evening were more obscure in their meaning but thought-provoking nonetheless. All in all it was an excellent, refreshing short piece of theater that demonstrates exactly how much the theater can say about our lives and times in a few simple words and ideas. I was very impressed by both Parks' work and Circle X's production.

On Fairies

It's been a while since I posted. Sorry. Line dancing was rather a success, in that I had lots of fun and made a big fool of myself with my dismal lack of coordination. I ended up with some plain, servicable black boots that were reasonably priced and fit well. Not particularly feminine, but I also didn't end up with blisters, which is its own reward.

I then immediately departed on a last minute whirlwind trip to San Francisco. I got hit on by an old heterosexual man at a divey gay bar, had an amazingly mellow outdoor barbecue on the streets of San Francisco, and played video games about shooting rabbits with plungers until 6am with a rowdy group of geeky boys. It was a truly wonderful trip. I also watched a couple of episodes of Slings and Arrows on DVD. It's a Canadian TV show about an established theater company doing Shakespeare and it's truly brilliant and wacky and excellent in every way. I'm totally addicted.

Since then, I've been doing work and other serious not blog-worthy things. But now, I need your help once again. I am once again asking the internet for wacky fashion advice. This time, I'm going to a fractured fairy tale themed event/drag show with slight S/M overtones. So it's an opportunity to dress up in all my femme-y glory. Nothing is too over-the-top, because I'll be competing with drag queens. These events are among friends, so I feel comfortable being rather scandalous and I tend to show off the one major asset that sets me apart from the boys: the fact that my cleavage is real.

My problem is, that I've never been a fairy princess kind of girl. For Halloween as a child I was a witch for many, many years in a row but never a fairy. I'm not the tiny and precious type. While goth fairy is perfectly appropriate for this event, I'm not sure that's exactly me, either, although it would give me an excuse to dye my hair purple again (real purple, not the subtle black/brown/purple I've done recently). So I'm doing some fairy tale research these days, looking for stories or images that might be inspiring. In terms of fairy tales, I tend toward Francesca Lia Block's Weetzie Bat or Neil Gaiman's Stardust rather than your traditional fairy tales. I recently read and enjoyed Holly Black's Tithe and Valiant. Yes, I occasionally read young adult fairy stories when I need a break from academia. I like fairies when they're mischevious and dark and mysterious, or perhaps even a little mean. I'm not a damsel in distress kind of girl, but sometimes fairies can evoke the imagination in fascinating ways.

So, I'm asking for both costuming suggestions and fairy tale (not limited to fairies - witches, princesses, mermaids, goblins, whatever) stories, ideas, and images. Share with me your favorite manifestations of fairy tales, especially modern, queer or otherwise nontraditional fairy tale images. Send me thoughts, pictures or links.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite fairy stories, Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market." While it can be read as religious and it ends in marriage (bah!), I personally enjoy the sweet temptation and sexuality of the goblins as well as the mild homoeroticism of the sisters.

MORNING and evening
Maids heard the goblins cry:
"Come buy our orchard fruits,
Come buy, come buy:
Apples and quinces,
Lemons and oranges,
Plump unpeck'd cherries,
Melons and raspberries,
Bloom-down-cheek'd peaches,
Swart-headed mulberries,
Wild free-born cranberries,
Crab-apples, dewberries,
Pine-apples, blackberries,
Apricots, strawberries; -
All ripe together
In summer weather, -
Morns that pass by,
Fair eves that fly;
Come buy, come buy:
Our grapes fresh from the vine,
Pomegranates full and fine,
Dates and sharp bullaces,
Rare pears and greengages,
Damsons and bilberries,
Taste them and try:
Currants and gooseberries,
Bright-fire-like barberries,
Figs to fill your mouth,
Citrons from the South,
Sweet to tongue and sound to eye;
Come buy, come buy."

Evening by evening
Among the brookside rushes,
Laura bow'd her head to hear,
Lizzie veil'd her blushes:
Crouching close together
In the cooling weather,
With clasping arms and cautioning lips,
With tingling cheeks and finger tips.
"Lie close," Laura said,
Pricking up her golden head:
"We must not look at goblin men,
We must not buy their fruits:
Who knows upon what soil they fed
Their hungry thirsty roots?"
"Come buy," call the goblins
Hobbling down the glen.

"Oh," cried Lizzie, "Laura, Laura,
You should not peep at goblin men."
Lizzie cover'd up her eyes,
Cover'd close lest they should look;
Laura rear'd her glossy head,
And whisper'd like the restless brook:
"Look, Lizzie, look, Lizzie,
Down the glen tramp little men.
One hauls a basket,
One bears a plate,
One lugs a golden dish
Of many pounds weight.
How fair the vine must grow
Whose grapes are so luscious;
How warm the wind must blow
Through those fruit bushes."
"No," said Lizzie, "No, no, no;
Their offers should not charm us,
Their evil gifts would harm us."
She thrust a dimpled finger
In each ear, shut eyes and ran:
Curious Laura chose to linger
Wondering at each merchant man.
One had a cat's face,
One whisk'd a tail,
One tramp'd at a rat's pace,
One crawl'd like a snail,
One like a wombat prowl'd obtuse and furry,
One like a ratel tumbled hurry skurry.
She heard a voice like voice of doves
Cooing all together:
They sounded kind and full of loves
In the pleasant weather.

Laura stretch'd her gleaming neck
Like a rush-imbedded swan,
Like a lily from the beck,
Like a moonlit poplar branch,
Like a vessel at the launch
When its last restraint is gone.

Backwards up the mossy glen
Turn'd and troop'd the goblin men,
With their shrill repeated cry,
"Come buy, come buy."
When they reach'd where Laura was
They stood stock still upon the moss,
Leering at each other,
Brother with queer brother;
Signalling each other,
Brother with sly brother.
One set his basket down,
One rear'd his plate;
One began to weave a crown
Of tendrils, leaves, and rough nuts brown
(Men sell not such in any town);
One heav'd the golden weight
Of dish and fruit to offer her:
"Come buy, come buy," was still their cry.
Laura stared but did not stir,
Long'd but had no money:
The whisk-tail'd merchant bade her taste
In tones as smooth as honey,
The cat-faced purr'd,
The rat-faced spoke a word
Of welcome, and the snail-paced even was heard;
One parrot-voiced and jolly
Cried "Pretty Goblin" still for "Pretty Polly;" -
One whistled like a bird.

But sweet-tooth Laura spoke in haste:
"Good folk, I have no coin;
To take were to purloin:
I have no copper in my purse,
I have no silver either,
And all my gold is on the furze
That shakes in windy weather
Above the rusty heather."
"You have much gold upon your head,"
They answer'd all together:
"Buy from us with a golden curl."
She clipp'd a precious golden lock,
She dropp'd a tear more rare than pearl,
Then suck'd their fruit globes fair or red:
Sweeter than honey from the rock,
Stronger than man-rejoicing wine,
Clearer than water flow'd that juice;
She never tasted such before,
How should it cloy with length of use?
She suck'd and suck'd and suck'd the more
Fruits which that unknown orchard bore;
She suck'd until her lips were sore;
Then flung the emptied rinds away
But gather'd up one kernel stone,
And knew not was it night or day
As she turn'd home alone.

Lizzie met her at the gate
Full of wise upbraidings:
"Dear, you should not stay so late,
Twilight is not good for maidens;
Should not loiter in the glen
In the haunts of goblin men.
Do you not remember Jeanie,
How she met them in the moonlight,
Took their gifts both choice and many,
Ate their fruits and wore their flowers
Pluck'd from bowers
Where summer ripens at all hours?
But ever in the noonlight
She pined and pined away;
Sought them by night and day,
Found them no more, but dwindled and grew grey;
Then fell with the first snow,
While to this day no grass will grow
Where she lies low:
I planted daisies there a year ago
That never blow.
You should not loiter so."
"Nay, hush," said Laura:
"Nay, hush, my sister:
I ate and ate my fill,
Yet my mouth waters still;
To-morrow night I will
Buy more;" and kiss'd her:
"Have done with sorrow;
I'll bring you plums to-morrow
Fresh on their mother twigs,
Cherries worth getting;
You cannot think what figs
My teeth have met in,
What melons icy-cold
Piled on a dish of gold
Too huge for me to hold,
What peaches with a velvet nap,
Pellucid grapes without one seed:
Odorous indeed must be the mead
Whereon they grow, and pure the wave they drink
With lilies at the brink,
And sugar-sweet their sap."

Golden head by golden head,
Like two pigeons in one nest
Folded in each other's wings,
They lay down in their curtain'd bed:
Like two blossoms on one stem,
Like two flakes of new-fall'n snow,
Like two wands of ivory
Tipp'd with gold for awful kings.
Moon and stars gaz'd in at them,
Wind sang to them lullaby,
Lumbering owls forbore to fly,
Not a bat flapp'd to and fro
Round their rest:
Cheek to cheek and breast to breast
Lock'd together in one nest.

Early in the morning
When the first cock crow'd his warning,
Neat like bees, as sweet and busy,
Laura rose with Lizzie:
Fetch'd in honey, milk'd the cows,
Air'd and set to rights the house,
Kneaded cakes of whitest wheat,
Cakes for dainty mouths to eat,
Next churn'd butter, whipp'd up cream,
Fed their poultry, sat and sew'd;
Talk'd as modest maidens should:
Lizzie with an open heart,
Laura in an absent dream,
One content, one sick in part;
One warbling for the mere bright day's delight,
One longing for the night.

At length slow evening came:
They went with pitchers to the reedy brook;
Lizzie most placid in her look,
Laura most like a leaping flame.
They drew the gurgling water from its deep;
Lizzie pluck'd purple and rich golden flags,
Then turning homeward said: "The sunset flushes
Those furthest loftiest crags;
Come, Laura, not another maiden lags.
No wilful squirrel wags,
The beasts and birds are fast asleep."
But Laura loiter'd still among the rushes
And said the bank was steep.

And said the hour was early still
The dew not fall'n, the wind not chill;
Listening ever, but not catching
The customary cry,
"Come buy, come buy,"
With its iterated jingle
Of sugar-baited words:
Not for all her watching
Once discerning even one goblin
Racing, whisking, tumbling, hobbling;
Let alone the herds
That used to tramp along the glen,
In groups or single,
Of brisk fruit-merchant men.

Till Lizzie urged, "O Laura, come;
I hear the fruit-call but I dare not look:
You should not loiter longer at this brook:
Come with me home.
The stars rise, the moon bends her arc,
Each glowworm winks her spark,
Let us get home before the night grows dark:
For clouds may gather
Though this is summer weather,
Put out the lights and drench us through;
Then if we lost our way what should we do?"

Laura turn'd cold as stone
To find her sister heard that cry alone,
That goblin cry,
"Come buy our fruits, come buy."
Must she then buy no more such dainty fruit?
Must she no more such succous pasture find,
Gone deaf and blind?
Her tree of life droop'd from the root:
She said not one word in her heart's sore ache;
But peering thro' the dimness, nought discerning,
Trudg'd home, her pitcher dripping all the way;
So crept to bed, and lay
Silent till Lizzie slept;
Then sat up in a passionate yearning,
And gnash'd her teeth for baulk'd desire, and wept
As if her heart would break.

Day after day, night after night,
Laura kept watch in vain
In sullen silence of exceeding pain.
She never caught again the goblin cry:
"Come buy, come buy;" -
She never spied the goblin men
Hawking their fruits along the glen:
But when the noon wax'd bright
Her hair grew thin and grey;
She dwindled, as the fair full moon doth turn
To swift decay and burn
Her fire away.

One day remembering her kernel-stone
She set it by a wall that faced the south;
Dew'd it with tears, hoped for a root,
Watch'd for a waxing shoot,
But there came none;
It never saw the sun,
It never felt the trickling moisture run:
While with sunk eyes and faded mouth
She dream'd of melons, as a traveller sees
False waves in desert drouth
With shade of leaf-crown'd trees,
And burns the thirstier in the sandful breeze.

She no more swept the house,
Tended the fowls or cows,
Fetch'd honey, kneaded cakes of wheat,
Brought water from the brook:
But sat down listless in the chimney-nook
And would not eat.

Tender Lizzie could not bear
To watch her sister's cankerous care
Yet not to share.
She night and morning
Caught the goblins' cry:
"Come buy our orchard fruits,
Come buy, come buy;" -
Beside the brook, along the glen,
She heard the tramp of goblin men,
The yoke and stir
Poor Laura could not hear;
Long'd to buy fruit to comfort her,
But fear'd to pay too dear.
She thought of Jeanie in her grave,
Who should have been a bride;
But who for joys brides hope to have
Fell sick and died
In her gay prime,
In earliest winter time
With the first glazing rime,
With the first snow-fall of crisp winter time.

Till Laura dwindling
Seem'd knocking at Death's door:
Then Lizzie weigh'd no more
Better and worse;
But put a silver penny in her purse,
Kiss'd Laura, cross'd the heath with clumps of furze
At twilight, halted by the brook:
And for the first time in her life
Began to listen and look.

Laugh'd every goblin
When they spied her peeping:
Came towards her hobbling,
Flying, running, leaping,
Puffing and blowing,
Chuckling, clapping, crowing,
Clucking and gobbling,
Mopping and mowing,
Full of airs and graces,
Pulling wry faces,
Demure grimaces,
Cat-like and rat-like,
Ratel- and wombat-like,
Snail-paced in a hurry,
Parrot-voiced and whistler,
Helter skelter, hurry skurry,
Chattering like magpies,
Fluttering like pigeons,
Gliding like fishes, -
Hugg'd her and kiss'd her:
Squeez'd and caress'd her:
Stretch'd up their dishes,
Panniers, and plates:
"Look at our apples
Russet and dun,
Bob at our cherries,
Bite at our peaches,
Citrons and dates,
Grapes for the asking,
Pears red with basking
Out in the sun,
Plums on their twigs;
Pluck them and suck them,
Pomegranates, figs." -

"Good folk," said Lizzie,
Mindful of Jeanie:
"Give me much and many: -
Held out her apron,
Toss'd them her penny.
"Nay, take a seat with us,
Honour and eat with us,"
They answer'd grinning:
"Our feast is but beginning.
Night yet is early,
Warm and dew-pearly,
Wakeful and starry:
Such fruits as these
No man can carry:
Half their bloom would fly,
Half their dew would dry,
Half their flavour would pass by.
Sit down and feast with us,
Be welcome guest with us,
Cheer you and rest with us." -
"Thank you," said Lizzie: "But one waits
At home alone for me:
So without further parleying,
If you will not sell me any
Of your fruits though much and many,
Give me back my silver penny
I toss'd you for a fee." -
They began to scratch their pates,
No longer wagging, purring,
But visibly demurring,
Grunting and snarling.
One call'd her proud,
Cross-grain'd, uncivil;
Their tones wax'd loud,
Their look were evil.
Lashing their tails
They trod and hustled her,
Elbow'd and jostled her,
Claw'd with their nails,
Barking, mewing, hissing, mocking,
Tore her gown and soil'd her stocking,
Twitch'd her hair out by the roots,
Stamp'd upon her tender feet,
Held her hands and squeez'd their fruits
Against her mouth to make her eat.

White and golden Lizzie stood,
Like a lily in a flood, -
Like a rock of blue-vein'd stone
Lash'd by tides obstreperously, -
Like a beacon left alone
In a hoary roaring sea,
Sending up a golden fire, -
Like a fruit-crown'd orange-tree
White with blossoms honey-sweet
Sore beset by wasp and bee, -
Like a royal virgin town
Topp'd with gilded dome and spire
Close beleaguer'd by a fleet
Mad to tug her standard down.

One may lead a horse to water,
Twenty cannot make him drink.
Though the goblins cuff'd and caught her,
Coax'd and fought her,
Bullied and besought her,
Scratch'd her, pinch'd her black as ink,
Kick'd and knock'd her,
Maul'd and mock'd her,
Lizzie utter'd not a word;
Would not open lip from lip
Lest they should cram a mouthful in:
But laugh'd in heart to feel the drip
Of juice that syrupp'd all her face,
And lodg'd in dimples of her chin,
And streak'd her neck which quaked like curd.
At last the evil people,
Worn out by her resistance,
Flung back her penny, kick'd their fruit
Along whichever road they took,
Not leaving root or stone or shoot;
Some writh'd into the ground,
Some div'd into the brook
With ring and ripple,
Some scudded on the gale without a sound,
Some vanish'd in the distance.

In a smart, ache, tingle,
Lizzie went her way;
Knew not was it night or day;
Sprang up the bank, tore thro' the furze,
Threaded copse and dingle,
And heard her penny jingle
Bouncing in her purse, -
Its bounce was music to her ear.
She ran and ran
As if she fear'd some goblin man
Dogg'd her with gibe or curse
Or something worse:
But not one goblin scurried after,
Nor was she prick'd by fear;
The kind heart made her windy-paced
That urged her home quite out of breath with haste
And inward laughter.

She cried, "Laura," up the garden,
"Did you miss me?
Come and kiss me.
Never mind my bruises,
Hug me, kiss me, suck my juices
Squeez'd from goblin fruits for you,
Goblin pulp and goblin dew.
Eat me, drink me, love me;
Laura, make much of me;
For your sake I have braved the glen
And had to do with goblin merchant men."

Laura started from her chair,
Flung her arms up in the air,
Clutch'd her hair:
"Lizzie, Lizzie, have you tasted
For my sake the fruit forbidden?
Must your light like mine be hidden,
Your young life like mine be wasted,
Undone in mine undoing,
And ruin'd in my ruin,
Thirsty, canker'd, goblin-ridden?" -
She clung about her sister,
Kiss'd and kiss'd and kiss'd her:
Tears once again
Refresh'd her shrunken eyes,
Dropping like rain
After long sultry drouth;
Shaking with aguish fear, and pain,
She kiss'd and kiss'd her with a hungry mouth.

Her lips began to scorch,
That juice was wormwood to her tongue,
She loath'd the feast:
Writhing as one possess'd she leap'd and sung,
Rent all her robe, and wrung
Her hands in lamentable haste,
And beat her breast.
Her locks stream'd like the torch
Borne by a racer at full speed,
Or like the mane of horses in their flight,
Or like an eagle when she stems the light
Straight toward the sun,
Or like a caged thing freed,
Or like a flying flag when armies run.

Swift fire spread through her veins, knock'd at her heart,
Met the fire smouldering there
And overbore its lesser flame;
She gorged on bitterness without a name:
Ah! fool, to choose such part
Of soul-consuming care!
Sense fail'd in the mortal strife:
Like the watch-tower of a town
Which an earthquake shatters down,
Like a lightning-stricken mast,
Like a wind-uprooted tree
Spun about,
Like a foam-topp'd waterspout
Cast down headlong in the sea,
She fell at last;
Pleasure past and anguish past,
Is it death or is it life?

Life out of death.
That night long Lizzie watch'd by her,
Counted her pulse's flagging stir,
Felt for her breath,
Held water to her lips, and cool'd her face
With tears and fanning leaves:
But when the first birds chirp'd about their eaves,
And early reapers plodded to the place
Of golden sheaves,
And dew-wet grass
Bow'd in the morning winds so brisk to pass,
And new buds with new day
Open'd of cup-like lilies on the stream,
Laura awoke as from a dream,
Laugh'd in the innocent old way,
Hugg'd Lizzie but not twice or thrice;
Her gleaming locks show'd not one thread of grey,
Her breath was sweet as May
And light danced in her eyes.

Days, weeks, months, years
Afterwards, when both were wives
With children of their own;
Their mother-hearts beset with fears,
Their lives bound up in tender lives;
Laura would call the little ones
And tell them of her early prime,
Those pleasant days long gone
Of not-returning time:
Would talk about the haunted glen,
The wicked, quaint fruit-merchant men,
Their fruits like honey to the throat
But poison in the blood;
(Men sell not such in any town):
Would tell them how her sister stood
In deadly peril to do her good,
And win the fiery antidote:
Then joining hands to little hands
Would bid them cling together,
"For there is no friend like a sister
In calm or stormy weather;
To cheer one on the tedious way,
To fetch one if one goes astray,
To lift one if one totters down,
To strengthen whilst one stands.

Mourning

This is all spoiler, so if you watch Battlestar and haven't seen the most recent episode, skip it.



I woke up this morning to several blog postings in my newsreader about last night's Battlestar Galactica, which I had missed because I was at the theater. So I put off doing productive work and fired up the TiVo to catch me up on what I missed before one of my favorite blogs spoiled it for me. And now I'm a mess of confused thoughts and feelings. Because one way or another, there's no turning back from this. I hope.

Starbuck for me is a primary reason to watch Battlestar Galactica. She's a powerful, compelling character who frequently infuriated me with her attitude and her mistakes. She's also the strongest, toughest, sexiest, most interesting woman on the show for me. Six's scanty red dresses do nothing for me when compared to Starbuck's dirt and muscles. Her self-image as a frak-up and her strength and determination combine to form one powerful, conflicted, amazing character. And actress Katee Sackhoff* performed Starbuck's special brand of crazy with such an amazing cockiness and the most adorable smile, that I totally fell in love. And while I was not completely onboard with Starbuck's purported heterosexuality, I appreciated the unabashed voraciousness of her sexuality and even her angsty love triangle. The character of Starbuck is one of the toughest women on television, and her loss is a serious one for the show.



Now, there's a very real possiblity that we haven't heard the last of Kara Thrace. The internet is rife with speculation that she will reappear as a Cylon. And certainly I expect her to haunt the characters in flashbacks. But my feeling is that no matter what, this character is destroyed. If they bring her back as a Cylon, she could be just as tough (though odds are she would end up clean and pretty a lot more of the time and they'd probably even let her grow out her hair again), but she would lack the cocky human imperfection that endeared her to me so much. While I don't want to lose Katee Sackhoff completely, I also don't want to see Starbuck corrupted and resignified. I like her as the arrogant flyboy and the Cylons spend too much time sitting around talking and plotting, using machines and "pet" raiders for the action. I don't picture seeing a Cylon Kara in the cockpit. And Sharon certainly hasn't been nearly as kickass as she was before she was revealed to be a Cylon. So, while there's the possibility of new and interesting characters incorporating Katee Sackhoff into Battlestar in a different context, Starbuck as I know and love her seems unlikely to return.



Special destiny my ass. If this is Starbuck's destiny, I reject that completely. I would have less trouble accepting Starbuck's death if it were a bit more noble/foolhardy in the line of duty. If she died making some crazy attempt to defend or save someone from a very real threat, that I could understand. It would be in line with her character. But going into the light from her own halucinations without any sort of beneficial outcome? It feels wrong. Starbuck's a fighter. That's the one thing that gives me hope that we have more to hear from Starbuck. That and the fact that the Leoben in her head was talking about "between life and death" rather than death itself. Whatever that means. It would feel like cheating if Starbuck as she is somehow survives, but I also want to see her live out a human destiny rather than a Cylon one.

I'm not ready to move on. Based on the previews, the next episode is all Baltar trial. Which indicates a thoroughly insufficient amount of mourning for Starbuck. I need more than Adama (very movingly) destroying his model ship with its promise of hope and dawn. If Starbuck is really dead, everyone needs to be fraked up about it. Lee should be pinning a photo next to Kat. Lee and Anders should reconcile to share their loss. Everyone should be drinking. A lot. Adama's effectively lost another child. And I miss the hope and bonding and shared destiny between President Roslyn and Starbuck when Starbuck went in search of the Arrow of Apollo. I still feel like all the mystical hope that Starbuck offered never came to fruition for me. If they're really killing her off, I need a lot of mourning time to recover from this serious loss to the series. And if they're not, they're going to have to do a lot to win back my trust in whatever reincarnation happens.

Whatever happens, they're obviously building to another mind-bending and probably heart-wrenching season finale, which can be expected from Battlestar and which is one of many reasons why I keep coming back.

UPDATE: Annalee Newitz weighs in with an opinion that many things in the episode were pretty icky and terribly uncharacteristic. The internet in general seems pretty secure in the idea that this isn't the last we've seen of Katee Sackhoff and hopefully not even Kara Thrace. My question is, will I be glad to see her if/when she comes back, or will it feel wrong?


*NOTE: This post is about Starbuck, the character. While Katee Sackhoff obviously rocks in the part, she insists that she's totally girly off camera and that we most likely won't see her in more scifi or jock roles in the future. Sigh.