June 2, 2016 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter by Bay Area Reporter

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Vol. 46 • No. 22 • June 2-8, 2016

SF Pride HIVers reflect as disease marks 35 years withholds pink brick T by Brian Bromberger

his year marks the 20th anniversary of the widespread distribution of the protease inhibitor drug cocktail (the highly active anti-retroviral therapy regimen), as well as the introduction of the viral load test so doctors could monitor the progression of the HIV virus in the body. Both advances transformed AIDS from a near automatic death sentence to a chronic condition by reducing the HIV virus to undetectable levels. For those who have struggled with HIV for many years, it is an extraordinary accomplishment to be alive and thriving today, with some returning from the brink of death. As the 35th anniversary of the first reported cases of what would become known as AIDS is observed June 5, the Bay Area Reporter interviewed three longtime HIV-positive men. Cleve Jones, 61, is a co-founder of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation in 1982, as well as the creator of the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt in 1987. HarperCollins published his first memoir, Stitching a Revolution in 2000. His new book, which inspires the forthcoming ABC miniseries When We Rise, will be released in November. Gabriel Quinto, 55, is the first known HIV-positive person elected to public office in the Bay Area after he won a seat on the El Cerrito City Council in 2014. He is currently running to be a voting member on the Democratic Central Committee in Contra Costa County. See page 17 >>

by Seth Hemmelgarn

rganizers of San Francisco’s LGBT Pride parade and celebration are being tightlipped about their decision not to give out the pink brick to anyone this year, including Donald Trump, the Republican Donald Trump presidential candidate who was one of the nominees. The dubious honor, which typically goes to someone who’s done harm to the LGBT community, has previously been awarded to people such as conservative Fox News personality Bill O’Reilly and anti-gay activist Peter LaBarbera. Even Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California), a former San Francisco mayor, received the distinction in 2004 after she called then-Mayor Gavin Newsom’s allowing same-sex couples to marry “too much, too fast, too soon.”

The Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt had its final display on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. October 13, 1996.

See page 18 >>

Rick Gerharter

B.A.R. election endorsements SAN FRANCISCO RACES

Congress (Bay Area)

State Senate

Dist. 2: Jared Huffman Dist. 3: John Garamendi Dist. 5: Mike Thompson Dist. 11: Mark DeSaulnier Dist. 12: Nancy Pelosi Dist. 13: Barbara Lee Dist. 14: Jackie Speier Dist. 15: Eric Swalwell Dist. 17: Mike Honda Dist. 18: Anna Eshoo Dist. 19: Zoe Lofgren

Dist. 11: Scott Wiener

State Assembly Dist. 17: David Chiu Dist. 19: Phil Ting

Judges SF Superior Court Seat 7: Paul Henderson

SF DEMOCRATIC COUNTY CENTRAL COMMITTEE Dist. 17: Joshua Arce, Bevan Dufty, Zoe Dunning, Michael Grafton, Pratima Gupta, Shaun Haines, Frances Hsieh, Rafael Mandelman, Gary McCoy, Leah Pimentel, Rebecca Prozan, Alix Rosenthal, Francis Tsang, Scott Wiener Dist. 19: Kat Anderson, Keith Baraka, Joel Engardio, Mark Farrell, Sandra Lee Fewer, Tom Hsieh, Mary Jung, Rachel Norton, Marjan Philhour

CALIFORNIA PRIMARY President: Hillary Clinton U.S. Senate: Kamala Harris

State Assembly (Bay Area) Dist. 15: Tony Thurmond Dist. 18: Rob Bonta Dist. 28: Evan Low

State Senate (Bay Area) Dist. 9: Nancy Skinner

CALIFORNIA PROPS Yes on 50

DISTRICT PROPS Yes on Measure AA

SAN FRANCISCO PROPS Yes on Props A, B, C, D, E

Remember to vote June 7!

SF event promotes CA transgender campaign by Matthew S. Bajko

s a sophomore, Rexy Amaral sought to transfer to Mission High School so she could feel free to express herself. Her first day at the public school, which straddles San Francisco’s gay Castro and Latino Mission districts, she wore a black dress, her make up “all done up,” and had fashioned her hair to the side. “I experienced something I never felt before. I experienced acceptance,” recalled Amaral, 19, who identifies as a trans Latina woman. Now a recent high school graduate, Amaral told the Bay Area Reporter she is “working on becoming a drag superstar.” She has been shopping around a television series to tell her transition story and promoting herself as a public speaker and performer who can address students and others about transgender issues. Being able to attend Mission High, were she felt “welcomed and protected” for the first time as a student, was “such a blessing,” said Amaral. She was one of the speakers during a May 27 event in San Francisco to promote the recently launched Transform California campaign. An effort to educate the public about transgender people and the issues they face, it is co-led by statewide LGBT advocacy group Equality California and the Oakland-based Transgender Law Center.

{ FIRST OF THREE SECTIONS }

Kelly Sullivan

Rexy Amaral speaks at the Transform California rally May 27 on the steps of Mission High School.

The aim is to make “the state of California a welcoming place for all,” said TLC Executive Director Kris Hayashi, himself a transgender man. The event was held on Mission High School’s 18th Street steps to highlight the San Francisco Unified School District being a leader in ensuring its schools are safe spaces for transgender students. It first adopted pro-LGBT policies in See page 16 >>

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<< Community News

2 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2016

Court date set for SF Pride by Seth Hemmelgarn

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San Francisco Superior Court judge has set a date for organizers of the city’s LGBT Pride celebration to argue why they should be able to hold this year’s festival. The hearing, set for June 16 – just over a week before the celebration’s scheduled to take place – comes after three men injured because of shootings at previous festivals filed lawsuits in May against the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee. In their complaints, the men ask for an injunction against this year’s June 25-26 Pride party happening unless several conditions are met. In documents filed last week, attorney Ryan Lapine, who’s representing all three men, said “potential harm” to people “is imminent. … There is a strong, if not overwhelming likelihood that more preventable violence will occur without the intervention of this court.” The injunction would not apply to the Pride parade. In his May 25 order for Pride organizers to show cause why a preliminary injunction shouldn’t be granted, Judge Harold Kahn said they needed to explain why they shouldn’t have to stop the festival unless they follow several recom-

Rick Gerharter

People filled Civic Center Plaza at the 2013 Pride festival.

gether,” he added. Attorneys for SF Pride hadn’t filed responses in court as of Tuesday. George Ridgely, the Pride Committee’s executive director, didn’t respond specifically to an emailed question about whether there would be changes to security this year, but he said, “More information regarding the celebration and the parade will be released in the coming weeks.”

“It is content to allow violence to happen rather than devote existing resources to fixing the problem.” –Ryan Lapine, attorney mendations, including moving the celebration to a location such as Golden Gate Park or the parking lot at AT&T Park, making the footprint smaller, using metal detectors and bag checks, fencing in the event and making it a ticketed festival – even if it remains free, and increasing safety personnel to at least 500 security guards. According to Lapine, the recommended changes come from police. The plaintiffs are Freddy Atton, of San Francisco, who was shot at the 2015 festival; and brothers Mahlik and Monte Smith, of Oakland, who were injured trying to get away from a shooting at the 2013 celebration. Communications strategist Sam Singer, who’s working with the Pride Committee, said in an interview Tuesday, “San Francisco Pride does not believe the request for an injunction against the celebration should be granted by the court, and we look forward to presenting our case.” Organizers aren’t considering any of the recommended changes, Singer said. “We take safety seriously,” he said. “We work very closely” with police, “our own security and crowd control, and volunteers to ensure everyone enjoys both the celebration and the parade. Pride is an iconic, important, and beloved event in San Francisco, and it draws an international crowd of people.” Asked specifically about whether Pride organizers plan to add metal detectors, bag checks, or fences, Singer said, “I don’t think the plans are any different than they’ve been in previous years,” and “It’s a public event, so it’s highly unlikely” those changes would be made. “The reason Pride enjoys this success is because the event is a lively, fun, and safe atmosphere for the LGBTQIA community and our friends, families, and supporters to-

Lapine declined to comment how confident he is that the plaintiffs will get an injunction. In court documents, though, he said that despite shootings and other violence, the Pride Committee “has taken no action.” “It is content to allow violence to happen rather than devote existing resources to fixing the problem,” Lapine said. The San Francisco Police Department “has concluded that until its recommendations are implemented, there is a specific and unreasonable risk that violent crime will occur at the celebration and cause injury” to anyone at or near the celebration.

Police testimony

Through his court filings, Lapine has repeatedly referred to testimony in August 2015 by police Commander Greg McEachern, who mentioned most, if not all, of the recommendations Kahn cited in his order. One of McEachern’s ongoing concerns was the size of the event, according to a partial transcript of his testimony. At one point, while he was being questioned about shootings at Pride, McEachern said there was “an estimate of 500,000 people in an area that was very difficult for officers to get around ... and then, when you coupled the fact that it was an open area for alcohol, that anyone could come in without having any bags searched, that there wasn’t a level of some type of – that we felt sufficient security to ensure things didn’t happen, that the footprint became too large, in my opinion, for us to safely police it was the amount of officers that we had.” He added that it wasn’t the SFPD’s responsibility to provide security at the festival’s gates, screen people coming in, or perform similar tasks, and he felt Pride organizers haven’t

provided enough private security. “Based on the events that occurred in 2013 and the activity that occurred, it was my belief that there was an insufficient amount of private security that were ... at the event to assist the efforts to keep the venue safe, and the recommendation is that their security should be doubled, if not tripled,” McEachern said. After meeting with Pride organizers in previous years, he talked about how he’d documented a 2015 meeting because “I wanted to have an accurate record of what we were requesting from Pride.” Police “command staff attended a meeting and brought up specific requests of the Pride organizers. And because they were there and they were making specific requests of changes to the way the event was being run, I wanted to make sure we had documentation so that it was completely clear of what our recommendations were to Pride.” McEachern’s testimony was part of a lawsuit that had been filed by Trevor Gardner, a Los Angeles man who sued the Pride Committee after he was shot at the 2013 festival. Gardner’s case was settled earlier this year. Lapine, who’s with the Beverly Hills-based firm Rosenfeld, Meyer, and Susman, represented Gardner. A lawsuit by Eric Ryan, who was also shot in 2013, is still pending. Lapine is not representing Ryan. Court documents filed last month include numerous examples of Pride officials acknowledging serious safety concerns, including a 2013 Pride safety subcommittee report that said, “It has been many years running now that Pride has had serious crises at its closing time. It is negligent of us to maintain this ignore-the-problem-and-hope-itgoes-away-attitude.” The report said, “The 6:30 p.m. ending time is an improvement over the former 7 p.m. time, but we continue to advocate for a 6 pm. closing time on Sunday.” This year’s Sunday Pride celebration is set to end at 6.t

Correction The May 19 article, “Lesbian heads launch of Spin SF” contained a misattributed quote. The comment, “I’m excited to have a power lez to be in charge of me,” was made by bartender Missy Bohach, not Melvin Leihr as was reported. Bohach’s comment should have been placed in context: “I was thinking I’ve been in the service industry for 13 years and I don’t think that I’ve ever had a female GM (general manager) before, so I’m excited to have a power lez to be in charge of me.” The online version has been corrected.

www.AliceBToklas.org Building Coalitions in San Francisco for Over 40 Years

JUNE 7TH Y B E T O V R BY MAIL

SCOTT WIENER

PAUL HENDERSON

O IN PERSON

ALICE’S CHOICE FOR STATE SENATE, and DCCC – AD17

ALICE’S CHOICE FOR SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE

DEMOCRATIC COUNTY CENTRAL COMMITTEE, AD-17 (EAST)

ALICE BOARD MEMBERS FRANCIS TSANG

LONDON BREED

ZOE DUNNING

▼

ARLO SMITH

SHAUN HAINES

▼

JILL WYNNS

MALIA COHEN

GARY MCCOY

▼

RAFAEL MANDELMAN

REBECCA PROZAN

▼

JOSHUA ARCE

SCOTT WIENER

▼

LEAH PIMENTEL

ALIX ROSENTHAL

DEMOCRATIC COUNTY CENTRAL COMMITTEE, AD-19 (WEST)

ALICE BOARD MEMBERS KEITH BARAKA

TOM A. HSIEH

▼

JOEL ENGARDIO

▼

TREVOR MCNEIL

MARY JUNG

EMILY MURASE

MARK FARRELL

RACHEL NORTON

KAT ANDERSON

MARJAN PHILHOUR

YES ON PROP E

ELECTION ENDORSEMENTS DCCC, AD-17 (East)

DCCC, AD-19 (West)

State Elected Officials

Ballot Measures

London Breed Francis Tsang ▼ Arlo Smith Scott Wiener Jill Wynns Zoe Dunning ▼ Malia Cohen Shaun Haines ▼ Rafael Mandelman Gary McCoy ▼ Joshua Arce Leah Pimentel Rebecca Prozan ▼ Alix Rosenthal

Keith Baraka ▼ Joel Engardio ▼ Mary Jung Mark Farrell Rachel Norton Tom A. Hsieh Trevor McNeil Emily Murase Kat Anderson Marjan Philhour

Paul Henderson Superior Court Judge, Office No. 7

Prop A - Make hospitals YES and emergency services earthquake safe

indicates that the candidate is LGBT

▼ indicates that the candidate is an Alice Board Member

David Chiu State Assembly, District 17 Phil Ting State Assembly, District 19 Scott Wiener State Senator, District 11

Paid for by the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club PAC, FPPC #842018.

YES

Prop B - Fund San Francisco’s parks

YES

Prop C - Increase affordable housing

YES

Prop D - Investigate all shootings by police officers

YES

Prop E - Require paid sick leave for all workers

YES

Prop AA - Restore a clean and healthy Bay

YES

Prop 50 - Don’t pay suspended legislators

<< Politics

4 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2016

CA educator seeks to be state’s youngest out legislator by Matthew S. Bajko

T “BEAUTIFUL BY NIGHT” Sunday, June 5th • 3:00pm “Beautiful By Night” follows three older drag performers at Aunt Charlie’s Lounge in San Francisco’s Tenderloin. Enjoy live performances and a Q and A panel with the film’s subjects. Guests $20 • Em ployees & Residents - Donation at Entrance VIP dinner with the “Beautiful by Night” cast following the show $100 Kindly RSVP, as space is limited. All proceeds to benefit Face to Face and LGBTQ Connection

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If you are a California resident and while located in California called Wyndham Rewards® or certain hotel brands, you could receive money from a Class Action Settlement A proposed $7,325,000 class action settlement has been reached in a lawsuit called Joyce Roberts v. Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, LLC, et al., USDC NDCA Case No. 12-cv-05083PSG. The lawsuit claims that Defendants’ third party vendor recorded telephone calls of persons calling certain toll-free reservations and customer-service lines without telling callers that the calls may be recorded, allegedly in violation of California law. Defendants have denied the claims. Nonetheless, Defendants and the Class Representatives have agreed to settle the dispute to avoid the uncertainty and costs of litigation. The $7,325,000 settlement fund will pay eligible claims, notice and administration costs, attorneys’ fees and expenses, and the named plaintiff’s service award. Who is a class member? You are a Class Member if you are a California resident who, while physically located in California, called one or more toll-free telephone numbers associated with Wyndham Rewards®, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts®, Wyndham Grand® Hotels and Resorts, Wyndham Garden® Hotels, Travelodge®, Ramada®, Knights Inn®, Wingate®, Days Inn®, Super 8®, Baymont®, Hawthorn®, Microtel®, or Tryp® between May 1, 2011 and March 23, 2012, inclusive, were routed to a call center operated by a third-party vendor (Aegis), spoke to a representative and were recorded without notice. What are my legal rights? To receive a settlement payment, eligible class members must submit a claim. It is expected that eligible class members who submit a timely and valid Claim Form will receive at least $150 per qualified call but not more than $5,000 per call. The amount of each individual

settlement payment will depend on the total number of claims filed. Whether or not you submit a claim, if the Court approves the settlement, unless you take steps to exclude yourself from the settlement, you will be bound by all of the Court’s orders. This means you will not be able to make any claims against Defendants or other Released Parties covered by the settlement. If you wish to submit a claim, visit www. CARecordedCallsSettlement.com or contact the Claims Administrator at 1-800-889-8319 to get a claim form. The deadline to submit claims August 18, 2016. If you do not wish to be a member of the settlement class, you must submit a letter to the Claims Administrator at the address below postmarked by August 18, 2016. If you optout you cannot submit a claim form. Visit the settlement website for more information. If you wish to object to the settlement, you must do so by submitting your objection to the Court in person or postmarked by August 18, 2016. Visit the settlement website for more information. A final hearing will be held on October 18, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. to determine the fairness, reasonableness and adequacy of the proposed settlement and to award attorneys’ fees and costs and plaintiff’s service award. The motion for attorneys’ fees and costs and plaintiff’s service award will be posted on the settlement website after it is filed. You may attend the hearing, but you do not have to. This is only a summary. For detailed information including the full text of the Settlement Agreement, the Class Notice and the Claim Form, visit www.CARecordedCallsSettlement. com, call 1-800-889-8319, or write to: Settlement Administrator at Hotels Call Recording Settlement c/o Rust Consulting, P.O. Box 2506, Faribault, MN 55021-9506.

1-800-889-8319 www.CARecordedCallsSettlement.com Hotel Call Recording Settlement Claims Administrator c/o Rust Consulting, P.O. Box 2506, Faribault, MN 55021-9506

uesday’s primary will determine if Los Angeles resident Andrew Blumenfeld has a shot at becoming California’s youngest out legislator. To date, gay Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) has that distinction, having won election two years ago at the age of 31. The 25-year-old Blumenfeld is running for the open Assembly District 43 seat, which covers his Silver Lake neighborhood, as Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) is termed out of office this year. First he needs to survive the June 7 election, where the top two vote-getters regardless of party affiliation will advance to the November election. “I am very confident of my chances in June,” Blumenfeld, who is single and graduated from Princeton, said during a phone interview with the Bay Area Reporter earlier this spring. He is a teacher of fifth grade math and science at a public charter school in Los Angeles. Last year, Blumenfeld earned a master’s of arts in urban education, educational policy and administration at Loyola Marymount University. As for questions about his youth and lack of experience, Blumenfeld has a ready answer for voters of the district. “I remind people I was even younger when first elected to office and am only getting older everyday,” said Blumenfeld, who in 2011 won a four-year term on the La Cañada Unified School District Governing Board. “I was an out 20-year-old still in college elected to school board in a community not known for taking great leaps of faith or taking risks with their most precious resource, which is their public schools and their kids.” Headed into the primary, Blumenfeld is an underdog candidate and has remained at a significant cash disadvantage compared to his main Democratic opponents. He reported having just $2,308.80 in cash on hand as of May 21, based on the filings with the secretary of state for the most recent campaign finance reporting period. In April, his campaign was assessed a $450 fine from the state Fair Political Practices Commission for improperly reporting $15,000 he loaned his campaign. As for the leading candidates in the race, Glendale City Councilwoman Laura Friedman reported having $175,725.02 to spend. Glendale City Clerk Ardy Kassakhian was still sitting on $68,779.45 in his campaign account as of last month, while Rajiv Dalal, a former economic development adviser to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, reported having $157,550.69 for use. What Blumenfeld is banking on is that voters in Glendale will split their support between their town’s two officials in the race, giving him a shot at securing enough votes from his hometown of La Cañada Flintridge and the Los Angeles areas of the district to land in second place. And in a political season where voters have gravitated to outsider candidates, Blumenfeld believes he can take advantage of those political winds. “I think this is a community not so taken by heavyweight politicians,” he said. “There is an appetite for people who have dedicated themselves to the issues that matter

Southern California Assembly candidate Andrew Blumenfeld

most to them, that have demonstrated leadership, and are products of this community.” None of the candidates were able to secure the state Democratic Party’s endorsement in the race. And Equality California, the statewide LGBT advocacy group, opted not to endorse in the primary. “We were not comfortable that he met our viability test,” EQCA Executive Director Rick Zbur said of Blumenfeld. “Since there are other progressive candidates in that race, we felt like it wasn’t appropriate for us to get involved in this race at this point.” The California Legislative Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus, comprised of the Legislature’s seven out members, did endorse Blumenfeld earlier this year. Former caucus chair, gay Assemblyman Rich Gordon (D-Menlo Park), also personally endorsed Blumenfeld. “Andrew is a tenacious and tireless advocate for underserved communities whose voices typically go unheard,” stated Gordon, who is termed out of office this year. “His compelling work on closing achievement gaps for LGBT youth and addressing mental health services in schools make me confident in his ability to push through gridlock and deliver real, impactful results for his district.” Blumenfeld told the B.A.R. he wanted to seek a state legislative seat due to his experiences in the classroom and overseeing a public school district. “Everything I accomplished on the school board, and accomplished with my kids and parents, it feels is often in spite of, not because of, our state. It is in spite of, not because of, Sacramento and the policies that come out of there,” he said. “Policies around affordable housing and access to health care affect your work as a teacher. Education touches everything and is touched by everything else.” Growing up in La Cañada Flintridge northeast of Los Angeles in a Republican household, Blumenfeld registered with the GOP when he was old enough to vote. He was mirroring his parents, who he said installed solar roof panels on their house, drove a hybrid vehicle, and supported LGBT rights. But as he saw the Republican Party fight against the values his family held dear, such as protecting the environment and defending civil rights, Blumenfeld switched first to being a registered independent before joining the Democratic Party. He supports the legalization of recreational marijuana use, which should be before California voters this fall, but is concerned about how it is implemented. See page 18 >>

AIDS at 35>>

June 2-8, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 5

6,000 people on PrEP in San Francisco by Liz Highleyman

he San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s Strut sexual health program celebrated its 1,000th PrEP prescription at a party last Friday, May 26. Along with other large PrEP programs and private providers in the city, the number of people on PrEP is now thought to exceed 6,000, a majority of them gay and bisexual men. “Hitting 1,000 enrollments in our PrEP health program has highlighted the tremendous demand for PrEP in San Francisco,” Strut nursing director Pierre-Cédric Crouch told the Bay Area Reporter. “Our clients have been returning to the clinic with happier and healthier relationships and sex lives. We’re delighted to share that experience with them.” The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Gilead Science’s Truvada (tenofovir/emtricitabine) for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis in July 2012. Adoption was initially slow, but took off in San Francisco starting in late 2013 as gay men began to promote PrEP within their communities. Studies of gay and bisexual men and transgender women have shown that Truvada reduces the risk of HIV infection by more than 90 percent if used consistently, with no new infections among people who take it at least four times a week. Standing over a cake in the shape of a blue Truvada pill, Crouch said that when he first heard about PrEP he thought people would come into Magnet, learn about PrEP, and then get it from their providers, “but it didn’t work out that way.” PrEP was initially expected to account for 20 percent of clients at Magnet, which became part of the Strut health and wellness center in January. Now about half of Strut’s daily clients come for PrEP, according to former director of sexual health services Steve Gibson, who is now HIV prevention branch chief at the State Office of AIDS in Sacramento. At the National HIV Prevention Conference last December Gibson reported that adherence to PrEP remained high among Magnet’s clients and there were no new infections among those who took Truvada regularly. As of last week the total number of PrEP clients at Strut, which focuses on gay and bi men, was “just shy of 1,100,” Crouch said. In addition, there are 60 PrEP clients currently enrolled at SFAF’s Market Street headquarters, which receives referrals from Glide (which sees a diverse population of homeless and low-income clients in the Tenderloin) and St. James Infirmary (which serves sex workers of all genders). Crouch said that Strut’s nurse-led clinic has been able to safely and effectively provide PrEP, while navigators are on hand to help figure out how to pay for it. “Most clients making less than $58,000 annually pay nothing out of pocket for Truvada,” navigator Jayne Gagliano told the B.A.R. “Our goal is helping uninsured and insured people access this powerful prevention tool for little or no cost to them, and we’ve been very successful.” “As a partner in San Francisco’s Getting to Zero consortium, we are helping lead the way to zero new HIV infections by empowering people to proactively protect their health – with our PrEP health program as an integral part of that strategy,” said SFAF’s new CEO Joe Hollendoner. “We are delighted to reach this significant milestone of 1,000 enrolled clients and look forward to seeing our program continue to grow and meet the sexual health needs of the community.”

PrEP elsewhere in San Francisco

It is difficult to estimate how many people have used PrEP, since this information is not centrally collected. But experts estimate that upwards of 40,000 people in the U.S. are taking it, with San Francisco being ahead of the curve. Strut’s sexual health program is not the largest PrEP program in the city – that distinction goes to Kaiser Permanente San Francisco, which serves approximately 225,000 patients, or roughly a quarter of the city’s population. Dr. Brad Hare, Kaiser’s director of HIV care and prevention, told the B.A.R. that his program sees about 90 PrEP clients a week – a majority of them men who have sex with men – and expects to reach 1,800 prescriptions this week. Hare’s team reported in a medical journal last fall that there had been no new HIV infections among the first 650 people who received PrEP at Kaiser SF since 2012. Turning to city-run facilities, just over 500 people have started PrEP at San Francisco City Clinic since February 2015, according to Robert Wilder Blue, the clinic’s coordinator of HIV prevention services. Prior to that, City Clinic enrolled

300 people in one of the in the city to over 6,000, country’s first PrEP demthough this is likely an onstration projects, some underestimate due to of whom may have gone missing sources including on to receive regular onthe UCSF health system, going prescriptions. Dr. other hospitals, and nonAlbert Liu from the SF DPH-affiliated health Department of Public centers. Health reported last year “I think about half of that no one who used people in San Francisco PrEP consistently became get their PrEP from priinfected with HIV during mary care providers,” said the demo project. PrEP researcher Dr. RobIn addition, SF DPH’s ert Grant from the UCSF Dr. Hyman Scott told the Gladstone Institutes, B.A.R. that there were apnoting that UCSF’s PrEP proximately 220 people service sees between 100 on PrEP within the deand 200 people. “While partment’s primary care we should celebrate the clinics. big services, we should Finally, at a World AIDS also highlight how priDay update on San Franmary care providers have cisco’s Getting to Zero inistepped up.” tiative last December, the Others pointed to the Liz Highleyman consortium’s PrEP comchallenges that remain. mittee reported that as of Strut nursing director Pierre-Cédric Crouch, left, “Seeing such a sigNovember 2015 roughly joined nurse practitioner Kellie Freeborn, and state nificant interest in PrEP 700 people were receiving Office of AIDS HIV prevention chief Steve Gibson is very encouraging,” Hare PrEP at hospitals (includ- in cutting a cake to mark the San Francisco AIDS told the B.A.R. “But we Foundation’s 1000th PrEP prescription. ing SF General Hospital, have to remember that UCSF Medical Center, PrEP isn’t right for evmedical groups – numbers that have and the SF Veterans Affairs eryone, and not everyone no doubt risen. Medical Center) and more than who could benefit from PrEP has Altogether, this brings the total 1,700 were known to be receiving access to it. There is still much work number of people receiving PrEP PrEP through private providers and to be done.”t

Scott Wiener An Effective Leader for State Senate

• Authored legislation adding rent controlled units to our housing stock and legislation to streamline construction of affordable housing

• Passed groundbreaking environmental legislation

requiring solar panels and water recycling in new buildings

• The leading voice for improving and investing in our public transportation system locally and regionally

• Stood up to insurance company efforts to raise prices on life-saving prescription drugs

• Leads the fight every year to backfill cuts and ensure full funding for HIV care and prevention services

• Addressing the housing and health needs of our aging LGBT population

• Secured funding to support housing, education and meal programs for at-risk LGBT youth

ENDORSED BY:

Senator Mark Leno

EQUALITY CALIFORNIA

VICTORY FUND

Paid for by Scott Wiener for State Senate, 4035 18th Street, San Francisco, CA 94114. FPPC #1378224. Paid Political Advertisement. SWienerBarAd.indd 1

5/10/16 12:51 PM

6 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2016

Volume 46, Number 22 June 2-8, 2016 www.ebar.com PUBLISHER Michael M. Yamashita Thomas E. Horn, Publisher Emeritus (2013) Publisher (2003 – 2013) Bob Ross, Founder (1971 – 2003) NEWS EDITOR Cynthia Laird ARTS EDITOR Roberto Friedman BARTAB EDITOR & EVENTS LISTINGS EDITOR Jim Provenzano ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko • Seth Hemmelgarn CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ray Aguilera • Tavo Amador • Race Bannon Erin Blackwell • Roger Brigham Brian Bromberger • Victoria A. Brownworth Brent Calderwood • Philip Campbell Heather Cassell • Belo Cipriani Richard Dodds • Michael Flanagan Jim Gladstone • David Guarino Liz Highleyman • Brandon Judell • John F. Karr Lisa Keen • Matthew Kennedy • Joshua Klipp David Lamble • Max Leger Michael McDonagh • David-Elijah Nahmod Paul Parish • Sean Piverger • Lois Pearlman Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota • Bob Roehr Donna Sachet • Adam Sandel • Khaled Sayed Jason Serinus • Gregg Shapiro Gwendolyn Smith • Sari Staver • Jim Stewart Sean Timberlake • Andre Torrez • Ronn Vigh Ed Walsh • Cornelius Washington Sura Wood ART DIRECTION Jay Cribas PRODUCTION/DESIGN Max Leger PHOTOGRAPHERS Jane Philomen Cleland • FBFE Rick Gerharter • Gareth Gooch Lydia Gonzales • Jose Guzman-Colon Rudy K. Lawidjaja • Georg Lester • Dan Lloyd Jo-Lynn Otto • Rich Stadtmiller Steven Underhil • Dallis Willard • Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge • Christine Smith ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION Colleen Small VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVERTISING Scott Wazlowski – 415.829.8937 NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863

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<< Open Forum

t SF Pride needs dose of transparency

s Pride Month starts, it’s necessary to consider plans to address and improve security at the Pride festival in Civic Center. Organizations are preparing their parade contingents and signing up volunteers to staff festival booths. Nonprofits that are part of the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee’s community partner program will be providing workers for the festival beverage booths. The Pride Committee itself is in a constant state of motion as the event nears, but it should take the time to inform the public and volunteers about any changes in security. The Pride Committee faces challenges posed by the recent filing of two lawsuits in San Francisco Superior Court alleging that the organization has “knowingly and willfully failed to take adequate steps to prevent violence.” One of the complaints was filed by a San Francisco man who was shot last year within the festival perimeter. The second was filed by two brothers who were injured as they fled a shooting at the June 2013 festival. The Pride Committee settled a similar lawsuit earlier this year brought by a Los Angeles man after he was shot at the 2013 festival. A lawsuit by another man, who was also shot in 2013, is pending. That’s four lawsuits involving gun violence at the 2013 and 2015 events. It would seem that changes in how the Pride Committee staffs and implements its security protocols are necessary. Although it’s highly unlikely that this year’s festival will be canceled – a judge will hear that issue later this month – the Pride Committee must work to ensure that its events are safe for staff, volunteers, performers, vendors, and attendees. The Pride Committee has so far not been forthcoming with its security plan. Part of that is understandable; there are legitimate security reasons not to divulge every detail. But we do think the community is entitled to know what to expect when people arrive at Civic Center en masse following the hourslong parade. The crush of people entering

the festival grounds is overwhelming, and it doesn’t let up on Sunday afternoon. (The smaller Saturday festival has been peaceful compared to the massive Sunday gathering.) Will there be metal detectors? Will bags be checked? Those are just two basic questions to which we’d like answers. The recent lawsuits include Pride Committee materials such as emails between organizers that show some of them, at least, think the festival should end earlier. As we report this week, court documents filed last month include numerous examples of Pride officials acknowledging serious safety concerns, including a 2013 Pride safety subcommittee report that said, “It has been many years running now that Pride has had serious crises at its closing time. It is negligent of us to maintain this ignore-the-problemand-hope-it-goes-away-attitude.” The report also suggested ending the festival earlier. This week, we learned the celebration will indeed conclude at 6 p.m. instead of 7.

So long to the pink brick

There’s another piece of news we discovered late last week that, although it pales in comparison to alleged physical injury at Pride, nevertheless shows that the Pride Committee needs to be more transparent. Namely, there won’t be a pink brick recipient this year. The dubious honor was bestowed on those who have done harm to the LGBT community and in past years included the American Family Association (2015), anti-gay pastor Scott Lively (2014), and the Boy Scouts of America (2013). For years, the public has voted for a nominee when casting votes for community grand marshals. We’ve questioned the need for the pink brick ever since it was given to Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) in

2004. That was the year she said then-Mayor Gavin Newsom moved “too much, too fast, too soon” when he ordered city officials to give marriage licenses to same-sex couples in what jump-started the national marriage equality movement. Feinstein has been a staunch ally to the community for years, and was one of a handful of senators who voted against the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. She was not an early advocate of marriage equality but she wasn’t the enemy of the LGBT community that the pink brick implied. The problem with the Pride Committee dumping the pink brick this year is that people have already voted for it. In a February news release, the Pride Committee encouraged the public to vote for community and organizational grand marshals, as well as the pink brick recipient. It even listed this year’s nominees: the anti-gay Liberty Council, the AFA-affiliated One Million Moms, and Donald Trump, now the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. So the votes have been cast, presumably the ballots counted, and ... the Pride Committee changes course – with no announcement – and says it is “re-evaluating” the pink brick. What it should have done is made that announcement either a) before voting commenced in February, or b) after this year’s recipient was named. The act of secretly canceling votes raises suspicions that the committee did not like the result. It recalls the Chelsea Manning debacle a few years ago when the SF Pride board rescinded her grand marshal honor, although in that case the public didn’t vote on the matter. The Pride Committee’s board and staff should explain its basic safety plans to the LGBT community. One of the world’s largest Pride gatheri n g s takes place in 23 days, with hundreds of thousands of people coming to San Francisco. To inform LGBTs – and others – what they can expect at the gates would help make Pride safer.t

One thing you must do this year for equality by Juan Ahonen-Jover

Barriers”) or Sanders (“A Future to Believe In” or “Feel the Bern”). ote early and tell your friends Many people will fall for Trump’s to do it too! Not only in the slogan and for his promises, despite upcoming California primary, but, that his policy proposals are based critically, in November. on unsubstantiated claims, are unCalifornia has a pretty good votdoable, and are even damaging to ing system, but this is not the case our national security. in many states. Whether you are in Third, Charlatan Donald can California or elsewhere, it is essential be an attractive candidate allurthat we all vote. Make sure to vote in ing voters by his aura of success Juan Ahonenperson before Election Day, because Jover, Ph.D. (thought his fortune is not as vast several states have changed their rules as he claims, according to Forbes and you may find large lines to vote in certain and others). His promises for the country are districts on Election Day. Or you may find that similar to his promises of wealth for students you have been purged from the voter list. By in his Trump “University.” His ads read, “If voting in person you ensure that your vote is acYou’re Not a Millionaire by December 2008, cepted or you can attempt to resolve any issues. You Didn’t Attend My Foreclosure Workshop.” Many people vote for the lesser of two evils. How many of the attendees become millionThis year the evils will probably be Hillary Clinaires? A charlatan with empty promises won’t ton and Donald Trump. In this election, the make America great. Each of us is Amerissue is not who is the lesser evil but the fact that ica, and we make her great everyday Trump is simply not qualified to be president. by working hard, being creative, Leaders of his party have stated that Trump and helping others. is a pathological liar, utterly amoral, a bully, a Fourth, the Republicans are phony, a fraud, a con artist, and wholly unpremore and more consolidated pared to be president of the United States. behind Trump, while the DemoFor the LGBT community, Bully Donald is crats are still debating the role of dangerous because he has repeatedly stated super delegates (a replay of what that he opposes marriage equality, that he happened eight years ago that would appoint conservative judges like the late Obama promised to fix). It hasn’t Antonin Scalia to the Supreme Court, and that been fixed, and now, is biting them he would repeal President Barack Obama’s again. non-discrimination executive orders. FurtherThe election for president should not be more, others would undoubtedly imitate his about insiders versus outsiders; it should be bullying techniques. about who is most experienced and qualified Can Showman Donald win the presidential and who can do the best job from day one. We election? Certainly. Here’s how. should not hand the most powerful job in the First, the Republican convention in July will world to somebody who’s had zero experience be a fabulous show. It will be unconventional dealing with Congress, zero experience dealing and entertaining and have the best ratings of with terrorists and managing foreign affairs, any convention. It will energize the voters like and zero experience handling the U.S. econonever before. All of this while the Democrats my. Secretary of commerce? Fine. President of may have a contentious convention if Clinton the United States of America? Come on. Have and Bernie Sanders do not join camps. we lost our common sense? Second, Demagogue Donald has a much In addition to voting for president, we also better campaign slogan (“Make America Great need to pay attention to the other elections. It Again”) than any of Clinton’s (“Hillary for is critical that the Democrats win the majority America” or “Ready for Hillary” or “Breaking of the Senate (which is doable) and the House

(much more difficult because of gerrymandering, but not impossible). In the Senate, at stake is the appointment of Scalia’s replacement to the Supreme Court. While at the state level California has made impressive gains for LGBT equality, this is not the case in the majority of states. In several states regressive legislation has been enacted by the Republicans, such as House Bill 2 in North Carolina. Not only does this law go against the Republican principle of not interfering with local government, but it creates the opposite effect of what it intended since it forces, for instance, a trans man with his beard to go in to the ladies bathroom. Furthermore, the law is difficult (if not impossible) to enforce and can encourage vigilantes, including violence against feminine-looking males and masculine-looking females. How does one prove his or her gender? A physical inspection on the spot, done by whom? Or are suspects taken to the hospital to get a medical diagnosis of male or female? In the meantime, can a vigilante detain you? Do you have to bring your birth certificate to go pee? Interestingly enough, this legislation would have not stopped former Republican Senator Larry Craig in his bathroom escapade at the Minneapolis airport. Our progress has been remarkable. Our voices are strong. But it will remain strong only if it is exercised – and the best place to exercise it is at the ballot box – everywhere. So, to preserve our gains in equality and to reach full equality, it is critical to vote. Better to vote early and in person. Tell your friends to do the same. P.S. My book lists 10 other actions you can take in 2016 for LGBT equality.t Juan Ahonen-Jover, Ph.D., a Fulbright Fellow and Stanford graduate, is the author of the Gay Agenda series of books, now in its fifth year (https://www.amazon.com/ Gay-Agenda-2016-All-Fronts-ebook/dp/B01F CRUSCU?ie=UTF8&qid=1464616398&ref_=t mm_kin_swatch_0&sr=8-1).

Letters >>

June 2-8, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 7

Krewe raises funds for Jazzie’s Place

Supports Sanders for president

Last weekend, independent Bernie Sanders started attacking gay Democratic former Congressman Barney Frank for Frank’s supposed bias making him unqualified to chair the Democratic convention’s rules committee. It brought to mind Sanders’ puzzling statement in his victory speech in Wisconsin a few months ago that he’d “work to make marriage equality for gay people the law in all 50 states.” Applause. Huh? The U.S. Supreme Court already did that for last year’s Pride season. I believe there is a dangerous double standard when it comes to coverage of Sanders and Hillary Clinton. If Clinton had said either of the above, I believe she would have faced criticism from our queer community. She certainly was rightly criticized, and then apologized, when she incorrectly praised Nancy Reagan’s speaking up for AIDS/HIV (Reagan did it far too late, far too softly, and ineffectively.). But Sanders doesn’t seem to suffer when he fails to identify what our community’s most important legal struggles are post-marriage equality, which we are already tragically seeing play out against transgender people and the entire queer community across the South and elsewhere now. Or when he attacks a respected LGBT political elder. I wonder about, and decry, this double standard.

I wasn’t surprised the hardly radical Bay Area Reporter endorsed Hillary Clinton and panned Bernie Sanders [“Two women atop the ticket,” Editorial, May 26]. But Clinton’s the wrong choice. As culture critic Camille Paglia put it, she’s got more sooty baggage than a 90-car freight train. You state, “Clinton ... has grown to embrace LGBT rights.” But Sanders embraced us earlier and never let go. In 1983, as mayor of Burlington, Vermont he backed the town’s first Pride march. In 1996 he voted against Bill Clinton’s Defense of Marriage Act – “a tough vote,” he recalled. As senator, he supported Vermont’s 2009 law legalizing gay marriage. In 2014 he won a 100 percent rating from the Human Rights Campaign, while Hillary scored only 89 percent. The B.A.R. admits some polls show Clinton is vulnerable. But “surveys don’t take into account [Sanders’] vulnerabilities to attacks by Trump. ...” Actually it’s Clinton who’s vulnerable. More voters dislike her (52 percent) than like her (31 percent), for a net negative of 21 (CNN). Sanders, on the other hand, enjoys more favorability (49.4 percent) than he is disliked (38.6 percent), for a net positive of almost 11 (the Economist). Why is Clinton disliked? First, she’s bloodthirsty. Unlike the majority of Democrats, she voted as senator to invade Iraq. Next, as secretary of state, she pushed for bombing Libya. Her “support ... put the ambivalent president over the line,” states the New York Times, though “Obama was deeply wary” and “his senior advisers were telling him to stay out.” The bombing left Libya, like Iraq, “a failed state and a terrorist haven,” (ibid), with hundreds of thousands of refugees scurrying to Europe. Later she called, “in public ... for a more interventionist approach in Syria” (ibid), an ongoing disaster fueled by CIA-supplied weapons and dollars. Second, Clinton swims in corporate cash, getting $225,000-plus per speech to groups like Goldman-Sachs. Yet she opposes Sanders’ call for a $15 federal minimum wage, finding $12 good enough for the rest of us. And while your editorial questions “how Sanders will pay for [his] programs ... without a hefty tax hike,” what about Clinton’s vote for billions in bank bailouts, or for the Iraq disaster, whose cost nears $1 trillion? Third, Clinton is known for bizarre lies like those about her trip to Bosnia (“landing under sniper fire ... we just ran with our heads down”), and now faces investigations for using a private server for government emails. Many voters see her as unethical; the way she gained her lead in delegates, especially super-delegates, seems fishy even to Democrats. While the B.A.R. charges that Sanders’ “supporters bullied Nevada state Democrats at their convention about party rules ... set in place months ago,” other sources claim the decisive rule was only set in place the morning of the convention, and it wasn’t clear if a majority approved it. A nomination that looks rigged could hurt Clinton in a general election. Some support Clinton because she’s a woman and say it’s time for a woman president. To this view antiwar writer Diana Johnstone replies, “[V]oting for Hillary because she is a woman makes no sense. ... Women together might fight for women’s right to be elected president, but that right ... cannot be reduced to one particular woman’s right to be president.” Would you vote for Sarah Palin? The B.A.R. has it wrong. Clinton is more vulnerable to attack than Sanders and more disliked by voters. Donald Trump would ruthlessly exploit her foreign catastrophes, her Wall Street money, her e-mail scandal. Those wanting to beat him in the presidential election should vote for Sanders.

Charlie Spiegel San Francisco

Jay Lyon San Francisco

As the founder of Krewe de Kinque charitable Mardi Gras club, I want to thank our King XII Gio Adame and Queen XII Cotton Candy (David Herrera) for their leadership in the past year that resulted in our club raising $6,000 for Jazzie’s Place LGBT homeless shelter leading up to and at our Bal Masque XIII at Beatbox. We want to thank the Edge bar for hosting our ongoing benefits that help us raise funds to produce the annual masked ball. Contributing to our fundraising in the last year was a successful benefit at the SF Eagle, and our annual Fat Tuesday bus crawl where we received direct donations to Jazzie’s Place from Lookout, Trax, Club OMG, and the SF Eagle. Our club focuses on raising funds and awareness for emergency needs and chose to help support some of the 29 percent of homeless San Franciscans who identify as LGBTQ. Jazzie’s Place opened last year and is the first shelter in the country for the adult LGBTQ community. Operated by Dolores Street Community Services, and funded by the city and private donations, Jazzie’s Place seeks to be a safe haven from the fear and violence that the city’s LGBTQ homeless population routinely experiences. The shelter, which has spaces for female-identifying, male-identifying and non-conforming guests, is named for Jazzie Collins, a transgender activist and vice chair of San Francisco’s LGBT Aging Policy Task Force who died in 2013. Reservations for a bed at the new shelter can be made at the Mission Neighborhood Resource Center, located at 165 Capp Street, or by phoning (415) 869-7977. To donate to Jazzie’s Place, contact DSCS, 938 Valencia Street, SF, CA 94110; (415) 282-6209; http://www.dscs.org. Thank you to the many people, businesses, and club members who contributed to our success in the past year. For more information on joining or contributing to Krewe de Kinque, find us on Facebook, at www.sfkinque. com, or join us at the Edge bar, 4 to 7 p.m. every third Saturday monthly. Laissez les bons temps rouler! Gary Virginia San Francisco

Sanders’ attack draws muted response

API Equality-NorCal gets new ED by Seth Hemmelgarn

San Francisco-based group that works to empower LGBTQ Asians and Pacific Islanders has a new executive director. Sammie Ablaza Wills, 21, will become the head of Asian and Pacific Islander Equality-Northern California July 1. “I think my experience with the organization has been so transformative for me,” Wills, who started with the organization in 2013 and is soon moving to Oakland, said. “It’s really one of the first paces that validated all the different parts of my identity and really gave me a political home to learn what it means to do valuesbased community organizing.” APIENC’s values “come out in the way that we implement our programing and engage with volunteers,” Wills said. “Remembering our values of abundance, interdependence, or vulnerability is core to the way that we interact with others.” Wills, who identifies as a “queer, non-binary person” and uses gender-

Photo: Courtesy Sammie Wills

Asian and Pacific Islander Equality Northern California incoming Executive Director Sammie Ablaza Wills

neutral pronouns, will take on their new job at a time when the organization is busy with summer interns and leadership development, so they said they’ll be “hunkering down” to make sure that everyone involved in summer programs has “a really transformative and impactful time.” Since joining APIENC, Wills has been an intern, the lead on the organization’s communications and lead-

ership development work, and its community organizer. They’ve also been active as a member of Asians4BlackLives and other organizations. Among other efforts, APIENC has collected stories for the Dragon Fruit Project, which involves oral histories, and engaged in leadership development and other work. In the May 17 news release announcing Wills’ new post, outgoing Executive Director Monna Wong said, “In the last three years, they have been instrumental in starting and leading our communications committee, growing our leadership development program, and fostering key relationships and partnerships. This organization truly would not be where it is now without Sammie’s dedication, talent, and enthusiasm.” APIENC’s budget is just over $100,000. Earlier this year, Wong said the group had two paid staff, and another worker who’s funded by a university. “One of the challenges in general is around funding,” Wills said. See page 18 >>

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<< Election 2016

8 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2016

LGBT newcomers seek SF Dem Party posts by Matthew S. Bajko

recovery due to a meth addiction. “I have gotten more feedback on living in the Castro as a homeless young adult,” he said.

number of LGBT newcomers are hoping Democratic voters in San Francisco will elevate them to party posts next week, allowing them to help shape the city’s political structure for the next four years. Running in Tuesday’s primary election for what is known as the Democratic County Central Committee, or D-triple-C for short, the candidates would bring a range of diverse perspectives to the body. Among the out non-incumbents are three women, two who identify as bisexual and two women of color, two gay African-American men, and an HIV-positive man. There are currently 11 lesbian, gay, and bisexual DCCC members – there are no elected transgender members – among the 24 elected seats to the body. All but two are running for re-election. The positions are divided between the city’s two Assembly Districts, with 14 seats allotted to the 17th Assembly District covering the city’s eastern neighborhoods and 10 given to the 19th Assembly District. Those elected to the DCCC could use serving on the oversight body as a launching pad to run for elected office in the future. It has been years since San Francisco has elected a lesbian or bi woman to public office, and over the years, the city has seen few queer people of color hold elected positions. Even if they eschew becoming lawmakers, DCCC members could use their influence on the party’s panel, which endorses in local races and elects the local party chair, to recruit LGBT candidates to run for elected office and work to see that the party supports them. “For me, I noticed when I got politically active the lack of AfricanAmerican male representation in

Progress, reform slates

Haines for DCCC campaign

Hsieh for DCCC campaign

DCCC candidate Shaun Haines

DCCC candidate Frances Hsieh

elected officials in San Francisco,” noted Shaun Haines, 37, a gay black man who grew up in San Francisco, living in more than a dozen of the city’s neighborhoods. A member of the city’s Sunshine Ordinance Task Force, Haines is currently out of work and has instead focused on his DCCC bid. He has highlighted his sexual orientation and race as he has campaigned for the seat, and at times has had to defend his doing so. “I believe that serving the community on the DCCC as a gay black would bring more awareness to a great many issues,” Haines recently wrote on his Facebook page. “I feel that an elected black male perspective is needed in our local Democratic Party leadership to address issues that impact everyone.” Kaiser OB-GYN Dr. Pratima Gupta, who is the volunteer medical director of the St. James Infirmary, a clinic for sex workers and transgender individuals, like Haines is running for a DCCC seat from AD 17. Gupta, 41, who identifies as queer, is a mother and is married to a cisgen-

McCoy for DCCC campaign

DCCC candidate Gary McCoy

“I believe that serving the community on the DCCC as a gay black would bring more awareness to a great many issues.” –Shaun Haines, DCCC candidate der man, has also fielded questions about her sexual orientation while on the campaign trail. The experience overall has been “fun,” said Gupta, who has utilized the skills she learned from Emerge California, which trains Democratic women to seek elected office. “I am putting my best foot forward and trying hard,” she said. “I hope people recognize that and the unique voice I bring as a medical provider.” Another newcomer is Gary McCoy, who would maintain lead-

ership from within the city’s HIVpositive community on the DCCC should he win a seat from AD 17. He said this week he is “feeling pretty good” of his chances. “I have run a strong campaign and it is up to the voters,” said McCoy, 37, who recently started working for the city’s recreation and park department as a policy and community affairs manager. Rather than his HIV status, McCoy said what has resonated most with voters is his having been homeless in the city and his being in

McCoy is one of six gay or lesbian candidates running for DCCC from AD 17 who are part of the moderate Progress San Francisco slate. Most are incumbents – Francis Tsang, Scott Wiener, Rebecca Prozan, and Zoe Dunning – but also on the list is Arlo H. Smith, a gay man who last year resigned from his DCCC seat representing AD 19 and then moved into AD 17. The Progress San Francisco slate for AD 19 candidates includes firefighter Keith Baraka, a gay black man who has served as an alternate on the DCCC and is now seeking his own seat. Also on the slate from AD 19 is gay DCCC member Joel Engardio, named to fill a vacancy last year and now running for a full term. McCoy said he was “fortunate” to be recruited onto the Progress slate by current party chair Mary Jung. But with so many local elected leaders and DCCC incumbents in the race, including nine out of 11 of the city’s supervisors, McCoy remains realistic about his chances come Election Day. “I think it has helped me significantly as far as visibility and endorsements,” said McCoy, who serves on the city’s shelter monitoring task force. Gupta, on the other hand, is one of eight out members of the more progressive SF Reform slate of DCCC candidates from AD 17. It includes two other out non-incumbent candidates: Frances Hsieh, 42, a lesbian married mother who is a legislative aide to District 11 SuperSee page 17 >>

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Community News>>

June 2-8, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 9

Folsom women’s space being revamped by Seth Hemmelgarn

Folsom Street Fair space that’s been dedicated to women is being redeveloped after “transexclusionary remarks” and other problems emerged at last year’s venue, according to organizers. An email blast last week about Venus’ Playground said, “In recognition of the great value of a women, gender, and trans-inclusive space to the leather/fetish community,” the board of Folsom Street Events, which produces the fair, “is committing itself to involving the community” in redeveloping the venue, which debuted in 2006 as Bettie Page’s Secret. This year’s Folsom Street Fair is set for September 25. In response to emailed questions, Folsom Street Executive Director Demetri Moshoyannis said the area’s being redesigned because of “some unfortunate incidents that happened” in 2015. “In one case, our MC made some trans-exclusionary remarks, and one volunteer asked for IDs as a way to verify sex/gender,” Moshoyannis said. “The issues clearly stemmed from discomfort expressed by some women around the participation of transmasculine folks. But, instead of trying to brush these incidents under the rug or explain them away as the rogue behaviors of a few individuals, we felt that it was time to address the purpose of the area, bring the formation of the area back to the community, and attempt to

Rick Gerharter

Burlesque performers Eva Rose and Little Karma Bomb added their color to the 2014 Folsom Street Fair.

create some productive changes that would result in a more gender inclusive area.” A community committee with people from “diverse gender identities who represent different organizations and communities within the broader leather/fetish community has been formed to advise the board,” organizers said in their May 23 email. Moshoyannis said the panel would review “everything” related to Venus’ Playground, including the name and purpose, who is welcome there, and behavioral expectations. “At this time, it’s a bit premature to guess at what the specific changes will be,” he said. The committee has eight members recruited from groups and businesses such as girls of Leather

and FeelMore510. (The girls of Leather didn’t immediately respond to a request to confirm its part in the review.) “There is also board-level participation and leadership being offered from Folsom Street Events,” Moshoyannis said. He said making the space gender inclusive doesn’t necessarily mean men will also be welcome there, but he added, “For years now, there has been a mixed gender area immediately adjacent to Venus’ Playground so that cisgender men can still respect the women’s space but also participate in a supportive way.” In Folsom Street’s original email, board President Edwin Morales Jr. said, “The safety and respect of all members and friends of our community is an integral part of who we are at Folsom Street Events. This year, we have made it a priority to learn from the open and honest feedback we heard from members of our community. Education on gender and trans-competency as well as harm reduction is a focus of the board this year. We will educate our volunteers about these issues during their training to ensure that Folsom Street Fair is a safe, welcoming, and fun time for all.” Moshoyannis said in the email, “We are both grateful and excited to use last year’s experiences as a learning opportunity and as a chance to re-envision the area. The communiSee page 18 >>

Fresh Meat rolls out the talent for 15th annual festival by Sari Staver

he 15th annual transgender and queer performance festival, Fresh Meat, takes place later this month and will feature North America’s same-sex ballroom champions, transgender opera stars, a gender-bending boy band, gay hula, and queer bachata dance. Festival organizers said the event couldn’t come at a better time, with transgender issues thrust into the national spotlight over discriminatory laws some states have passed. “This year’s festival is especially powerful and important in the face of the major anti-transgender backlash blazing across the country,” artistic director Sean Dorsey said in an interview with the Bay Area Reporter. “All across the U.S., right-wing groups are organizing and lobbying to strip transgender communities of our hard-won human rights protections, and passing bathroom bills that put trans and gender non-conforming people in grave physical and legal danger. Now more than ever we stand up and declare our trans bodies powerful, beautiful, and worthy of support and protection and self-expression.” Dorsey, 43, who is also artistic director of Sean Dorsey Dance, said that this year’s festival is “our biggest lineup ever.” He expects each night to sell out, as it has done in previous years. Sean Dorsey Dance will be performing an excerpt from its show, The Missing Generation, based on oral history interviews with transgender and queer survivors of the HIV epidemic. The all-new program includes a number of performers never seen before at the festival as well some returning individuals and groups presenting new work. Most are based in San Francisco, but three are from New York and one is from Seattle, Dorsey said.

Courtesy Fresh Meat Festival

Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu will perform traditional and contemporary forms of Hawaiian dance at the Fresh Meat Festival.

This year’s lineup includes: Star Amerasu, whose music project is based upon her experiences as a queer black transwoman; Karen Anzoategui, a genderqueer writer, performer, and actor, who can be seen on the Emmy-nominated original Hulu series, East Los High; and AXIS Dance Company, an ensemble of performers with and without disabilities that has toured internationally and has been honored with seven Isadora Duncan Dance Awards. Other performers include India Davis, a multidisciplinary choreographer and educator skilled in aerial, pole, and acrobatic arts and dance; and Jahaira Fajardo and Angelica Medina, who dance bachata with Inessence Dance Company in San Francisco. Trans opera singer Breanna Sinclaire will perform at Fresh Meat, as will singer-songwriter StormMiguel Florez, ballroom same-sex dance champions Robbie Tristan and Ernesto Palma, and gender-bending a cappella boy band The Singing Bois. Highlights include musician Shawna Virago, Dorsey’s longtime partner; and Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu, a company of 40 dancers who present hula as a full theatrical

experience blending traditional and contemporary forms of Hawaiian dance. In the interview, Dorsey, a trans man, said the festival is the “first and only group that is creating, presenting, and touring transgender arts programs” on a year-round basis. Fifteen years ago, when Fresh Meat began, “nobody was putting transgender artists on stage and there was no organization serving transgender artists,” he said. While transgender artists occasionally performed in clubs and during the San Francisco Transgender Film Festival, “nobody was curating on main stages,” he explained. Dorsey said the performers thought their first festival would be a “one-time event.” But there was such an “explosive response” that they decided to turn it into an annual showcase. In its sixth year, the festival moved from the ODC Theater on 16th Street to its current venue Z Space Gallery, which seats some 300 people in its 13,000 square foot performance space. According to Dorsey, an increasing number of performers vie for one of the slots to perform at the festival. This year, there were at least three times as many applicants as there were spaces to perform. Since its first year, the festival has always paid all its performers as well as its staff, Dorsey said. According Fresh Meat’s 2013 Form 990, it has a budget of about $450,000.t The Fresh Meat Festival will be held Thursday, June 16 through Saturday, June 18, at Z Space, 450 Florida Street in San Francisco. Tickets are $15 and include a post-show reception every night with DJ Miz Rowdy and refreshments. Tickets and more information are available at http://www. freshmeatproductions.org.

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TRIUMEQ is a once-a-day pill used to treat HIV-1. TRIUMEQ should not be used by itself in some people. Take TRIUMEQ exactly as your healthcare provider tells you. Is it time for you? Ask your doctor. APPROVED USES TRIUMEQ is a prescription HIV-1 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus-type 1) medicine used alone or with other antiretroviral medicines to treat HIV-1 infection in adults. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS. TRIUMEQ is not for use by itself in people who have or have had resistance to abacavir, dolutegravir, or lamivudine. TRIUMEQ should not be used in children under the age of 18. TRIUMEQ does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. You must keep taking HIV-1 medicines to control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses. IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information I should know about TRIUMEQ? TRIUMEQ can cause serious side effects, including: • Serious allergic reactions (hypersensitivity reaction) that can cause death have happened with TRIUMEQ and other abacavircontaining products. Your risk of this allergic reaction to abacavir is much higher if you have a gene variation called HLA-B*5701. Your healthcare provider can determine with a blood test if you have this gene variation. If you get symptoms from 2 or more of the following groups while taking TRIUMEQ, call your healthcare provider right away: 1. fever; 2. rash; 3. nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or stomach pain; 4. generally ill feeling, extreme tiredness, or achiness; 5. shortness of breath, cough, or sore throat. Your pharmacist will give you a Warning Card with a list of these symptoms. Carry this Warning Card with you at all times. If you stop taking TRIUMEQ because of an allergic reaction, never take TRIUMEQ or any other abacavir- or dolutegravircontaining medicines again. If you take TRIUMEQ or any other abacavir-containing medicine again after you have had an allergic reaction, within hours you may get life-threatening symptoms that may include very low blood pressure or death. If you stop TRIUMEQ for any other reason, even for a few days, and you are not allergic to TRIUMEQ, talk with your healthcare provider before taking it again. Taking TRIUMEQ again can cause a serious allergic or life-threatening reaction, even if you never had an allergic reaction to it before. If your healthcare provider tells you that you can take TRIUMEQ again, start taking it when you are around medical help or people who can call a healthcare provider if you need one. • A buildup of acid in your blood (lactic acidosis). Lactic acidosis can happen in some people who take TRIUMEQ. This serious medical emergency can cause death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you feel very weak or tired; have unusual muscle pain; have trouble breathing; have stomach pain with nausea and vomiting; feel cold, especially in your arms and legs; feel dizzy/light-headed; or have a fast/irregular heartbeat. • Serious liver problems can happen in people who take TRIUMEQ. In some cases, these serious liver problems can lead to death. You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or serious liver problems if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking nucleoside analogue medicines for a long time. Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following signs or symptoms: yellow skin, or the white part of the eyes turns yellow (jaundice); dark urine; light-colored stools; loss of appetite for several days or

longer; nausea; pain, aching, or tenderness on the right side of your stomach area • Worsening of hepatitis B virus in people who have HIV-1 infection. If you have HIV-1 and hepatitis B virus (HBV), your HBV may get worse (flare-up) if you stop taking TRIUMEQ. A “flare-up” is when your HBV suddenly returns in a worse way than before. Worsening liver disease can be serious and may lead to death. Do not stop taking TRIUMEQ without first talking to your healthcare provider, so he or she can monitor your health. • Resistant hepatitis B virus. If you have HIV-1 and hepatitis B, the hepatitis B virus can change (mutate) during your treatment with TRIUMEQ and become harder to treat (resistant). • Use with interferon and ribavirin-based regimens. If you’re taking TRIUMEQ and interferon, with or without ribavirin, tell your healthcare provider about any new symptoms. Worsening of liver disease that has caused death has happened in people infected with both HIV-1 and hepatitis C who were taking antiretroviral medicines and interferon. Who should not take TRIUMEQ? • Do not take TRIUMEQ if you: have the HLA-B*5701 gene variation are allergic to abacavir, dolutegravir, or any of the ingredients in TRIUMEQ take dofetilide (Tikosyn®) have liver problems What are other possible side effects of TRIUMEQ? • People with a history of hepatitis B or C virus may have an increased risk of developing new or worsening changes in certain liver tests during treatment with TRIUMEQ. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your liver function before and during treatment with TRIUMEQ. • When you start taking HIV-1 medicines, your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections that have been hidden in your body for a long time. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you start having new symptoms after you start taking TRIUMEQ. • Changes in body fat can happen in people who take HIV-1 medicines. • Some HIV-1 medicines, including TRIUMEQ, may increase your risk of heart attack. The most common side effects of TRIUMEQ include: trouble sleeping, headache, tiredness These are not all the possible side effects of TRIUMEQ. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. Important Safety Information continued on next page.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088. Please see Important Facts about TRIUMEQ on the following pages.

Not an actual patient. Testimonial is based on a collection of real patient experiences.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking TRIUMEQ? • Before you take TRIUMEQ, tell your healthcare provider if you: have been tested and know whether or not you have a gene variation called HLA-B*5701 have or have had liver problems, including hepatitis B or C infection; have kidney problems; have heart problems, smoke, or have diseases that increase your risk of heart disease such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes; drink alcohol or take medicines that contain alcohol are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if TRIUMEQ will harm your unborn baby are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you take TRIUMEQ • You should not take TRIUMEQ if you also take: abacavir (EPZICOM®, TRIZIVIR®, or ZIAGEN®) lamivudine (COMBIVIR®, DutrebisTM, EPIVIR®, EPIVIR-HBV®, EPZICOM, or TRIZIVIR) emtricitabine (Emtriva®, Atripla®, Complera®, Stribild®, or Truvada®)

• Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines (for example, antacids or laxatives; vitamins such as iron or calcium supplements; anti-seizure medicines; other medicines to treat HIV-1, hepatitis, or tuberculosis; metformin; or methadone), vitamins, and herbal supplements (for example, St. John’s wort). Some medicines interact with TRIUMEQ. Keep a list of your medicines to show your healthcare provider and pharmacist. Do not start taking a new medicine without telling your healthcare provider.

IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT TRIUMEQ ® (TRI-u-meck) The risk information provided here is not comprehensive. To learn more, talk about TRIUMEQ with your healthcare provider (HCP) or pharmacist. Visit www.TRIUMEQ.com or call 1-877-844-8872 to get FDA-approved product information, including the Boxed Warning and Medication Guide. What is the most important information I should know about TRIUMEQ? TRIUMEQ can cause serious side effects, including: • Serious allergic reactions (hypersensitivity reaction) that can cause death have happened with TRIUMEQ and other abacavir-containing products. Your risk of this allergic reaction to abacavir is much higher if you have a gene variation called HLA-B*5701. Your HCP can determine with a blood test if you have this gene variation. If you get a symptom from 2 or more of the following groups while taking TRIUMEQ, call your HCP right away to ﬁnd out if you should stop taking TRIUMEQ: Group 1: fever Group 4: general ill feeling, Group 2: rash extreme tiredness, or achiness Group 3: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, Group 5: shortness of breath, abdominal (stomach area) pain cough, sore throat Your pharmacist will give you a Warning Card with a list of these symptoms. Carry this Warning Card with you at all times. • If you stop TRIUMEQ because of an allergic reaction, never take TRIUMEQ (abacavir, dolutegravir and lamivudine) or any other abacavir- or dolutegravir-containing medicines (EPZICOM®, TIVICAY®, TRIZIVIR®, or ZIAGEN®) again. • Within hours of taking them, you could have life-threatening symptoms like very low blood pressure that might lead to death. • If you stop TRIUMEQ for any other reason, even for a few days, and you are not allergic to TRIUMEQ, talk with your HCP before taking it again. Taking TRIUMEQ again can cause a serious allergic or life-threatening reaction, even if you never had an allergic reaction to it before. If your HCP tells you that you can take TRIUMEQ again, start taking it when you’re around medical help or people who can call a HCP if you need one. • Build-up of acid in the blood, called lactic acidosis, can happen in people who take TRIUMEQ. Lactic acidosis is a serious medical emergency that can cause death. Call your HCP right away if you get any of the following symptoms that could be signs of lactic acidosis: • feeling very weak or tired • feeling cold, especially in • unusual (not normal) muscle pain your arms and legs • trouble breathing • feeling dizzy or light-headed • stomach pain with nausea • fast or irregular heartbeat and vomiting • Serious liver problems can happen in people who take TRIUMEQ. In some cases, these serious liver problems can lead to death. Your liver may become large (hepatomegaly) and you may develop fat in your liver (steatosis). Call your HCP right away if you get any of the following signs or symptoms of liver problems: • your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice) • dark or “tea-colored” urine • light colored stools (bowel movements) • loss of appetite for several days or longer • nausea • pain, aching, or tenderness on the right side of your stomach area You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or serious liver problems if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking nucleoside analogue medicines for a long time. • Worsening of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in people who have HIV-1 infection. If you have Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1) and HBV, your HBV may get worse (flare-up) if you stop taking TRIUMEQ. A “ﬂare-up” is when your HBV infection suddenly returns, worse than before. Worsening liver disease can be serious and may lead to death. To help avoid this, do not run out of TRIUMEQ. Refill your prescription or talk to your HCP before your TRIUMEQ is all gone. Do not stop TRIUMEQ without first talking to your HCP. If you stop taking TRIUMEQ, your HCP will need to check your health often and do blood tests regularly for several months to check your liver. • Resistant HBV If you have HIV-1 and HBV, the HBV can change (mutate) while you’re on TRIUMEQ and become harder to treat (resistant). • Use with interferon and ribavirin-based regimens. Worsening of liver disease that has caused death has happened in people infected with both HIV-1 and hepatitis C virus who are taking antiretroviral medicines and are also being treated for hepatitis C with interferon with or without ribavirin. If you are taking TRIUMEQ and interferon with or without ribavirin, tell your HCP if you have any new symptoms. What is TRIUMEQ? TRIUMEQ is a prescription HIV-1 medicine used alone or with other antiretroviral medicines to treat HIV-1 infection in adults. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS. TRIUMEQ contains 3 prescription medicines, abacavir (ZIAGEN), dolutegravir (TIVICAY) and lamivudine (EPIVIR®). TRIUMEQ is not for use by itself in people who have or have had resistance to abacavir, dolutegravir, or lamivudine. TRIUMEQ should not be used in children under the age of 18. TRIUMEQ does not cure HIV-1 infection or AIDS. You must keep taking HIV-1 medicines to control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses. Who should not take TRIUMEQ? Don’t take TRIUMEQ if you: • have a certain type of gene variation called the HLA-B*5701 allele. Your HCP will test you for this before prescribing treatment with TRIUMEQ. • are allergic to abacavir, dolutegravir, or any of the ingredients in TRIUMEQ. See the full Medication Guide for a complete list of ingredients in TRIUMEQ. • take dofetilide (TIKOSYN®). Taking TRIUMEQ and dofetilide (TIKOSYN) can cause side effects that may be life-threatening. • have liver or kidney problems.

What should I tell my HCP before taking TRIUMEQ? Before you take TRIUMEQ, tell your HCP if you: • have been tested and know whether or not you have a particular gene variation called HLA-B*5701. • have or have had liver problems, including hepatitis B or C virus infection. • have kidney problems. • have heart problems, smoke, or have diseases that increase your risk of heart disease such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes. • drink alcohol or take medicines that contain alcohol. • are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if TRIUMEQ will harm your unborn baby. Talk to your HCP if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. • are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you take TRIUMEQ. You should not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby. What other medications might interact with TRIUMEQ? Tell your HCP about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Some medicines interact with TRIUMEQ. Keep a list of your medicines to show your HCP and pharmacist. You can ask your HCP or pharmacist for a list of medicines that interact with TRIUMEQ. Do not start taking a new medicine without telling your HCP. Your HCP can tell you if it is safe to take TRIUMEQ with other medicines. You should not take TRIUMEQ if you also take: • abacavir (EPZICOM, TRIZIVIR, or ZIAGEN) • lamivudine (COMBIVIR®, DUTREBISTM, EPIVIR®, EPIVIR-HBV®, EPZICOM, or TRIZIVIR) • emtricitabine (ATRIPLA®, COMPLERA®, EMTRIVA®, STRIBILD®, or TRUVADA®) Tell your HCP if you take: • antacids, laxatives, or other medicines that contain aluminum, magnesium, sucralfate (CARAFATE®), or buffered medicines. TRIUMEQ should be taken at least 2 hours before or 6 hours after you take these medicines. • anti-seizure medicines: • oxcarbazepine (TRILEPTAL®) • phenytoin (DILANTIN®, DILANTIN®-125, PHENYTEK®) • phenobarbital • carbamazepine (CARBATROL®, EQUETRO®, TEGRETOL®, TEGRETOL®-XR, TERIL®, EPITOL®) • any other medicine to treat HIV-1 • iron or calcium supplements taken by mouth. Supplements containing calcium or iron may be taken at the same time with TRIUMEQ if taken with food. Otherwise, TRIUMEQ should be taken at least 2 hours before or 6 hours after you take these medicines. • medicines used to treat hepatitis virus infections, such as interferon or ribavirin • a medicine that contains metformin • methadone • rifampin (RIFATER®, RIFAMATE®, RIMACTANE®, RIFADIN®) • St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) What are other possible side effects of TRIUMEQ? TRIUMEQ can cause serious side effects including: • See “What is the most important information I should know about TRIUMEQ?” • Changes in liver tests. People with a history of hepatitis B or C virus may have an increased risk of developing new or worsening changes in certain liver tests during treatment with TRIUMEQ. Your HCP may do tests to check your liver function before and during treatment with TRIUMEQ. • Changes in your immune system (Immune Reconstitution Syndrome) can happen when you start taking HIV-1 medicines. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections that have been hidden in your body for a long time. Tell your HCP right away if you start having new symptoms after you start taking TRIUMEQ. • Changes in body fat can happen in people who take HIV-1 medicines. These changes may include an increased amount of fat in the upper back and neck (“buffalo hump”), breast, and around the middle of your body (trunk). Loss of fat from the legs, arms, and face may also happen. The exact cause and long-term health effects of these conditions are not known. • Heart attack (myocardial infarction). Some HIV-1 medicines including TRIUMEQ may increase your risk of heart attack. What are the most common side effects of TRIUMEQ? • trouble sleeping • headache • tiredness These are not all the possible side effects of TRIUMEQ. Tell your HCP if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088. This Medication Guide has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Manufactured for:

by:

ViiV Healthcare Research Triangle Park, NC 27709

GlaxoSmithKline Research Triangle Park, NC 27709

Lamivudine is manufactured under agreement from Shire Pharmaceuticals Group plc Basingstoke, UK COMBIVIR, EPIVIR, EPZICOM, TIVICAY, TRIUMEQ, TRIZIVIR, and ZIAGEN are registered trademarks of the ViiV Healthcare group of companies. EPIVIR-HBV is a registered trademark of the GSK group of companies. The other brands listed are trademarks of their respective owners and are not trademarks of the ViiV Healthcare group of companies. The makers of these brands are not affiliated with and do not endorse the ViiV Healthcare group of companies or its products. ©2015, the ViiV Healthcare group of companies. All rights reserved. Issued: September 2015 TRM:3MG

National News>>

June 2-8, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 13

House votes down spending bills because of LGBT amendment analysis by Lisa Keen

wo House votes in recent days saw the Republican leadership ignore its own voting rules and GOP representatives vote against their own bill because it contained an amendment protecting LGBTs. Democratic officials expect more to come from the Republican-controlled Congress. Drew Hammill, a spokesman for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), said Democrats do think Republicans will attempt additional hostile measures aimed at LGBT people in the future. “It seems evident that discrimination is a top legislative priority for House Republicans,” said Hammill. “We’re seeing attacks across the board, on nearly every major bill.” Hammill noted that, during a May 25 meeting of the House Judiciary Committee, a witness invited by Republicans submitted a statement against the Department of Education guidelines for respecting transgender students. The witness, University of San Diego law professor Gail Heriot, said, “If I believe that I am a Russian princess, that doesn’t make me a Russian princess, even if my friends and acquaintances are willing to indulge my fantasy.” Other matters, too, are not exempt from gay-bashing. Last Thursday, Congressman Rick Allen (R-Georgia) led off a regular meeting of House Republicans by reading from Romans 1:1832 from the Bible, including the passage, “Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.” The section ends with a passage that states those who commit such acts “are worthy of death.” Although the Thursday morning meeting was closed to the press, the Atlanta Journal Constitution and others reported that some people

in the room were “intensely uncomfortable and some walked out.” Some told other media sources that Allen did not reference a pro-LGBT amendment offered by gay Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (DNew York) that passed Wednesday evening. That afternoon, the Republicandominated House voted down the overall funding bill to which Maloney’s amendment had passed, and many media reports attributed the defeat of the bill to Republican hostility to Maloney’s amendment. The amendment sought to protect President Barack Obama’s executive order prohibiting discrimination by federal contractors against LGBT employees. But the approval of Maloney’s amendment May 25 came just days after Republican leaders orchestrated its defeat through manipulation of the clock on voting for another funding measure – a Defense bill that included language to nullify Obama’s executive order. Pelosi blasted Republicans for “targeting LGBT Americans” in the National Defense Authorization Act. The language for that nullification came from Congressman Steve Russell (R-Oklahoma), and Republican leadership fought vigorously to preserve it in the overall bill, even to the point of ignoring the clock on a vote for Maloney’s amendment to kill the language. Initially, 35 Republicans voted for Maloney’s amendment. Along with the support of 182 Democrats, the amendment had 217 votes for and 202 against. “After it was clear that the amendment was passing,” said House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland) in a news release, “House Republican leaders held the two-minute vote open for nearly eight minutes while they urged their members to change their votes and

to the presiding officer that the vote count changed even though no Republican went to the front of the House floor to change his or her vote. The seven Republicans who switched their votes were Representatives Jeff Denham, Darrell Issa, David Valadao, and Mimi Walters of California; David Young of Iowa; Bruce Poliquin of Maine; and Greg Walden of Oregon.

Energy and water bill

Courtesy seanmaloney.com

Representative Sean Patrick Maloney

defeat the amendment.” As the clock reached four seconds remaining, one of the Republican “yea” votes dropped off and the “nays” increased to 205. At zero “time remaining” to vote, another Republican voted “yea,” putting the winning tally back to 217. Two minutes after the clock had run out, the Republican presiding over the vote still had not declared the final vote and suddenly two more Republican “yeas” appeared while two dropped from the “nay” column. At this point, voices on the floor began booing. According to Hoyer’s account, these were Democrats booing the Republican chair’s failure to call the vote. Within another two minutes, more voices joined in a chant of “Shame, shame, shame” as the number of Republican “yea” votes dropped to 30 and the vote on the amendment stood at 213-212. Moments later, the vote dropped to 212 “yea” and 213 “nay,” and the presiding officer banged his gavel and announced the amendment had failed. Hoyer immediately complained

On May 25, Maloney was back on the floor, this time thanking House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) for allowing “an open process so that I can offer my amendment again.” This time, the amendment passed 223-195. The next day, the overall energy and water bill was defeated and most reports pointed to Maloney’s amendment as the reason why. Human Rights Campaign government affairs director David Stacy said, “A large majority of House Republicans voted against it because Heritage Action and other right-wing groups opposed both its funding levels and the inclusion of the Maloney amendment ...” Hoyer criticized Republicans too, saying their vote to defeat the energy and water bill represented “clear opposition to equality and civil rights in America.” “Their votes to defeat the annual funding bill ... simply because it contained an amendment banning discrimination against LGBT Americans were both shameful and outrageous.” “House Republicans’ thirst to discriminate against the LGBT community is so strong that they are willing to vote down their own appropriations bill in order to prevent progress over bigotry,” said Pelosi, in a statement released after the energy and water bill was defeated. “In turning against a far-reaching fund-

ing bill simply because it affirms protections for LGBT Americans, Republicans have once again lain bare the depths of their bigotry.” Log Cabin Republicans expressed support for Republican defeat of the energy and water bill, saying, “the truth is that, when given the choice between supporting the LGBT community and supporting runaway spending, nearly the entire House Democratic caucus showed their true colors and voted in support of runaway spending by voting down the overall bill.” Of the 188 Democrats in the House, 175 voted against the overall bill May 26, six voted for it, and seven did not vote. Of the 245 Republicans, 130 voted against, 106 voted for, and nine did not vote. The final vote: 305 against, 112 for, 16 not voting. Among the “nay” votes on the overall bill were Maloney, and out Representatives David Cicilline (Rhode Island), Jared Polis (Colorado), Mark Pocan (Wisconsin), Kyrsten Sinema (Arizona), and Mark Takano (California). HRC’s Stacy said Democrats voted against the overall bill because of “anti-environmental and other objectionable provisions.” Obama and Democrats said they were opposed to the overall bill for a number of disputes, including “insufficient” funding levels for clean energy. The showdowns on the first two of 12 appropriations bill to be considered so far signals an increasingly worrisome appropriations process for LGBT concerns. The House returns from its Memorial Day weekend recess and district work period June 7. Stacy said there is a possibility of more hostile amendments in the future. See page 18 >>

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14 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2016

Sonoma, San Mateo, Santa Cruz to hold Pride events compiled by Cynthia Laird

A Memorial Weekend Concert in honor of those who served!

Meet Your Neighbors

You’re invited27, to mix and were mingle with the people will one On May we proud towhopresent day share your permanent San Francisco address. WESLA WHITFIELD in concert & Cheese Open House with MIKEWine GREENSILL at the piano Friday, July 19, 2013 2—5pm

RSVP Required: (415) 752-8791

For those who attended, Thank you for joining us last Saturday. 1 Loraine Court—San Francisco, CA 94118

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t’s June and that means various cities in the Bay Area and beyond will hold Pride parades or festivals. In the North Bay, Sonoma County Pride takes place June 2-5 in Guerneville. This year’s theme is “United in Pride.” Festivities begin Thursday (June 2) at 7 p.m. with the Outwatch Wine Country LGBTQI Film Festival at the Rio Theatre, 20396 Bohemian Highway in Monte Rio. Friday, June 3 features the First Friday Art Walk in downtown Guerneville from 5 to 8 p.m. and a country-western dance at the Veterans Memorial Hall, 16255 First Street, from 8 p.m. to midnight. The event is hosted by San Francisco’s Sundance Saloon and admission is $10. Lessons for beginners will take place for the first hour, followed by open dancing. On Saturday, the R3 Hotel, 16390 Fourth Street, will hold a pool party and beer bust from noon to 4:30 p.m. Admission is $15. That night, it’s back to the Veterans Memorial Hall for a disco dance party from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. with DJ Rotten Robbie spinning. The Pride parade takes place Sunday, June 5 in downtown Guerneville, beginning at 11 a.m., followed by the Pride festival from noon to 6 p.m. at the Guerneville Lodge, 15905 River Road. A $5 donation is requested. For more information, visit http:// www.sonomacountypride.org. San Mateo County will hold its fourth annual Pride celebration Saturday, June 4 from 11 a.m. to 5

FOR RACIAL AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE Join us for Pride 2016

We all deserve to be healthy and happy When you embrace equality, it helps lead to a healthier, happier community— and we want everyone to live life to its fullest. That’s why we champion diversity and invest in community health. Kaiser Permanente is proud to have a long history as a major sponsor of the San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade. And we’re always proud to be your partner in health. Look for our float in the parade lineup on June 26.

2016

Courtesy Santa Cruz Pride via Facebook

A participant marched in last year’s Santa Cruz Pride parade.

p.m. at San Mateo Central Park, 50 East 5th Avenue in San Mateo. The San Mateo Pride Initiative is led by the county’s behavioral health and recovery services office of diversity and equity and supported by the San Mateo County LGBTQ Commission. This year’s theme is “Pride without Borders: Embracing Culture and Diversity.” Festivalgoers will enjoy a great lineup of entertainment for people of all ages, including music from DJ Char, freestyle rap and poetry by Aima the Dreamer, and the rhythms of Sistahs of the Drum. There will also be a queer fashion show by Thuy Custom Clothier, and much more. The emcee will be San Francisco HIV/AIDS advocate and all-around hostess, Nikki Calma, better known as Tita Aida. Organizers said this year’s festival will have more resource booths, local art, vendors, and food trucks, in addition to a kid space. Admission is free and everyone is welcome. For more information, visit http://www.smchealth.org/ pride. Finally, Santa Cruz will hold its 42nd annual Pride parade and festival Sunday, June 5 under the theme “Embracing Generations.” The parade steps off at 11 a.m. at Pacific Avenue and Church Street. The parade ends at the festival grounds, at Cathcart and Cedar streets. The festival runs until 5 p.m. and a $5 donation is requested. It is an alcohol-free event, although alcohol will be available from participating businesses near the festival grounds. The celebration will include vendors, food trucks, entertainment stages, and a kids’ space. For more information, visit www. santacruzpride.org.

Pink triangle installation needs volunteers

The 21st annual display of the pink triangle atop Twin Peaks will occur over Pride weekend in San Francisco, and volunteers are needed before, during, and after the installation. Patrick Carney, co-founder of the pink triangle, said that help is needed for the following tasks. On Friday, June 24, from 1 to 5 p.m., people will set up the outline of the triangle. Carney said that only a handful of volunteers are needed. Saturday, June 25 is the big day. The main installation will take place from 7 to 10 a.m., which is when most of the volunteers are needed. Then there will be a ceremony at 10:30 featuring local dignitaries, some of the Pride grand marshals, and others. Finally, Carney said that help is needed Sunday, June 26 from 4:30

to 8 p.m. as people take down the pink triangle. “One need not stay the entire time, it is casual,” Carney said in an email. “Even an hour of help at either or all of these times can accomplish a lot.” Volunteers are asked to bring a hammer and gloves to the site. People should wear closed-toe shoes with non-slip tread; sandals are not recommended. They should also wear long pants and sunscreen. Carney said that “fashionable pink triangle T-shirts” will be provided to all who help out. Carney and others started this Pride tradition two decades ago to reclaim the pink triangle symbol, which was used by the Nazis in concentration camps to identify and shame homosexuals. The pink triangle is now embraced by the LGBT community as a symbol of pride. The pink triangle installation is impressive. It is almost 200 feet across, one acre in size, and can be seen for 20 miles if the city’s famous fog doesn’t make an appearance. To volunteer, and for more information and driving directions, visit http://www.thepinktriangle.com.

Dyke March fundraiser planned

There will be a fundraiser for the Dyke March Sunday, June 12 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Lone Star Saloon, 1354 Harrison Street in San Francisco. Gay former supervisor Bevan Dufty and lesbian Women’s Building co-founder Roma Guy are cosponsoring the event.

Business diversity expo in San Jose

The Minority Consortium of Silicon Valley will hold a Business Diversity Program Expo Tuesday, June 14 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the City Hall Rotunda, 200 E. Santa Clara Street in San Jose. Admission is free. The expo will provide information on business contracting and expanding women- and minorityowned business outreach to include disabled veterans and LGBTQowned companies. A morning networking reception takes place at 9, followed by the program. Invited guests include gay Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager, San Jose City Councilman Tam Nguyen, and Laura Udon, with the Disabled Veteran Business Alliance. For more information, contact (408) 660-9171 or info@minoritybusinessconsortium.com.

Senior Pride dance in Hayward

The Hayward Area Recreation and Park District and Castro Valley Pride will hold a gay Pride dance for LGBTQs 50 and older Friday, June 17 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Hayward Area Senior Center, 22325 North 3rd Street. The evening will feature Castro Valley Pride’s Billy Bradford as DJ, a photo booth, hors d’oeuvres, and a unique mocktail bar. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door and can be purchased online at www.haywardrec.org/seniors (use code #39306).

Aging institute to hold LGBT senior prom

In San Francisco, LGBT seniors and allies can attend the senior prom hosted by the Institute on Aging Saturday, June 18 from 4 to 7 p.m. at IOA’s campus, 3575 Geary Boulevard (at Arguello). Organizers said there would be dancing to great music from every See page 18 >>

Brian had his HIV under control with medication. But smoking with HIV caused him to have serious health problems, including a stroke, a blood clot in his lungs and surgery on an artery in his neck. Smoking makes living with HIV much worse. You can quit.

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HIV alone didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t cause the clogged artery in my neck. Smoking with HIV did. Brian, age 45, California

<< Sports

16 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2016

Trans athlete to compete in duathlon by Roger Brigham

hen bigots mouth off about transgender athletes, they usually truck out scientifically disproved arguments about mythological “advantages” they believe male-to-female athletes have. Ask them about how a female-to-male athlete is able to overcome those mythical “disadvantages” not just to compete but to make two national teams and you’re likely to be met with a silent puzzled stare. “I don’t really run into the kind of prejudice transgender female athletes do,” Chris Mosier told the Bay Area Reporter after he earned the right to represent the United States next year at the world long distance duathlon championship – to go along with his

entry in the world sprint duathlon this weekend in Spain. “I kind of get ignored. People sort of just brush me off. A lot of the people were saying, ‘Hey, he’s a trans guy – he’s not going to do well.’ I think a lot of it is rooted in sexism. Trans women face more discrimination in general and real life as well.” Mosier earned his latest spot in the world championships by finishing fifth in his 35-39 age group at the nationals in the long-distance duathlon in North Carolina as tensions were at an all-time high in the state because of the passage of House Bill 2, a state law that bars trans people from using public restrooms that cor-

JEFFREY “JEFF” WAYNE PARSONS Jeffrey “Jeff” Wayne Parsons, 58, of San Francisco passed away February 20, 2016 at California Pacific Medical Center after long struggles with diabetes and related illnesses. Jeff was born in Cleveland, Ohio and moved to San Francisco in the late 1980s. His mother, Ann, his brother Jim and wife Karen, his sister Sue, and his sister-in-law, Judy, all survive, along with many aunts, uncles, nephews, and nieces. Jeff was preceded in death by his brother, Ronald, and his father, Wendell. Jeff was employed as a Budget Manager for the Hearst Corporation at the San Francisco Chronicle since 1991. Jeff received much pleasure from the sporting world both as a player and a spectator. For many years he was a member and avid supporter of the San Francisco Gay Softball League (SFGSL). Jeff was a player for the Pilsner Penguins team and it didn’t take many seasons before he advanced into the role of coach and team manager. Annual team “Fun-Raisers,” as Jeff liked to call them, were a favorite event of his and he loved being the emcee of these events. He seized those opportunities to recruit new players by sharing his special brand of enthusiasm with everyone in attendance usually saying, “You don’t’ have to have BIG talent, to have BIG fun!” Jeff also served as Treasurer on the SFGSL Board of Directors from 2008-2012 and was truly proud of representing the league in that manner. Jeff was also a member of the San Francisco Community Bowling League and the Tavern Guild League for several years. One could also find Jeff awake at haphazard hours of the day so he could tune in and watch International Football League matches. Jeff enjoyed a wide variety of music, and in his younger days, you could find Jeff dancing the South of Market clubs. Jeff also had a special place in his heart for the songs of Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, Bette Midler, and Patti LuPone. Most recently, Jeff enjoyed going to both the San Francisco Symphony and Ballet as often as possible and was a season ticket holder for many years. Jeff refreshed himself with traveling. He participated in tournaments across the country for both softball and bowling, as well as spending many vacations abroad visiting friends. He spoke fondly of his experiences in Italy, Germany, and Spain and tried to partake in everything these places had to offer. He also shared what he had here in SF and regularly opened his home to friends at the holidays so everyone had a place to go for comfort, good food, and a sense of family. Jeff did not suffer fools gladly and if he had a life slogan, it would probably be what many have heard him say, “Be good, or be good at it!” Cremation services were held by the Neptune Society of Northern California and ashes were scattered off the Marin County coast in a private ceremony. Suggestions for memorial donations include the San Francisco Bowlers Emergency Aid Relief: Attn-Carol Hull, 214 Steiner Street, San Francisco, CA 94117 and the American Diabetes Foundation (www.diabetes.org or 1-800-DIABETES).

respond with their gender identity. “The race was in Cary, North Carolina, which is a small town next to Raleigh,” Mosier, 35, said. “I made a conscious effort not to stay there and to stay close to my hotel in Raleigh. I didn’t want to see anything and I didn’t want to spend any time there – because of House Bill 2.” The long course duathlon combines a five-mile run with a 31-mile bike ride and ending with another five-mile run. Mosier has been an athlete all of his life, but the duathlon is relatively new for him. “I started at the age of 4 playing T-ball,” he said. “I played sports all through high school, then did fitness sports afterward.” He took up running in 2007 and tackled his first marathon in 2008. “I thought, ‘What’s the next challenge?’” he said. “I thought, triathlon, so I bought a bike and taught myself to swim in New York City at a New York University pool. I found I’m better suited for everything except the swim. I still love the triathlon and I’ll do Iron Man races in the future. I initially started the duathlon just to switch things up and train for triathlons.” Mosier should be in his comfort zone Sunday, June 5 in Spain at the sprint championships, which sandwich 1.5-mile runs around a 14mile bike sprint. One area in which Mosier faces the same kind of discrimination that

Transgender campaign

From page 1

the 1990s and has continued to expand on its efforts. Just days prior to the Transform California event, the district’s school board passed a resolution requiring that all single-stall restrooms on school campuses and administrative buildings be labeled as “all gender” bathrooms. It also mandated that every school in the district designate at least one bathroom as “all gender” and allow any student to use it “regardless of the underlying reason.” And the resolution further stated that any new buildings the district builds, or those it renovates, will have single stall and multi-stall all gender bathrooms. The school board also clarified that its dress codes and uniform policies are to be gender-neutral and apply not just to school days but also to special events likes proms

under the new International Olympic Committee policies on transgender inclusion. Competing in a tiny town under a transphobic law may not have been very cool, but this is definitely very, very cool. Mosier, by the way, is founder of the website http://www.transathlete. com, a resource guide for transgender policies and issues in sports. Visit the site to learn more about issues effecting transgender male and female athletes.

Dub Nation rolls on Trans athlete Chris Mosier

female transgender athletes do is in lack of sponsorship support. That’s why he was happy to learn the newly formed Sports Equality Foundation would be providing him with funds to support his training and travel. “It’s awesome,” Mosier said of the foundation support. “It’s super important for me. It helps me to be able to continue to do sports and travel to do workshops. It allows more time for training. I’ve tried getting sponsors in the past and have been unsuccessful. Sexual identity is a turnoff for them. I’ve been told they could not have someone like me as representing their company.” And now he will be representing the United States – the first transgender male athlete to represent the country on a national team and and graduation ceremonies. And it specified that students and personnel do not need to legally change their name in order to be referred to by their name and the pronoun that corresponds to their gender identity. “I hope other school districts join us and take action to build schools that are safe for all,” said school board member Matt Haney, who authored the resolution. At its May 24 meeting the school board also voted, at the request of Superintendent Richard A. Carranza, to ban paying for travel to North Carolina and disallow attendance of its employees at any conferences or meetings in the Tar Heel State due to its House Bill 2, which among other things requires transgender individuals to use public bathrooms based on their gender assigned at birth. Faced with the prospect of fighting an anti-transgender ballot initiative in 2016, EQCA and TLC announced last summer they were

Obituaries >> Paul C. Cahill

Tom Harding

April 28, 1941 – May 16, 2016

October 12, 1937 – May 25, 2016

Paul C. Cahill passed away peacefully at home on the afternoon of May 16, 2016 at the age of 75. Paul’s health had been failing for several months due to cancer. Paul was born in Dearborn, Michigan; grew up in Eureka, California; and resided in San Francisco for the last 34 years. He graduated from St. Mary’s College in Moraga, and Boalt Hall Law School at UC Berkeley. Paul was a veteran of the U.S. Army and served in Korea. As a young attorney, Paul practiced law in Oakland, California. He later served in several state and federal agencies including the Public Utilities Commission, the state attorney general’s office, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Energy in Washington. Paul loved traveling, sailing, and square dancing (he was a founder of the Diablo Dancers LGBT club). He and his life partner of 44 years, Ed Conley, traveled often to Greece. Paul was an avid student of ancient history. Paul was active in many LGBT causes and events including the March on Washington and marriage equality. In addition to his partner, Paul is survived by his beloved sisters Sally and Cathy; his brother, Dennis; his in-laws Ron, Peter, and Pamela; and many nieces and nephews.

After a long battle with prostate cancer, Tom Harding died peacefully in the apartment of his beloved Allen Sawyer on May 25, 2016. At his side were Sawyer and Sawyer’s partner, Jim Van Buskirk. A Renaissance man, Tom was a visual artist and musician. In the 1960s and 1970s Tom worked as a photographer in New York, most notably chronicling Charles Ludlam’s Ridiculous Theatrical Company. He also played piano and performed in off-offBroadway shows like the Palm Casino Revue. In San Francisco, Tom played the piano at the Valencia Rose and photographed the city’s 1980s demi-monde. Tom loved the Art Deco Society, and dancing to the music of the Royal Society Jazz Orchestra and the Peter Mintun Orchestra. His many dance partners appreciated his dapper style and his ability to make them feel like Ginger Rogers. His friends and family cherished his witty hand-drawn greeting cards. In addition to his own creativity was his gift of encouraging the artistic endeavors of his friends. Tom was born in Portland, Oregon, and studied at Stanford and Columbia. Over the last several decades, Tom divided time between Portland and his adored San Francisco. Celebrations of his life will be held in both cities.

A week ago the Golden State Warriors, winners of a record 73 victories in the NBA regular season, were on the brink of elimination from the Western Conference semifinals. Now the defending champions are rolling into the NBA Finals in a rematch against the Cleveland Cavaliers after rallying to win their last three games against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The final game of the conference playoffs was at Oracle Arena. That’s in Oakland, a city Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting Donald Trump declared is too dangerous for him. But not too dangerous for Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders, who attended Sunday’s game with actor Danny Glover. Apparently they were really feeling the Bern at the game. “Last week, Golden State was down three games to one,” Sanders tweeted after the game. “Tonight, they finished off a great comeback in California. I like comebacks.”t planning to launch an educational campaign focused on transgender rights. Even though the ballot initiative failed, the two groups felt it was still necessary to move forward with their marketing effort. The Transform California campaign officially launched April 18 with a kick-off in Los Angeles. Since then events have been held in various cities highlighting different themes: the one in San Diego focused on combating transgender youth suicide. Congressman Mike Honda (DSan Jose), whose granddaughter is transgender, led a recent Transform California rally in San Jose. He called on other elected leaders to sign the pledge associated with the campaign that states they will fight for and protect the rights of transgender individuals. At the San Francisco event last week, Paul Lagarde, 26, shared his story as coming out as a transgender Latino man married to a woman and an immigrant who is the first in his conservative Mexican Catholic family to graduate from college. While his parents have been supportive, Lagarde acknowledged it took them some time to fully embrace his transitioning. “It took a while for my father to accept it. He needed to grieve for the daughter he lost,” said Lagarde. “My mom worried how our friends and neighbors would react to me being a man. They had a right to worry. We know transgender people are most likely to suffer from depression and nearly half of us have thought of suicide.” He has chosen to be public about his gender identity in order to support other Latino transgender men. “I speak up because it is vital, especially for young transgender people, to know they are not alone,” said Lagarde. “Even though I was born with a female body, my soul, my mind, my spirit was always that of a male.” Thirty groups are involved in the Transform California campaign, which as the B.A.R. noted in November, is being paid for with $1 million contributed by a group of national LGBT funders. To learn more, visit http://www. transformcalifornia.com/.t

t <<

AIDS at 35>>

June 2-8, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 17

HIVers

When asked about the lessons drawn from 35 years of AIDS, all three interviewees struck similar themes. “The biggest lesson is for people to be honest. Human beings are sexual creatures with few exceptions and, for most people, sex is a very powerful force in their lives, so we need to be open and clear when adopting harm reduction models,” Jones said. “Young people think that if they tell you they are positive, others will think they are on crystal or a slut. We need compassion for each other. I have hosted potlucks for young HIVpositive guys so we can talk about

these issues, as they feel isolated. “Older gay men need to realize that it is the same issues they had to contend with that led young LGBT kids to kill themselves and to fill our bars every night,” he continued. “As gay people our collective experience has improved, but not necessarily our individual experiences. Gay kids are still beaten up. Parents still throw their gay kids out of their homes. Kids still stay up all night praying to Jesus to cure them. If we think that has gone away, then we are being stupid and cruel.” For Beswick, it was not just AIDS but also civil rights that “taught our community to band together and establish leadership and organizations. What we were best at was to use our intelligence to follow the science and to let the science inform our advocacy around public policy, rather than to be driven by fear alone. “We need to meet people where they are at and base public health policy on science rather than morality,” Beswick added. “My big goal is to build a bigger LGBT museum (than the one in the Castro), complete with an educational and cultural center so we can tell the story of AIDS more effectively and learn not to make the same mistakes we made 20, 30 years ago.” Quinto wants more activists and political advocates, especially in Sacramento. “I’m hoping there will be more LGBT people running for public office, especially those who are frustrated with how things are,” he said. “We need more legislation to support our community, with funding for more drug trials. What got me out of my depression was the need to be engaged. I didn’t want to wait to die anymore but decided to make a difference. Being HIV-positive influenced my decision to run for city council and be honest about my status. “People want and need to hear stories of survival. Some politicians told me I shouldn’t talk about my past because it could ruin my career, but this is part of who I am and people will have to get over it,” he said. “I am excited about being a mentor to young LGBT people running for city councils in the East Bay. An HIV-positive young man, hearing about me, decided he wants to be a candidate for the central committee for the Democratic Party in Contra Costa County. I have a responsibility to the next generation to pass on what happened during this epidemic and what we learned. I can’t be silent any longer and neither can our community.” Yet it was Jones who made a link between the AIDS era and today. “I think marriage equality came out of our struggle with AIDS. For my generation of radical activists, marriage was not on any of our priority lists,” he said. But during AIDS, I had friends who, having buried their partners, were thrown out of their apartments since they weren’t on the lease. I saw men die because they couldn’t access their partner’s employee benefits. Suddenly that little piece of paper became critically important. And that’s why working class gays and lesbians lined up when Mayor Gavin Newsom opened up City Hall in 2004 so they could get married, despite flack from the political establishment.”t

competing slates, Haines said it remains to be seen what impact they will have on the race. “That is the question on everybody’s mind,” he said. Altogether there are 39 candidates running for the 14 DCCC seats from AD 17 and 21 people running for the 10 DCCC seats in AD 19. Despite the long list of boldfaced political names on the ballot seeking DCCC seats, Haines said the body remains fairly obscure to voters. “I think a lot of people are remarkably unaware of what the

DCCC does,” said Haines. Also left off the two slates is Michael Edward Grafton, 54, a gay man running for a DCCC seat from AD 17. He told the B.A.R. that part of the problem with the committee is it often takes positions and endorses candidates that are not in the best interest of the city’s residents. “In my opinion, the endorsements and resolutions passed by the SF DCCC seem corporate controlled, and seem risk averse, and not very reflective of the average San Franciscan,” contended Grafton.t

From page 1

Terry Beswick, 56, is the executive director of the GLBT Historical Society. He has a long list of HIV advocacy positions, including serving on the White House Office of National HIV/AIDS Policy and the National AIDS Program Office of the Department of Health and Human Services, both during the Clinton administration, as well as a cofounder of ACT UP San Francisco. All three said without hesitation that were it not for the drugs that came to market in 1996 they would probably not be alive today. But as wonderful as these medications can be for extending life, they don’t work for everyone and they said they knew gay men who have died of HIV-related conditions in the last few years, even if it was not listed as the official cause of death. There are side effects to these drugs and people age faster after long-term use, getting conditions such as cancer and heart disease in their 40s and 50s rather than their 60s and 70s. AIDS may now be manageable, but all three men were adamant it is not something one wants to deal with or “manage,” being much more than an inconvenience. “Even though I had worked on committees to accelerate access to these drugs, and interviewed key researchers who believed they would be huge advances, I was emotionally numb and skeptical whether they would actually pan out,” Beswick said. “How many treatments had we gone through that had failed? It was like guess work on who would live and who would die. People who tried nothing survived and those who tried everything died. At best, all one could say was that the protease inhibitors might extend your life span six months.” Jones recalled that when he brought the AIDS quilt for its final big display to Washington, D.C. in 1996, “I talked to President Clinton on how my friends were now thriving and asking him to make sure these drugs would be available to everybody.” Jones, positive since 1985, suffered pneumocystis pneumonia in 1994. He was treated with intravenous pentamadine, but had moved up to the Russian River to die, before the cocktail saved his life. Quinto, as a Filipino-American, had long been a test subject for new drug trials. HIV-positive since the mid-1980s, but felt he didn’t have a choice: either do it or die. He was given a year to live. He sold everything he owned, including his musical instruments (he had played in a Los Angeles rock band) so he could travel. “These drugs were not tested for people of color and the side effects could make you feel worse than the disease itself,” he said. “Many of my friends could not take these drugs and gave up. Questions like where they would live after being kicked out of their apartments, plus the added stress of taking meds that made you sick to your stomach, left them little alternative but to take their own lives. The current medications have not raised my number of T cells above 150, so consequently I have good days and bad days when I need to rest.” Beswick wasn’t diagnosed HIVpositive until 2001, but even in the

SF Dem Party posts

From page 8

visor John Avalos, and Alysabeth Alexander, 34, a bisexual woman who is Service Employees International Union Local 1021’s vice president of politics. “Being on that slate is definitely a big deal on the 17th side of town,” said Hsieh, though she added “onthe-street engagement” with voters at transit stops and community events is another “key” factor. “I have been out there, for example, at the Mission farmers market

Brian Bromberger

Cleve Jones

Terry Beswick

Gabriel Quinto

1980s he knew he would be positive at some point, which only accelerated his activism. “I had a sense of fatalism and when I started using crystal meth and having unsafe sex, exposing myself to the virus, I figured it was only a matter of time as the whole gay community was a ticking time bomb,” he said. “I was fighting for younger kids so they wouldn’t have to worry about getting this disease on their first sexual encounter. It was after I got clean that I started taking the cocktail. There were side effects such as weird nightmares, disorientation, and gastrointestinal problems, all of which eventually passed.” Jones had to change medications every six months, since he suffered every side effect, “including persistent pain, disfigurement, and facial wasting, everything but death.” All three men now take two pills a day and suffer no side effects.

“We need to meet people where they are at and base public health policy on science rather than morality.”

to take care of our own, as people who looked like me were not welcome in the Castro. I went mad because of it. I had a breakdown in late 2000 with a slow recovery, getting out from under a severe depression. I’ve had many years of anger. Fits of rage would just come out of me. It wasn’t pretty. I didn’t know how to handle it or who I was angry at, but years of therapy have made a huge difference.”

Survivor’s guilt

Stigma

–Terry Beswick, GLBT Historical Society executive director

When asked about survivor’s guilt, having lived when so many others died, their responses varied. Jones, almost choking up, replied, “I think about them everyday. People who didn’t live through this epidemic cannot comprehend it. I lost almost everyone I knew. I made new friends and they died. I made more new friends and they died. Ultimately we lost over 20,000 gay men in the 10-block radius of Castro Street. Most of my fellow activists didn’t make it. When I think if they had survived, how many of them would be serving in Congress, or taking home Emmys and Pulitzers ... the loss is incalculable. But I don’t believe in survivor’s guilt. I’m just grateful.” Spearheading the historical society, Beswick is very conscious of lovers and friends who died. The society’s GLBT History Museum currently has an exhibit of dancers who passed from AIDS and held a panel discussion on AIDS activism. “Yet even with all the documentaries and books, it doesn’t seem enough,” Beswick said. “I spent my 20s and 30s in a state of extreme anger, which I channeled into activism. I’m still in a post-traumatic stress phase and how I’ve dealt with their death hasn’t always been healthy, but through productive archival projects helping to tell their stories, there has been some healing.” Quinto was obsessed about all the people who died. “I dealt with more end of life issues in that 10-year period than most people in a lifetime, especially since there was little help for Asian Pacific Islanders,” he said. “We had

Jones, Beswick, and Quinto all experienced stigma because of their diagnosis, but mostly from other gay men, who rejected them as sexual partners. Jones believes that the stigma surrounding HIV is still one of the strongest forces contributing to its continuation. “Guys are still afraid of being tested because of the stigma,” Jones said. “I feel sad for young people because their experience of the pandemic is different from my generation. They don’t have the solidarity we had. Even if they get tested, they are reluctant to talk about their status with their friends or sexual partners. The amount of shaming on social media and hookup apps is pretty appalling.” Beswick has also experienced similar sexual stigma, “but overall I have been fortunate because I have lived mostly in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, so I’ve been protected from discrimination with things that matter, such as housing, jobs, and access to health care.” Quinto experienced “people screaming at me when I told them or someone who I thought was my friend, a neighbor, punched me out. For Asian people, they worry about losing their jobs or embarrassing their families. As an elected official, I’m on the disability caucus of the Democratic Party. I care very deeply about homelessness, mental illness, folks not getting their medications because they can’t afford them, all issues related to stigma. “The media needs to interview people from our communities rather than the same people over and over again,” Quinto said. “We don’t want to hear a white urban middle class version of this disease only.

last Thursday and issues of affordability and governance and who has the ear of politicians has been an issue that has really resonated with voters,” she said. As for her chances of winning a DCCC seat, Hsieh said, “I feel like I have done everything I could do and now it is up to the will of the voters.” Although being part of the slate has made Gupta, as well as Alexander, a target in attack mailers pegging her as an ally of District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin, a former Democratic Party chair, she said it has also allowed her to learn from

more seasoned candidates. The out incumbent DCCC members on the Reform slate are Petra DeJesus, Bevan Dufty, David Campos, and Rafael Mandelman. It also includes gay former city and state lawmaker Tom Ammiano. Working with the slate, said Gupta, “has been wonderful as a mentorship point of view.” She added, “I think it is definitely going to play a role. People are excited and looking for a change in San Francisco and wanting some new fresh voices at the table.” Not part of either of the two main

We want to see people of color and people in suburbia and rural communities. It’s not just a San Francisco disease.”

Lack of urgency

There has been a decrease in media attention surrounding HIV/ AIDS, despite the fact that people continue to test positive for the virus and people still die of AIDSrelated complications. Beswick wondered whether silence on the issue could be “compared to post-Holocaust survivors who were initially reluctant to speak about it but became more vocal as the years went by.” Jones observed that once the majority of new infections shifted to predominantly people of color and poor people, major LGBT organizations, largely composed of middle class white people, stopped talking about HIV at all. “Racism is still very strong within the LGBT community,” Jones, who is white, said. “We have a shocking situation in Atlanta where AfricanAmerican men are showing up in public hospitals with AIDS conditions such as pneumocystis pneumonia, not even knowing they are HIV-positive, having never been given a blood test. This vulnerable population is still not getting access to medical care and being properly treated, despite a high infection rate. They don’t feel welcome at these medical centers, which is a recipe for disaster all over the country.”

35 years of AIDS

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

18 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2016

Pink brick

From page 1

“We will not be issuing a pink brick for 2016. It is an aspect of the event that I would like to reevaluate for the future. Given where we are in the planning for 2016 we will not be looking at this until after this year’s event,” George Ridgely, the LGBT Pride Celebration Committee’s executive director, said in an email last week. That news comes despite the Pride Committee asking the public to cast their votes for a pink brick winner earlier this year, and presumably, thousands of people did. Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, was one of three candidates for this year’s pink brick. The others were Liberty Council, an organization that specializes in evangelical Christian litigation; and One Million Moms, a group that’s

Folsom women’s space

From page 9

ty support for our process has been extremely affirming, and we look forward to working with the CAC and the community in implementing creative changes.” People who want to provide input

House votes

From page 13

“There’s still a sobering level of hostility and rhetoric that is harmful,” said Stacy. HRC is keeping watch on the defense authorization bill in the Senate and will be monitoring other funding bills coming to the floor in the House. But Stacy said the House leadership has a “real desire not to bring up social issues” on the funding bills and many political observers believe Congress

News Briefs

From page 14

generation, snacks, non-alcoholic beverages, and performances. They said IOA’s inaugural senior prom is meant to be an opportunity for people to have a “second chance” whether they loved prom, hated prom, or didn’t attend their prom. Local high school seniors will be joining the LGBT seniors for this intergenerational event. While everyone is welcome, those ages 55 and over are the guests of honor. There is no dress code; “Ac-

Political Notebook

From page 4

“I am mindful we need to keep it off school campuses and how do we make it available to consumers so children are not at risk,” he said. And he backs the gun control reform measures backed by Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom on the fall ballot. “I support the strengthening of our gun laws,” said Blumenfeld.

API Equality-NorCal

From page 7

“There’s not a lot of institutional funding for small organizations, and especially small organizations that fit at the intersection of LGBTQ and Asian-Pacific Islander.” Addressing those challenges involves “being innovative and creative about the ways we sustain our programming. I think it’s both exciting and daunting,” they said. The organization relies heavily on volunteers. “Volunteers are so important and influential for our work,” Wills said. “As a small organization with not a lot of financial resources, we really depend on people power to both decide and implement the things they want to see,” and “Our role as an organization is to support those

affiliated with the anti-gay American Family Association. Neither Ridgely nor Pride board President Michelle Meow would answer questions about the decision not to have a pink brick this year, including who made the decision and when, whether Trump would have been the recipient, and why organizers had solicited people’s votes if the award wasn’t going to be given out. In response to emailed questions, Ridgely said, “I don’t have any other information at this time.” Meow, also known as Michelle Sinhbandith, responded by saying, “To clarify, we, as in the organization, do not have further information regarding this matter at this time.” She then repeated Ridgely’s original statement about the pink brick being reevaluated “for the future.” This year’s Pride festivities are set for June 25-26.t should come to the Venus’ Playground booth in the middle of Dore Street July 31 at the Up Your Alley Fair, where information on what’s being proposed will be available. Folsom Street, which produces Up Your Alley, will also enable people to offer input online. For more information, visit http://www.folsomstreetfair.org.t will avoid tackling most funding measures until after the presidential election. Stacy said the LGBT community is also “a little better positioned” now than in the 1980s, when the late Senator Jesse Helms wreaked havoc with anti-LGBT measures attached to spending bills. He said HRC can now count on “every Democrat” and 30 to 35 Republicans in the House who are willing to vote in support of rights for LGBT people with “increasing frequency.”t ceptance” is the theme and people can have fun with prom attire if they wish. There is no cost to attend, though as a nonprofit, IOA will gladly accept donations. To RSVP, visit http://www. e v i t e . c o m / e v e n t / 0 3 B 5 J F RT K ZJ6YUNBWEPGD25IL6XA WA ? u t m _ s o u r c e = N A & u t m _ medium=sharable_invite&utm_ campaign=send_sharable_link. People can also call (415) 7504114 or email cmorgan@ioaging. org if they need transportation assistance.t For months Blumenfeld has been knocking on doors throughout the district, trying to meet as many voters as he can. Those personal interactions, he believes, will give him an edge on Election Day. “Whether talking about my party affiliation, age, or sexual orientation, these things do tend to melt away in the minds of voters when it becomes more about the candidate’s vision and if they are able to execute that vision,” said Blumenfeld.t things happening.” Wong recently announced that, after three years leading APIENC, she’s leaving to help coordinate the Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality Network, of which APIENC is a part. Wills declined to share salary information. “I think that maybe in a little bit after we’ve developed a relationship,” they could disclose their salary, they said, but “I just don’t know if that’s something that would be kosher for me to give out at this moment.” Wong had also declined to answer a question about her salary, and the data weren’t available from tax documents. APIENC is supported by the nonprofit Chinese for Affirmative Action. For more information, visit http://www.apiequalitync.org.t

Legal Notices>> ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-16-551932

In the matter of the application of: JENNA VELASQUEZ-ORTEGA, 3636 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner JENNA VELASQUEZ-ORTEGA, is requesting that the name ENESSA ELENA VELASQUEZ-ORTEGA, be changed to ENESSA ELENA ESTRELLA. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514 on the 21st of June 2016 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

MAY 12, 19, 26, JUNE 02, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037086000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GRACIELA’S, 315 SENECA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JULIO MARTINEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/09/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/09/16.

MAY 12, 19, 26, JUNE 02, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037076500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: AL CLARK PRODUCTION, 268 BUSH ST #2511, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94104. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ALBERT CLARK. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/02/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/03/16.

MAY 12, 19, 26, JUNE 02, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037084200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: JULIA, 5438 GEARY BL, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JULIA ROSE MILLER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/06/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/06/16.

MAY 12, 19, 26, JUNE 02, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037082500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: INTAVA HAIR SALON, 323 IVY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LIENG PHETHSAYA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/10/10. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/06/16.

MAY 12, 19, 26, JUNE 02, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037081400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BUNGALOWE, 797 BUSH ST #102, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KARAN AGGARWAL. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/05/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/05/16.

MAY 12, 19, 26, JUNE 02, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037079500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NORTH BEACH CONSTRUCTION, 1443 21ST AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CARLO CAMOZZI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/4/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/04/16.

MAY 12, 19, 26, JUNE 02, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037080500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: INNOVATION PLUMBING AND ROOTER, 828 CRESCENT AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RAFAEL CHAHUAYO ZEVALLOS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/05/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/05/16.

MAY 12, 19, 26, JUNE 02, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037056900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ATLAS VOCAL STUDIO, 1232 ARGUELLO BLVD #2, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JAYMEE SENIGAGLIA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/11/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/19/16.

MAY 12, 19, 26, JUNE 02, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037077200

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037049900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SUBSTATION, 2828 JONES ST SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed WHARF HOLDINGS, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/14/16.

MAY 12, 19, 26, JUNE 02, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037072800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SUZANNE TUCKER HOME, 58 MAIDEN LANE 4TH FLR, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed SUZANNE TUCKER HOME (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/29/16.

MAY 12, 19, 26, JUNE 02, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037076400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LUSTER PRODUCTIONS, 68 SAINT MARYS AVE #2, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed FTBS MEDIA LLC (NV). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/23/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/03/16.

MAY 12, 19, 26, JUNE 02, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037083200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: VAKANZA, 2852 CALIFORNIA ST #B, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed KIMBERKINI LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/03/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/06/16.

MAY 12, 19, 26, JUNE 02, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037088200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MATTERS OF THE HEART, 226 FAXON AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JAYANTI ANAND. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/11/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/11/16.

MAY 19, 26, JUNE 02, 09, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037099400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MR. BANH MI, 3605 BALBOA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JIMMY QUACH. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/17/16.

MAY 19, 26, JUNE 02, 09, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037095700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE LEGEND HOLIDAYS INC, 283 6TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed THE LEGEND HOLIDAYS INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/01/10. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/16/16.

MAY 19, 26, JUNE 02, 09, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037094100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BIOGENIC ENERGY, INC., ONE SANSOME ST #3500, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94104. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed BIOGENIC ENERGY, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/29/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/13/16.

MAY 19, 26, JUNE 02, 09, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037091200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: POKE KANA, 65 CAMBON DR, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94132. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed SUKOZA INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/12/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/12/16.

MAY 19, 26, JUNE, 02, 09, 2016 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-16-552121

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME

The Notice is hereby given that an order entered by the PanTerra D’Oro Ecclesiastical Court of the Ekklesia, county San Bernardino, California, on the April 5, 2016, bearing Court Record No. COTE.WRIT.0316.0016, a viewing of which may be examined at the office of the clerk, by written request sent for appointment posted to Clerk of Court, 305 North Second Ave, #197, Upland, California, near [91786] Non-domestic, zip exempt. Said Writ of Entry removes all temporary tenants from the Landed Estate of the body based on Petitioner’s right to secure his religious beliefs to assume the name of ‘Darren’ and/ or ‘Darren DeLeon’ (for identification purposes) forever sanctified from the ens legis legal styled name, ‘Darren James Michaels’ or any combination. Petitioner is forever detached from any reassignment of any liability associated to and not clothed with representative capacity with the said former legally styled name, ab initio. All persons possessing an interest in this shall timely petition the court to show cause, why the court’s decree is not a settled matter and failing to do so, be it resolved that the matter is forever settled, Res Judicata. Any correspondence for Darren can be posted to General Post 300621, Fern Park, Florida near [32730] Non-domestic, zip exempt. Petitioner’s place of nativity is on the land of New York City, borough Brooklyn, union State of New York. Nativity day is December 30, 1960.

JUNE 02, 09, 16, 23, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037077500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CRÈME DE CLEANING SERVICE, 940 MCALLISTER ST #D, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SIDON SOLOMON ABAI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/03/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/03/16.

MAY 26, JUNE 02, 09, 16, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037106800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DAMONO DESIGN, 26 COSO AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DAMON O’DONNELL. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/23/16.

MAY 26, JUNE 02, 09, 16, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037111000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: STEVEN BALLINGER FINE ART, 1459 18TH ST #281, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed STEVEN BALLINGER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/04/05. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/24/16.

MAY 26, JUNE 02, 09, 16, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037107000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DREAM QUEEN, 63 VALLEY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LAURA L. KONNER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/23/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/23/16.

MAY 26, JUNE 02, 09, 16, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037102200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CHEF JIMMY’S CATERING, 2166 36TH AVE #1, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CEVDET YANAS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/19/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/19/16.

MAY 26, JUNE 02, 09, 16, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037101900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ACCESORIOS 98 CA, 5627 CALIFORNIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed GUO JUN LIN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/01/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/19/16.

MAY 26, JUNE 02, 09, 16, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037099200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: INNER CITY HAULING & JANITORIAL, 47 MINERVA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARIA M. MEJIA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/17/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/17/16.

MAY 26, JUNE 02, 09, 16, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037102500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NEW ZEN SPA, 1933 UNION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed HAI MINH SON & JACK LY. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/02/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/03/16.

In the matter of the application of: QI JIANG, 4239 21ST ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner QI JIANG, is requesting that the name QI JIANG, be changed to ROGER QI JIANG. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 19th of July 2016 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: VISCERAL PHYSICAL THERAPY, INC, 750 GRAND VIEW AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed VISCERAL PHYSICAL THERAPY, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/01/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/19/16.

MAY 12, 19, 26, JUNE 02, 2016

MAY 26, JUNE 02, 09, 16, 2016

▼

Read more online at www.ebar.com

June 2-8, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 19

Legal Notices>> FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037109700

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037107100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EMPIRE MOVERS USA INC, 1888 GENEVA AVE #504, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed EMPIRE MOVERS USA INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/24/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/24/16.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: K-OZ RESTAURANT BREWERY, 121 7TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed KEI AND OZ LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/23/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/23/16.

MAY 26, JUNE 02, 09, 16, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037101000

MAY 26, JUNE 02, 09, 16, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037118500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CAUSE STORIES; ALLY VAULT; 1471 5TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed THE SAFDAR GROUP (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/01/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/18/16.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MONKEI MILES, 1406 25TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MONICA URICK. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/31/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/31/16.

MAY 26, JUNE 02, 09, 16, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037094000

JUNE 02, 09, 16, 23, 2016 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-036769000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TACOLICIOUS, 2031 CHESTNUT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed LAIOLA LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/13/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/13/16.

MAY 26, JUNE 02, 09, 16, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-037099600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GENJI, 1765 CALIFORNIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed GENJI PACIFIC LLC (PA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/17/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/17/16.

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: P.J. CONNNOLLY CONSULTING; LIBERTY HILL COMMUNICATION; METAMORA NETWORK SYSTEMS; 862 DOLORES ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by P.J. CONNOLLY. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/09/15.

JUNE 02, 09, 16, 23, 2016

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Defiant ‘Carmen’ by Philip Campbell

n a bold but calculated move, the San Francisco Opera opened its summer season last week with the U.S. premiere of Calixto Bieito’s notorious production of Bizet’s Carmen. The show will also be simulcast free at AT&T Park on July 2. If the Opera is offering only a mild parental advisory, check the Twittersphere for further advice. Blasé San Francisco shouldn’t have a problem, but surrounding counties might be in for something of a shock. After years of shaking up the arts See page 30 >>

Irene Roberts in the title role of San Francisco’s Carmen. Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera

Mummy Documentarily yours dearest by Sura Wood

he unfurling of Egyptian mummies, a spectacle once performed in front of rapt Victorian audiences, was an evening’s entertainment for segments of 19thcentury English society in the throes of “Egyptomania.” Legend has it that the bodies were so well-preserved one could see what the deceased looked like in life for a split-second before they disintegrated, vanishing into dust. See page 27 >>

by David Lamble

E Coffin of Irethorrou (detail). Egyptian, Akhmim, ca. 500 BC. Wood with polychrome.

Pamela French’s Becoming Visible profiles several trans women and one trans man.

See page 24 >>

Courtesy SF DocFest

{ SECOND OF THREE SECTIONS }

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ach year the producers of the San Francisco Documentary Film Festival roll out a dazzling array of documentary features. This year the 15th SF DocFest unfolds from Thursday, June 2, through Thursday, June 16, at the Roxie, Great Star and Vogue Theaters. Below find capsules on 10 not-to-be-missed films. A complete schedule can be found at the Festival website, sfindie.com.

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<< Out There

22 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2016

FEROCITY

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479 Castro Street , San Francisco • (415) 431-5365 • www.cliffsvariety.com

Monarch butterflies by Roberto Friedman

rameline folks are all jazzed up about the upcoming San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival, June 16-26. It’s the 40th edition, so the film fest has a fresh new look, with sleek graphics, a new logo, and a winning tag-line: The King of Queer Film Festivals. We bow down. Frameline is the longest-running, largest LGBTQ film fest in the world, so we feel that King. Although perhaps Queen would have been more fitting? With 155 films from over 24 countries, Frameline40 does have regal ambitions. Presenters are proud that 40% of the offerings were made by women directors, and 50% of the documentaries. This year the fest expands to a full week of programs in the East Bay. Opening night brings Kiki from directors Sara Jordeno and Twiggy Pucci Garcon. An updating of the seminal queer doc Paris Is Burning, Kiki explores today’s ballroom scene of LGBTQ youth of color in NYC. The centerpiece documentary Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four (director: Deborah Ezquenazi) profiles four Latina lesbians who were wrongfully convicted of sexual assault in the 1990s. All four women will appear at the screening. Social justice themes also resonate in Growing Up Coy (director: Eric Juhola), in which six-year-old Coy upholds transgender rights in a small Colorado town. Retrospective programs include Flashback 1977: Frameline’s Founding Year, which will present director Artie Bressan, Jr.’s

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Courtesy Frameline

Scene from directors Ester Gould and Reijer Zwaan’s Strike a Pose.

pioneering Gay Pride doc Gay USA and a campy short by Marc Huestis, Miracle on Sunset Boulevard, which screened at that very first “Gay Film Festival of Super 8 Films.” We’re promised a vintage year for debut features, including director Deb Shoval’s AWOL, director Ingrid Jungermann’s Women Who Kill, director Andrew Ahn’s Spa Night and writer-director-star Clea Duvall’s The Intervention (Duvall and Orange Is the New Black’s Natasha Lyonne will appear in person at the screening). Lovers of fashion, costumes and queer style will eat up both Suited, from director Jason Benjamin, and directors Ester Gould and Reijer Zwaan’s Strike a Pose, which revisits dancers from Madonna’s 1990 Blond Ambition tour. Five of the voguers will appear at the Castro Theatre screening, on that big party night formerly known as Pink Saturday. Film-fest folk modestly propose a new name for the evening: Frameline Saturday? There’s much more on tap, such as the full-body animal-costumed Furries (director Eric Risher) in the Only in San Francisco program; director Marlon T. Riggs’ 1989 Tongues Untied; and director Philip Ford’s 1991 Vegas in Space. This year’s Frameline Award will go to independent film mentor, muse and “film whisperer” Bob Hawk, with a screening of directors JJ Garvine and Tai Parquet’s Film Hawk. There will be films from Myanmar, India, Slovakia, China, and the Intuit nation in Canada, as well as from strange backwaters of these United States. Closing night brings director Andrew Haigh’s closing installment of the Looking series, with our fictional SF buddies Patrick (Jonathan Groff), Agustin (Frankie J. Alvarez) and Dom (Murray Bartlett). The Looking boys are all invited to the Oasis afterparty, which will also feature a performance by performers from the current revival of Cabaret, featuring Randy Harrison (Queer As Folk). Protestors outside last week’s press conference at Oasis demanded that Frameline stop cooperating with the government of Israel, despite the fact that, for the second year running, there are no Israeli films in the festival. Look, we’re no supporters of the current right-wing Israeli government, but

we really have to wonder about the vehemence of these boycotters. Somehow they are never protesting Frameline films from China, Turkey, Arab nations or Russia, all of whose governments are also, like Israel, guilty of heinous military interventions and terrible oppression of constituent ethnic groups. The protestors insist they’re not anti-Semitic, but somehow it’s only the Jewish state that gets the brunt of their critique. By their logic, why not boycott films from the greatest source of militarized violence and the biggest arms dealer on the planet, the U.S.? Just askin’.

Fairy fun

Opera Queen: “This is the program cover for the Glyndebourne 2016 season. No one can believe it.” Out There: “Is there some sort of fairy sodomite picnic opera on this year’s roster? Highlarious!” Opera Queen: “No! Isn’t that amazing? Everyone’s just gaga. I mean, as you probably know, European opera brochures are books, and often with only the most fanciful connections to the repertoire being promoted. But for formal dress al fresco Glyndebourne, this is – well, what?” Correction box: An item about Jane Wyman in last week’s Out There was erroneously illustrated with a picture of Jane Wyatt, who played the mother opposite Robert Young on TV’s long-running Father Knows Best. We’re dumb with regret for the error.t

Cover of the Glyndebourne 2016 season program.

On the web This week, find Tim Pfaff ’s review of Ravel’s Complete Works for Solo Piano from pianist Bertrand Chamayou online at www.ebar.com.

Theatre>>

June 2-8, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 23

An affair to remember by Richard Dodds

et’s dispense with any preambles. Simply stated, Ray of Light Theatre’s The Wild Party is astonishingly good. This could be a surprise, not necessarily because the troupe has conquered the material so masterfully, but because the material that has here been so enlivened had held such underwhelming promise. Not many people got to see the slick New York original, but I happened to be one of them, and its main impact was mild annoyance that I had wasted a theatergoing slot on such an unmemorable show. There is nothing unmemorable about this Wild Party at the Victoria Theatre, where the combined abilities of the cast and creative talents have upped the ante in Andrew Lippa’s ambitious if sometimes flawed musical. Within the first few minutes, you realize that this team knows what it is doing, and once that realization settles in, an audience feels confident in anything that comes along in the crazed cornucopia that unfolds. One can speculate on why this production has so much more impact than the original, but one of the easiest reasons is that it is now on a proscenium stage that frames this quasi-vaudeville homage rather than what was basically a floor with risers that didn’t provide a focusing structure. But that can’t be the only reason behind the bracingly new connection it finds. More on that to come, but first a little context for what composer-lyricist-librettist Lippa was attempting in this

Nick Otto

Jocelyn Pickett plays a showgirl having a rowdy time with her guests in Ray of Light’s The Wild Party at the Victoria Theatre.

impressively ambitious project. Lippa, whose credits include The Addams Family, Big Fish, and the oratorio I Am Harvey Milk commissioned by the SF Gay Men’s Chorus, looked to Joseph Moncure March’s 1928 narrative poem The Wild Party for source material. By perverse coincidence, another team created its own adaptation of The Wild Party, and the productions opened and closed within several weeks of each other. Both have their champions, but neither was a commercial success. The musical follows the basic

story of the poem: Chorus girl Queenie and her lover, the abusive stage clown Burrs, have found temporary satisfaction together, but when it begins to wane, Queenie plans a gin-soaked party with enough sexual tensions to reignite the missing passion with Burrs. Jealousy, anger, sudden romances, revenge, and violence are all on the bill of fare, and not everyone is still breathing when the dawn arrives. The musical itself does have its problems, but most are often swept aside in director Jenn BeVard’s superbly crafted and

imaginative production on Erik LaDue’s atmospherically skewed set. The titular wild party is a messy, sprawling affair, but BeVard’s staging is careful to focus on what’s important and to maximize its impact. The show itself owes some of its style to Chicago, which presented many of its numbers as vaudeville acts, and with big-time help from choreographer Alex Rodriguez, the cast is in step with his cleverly rendered moves. Another major asset: Music director David Aaron Brown leading the full-bodied sixpiece accompaniment from the

keyboards. The cast displays a depth of talent and a grasp of what the material requires. As Queenie, Jocelyn Pickett has a charismatic presence as a character who is both steely and needy. Paul Grant Hovannes connects with the contradictions of his character, the boyish but abusive Burrs. RaMond Thomas has quiet magnetism as the character Black, who becomes the catalyst for the party’s turmoil. There are many more topnotch performances to be acknowledged, including Lizzie O’Hara as a Betty Boop-like character and Daniel Barrington Rubio as her pugilistic beau, James Mayagoitia and Zachariah Mohammed as foppish Frickand-Frack brothers, Alexandra Feifers as a likably trouble-making guest, and Kathryn Fox Hart as an unsuccessfully on-the-prowl lesbian. Lippa’s score includes dirge-like passages, heartfelt ballads, and rousing show tunes. It doesn’t all work, but it’s always skillfully presented, and there are plenty of times when the pieces come together with exhilarating finesse. The opening-night audience seemed primed for a campy romp, but early hoots and hollers subsided when realization came that this is not that kind of show. There may have been a moment or two of readjustment, but to the extent that an audience can be read, a wave of awe soon arrived and never departed.t The Wild Party will run through June 11 at the Victoria Theatre. Tickets are $25-$40. Go to rayoflighttheatre.com.

Noel Coward’s exaggerated behavior by Richard Dodds

t can be like biting into a piece of chocolate expecting some sort of nut, but getting a Mexican jumping bean. Even while the Theatre Rhino production of Noel Coward’s Present Laughter surrounds its center with traditional confectioneries, soon enough you hit that mystifying choice for its core. Director John Fisher, who also plays that core, has upped

the ante of the reevaluations of Coward’s 1939 comedy that Coward conceived of as a vehicle for himself and acknowledged is a parody of himself. Those more recent productions, including high-profile efforts on Broadway and in London, have been eager to emphasize any homosexual subtext that the determinedly closeted Coward wove through the script. A little of that goes a long way, but Fisher probably thinks that this befits the mission of a queer theater.

David Wilson

John Fisher, as the actor Gary Essendine, tries to gently extract himself from a clinging young woman (Adrienne Dolan) in the Theatre Rhino production of Noel Coward’s Present Laughter.

The play itself wavers between drawing-room comedy and frantic farce, as the self-dramatizing London stage actor Garry Essendine luxuriantly suffers through young ladies overstaying their one-nightstand welcome, various visitors angling for favors, intrusive phone calls, social obligations that elicit oversized sighs, and an estranged wife acting as ballast whenever the good ship Essendine begins to list. While Coward offered an exaggerated vision of himself, that of a jester who sees himself as the ultimate truth-teller, the role may also remind you of John Barrymore in his later years, when he resorted to playing parodies based on his notoriety. You can see that in Fisher’s performance as Essendine, for whom overacting has become the norm on and offstage. But he too often squelches the laughter from his comic flamboyance as he goes into inexplicable and inappropriate seizures of shtick you might find if Lou Costello or the Three Stooges’ Curly were in the role. In one particular stunning example, when Essendine’s secretary reads him a letter from an acquaintance named Joe, Essendine remembers him fondly. “Joe was wonderful,” he says. “I met him in a bar in Marseilles. What does he want?” That’s a line of ambiguous sexual possibilities, but his secretary gives a straightforward answer: “It’s at the end, after a bit about his sister having a baby.” But the words “at the end” throws Fisher’s Essendine into a paroxysm of mugging, tonguelolling, and a mimed replication of getting buggered in the arse. And yet surrounding all this indulgence, director Fisher offers a wellstaged and smartly acted production that knows what Present Laughter is supposed to look like. There is a small coterie surrounding Essendine whose job it is to keep him propped up and

lucratively employed, with characters coming and going through a room filled with doors available for the indiscreet to hide in Gilbert Johnson’s art deco set. Those characters are attractively outfitted in David Draper’s period costumes. Kathryn Wood and Tina D’Elia, as his secretary and semi-ex-wife, know how to draw laughs with their long-suffering takes on Essendine’s all-too-familiar behavior. Adrienne Dolan as an aspiring actress smitten with Essendine and Amanda Farbstein as a seductive vixen blithely play their roles in keen fashion. Carlos Barrera and Adam Simpson are theatrical business associations, with Simpson especially drawing laughter with a demeanor always bordering on the morose. Essendine is also tormented by a disturbingly eccentric playwright infatuated with his idol, and director Fisher pushes

absurdist homoerotic maneuvers onto these scenes. There are more amusing moments provided by Ryan Engstrom as Essendine’s unpolished butler and Adrienne Krug as his surly housekeeper. But the bottom line remains Fisher’s performance as Essendine, and as we saw earlier in the season when he played another character Coward wrote for himself in A Song at Twilight, it is clear that he has his particular vision of how these roles should be played. That probably won’t be changed in any fundamental ways, but ratcheting it down one or two or 20 notches is something that might be considered for the good of all.t Present Laughter runs through June 18 at the Eureka Theatre. Tickets ($15-$35): (800) 838-3006. gotherhino.org.

<< Film

24 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2016

Silent eyes

Courtesy San Francisco Silent Film Festival

Still from What’s the World Coming To? (director Richard Wallace, USA, 1926), a restoration by the San Francisco Silent Film Festival in partnership with Carleton University and New York University, one of two films in the Girls Will Be Boys program.

by Erin Blackwell

ovies today are increasingly made by machines for machines about machines. A hundred years ago, people were the stars of the show. What used to be called “humanity.” How silly people were: that was comedy, and ended happily. How unlucky: that was tragedy, or at least, high melodrama. The camera was there to capture the extraordinary hijinks of the human race for the amusement and edification of the masses. When we watch these documents now, we are flabbergasted by the changes that have occurred since they were created. I dare you to step into the time machine of the Silent Film Festival, opening Thursday, June 2, at the Castro Theatre. What has changed most is acting. There is a completeness to the

people in silent movies that is never seen in contemporary Hollywood product. The way they stand and move and gesture and emote has an integrity that is shocking to eyes accustomed to the fragments of performance sliced and diced into films today. The simplicity of the technical means allows room for the artists to put on a show by exploiting every inch of costume, body, and face, much as was done in the theater and dance of the time. The big difference, of course, is the eyes, or at least, how close the camera could get to the eyes, much closer than any seat in any live theater. The actor’s job is to project intimacy, but the camera could suddenly record the most intimate gestures of that most intimate emotional organ, the eyes, and blow them up onto the screen until they overwhelm the spectator’s

imagination. Eyes came into their own in silent film, as expressers of vulnerability, accessibility, desire, dread, despair, even death. To the panoply of acting techniques was added the essential, exquisite erotic dance of the eyes. Pola Negri is a consummate eye actress. What she can do with her orbs in a matter of seconds will blow your modern-day mind and must be seen to be believed, since words are paltry things, paltriest in newsprint, to suggest the wealth, the depth, the breadth of evanescent emotion articulated and expressed by those magic lanterns of the Slavic soul wielded by that supreme exemplar of emotion for emotion’s sake, Pola Negri. There’s nothing rational about it. Her eyes are pure music, mystery, and mood, far, far beyond the poet’s song or the psychiatrist’s diagnosis.

Still from What’s the World Coming To?, one of two films in the Girls Will Be Boys program.

A Woman of the World (Friday, June 3, at 1 p.m.) is all the more startling, then, because it catches Pola Negri’s eyes going through their motions in a comedy, in which the actress’ sublime emotivity is recontextualized as an exotic form of shtick, set off like a pearl in an oyster, against the homespun comic genius of Chester Conklin, he of the Fuller Brush mustache. The plot concerns the descent of a European countess, fresh from a romantic chagrin on the Riviera which leaves her with a skull-and-butterfly tattoo on her forearm, into the foursquare Midwestern home of a cousin. That tattoo and all it stands for becomes the talk of Maple Valley, a small town presided over by a crusading district attorney hellbent on closing down all forms of fun, starting with the dance hall. Poor district attorney, his first glimpse of Pola’s gloved hand wielding a cigarette holder through the frame-within-a-frame of a taxi window seals his fate. He will be

SF DocFest

From page 21

Becoming Visible Pamela French’s intimate and thoughtprovoking glimpse at the worlds of several trans women and one trans man in New York City begins near a Harlem housing project as Olivia, a beautiful, model-thin transwoman. explains herself to three skeptical African American teens, one of whom pointedly demands, “Are you a man or a woman?” “I’m a woman. I’m what you call a transgendered woman. I was born a woman, but I was born with a genetic disorder that makes me look more masculine than most woman. Like my voice is deep, I’m kind of tall, and my hands are big. I’m a girl, I was just born a little different than most girls.” Later, back home, she describes her complicated Gotham journey. “I knew what it meant to be gay, I knew what it meant to be straight, I knew what bisexuality was. I had no idea what transgender was, or transsexual. I didn’t fit in any category. I felt like a woman who was attracted to men. So how do you explain that at eight, nine years old?” Morgin admits how crazy it made her when the hospital presented her with the forms before her surgery. “Telling me that there was the possibility of death in any surgery. I don’t want to know about the possibility of me dying, that’s scary!” Morgin confesses that she knew who she was at age five, but kept it to herself because “my mom’s a minister, my aunt’s a minister.” “So you guys know that I’m going through my hormone therapy and testosterone, which makes you crazy.” Sean is a transman who has incorporated his transition into his standup comedy act at the NYC LGBT Center. “My mom’s been great about it. She’s learning a

Courtesy SF DocFest

Pamela French’s Becoming Visible. “Once you are real, you can’t be ugly.”

little too much about what it’s like becoming trans.” A harder road is faced by Katherine, a transwoman from a conservative Third World family. “The family and I just co-exist with each other, more like ghosts living with ghosts.” The filmmaker’s philosophy is neatly expressed in this quote from a bestselling children’s book: “Once you are real, you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.” – from The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. This is a not-to-be-missed exploration of a too-often-ignored or maligned part of our community. (World Premiere, Roxie, 6/10, 7 p.m.; Vogue, 6/11, 6:45 p.m.) The Hollywood Shorties Ryan Steven Green takes us back to the late 1930s, when hundreds of “Little People” were attracted to Hollywood to audition for roles in The Wizard of Oz. The success of

the film led to Southern California eventually becoming home to the largest concentration of dwarves in the Americas. The film explores the history of a Little Person’s basketball team that eventually assumed the same kind of acclaim as the legendary touring Harlem Globetrotters. (West Coast Premiere, Roxie, 6/12, 7 p.m.; 6/14, 9:15 p.m.; Vogue, 6/16, 9 p.m.) It Ain’t Pretty Bay Area docmaker Dayla Soul provides a visually stunning and narratively fascinating account of the stories of women who surf the rough waves at Ocean Beach. Prone to rip tides, sharks and sharp rocks, our local scene proves irresistible to dozens of women, one of whom confesses to having pestered her mom for her first board at age eight. (World Premiere, Great Star, 6/2, 8 p.m.) Silicon Cowboys If you’re looking for a story of the little guy battling the evil corporations

and actually winning, for a while, check out Jason Cohen’s detailed history of Compaq Computer. Hatched by three buddies in 1982 at a Houston diner, this start-up enterprise pioneered a line of personal computers long before the rise of Apple. Back in the 80s, IBM was the big bully on the block, and the film describes the delicious ways the little guys out-thought the big boys, only, of course, to be crushed and superseded in the end. Look for local computing luminaries at the screening. (West Coast Premiere, Roxie, 6/16, 7 p.m.) In California French filmmaker Charles Redon unfolds the distressing story of his girlfriend, who left Paris with the ambition of becoming a Bay Area ballet dancer. The film is a story of obsession: hers for the dance world, and his to document if not prevent her downward spiral. (Roxie, 6/5, 4:30 p.m.; 6/7, 7 p.m.; Vogue, 6/12, 6:45 p.m.)

conquered; he will wriggle; he will protest and condemn; he will even, yes, be whipped in the sanctity of his own council chamber, but he will slough off his vile hypocrisy and succumb to the overpowering allure of passion, as practiced to perfection by a woman of the world. You, too, will succumb to the variegated charms of the cinema called silent and the bygone worlds it captures, and the dead people and places it resurrects. Over the course of four days, you will learn more about the human heart in all its guises and dialects than from surfing the Web, because you will see with your own eyes how things were or might have been. And don’t worry about it all being so very silent. Live music is an integral part of the show at the Castro, from live artists who have been specially preparing for this bittersweet fiesta of humanity at the dawn of the machine age.t Info: silentfilm.org

Off the Rails Doubtless you’ve caught his escapades on the evening news. Adam Irving now delves into Gotham City’s famed transit thief, a 50-year-old guy who lives to joy ride on NYC buses and trains. Possessing an encyclopedic knowledge of New York transit schedules, Darius McCollum is a real-life version of The Kingston Trio’s fabled transit gatecrasher, “Charlie on the MTA.” (Roxie, 6/12, 4:30 p.m.; Vogue, 6/14, 9 p.m.) Midsummer Newtown Lloyd Kramer recounts the stories behind a local teenage production of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream designed to revive spirits in a community devastated by a horrific shooting. (West Coast Premiere, Roxie, 6/11, 2:15 p.m.; 6/16, 9:15 p.m.; Vogue, 6/14, 6:45 p.m.) Kate Plays Christine Filmmaker Robert Greene probes behind the bizarre 1974 incident in which a newscaster shot herself to death on camera. The incident, which inspired the Oscar-winning movie Network, is here investigated by an actress hired by Greene, who doggedly searches out survivors of this modern-media horror story/urban legend. (West Coast Premiere, 6/9, 7 p.m.) Live Another Day In a timely entry for this political season, Didler Pietri and Bill Burke probe the details behind the 2008 collapse of the Big Three auto companies in Detroit. The story behind this messy corporate welfare bailout might inspire a little grass-roots pushback. (West Coast Premiere, Roxie, 6/5, 2:15 p.m.; Vogue, 6/12, 4:15 p.m.) Orange Sunshine The insideskinny, behind-the-scenes story of the couple who promoted American use of LSD back in the 60s. This drug fad would accidentally kick off today’s huge illegal drug traffic. The film casts light on the desire for social justice that took a crazy turn to the dark side. (West Coast Premiere, Roxie, 6/12, 9:15 p.m.; 6/15, 7 p.m.; Vogue, 6/13, 9 p.m.)t

Music>>

June 2-8, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 25

Shore leave granted at Davies Hall by Philip Campbell

he San Francisco Symphony and Chorus conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, featuring a youthful cast mostly enlisted from Broadway’s 2014 revival of Bernstein, Comden & Green’s legendary musical On the Town, generated enough energy at Davies Symphony Hall last week to power the lights at Van Ness and Grove for the rest of the season. The semi-staged production started Memorial Day weekend in great style, reminding us of everything we want to celebrate about the men and women of “the Greatest Generation” and the U.S. Armed Services. It lovingly re-created the thrilling atmosphere of Manhattan during WWII and captured all the sweet innocence and zeal of young sailors enjoying life even as they faced an uncertain future. We don’t fight wars like that anymore, and they don’t write shows like that, either, but for two joyous hours MTT and his crew immersed us in nostalgia for a time when patriotism was better warranted and the arts could lend their support to cheer an anxious nation. It has been 20 years since the SFS first performed On the Town

Stefan Cohen

Clyde Alves (Ozzie), Tony Yazbeck (Gabey), Jay Armstrong Johnson (Chip) in San Francisco Symphony and Chorus’ On the Town.

in concert. MTT’s devotion to his old mentor Leonard Bernstein has deepened over the decades, and without slighting the wonderful SFS West Side Story of 2013, his latest foray into Lenny’s fabulous Broadway legacy shows a unique and recharged understanding. The thrust of director James Darrah’s new production is sexier and more fully developed. The talented triple-threat cast could handle the inclusion of lots of dancing choreographed by Joshua Bergasse (choreography restaging by Chip Abbott), adding cinematic

fluidity to the tale of three gobs and their gals cramming a lifetime into a 24-hour pass. The design team – Emily Anne Macdonald and Cameron Jaye Mock (scenics); Peabody Southwell (witty costumes); Adam Larsen (projections) and Pablo Santiago (lighting) – evocatively framed the action for one of the best theatrical events ever staged at DSH. Narrators David Garrison (sailor Ozzie in MTT’s first go-round) and Amanda Green (Tony-nominated lyricist/ composer, performer and daughter of the show’s co-lyricist Adolph

Green) made certain sense of the frenetic plot, stepping hilariously into character when needed. The remarkable sextet of singing, dancing and acting principals (all but luscious mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard starred in the 2014 New York revival) own their parts by now. Their fresh faces and breathtaking energy amazed the enthusiastic audience as they stopped the show repeatedly with bravura turns and endearing portrayals. Tony Yazbeck as Gabey is a terrific dancer, and he breezed through two of the show’s most

memorable songs (“Lucky to Be Me” and “Lonely Town”). Alyssha Umphress as horny taxi driver Hildy (“I Can Cook, Too” and “Come up to My Place”) urged the audience to hearty hoots of appreciation. Megan Fairchild as Gabey’s elusive dream girl Ivy and Isabel Leonard as the more cerebral Claire (who still can’t help getting “Carried Away”) were both well-cast and very fetching. Clyde Alves as the lovably unrestrained Ozzie and Jay Armstrong Johnson as sensible and wide-eyed Chip sang and danced effortlessly with charming personality. In smaller but notable roles, Shuler Helmsley was funny as stuffed-shirt Pitkin, and Sheri Greenawald got big laughs as dipso voice coach Madame Dilly. It was bliss to hear the gorgeous dance episodes played by the SFS (these cats can swing) punctuated by Robin Sutherland’s flashy piano solos. By the time everyone, including MTT, orchestra and chorus, had donned sailor hats for the Finale, we might have expected some signs of fatigue, but performers and audience alike could easily have extended the leave. As Betty Comden and Adolph Green said, “New York, New York” is still “a helluva town.”t

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<< Out&About

O&A

26 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2016

Pride Art Show @ 611 Hyde Exhibit of works by local artists (Andrew Fisher, Thomasina DeMaio, Brian Moore, Matt Pipes, Morris Taylor, Elliott C Nathan & James Swainson) at the intimate gallery. Thru June 30. 611 Hyde St. www.facebook.com/611Hyde/

Fri 3

Marga Gomez’ Pound @ Spark Arts Gallery

June-iversal by Jim Provenzano

t’s merely the first week of LGBTQI Pride month, and some events are already rainbowlicious. For more, visit us online at www.ebar.com. For nightlifery, check out On the Tab in BARtab.

SF International Arts Festival @ Various Venues The annual festival of dance, theatre, music, performance art, plus workshops, panels, lectures and receptions features dozens of ensembles and performers. Venues include the Cowell Theatre, Fort Mason, Firehouse, The Chapel. $15$30. Fest passes $60 and up. Thru June 5. www.sfiaf.org

Walking Distance Dance Festival @ ODC Theater

Thu 2

Fifth annual dance concert showcases works by Christopher K. Morgan with Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu. $20-$55. 7:30pm. Thru June 4. 351 Shotwell St. www.odcdance.org

Colette Uncensored @ The Marsh

The Untamed Stage @ Hypnodrome

Ian Douglas

Lori Holt’s new solo show tells the story of the famed French novelist’s pioneering feminist life. $20-$100. Thu & Fri 8pm. Sat 5pm. Extended thru June 25. 1062 Valencia St. 2823055. www.themarsh.org

The Last Five Years @ Geary Theatre Amercian Conservatory Theatre’s production of writer-composer Jason Robert Brown’s romantic duo musical play about two 20something New Yorkers (Zak Resnick and Margo Seibert) who rush into marriage. $20-$110. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. Tue & Sun 7pm. Thru June 5. 415 Geary St. 749-2228. www.act-sf.org

New & Classic Films @ Castro Theatre June 2: SF Silent Film festival opening night, including Girls Will Be Boys program June 5, 12pm; thru June 5). June 8: Midnight Special (7pm) Sugarland Express (9:05). June 9 Prince in Under the Cherry Moon (7pm) and David Bowie in Absolute Beginners (8:55). $11-$16. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com

Queer Historical Mixtape @ GLBT History Museum Radar Productions presents Irina Contreras and Celeste Chan screen found footage of historic local queer lives. Free. 7pm. June 10, 7pm: Mighty Reels: Pride ‘Til You Drop, a collection of vintage Gay Freedom Day film footage from 19731981. Also, Dancers We Lost: Honoring Performers Lost to HIV/AIDS, thru Aug. 7. Also, Feminists to Feministas: Women of Color in Prints and Posters, thru July 4. $5. 4127 18th St. www.dancerswelost.org/exhibit/ www.glbthistory.org

The new musical by Scrumbly Koldewyn takes us back to Weimarera Berlin, with a Cabaret/Cockettes styled two-act show of songs, dances and bawdy pre-Fascist abandon, with special guest performers each night. $15. Thu-Sat 8pm. Extended thru June 11. 575 10th St. at Bryant. 377-4202. www.hypnodrome.org

For Peter Pan on her 70th Birthday @ Berkeley Rep

Fab Planet Summit @ Women’s Building

Kathleen Chalfant stars in Sarah Ruhl’s winsome drama about a family facing a father’s death and reconnecting to childhood dreams. $29-$61. Tue, Thu-Sat 8pm. Wed & Sun 7pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru July 3. 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 6472949. www.berkeleyrep.org

Out for Sustainability, the nonprofit mobilizing the LGBTQ community for environmental and social action, will host a variety of panels and workshops exploring the intersection of LGBTQ identity and sustainability. $90-$175. 3542 18th St. www.out4s. org/fab-planet

Marga Gomez @ Spark Arts Gallery

The Grace Jones Project, Dandy Lion @ MOAD

The acclaimed local comic performs a one-night preview of her new solo show, Pound, a spoof of lesbian characters in film history. $10. 8pm. 4229 18th St. at Diamond. www.margagomez.com www.sparkarts.com

Dual exhibitions of video, performance and artwork about the iconic singer and queer identity; and Dandy Lion: (Re)Articulating Black Masculine Identity. Free-$10. Both thru Sept. 18. Wed-Sat 11am-6pm. Sun 12pm-5pm. 685 Mission St. at 3rd. www.moadsf.org

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever @ New Conservatory Theatre Center The Alan Jay Lerner/Burton Lane musical gets a new gay adaptation by Peter Parnell; a gay florist, past lives and love triangles collide with comic flair. $30-$50. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun2pm. Thru June 12. 25 Van Ness Ave, lower level. 861-8972. www.nctcsf.org

Fri 3

Live in the Castro @ Jane Warner Plaza The outdoor performance series returns, with varied acts each weekend. June 4: The Klipptones play jazz. 1pm. June 5: Castro Flaggers, 5pm. June 11, Line Dancing in the Plaza, 12pm. Castro St. at Market. www.castrocbd.org

Blank Map @ Dance Mission Theater

David Straitharn stars in Joseph Dougherty’s drama about a psychiatrist in 1945 trying to find the cause of a young man’s distress after a traumatic accident. $25-$65. WedSat 7:30pm. Sun 7pm. Wed, Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru June 12. 1127 Market St. www.act-sf.org

Firooz Zahedi @ Books Inc. Laurel Village Photographer for Vanity Fair and Interview discusses his new book, My Elizabeth, a photo book and tribute to Elizabeth Taylor. 7pm. 3515 California St. 221-3666. www.booksinc.net

Red Velvet @ SF Playhouse SF Playhouse’s production of Lolita Chakrabarti’s drama about Ira Aldridge, the 1833 first British African American stage actor. $20-$120. Tue-Thu 7pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sat 3pm, Sun 2pm. Thru June 25. Kensington Park Hotel 2nd floor, 450 Post St. 6779596. www.sfplayhouse.org

Treasure Island @ Berkeley Repertory Mary Zimmerman directs the West Coast premiere of the stage adapatation of the Robert Louis Stevenson pirate classic. $57-$97. Tue- Thu-Sat 8pm. Tue 7pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru June 5. 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org

The Wild Party @ Victoria Theatre Ray of Light Theatre Company’s production of Andrew Lippa’s dark musical based on Joseph Moncure March’s epic poem about a Manhattan party gone horribly wrong. $15-$40. Thu-Sat 8pm. Thru June 11. 2961 16th St. rayoflighttheatre.com

Approaching American Abstraction @ SF Museum of Modern Art See the restaged installations and new exhibits of Pop, Abstract and classic Modern art at the renovated and visually amazing museum, with two extra floors, a new additional Howard Street entrance, café and outdoor gardens. Free-$25. 10am8pm. 151 Third St. www.sfmoma.org

Present Laughter @ Eureka Theatre Theatre Rhinoceros’ production of Noël Coward’s comedy of a man with a boyfriend and girlfriend vying for his attention. $10-$15. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sat 3pm. Thru June 18. 215 Jackson St. at Battery. (800) 838-3006. therhino.org

SF Hiking Club @ San Francisco

stevenunderhill.com · stevenunderhillphotos@gmail.com

Hormel at 20: Celebrating Our Past/ Creating Our Future, a dual exhibit of archival materials celebrating the two decades of the LGBTQ collections. Thru Aug 7. 100 Larkin St., 3rd floor, and at the Eureka Valley Branch, 1 Jose Sarria Court at 16th St. www.sfpl.org

San Francisco in Ruins @ Tenderloin Museum Exhibit of paintings by local artist Jacinto Castillo depicting old San Francisco. Tue-Sun 10am-5pm, $6-$10 ($15 includes walking tour). 398 Eddy St. 351-1912. www.tenderloinmuseum.org

Tue 7

Wed 8 From Piss to Bliss @ The Marsh

Strandbeest: The Dream Machines of Theo Jansen @ Exploratorium

The Witching Hour @ Luggage Store Gallery

New exhibit of the amazing walking sculptures that resemble giant insectlike creatures. Thru Sept. 5. Free-$25. Pier 15 at Embarcadero. Tue-Sun 10am-5pm (Thu night 6pm-10pm, 18+). 528-4893. exploratorium.edu/strandbeest

TMI Storytelling @ Center for Sex & Culture Sex Worker Confidential ; stories by Kitty Styker, Carol Queen, Gina Gold and others. 8pm. 1349 Mission St. www.sexandculture.org

Sun 5 The Future of the Past @ Legion of Honor Mummies and Medicine, thru Aug. 26. Also, World in a Book, A Princely Pursuit and other exhibits. Free/$15. Tue-Sun 9:30am-5:15pm. Lincoln Park, 100 34th Ave. 750-3600. www.famsf.org

Radar Productions fundraiser with Miss Ben McCoy, Guillermo GomezPena and Jess Balitronica, Xandra Ibarra (La Chica Boom), Aya de Leon, Chinaka Hodge, Vainhein, Maya Songbird. (Free reading precedes the event at SF Public Library, 6pm 100 Larkin St.) $20-$50. 8pm. 1007 Market St. 8pm. www.witchinghour. brownpapertickets.com

Thu 9 Black Virgins are Not for Hipsters @ The Marsh Berkeley Echo Brown’s hit solo show about desire and doubt moves to the company’s East Bay theatre. $20$100. Thu 8pm Sat 8:30pm. Extended thru June 25. 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

Mark Abramson @ Books Inc. Castro The prolific local gay author reads from and discusses his memoir sequel More Sex, Drugs & Disco, in what will be one of the last readings at the Castro district store before it closes. 7pm. 2275 Market St. www.booksinc.net

Ethnic Dance Festival @ Palace of Fine Arts Theatre 38th annual festive fascinating and diverse array of local and international ethnic dance companies perform in three programs. $33-$48. Thru June 19. 3301 Lyon St. 392-4400. www.worldartswest.org

The political comic’s updated solo show, Elect to Laugh: 2016, adds topical jokes about the bizarre election season. $15-$100. Tuesdays, 8pm. Extended thru July 26. 1062 Valencia St. 282- www.themarsh.org

Ady Lady’s solo show explores the search for happiness and higher consciousness amid daily life. $20$100. Wed 7:30pm, Sat 5pm. Thru July 9. 1062 Valencia St. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

Allen’s exhibit of photo portraits of masculine lesbians. 304 Valencia St. Thru July 3. www.megallenstudio.com www.glamarama.com

WEDDINGS, HEADSHOTS, PORTRAITS

Queerest Library Ever @ SF Public Libraries

Join GLBT hikers for a 14-mile hike that traverses multiple parks and views in the central and southern portion of SF. Meet 8:30 at Glen Park BART station. 203-7055. sfhiking.com

Butch: Portraits by Meg Allen @ Glamarama

PHOTOGRAPHY

Mon 6

Will Durst @ The Marsh

Sat 4

415 Steven Underhill 370 7152

The talented pop-rock singer performs original songs from her new album, Choreographic, inspired by her days as a ballet dancer. Anna Schulze and Lauren Crosby also play. $10. 8pm. 500 4th St. at Bryant. rachaelsage.com www.hotelutah.com

Shawn Pelofsky, the TV comic actress and gay cruise ship fave, performs at the new monthly (1st Tuesdays) gay comedy night. $16.50. 8pm. 2-drink min. 444 Battery St. www.Punchlinecomedyclub.com

Blank Map @ Dance Mission Theater

Chester Bailey @ Strand Theatre

Rachel Sage @ Hotel Utah

Ronn Vigh’s Gay Bash @ Punch Line Comedy Club

Fri 3 World premiere of Circo Zero and performers Adee Roberson, Brontez Purnell, Keyon Gaskin, Tasha Ceyan, and Wizard Apprentice, along with Stephanie Anne Johnson, Sampada Aranke, and Keith Hennessy, in a new work about race, punk, queer and feminist perspectives. $15-$25. 8pm. 3316 24th St. Thru June 12. www.circozero.org www.dancemission.com

The Amazing Acrocats @ Fort Mason

Thu 9 Mark Abramson @ Books Inc. Castro

Tuna and the Rock-cats perform in the lighthearted animal act where cats play musical instruments, sort of. $25$35. 3pm. Various dates/times thru June 19. 2 Marina Blvd. CircusCats.com www.fortmason.org

Dance>>

June 2-8, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 27

Learning the ballet fundamentals by Paul Parish

an Francisco Ballet School presented their students in a brilliant showcase that displayed increased strength, precision, finesse, and sleekly sculptured physiques. The new director, Patrick Armand, working under the lead of SFB artistic director Helgi Tomasson, aims to bring the SFB School back up to the prestigious position it had decades ago as one of the country’s two great schools. The young dancers’ clarity in moving through positions has advanced. It would be an exaggeration to say it’s like the difference created by Blu-ray recording. They’re not there yet, but that is the goal – to raise the level of production of the balletic way of moving. Arabesques are higher, clearer, the line of the foot is more elegant and unfailing, transitions are smoother and more interesting. This sounds great, but I had mixed feelings – the emphasis on professionalism was strangely demoralizing. When it was all done, they were presented as at a job fair, ready for hiring. The dances they showed were all display pieces, with not one ballet where dancing to the music was the main thing. But it certainly did not start out that way. The opening five minutes were thrilling, even the smallest children looking ready and eager to dance for us. It is tremendously exciting to see young children moving with precision and energy and clarity of mind. They know what they’re doing, and they do it. “Look Mom, no hands!” They can do it, and they love it. From the bottom up, the 100+ students in the school cut their figures, many of them from “the hard book,” and made them all look easy. Parrish Maynard’s choreography fit them like a glove, and Tchaikovsky’s brilliant

Mummies

From page 21

It would seem that the Egyptians, who made elaborate preparations for eternal life, equipping their tombs with provisions and servants to accompany them on the passage to the netherworld, have succeeded in their quest for immortality, if only because centuries after the demise of their civilization, we’re still compelled to unlock their secrets. It has been 200 years since those mummy parties in England, and new advances in 3-D imaging technology have now made it possible to penetrate some of the mysteries – and actually see inside mummies – without destroying them. A pair of these emissaries from the distant past, which belong to the Fine Arts Museums, underwent CT scans at Stanford University School of Medicine’s radiology department. The results, on view in The Future of the Past: Mummies and Medicine, a jewel-box exhibition at the Legion of Honor curated by Renee Dreyfus, are both ghoulish and awe-inspiring. At the nexus of science, archaeology, religion and ancient history, the show, displayed in a single gallery whose dim, spooky lighting suggests the interior of a tomb, includes ritual objects associated with death and burial, such as a gilded mummy mask, canopic jars that once stored internal organs like one here with the carved head of a jackal, and azure blue faience shabtis, invisibly suspended in a glass case – the tiny, sculpted figures were believed to possess magical powers that guarded against performing distasteful tasks in the afterlife. A virtual interactive dissection table allows visitors to rotate and slice

San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival Chris Hardy

San Francisco Ballet School students in John Neumeier’s Yondering.

Polonaise, the one from Evgeny Onegin, gave them reason to strut. Wei Wang, one of the stars in SF Ballet’s corps de ballet, made a little ballet that gave senior students glamorous melancholy moves to dance in the dark, with a morphedup Moonlight Sonata as mood music. They looked wonderful, but the music seemed abused. Worse happened to Cesar Franck’s Symphonic Variations, which has a hallowed place in dance history already as the score for Frederick Ashton’s 1946 masterpiece. Those who’ve seen Margot Fonteyn dance to this music cringed to see Mr. Maynard set another display piece for the advanced dancers, with some skill but no inspiration, to this deeply stirring text. The ballerina, who looked like a million bucks, smiling broadly, appeared first in a tutu we all recognized from Yuri Possokhov’s Reflections, and then returned in costume for Serenade to do some steps from that ballet in the slower section, while surrounded animations of simulated mummies, while forensic facial reconstructions fill out a picture of how these very real individuals may have looked when they were alive; a text panel nearby offers a detailed description of the complex, arcane process of mummification. Egypt’s hot, dry climate was advantageous for preservation, but ritual practices varied on the period, wealth and status of the deceased. In earlier dynasties, the bodies were swathed in cloth or skins and buried in graves on the fringes of the desert. It may seem counterintuitive, but this relatively unsophisticated approach was more effective at preventing decomposition than the intricate procedures undertaken later, towards the end of the New Kingdom, when bodies were emptied of parts, the viscera removed and stored elsewhere and the brain discarded; the heart, considered the seat of emotion and thought, stayed where it was. The body would be soaked in a dehydrating agent for over 40 days before its cavity was repacked with yards of resin-coated linen, and the entire package was anointed with oils, amulets and jewels, and sealed in a coffin. Of course, the mummies – Irethorrou, a male of high status, and Hatason, 500 years older and presumed to be a middle-class female – are the stars of show. A member of a prominent family of the Saite period (664-525 BC), Irethorrou, thought to be 45 years old at his death, was a wardrobe priest serving the fertility god Min, among other important ceremonial duties, in middle Egypt 2,600 years ago. His coffin (ca. 500 BC), which has a carved, beautifully painted face and is made from cedar, a See page 28 >>

by vixens in long red satin dresses we recognized from an otherwiseforgettable ballet from 10 years before. None of the young folk are to blame. Perhaps it was a mixture of opening-night nerves and programming choices that were determined by diplomatic considerations: two of the ballets were prepared for collaboration in festivals with other companies, Houston and Hamburg Ballets. They’re participating in the 20th anniversary celebrations for John Neumeier’s Yondering in Hamburg, a sentimental, foolish ballet tricked out in idiot detail that does not deserve celebrating. For example, in “Jeannie with the light brown hair,” every time the idea of Jeannie comes up, the boys beat themselves upside the head, beside their ears; it’s a leitmotiv, the dancers do it very well (at the top of a jump, usually) without really hurting themselves, but it doesn’t really make sense and just serves as idle decoration

Ballet Folklórico Netzahualcoyotl dancers Juan Carlos Morales Esqueda and Angela Espinoza, coming to the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival.

to a dance that is full of little lacy nothings that are very hard to do but don’t add up to a hill of beans. The piece would not offend me so if it did not conclude on a trivial dance for naive young men, Union soldiers who romp off to the Civil War to one of Foster’s few bad songs, “The rebels have to scatter, and that’s what’s the matter.” If only Neumeier had not adopted so much of Paul Taylor’s manner in the composition that you have to see the dying soldiers of Taylor’s Company B falling in slow motion in the background, like a palimpsest showing through in a painting. Company B (1991) has no idiot detail. Though Yondering has two effective dances, the duet “Molly, do you love me?” and the bisexual triangle “Beautiful Dreamer,” it is really a waste of the young dancers’ time getting all those little head wags and finishing touches into place, for a piece so trivial. Yes, a superb technique is a

prerequisite for ballet. But great teachers like Danilova never encouraged technique for its own sake. “When the time comes and you’re onstage,” she famously said, “you throw away your technique and dance.” When it comes to dancing, the whole world opens up before you in the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, which plays next month at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre. Second only to food, dance is the easiest access you’ll ever have to a culture that’s not your own. Our Ethnic Dance Festival is perhaps the finest in the world. New York certainly does not have its equal. African dance, the fountainhead of the way Americans have danced for a hundred years, is well-represented, including rich Caribbean and Brazilian variants, but also the classic dances of India, Cambodia, Bali, China, Korea, and the fairy-like dances of Scotland. Don’t miss it. sfethnicdancefestival.org.t

<< TV

28 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2016

Early onset of summer TV by Victoria A. Brownworth

June 5 - 5pm

Burton. This is a re-envisioned putting that reality on-screen is Kinte. The story carries through dicey. Will people watch? Will from slavery to the Civil War, they look away? It’s not easy with each momentous shift in viewing. But it’s A+ TV. Not to be the consciousness of the nation missed. noted. Fox’s Wayward Pines is back From the sublime to the for a second season. There have campy, this week in James Corbeen a lot of changes, but the den. We have been so in love with same creepiness is there, and this Carpool Karaoke. But Corden dystopia is so right-on for OMG likes to change it up. This past Election Summer. (We’re also week he added spontaneous rap looking forward to CBS’ Brainduets, Drop the Mic, to his shows. Dead, which premieres June 13, The new rap duets take Corden’s is even more close to our current guests and set them loose. It’s a reality, and dovetails nicely with battle of the insults until someHouse of Cards.) Wayward Pines one wins. is a small town in Idaho, which is Anne Hathaway, star of Les Misdefined by Happy Cohesion. Exerables, is a funny, queer-friendly cept, well, not. No one is allowed actor. She and Corden had at it on to disrupt anything. Big Brother the May 26 show. Corden noted, is everywhere. Even the crickets “This isn’t just for me/it’s for the are fake. whole UK/mad at your awful The world as we knew it got British accent in the movie One royally wrecked by a combinaDay.” He then went on to slam tion of world leaders like Donald her Catwoman role. Hathaway Trump and his pal Kim Jong responded, “A Catwoman diss?/ Il and people screwing with Gosh, what do I do?/I can’t make biomedical everything. There’s fun of you, James/cause no one’s another race of feral humans heard of you.” Set your DVR for Out There, and there’s a terrifyBBC/Left Bank/Yellow Bird Corden if you don’t stay up late. ing race of young neo-Nazi style youth called the First Generation Kenneth Branagh as Detective Wallander. He’s fabulously funny and very queer-friendly. We’ve seen some who have been primed to be amazing queer guests on his show. perfect in every way, except they If you missed Hillary Clinton have a violent streak and they’re part cautionary tale. on Ellen May 25, you can watch on holding the town in thrall. NBC.com. It was hilarious as ElThe aura of creepiness obtains, ‘Roots’ rock len helped Hillary choose the right but the cast has been restructured, Probably the most important VP, going through options that inin part because so many died at series of the summer is the remake cluded Joe Biden, George Clooney the end of season one, notably the of Roots, which is running conand Beyonce. Then a surprise guest lead character Agent Ethan Burke, currently on the History channel, arrived: Kate MacKinnon, the only played by Matt Dillon. He had to Lifetime and A&E. (Available on out lesbian at SNL, who plays both sacrifice himself to save others. demand and online after the first Ellen and Hillary on the show. In his place as the male lead is Jaweek in June.) Why remake a clasMeanwhile, over at Fox News, son Patric as Dr. Theo Yedlin, a drivsic? Because, as executive producer the sycophancy got realer as anchor en surgeon whose leadership skills and star of the original series LeVar Greta Van Susteren interviewed are essential to the town. The show Burton told ABC’s Nightline on the family of the presumptive does a masterful job of introducMay 27, a new generation needed a Republican presidential nominee. ing him as he is awakened from his new perspective. It was a disturbing experience, cryogenic sleep. While that happens, It’s impossible to overstate the with a lot of “he’s so wonderful” all of season one gets recapped. All importance of Roots. If you were from Trump’s children. If you the old faves from season one: Tera kid when it first aired, you were ever wondered what TV in North ence Howard (hi, I’m doing this sitting in front of your parents’ Korea looked like, probably this. It show between killings on Empire) TV watching (unless you were was static, and Van Sustern, who and Melissa Leo (the scariest nurse growing up in a white supremacist is capable of hard questions, was in history). household, but our parents were civil pretty much just nodding along. Hope Davis is now the female lead, rights workers, so Roots it was). No This normalization of Trump and Megan Fisher, the indoctrinating other TV anything except the moon the reality-TVing of the election is teacher and later principal of landing has been viewed by as many getting on our nerves. We would Wayward Pines Academy. Megan’s people. A full 85% of American have liked Van Sustern to ask about truly captivating, and one falls households, 130 million people, those pesky tax returns. Or the readily under her spell. It’s easy to watched the miniseries in 1977. It white nationalism. Or the protests at see why she was chosen for the role received 37 Emmy nominations the rallies. Or how that big blended of “raising” the First Generation. and won 9. Burton, then only 19, family works. Anything substantive. Davis is mesmerizing in the role. became a star overnight. Finally, if you want to watch how New to the cast is Beninese acIn 2016, the story of Roots is the politics used to happen, check out tor Djimon Hounsou, who plays same, but the faces are new, the Bryan Cranston as LBJ on HBO’s CJ Mitchum, an historian. A third violence is more hyperrealistic than All the Way. Cranston is pure geof the cast is comprised of the it was in 1977, and the rendering of nius, Anthony Mackie makes MarFirst Generation youth. They are what slavery was like is so visceral tin Luther King, Jr. very real, and uniformly hot, which will be added it’s difficult viewing. Like the origireminds us of how young he was inducement to watch for many nal, the four-night production of when he was assassinated. Bradley (think Glee, without the nerdiness). Roots 2016 is directed by four differWhitford gives us a different perBut what impels the viewer is the ent directors: Phillip Noyce, Mario spective on Hubert Humphrey, who way this dystopia mirrors so much Van Peebles, Thomas Carter and was an architect of many of the best of our own current socio-political Bruce Beresford. The story begins as elements of the Great Society. In this landscape. There are moments that it did in 1977 with the abduction of season of politics, this is definitely a may feel a little Hunger Games. The Kunta Kinte from his African home. must-see. So for Sturm und Drang, fear of fascism hangs heavy right Kinte is played by 26-year-old (he Drop the Mic and the occasion now as we view both the EU and looks much younger) British actor queer-sighting on the tube, you reeach successive Trump rally. WayMalachi Kirby. Kirby is superb in ally must stay tuned.t ward Pines is part entertainment, the role and wholly different from

June 8 - 8pm

ummer. It used to be a TV wasteland. No more. Which, for people like us with Scandinavian genes that go back to Lief Erikson, is great, because we stay indoors as much as possible for the hot months. We have turned our bedroom into a veritable (icy-cold) screening room for evenings of dark, engaging, filmquality TV viewing. If you missed PBS’ Masterpiece Mystery Wallander: The Final Season the past couple of weekends because like us, you were watching season finales of other shows on other networks and there’s only so much one can DVR, you can watch it online or on demand. We urge you to do so. Kenneth Branagh is stellar as the Swedish detective Kurt Wallander. The sense of place is as brooding and introspective as the character himself. But this season, the last of the four-season series, will chill like no other. It’s not the mysteries, although those are quite compelling. It’s Wallander himself, who has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s. It’s difficult to imagine a more cruel disease: the body continues to function, but the mind is increasingly lost. Branagh, who’s been nominated for five Oscars, is an extraordinary actor, and age (he’s 55) has only deepened his connection to his craft. Wallander has never been an especially likable character, but he has always been riveting. His gruffness, insularity, and failure to connect with those around him, even those he truly loves, like his adult daughter Linda, have added to his toll of interior damage. In this final season, all of that past rains down on Wallander in ways he never expected, because he’s always been self-sufficient, brave and

uncompromising. But the failure of the mind: that will impact his life lived alone with his dog by the water’s edge in the middle of effing nowhere Sweden like nothing else. Branagh gives a breathtaking performance. We see him sitting before the doctor who is delivering the horrific news. He’s motionless and emotionless. The words wash over him: he will have periods of disorientation, of loss of acuity. It’s time to rally the troops of family and friends. Except Wallander has pushed all of those away from him. So he enters into this harrowing journey alone. There is a scene, later, where his daughter comes out to see him. Throughout much of this episode Wallander has been doing what he does best, investigating a series of crimes. But when Linda arrives, the dog is distressed and her father is nowhere to be found. She goes outside to discover him at the top of the hillock nearby, thrashing about like a madman of yore, tearing at his clothes as he strips them off. He’s fighting something: there’s a look of sheer terror on his face, he’s flailing and stumbling, caught up in his clothes in a way pitiful to see. Linda stands there, calling to him. We can see she’s not just unsure of what to do, she can’t believe what she’s seeing. She runs to him, and he doesn’t recognize her. He tries to hit her, but she grabs hold of him and tells him who she is. It’s a terrifying scene, one of the most brilliant of Branagh’s long career as actor, director, screenwriter. One sees the whole of his Shakespearean oeuvre in this one scene where he is Hamlet, Lear and Macbeth all at once. Afflictions of the body are often the stuff of large and small screen. Afflictions of the mind, not so much. Dementia is something everyone fears as they get older, but no one thinks will befall them. So

CHANTICLEER AN ORCHESTRA OF VOICES PRESENTS

June 3 - 8pm

First Congregational Church, Berkeley

June 4 - 8pm

Mission Dolores, San Francisco St. Francis Church, Sacramento St. Stephen’s Church, Belvedere

June 10 - 8pm

Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph, San Jose

TICKETS: www.chanticleer.org or 415-392-4400

Mummies

From page 27

valuable commodity at the time, is in remarkable condition, as is the well-preserved mummy that resides within. The box is propped upon to enable the viewing of the body; one can detect the contours of the skull underneath bandages that somehow have survived intact. The rotating scan reveals his pelvis was filled with several bags containing unknown substances, and that portions of his internal organs were wrapped after being mummified and placed back inside the body. Embalmers removed his brain through a nasal passage, and amulets and scarabs, instilling magic related to

resurrection, were placed at strategic points. The mummy known as Hatason (not her real name) came from the West Bank of the Nile and was a petite woman of about 50 or 60 when she died sometime during early Dynasty 22 (ca. 960-880 BC). Her damaged mummy and her simple wood coffin, not as ornate as Irethorrou’s, betray the ravages of their journey through time. Though her skeleton is broken, her brain is still in place, as was the practice of her era, and she evidently suffered severe gum disease, a malady we share with the Egyptians. Also noteworthy is a towering, anthropoid or human-shaped inner coffin (380-340 BC) inscribed with

a spell from the Book of the Dead to ensure safe passage to the other side. But the most spectacular object is quite small, an exquisite carving of Seneb, the royal scribe (1938-1850 BC), who seems to have stepped out of the pages of history. Sculpted so that the wood grain heightened the vertical lines of the body and painted a dark earthy brown, it’s a portrait of a reed-slim, acetic man with a shaved head, fine facial features and long slender arms, a narrow white kilt tucked at his waist. Here’s hoping we can look forward to larger-scale antiquities exhibitions from Dreyfus, an inspiring scholar and invaluable resource in this or any community. (Through Aug. 26.)t

Film>>

June 2-8, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 29

Starmaking across the World Wide Web by David Lamble

new Israeli film, Presenting Princess Shaw (opening Friday in Bay Area theaters), is both an entertaining 84 minutes of screen time and a fascinating, at times perplexing example of how the World Wide Web, specifically YouTube, has radically altered the way we interact. Prior to the invention of the Web, it’s highly unlikely that a lesbian African American aspiring singer, who makes her living as an elder care nurse in New Orleans,

would ever have crossed paths with a computer-savvy, bushy-bearded Israeli composer. But Samantha Montgomery and Kutiman do meet, and ultimately collaborate in a real-life story that has fairy-tale overtones laced with an underlining sadness. There is, of course, the T question, the nagging question that despite her stellar human qualities and her background as a victim of family sexual abuse, does Samantha Montgomery possess a gigantic talent, either as a writer

or singer-musician? From what we observe in Presenting Princess Shaw, Montgomery is no Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Ross or even a Justin Bieber-caliber performing artist. Is the phenomenon on display here just another American Idol moment? Have we, as a musicconsuming public, permanently gone so gaga over this instant’s fad that we’ve abandoned all standards and questions of talent and taste? To their credit, director Ido Haar See page 30 >>

Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

Samantha Montgomery and Kutiman in director Ido Haar’s Presenting Princess Shaw.

Shaken up in Ecuador a cliche is its sensitive viewpoint through the eyes of the androgynous Juan Arregui. Juampi’s emotional development is reflected in those eyes. There are two key scenes. The first is Juampi and Juano sunbathing on rocks after they have jumped into a waterfall. The look of longing on Juampi’s face as he stares with desire at the sleeping Juano is a gaze familiar to every gay person. Secondly, the two teens are on the roof of Juampi’s apartment building looking at the

Quito skyline with their heads upside-down on the ledge. Juampi’s voiceover reflects, “Is it we who are upside-down, or the city?” He writes in his notebook, “When I’m with him, everything seems fine. Nothing else matters, and the city no longer is upside-down.” Though heavy-laden. the metaphor has resonance. While the sexual tension does build, the finale is a bit disappointing. Predictably, Juampi accepts himself, more or less coming out

to La Flaca (a budding fag hag), yet liberating isn’t the first word that jumps to mind. Still, there is a disarming tenderness here. We care more about Juampi than the script should warrant, really due to Arregui. Paredes isn’t as effective and almost seems dispensable, their relationship creating little dramatic conflict. This movie works best as a mood piece, but don’t be surprised if you find yourself rooting for Juampi. For him, real freedom is just beginning.t

“BITTERSWEET . . . TENDER AND AFFECTING.” “STUNNING!”

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he introduction to writerdirector Diego Araujo’s film Holiday from Ecuador, just released on DVD by TLA, tantalizes us with the suggestion that in a world turned upside-down, new paths of exploration suddenly open. Certainly for the main character, 16-year-old upper-class (meaning half white European ancestry) Juan Pablo (Juan Manuel Arregui), nicknamed Juampi, his world is shaken up during the summer of 1999. Leaving his apartment in the capital Quito behind and accompanying his mother to his Uncle Jorge’s luxurious Andean hacienda during the Carnival holiday, he will remain there while his mother visits America. His uncle is embroiled in the banking corruption scandal which led to Ecuador’s financial meltdown and the family’s ruin. He doesn’t like his cousins, especially the obnoxious Jorgito, who taunts him for being “sensitive” and calls him a fag. Juampi is a budding poet, always writing down his thoughts, mostly about loneliness, in his notebook. He connects with La Flaca, a friend of his cousin Maribel, providing cover for her so she can flee the suffocating environment and spend time with her boyfriend. Wanting to escape his uncle and the menacing Jorgito, he finds an unusual refuge in Juano (Diego Andres Paredes), who, with his cousin Byron, is stealing partiers’ hubcaps. Juampi helps Juano escape a beating from his uncle and staff (given to Byron in a graphic scene), which initiates an unlikely friendship. Juano is a lower-class indigenous Quecha, lives in a pueblo with his poor godfather, wears a black leather jacket, rides a motorbike, and loves heavy metal music. Juampi is immediately smitten with Juano. He’s on a journey of self-discovery as he comes to terms with his gay sexuality. The movie was shown at Frameline two years ago to middling success. It’s hardly groundbreaking, though a gay film from the

lias rio E

conservative Catholic Ecuador is noteworthy, even if the theme (will Juampi’s feelings be returned by Juano?) is a bit tiresome. Araujo attempts parallels between Juampi’s coming of age and the country’s banking crisis, but isn’t helped by vague political commentary. Although class distinctions are noted, they’re underused in the plot, as is the underground Goth music scene, which could have given Holiday a needed jolt of energy. What saves the film from being

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30 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2016

Triumph of memory by Jason Victor Serinus

his week’s deeply moving world premiere of gay composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer’s newly reworked two-act opera Out of Darkness was a must-see. Sponsored by Music of Remembrance, the remarkable Seattle-based organization that has devoted 18 years to presenting and commissioning Holocaust-based music, Out of Darkness’ beautifully poetic depiction of oppression against Jews, homosexuals, and others played San Francisco’s Conservatory of Music on May 25 & 26, just three days after its Seattle world premiere. The premiere’s timing seems prescient. It arrives at a time when, given the legislative acts in North Carolina and Mississippi, LGBT rights are on everyone’s mind. It also surfaces a week after Libertarian VP hopeful Bill Weld, former Gov. of Massachusetts, equated Donald Trump’s promise to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants from the U.S. to the 1938 Nazi Kirstallnacht destruction of Jewish synagogues and murder of Jews. As the opera makes clear, Weld’s understanding is right on. Out of Darkness tells the stories of two Holocaust survivors, Krystyna Zywulska and Manfred Lewin. Zywulska’s lyrics to popular songs and disguise as a non-Jewish Pole spared her death in Auschwitz. Lewin, who was 19 when he and his family were ripped from Lewin’s lover, Gad Beck, was murdered in Auschwitz. Based on Zywulska’s 1946 book I Survived Auschwitz and subsequent confessional interviews in Barbara Engleking’s Holocaust and Memory,

Courtesy Music of Remembrance

Robert Orth and Michael Mayes in composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer’s two-act opera Out of Darkness.

as well as on Beck’s appearance in Robert Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s documentary film Paragraph 175, Out of Darkness weaves their tales into an opera whose mixture of pathos and humor goes straight to the heart. The work is the culmination of Heggie and Scheer’s decade-long devotion to creating music on Holocaust themes. It is also a new distillation of the artistic duo’s three previous one-act operas: Another Sunrise, Farewell, Auschwitz, and For a Look or a Touch. Although that one-act trio was recorded and released as Out of Darkness in 2014 by Naxos, this is a new retelling in a

two-act format. Seen at the May 22 Seattle premiere in Benaroya Hall’s Nordstrom Recital Hall, Out of Darkness came across as one of Heggie and Scheer’s finer efforts. Especially heart-rending are the tender scenes between Manfred (Michael Mayes) and Gad (Robert Orth), which contrast with Gad’s subsequent attempts to numb his pain through aging and solitude. Erich Parce’s direction and David Murakami’s projections are also deeply affecting, bringing the realities of Auschwitz-Birkenau home without ever hitting us over the head. Save for a Broadway-like musical passage in the opera’s first half,

Carmen

Princess Shaw

From page 29

and the Israeli team responsible for Presenting Princess Shaw focus more on their miraculous thirdact highlight, when Montgomery gets her Tel Aviv TV showcase. Ophir Kutiel, known as Kutiman, who originally was secretly taping different YouTube wannabe

the music and story are presented in a manner that transforms the unbearable into a powerful evening of revelation and remembrance. The cast is one that any opera house, from Seattle and San Francisco to New York’s Met, would hunger for. Soprano Caitlin Lynch (Krystyna Zywulska), whose radiant high range floods the stage with beauty, has in fact sung on all three main stages, and seems destined for greatness. The more pungent and searing soprano of Ava Pine (Krysia), who plays the young Zywulska in Auschwitz, is allied with a perfect physical depiction of suffering that speaks to ideal casting. Equally typecast are the Bay Area’s beloved Catherine Cook (Zosha), who plays Krysia’s friend in Auschwitz with the same greatness that she brings to character roles; handsome baritone

called him “Eurotrash,” he gets his revenge filling a virtually bare stage with an entire company of euro trash: soldiers, gypsies and their pathetic camp followers. This is a world dominated by machismo: dangerous, hypersexual and seductive. If there is no Spanish equivalent for Latin women, there should be for this Carmen. Opportunistic, predatory and more than willing to use her body to get what she wants, she refuses to be victimized by the oppressive society roughly trying to tame her.

There is no point cataloguing the many instances of R-rated stage business. There is a lot of it, and it does run the gamut from disturbing to titillating, but I would still be surprised if anyone goes away without having faced their preconceptions. That is where I firmly side with Bieito and his self-professed “honesty.” He takes you by the shoulders and forces a confrontation with the old and with the new. There is no doubt of his love for the music; he just wants you to get involved. That is the juncture where the

current production both hits and misses. The re-creation of the staging is expert, thanks to revival director Joan Anton Rechi making his SFO debut, and it even shows a little “punching up” here and there. I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but opening night actually displayed more male toplessness than the original. But then, what’s to complain? We can take it, and all those sweating and grunting extras only underscore the high levels of testosterone circling Carmen and her girlfriends Frasquita and Mercedes. If all of the principal cast members had fully committed to the raw vitality of the concept, this would have been an undisputed win for Bieito’s vision. Conductor Carlo Montanaro, also making his SFO debut, set a much too careful tone with his finesse and measured tempos. More urgency might have risked some mistakes, but the shenanigans onstage would have masked them. There are two casts for some of the roles and numerous SFO debuts. Smaller parts were uniformly wellplayed by current Adler Fellows Edward Nelson as Morales (nice tats, dude), Brad Walker as Zuniga, and Amina Edris as Frasquita. Former Adler Fellow Renee Rapier was convincing, too, as Mercedes. Soprano Ellie Dehn is a veteran at SFO, and her portrayal of Micaela as Carmen’s determined rival for Don Jose’s love is perfectly in step with Bieito’s revisionism. She is less a timid village girl than a selfiesnapping adventuress. Baritone Zachary Nelson (SFO

musicians, steps up and arranges Montgomery’s songbook as if he were a latter-day Nelson Riddle in service of a 21st-century Sinatra. The Israeli musicians and audiences rise to the occasion and make Montgomery’s stab at stardom truly special. Through it all Montgomery does herself proud both as a performer and as a companion to her equally

charming African American female lover. The film works as human entertainment and bootstrap inspiration. Particularly moving are the yelps of joy from Montgomery’s hyper-supportive mom. A couple of decades back, I was proud when AIDS activist Michael Callen put a truly magnificent vocal instrument to the service of the very daunting early struggle against

HIV/AIDS. I was also impressed when a Southern-born, boyishly handsome schoolteacher grabbed the national stage, came out of the closet, and distinguished himself as an out American Idol. Where does Samantha Montgomery stand in the shadow of such LGBTQ heavyweights? See the movie for yourself, and then join the ongoing discussion, where else but on the World

From page 21

establishment with deconstructions of the classics that frequently include full-frontal nudity, sleazy sex and graphic violence, director Bieito remains controversial. He has been called everything from genius to the Quentin Tarantino of opera, but the truth lies somewhere in-between all the hype, praise and gasps of horror. Amusing to note that at the beginning of his tenure as General Director, David Gockley was quoted in an interview calming the fears of the Bay Area Reporter’s late opera critic Stephanie von Buchau and promising, “We won’t be having Mr. Bieito or his ilk in San Francisco.” Well, that was then, and this is now. The Catalan director’s track record has proved mightily impressive since, and even his detractors admit “opera’s shock jock” has a masterful way of forcing us to take a new look at repertoire gone stale with conservative tradition. A little outrage has a big way of generating excitement, too. In the brave new world of social media, it might even spell success at the box office. Seeing a beautiful young male dancer languidly making matador passes in the buff on the big screen at AT&T should definitely signal a change in attitude to an art-form all-too-often considered stuffy and out-of-touch. Updating the action to modern-day Ceuta, an autonomous Spanish city in North Africa, Bieito’s Carmen is typically bare to the bone and defiant. If critics have

Out of Darkness composer Jake Heggie.

Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera

Ellie Dehn (Micaela) and Edward Nelson (Morales) in San Francisco Opera’s Carmen.

Mayes, who follows his sometimes shirtless role in Heggie’s Great Scott with a far more touching reprise that includes some stunning, fullvoiced exclamations of passion; and Orth, whose heart-rending acting is as moving as was his singing in the world premiere of Stewart Wallace’s opera Harvey Milk two decades ago. Indeed, the manner in which this small cast melded flawlessly with conductor Joseph Mechavich’s sixperson ensemble and Parce’s direction made the fact that everything came together in just five days of rehearsals near-unbelievable. The performance was a triumph, not just of dedication and will, but also of artistic coherence. A few weeks ago, after I visited the Dachau concentration camp outside Munich, many people told me that they would never have the courage to do such a thing. One lovely German woman even asked me if I was Jewish (I am) as though the systematic massacre of at least 6 million Jews (as well thousands upon thousands of my gay brothers, over 2,000 Catholic priests, and untold others) would explain why I would go. The answer is far simpler. I went because I am a human being. Suffering rooted in oppression is intolerable. Only by remaining awake to what is going on can we begin to empower ourselves to change things. Out of Darkness is not a polemic. Rather than assaulting you, it presents a deeply moving and occasionally delightful musical moment in time with soul-touching resonance. As deserving of a large audience as Heggie and McNally’s Dead Man Walking and Heggie and Scheer’s Moby-Dick, it calls out to be heard.t debut) as the toreador Escamillo is less successful at pitching his character. His jaded playboy, looking to make his name with offers of money and flashy co-celebrity, is well-sung but a little too nice. Tenor Brian Jagde is making a meal of operatic cowards at SFO. We still haven’t forgotten his excellent Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, and his current assignment singing Don Jose in all but one performance of the run is certainly testing his strength in the vocal department. No worry, he is up to the task, and his “Flower Song” proved it. As an actor, his handsome face and brawny physique can explain Carmen’s attraction to a hapless mama’s boy, but we wish he had shown more anger and less anguish throughout the drama. Mezzo-soprano Irene Roberts from Sacramento, CA, also looks perfect in the title role, but her diminutive (albeit sexy) stature can’t help make us feel more protective than fascinated by her focused personification. She sings with a wonderfully produced tone that fills the vast house, but she is just a bit smaller and softer than her co-stars. Under any other circumstances, we would consider her Carmen a triumph. The spike heels help, but Roberts’ physical stature inadvertently casts her back into victim mold, when the direction wants us to see her as the stubborn master of her fate.t

Wide Web, where Montgomery got her chance. And finally, make what you will of the film’s closing scene, of Montgomery returning to her hospital scrubs. Samantha Montgomery has an album in the works; fans of LGBTQ music should check out Michael Callen’s 1993 Legacy double-album, and Clay Aiken’s RCA CD Clay Aiken: A Thousand Different Ways.t

Carmen continues through Sun. July 3, at the War Memorial Opera House. Info: sfopera.com.

On the Town

Karrnal Knowledge

NIGHTLIFE

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PERSONALS Vol. 46 • No. 22 • June 2-8, 2016

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Broadway’s

Nick Adams

His take on social media and social causes by Jim Gladstone

Nick Adams

an Franciscans can help blow out the candles on the beefcake when Adams celebrates his 33rd birthday (June 3) on Friday and Saturday at Feinstein’s at the Nikko. See page 32 >>

On the Tab June 2-9

Grab a coffee, coffee take a survey,

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Nick Adams singing at a recent cabaret show.

Nick Adams

From page 31

Adams, who originated the role of drag queen Felicia Jollygoodfellow in the Broadway production of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, was a pioneer among the new generation of music theater performers who recognize their stage extends far beyond the midtown marquees. “Social media has made the relationship between audiences and stage actors an open dialogue,” says Adams, who maintains an active presence on Flickr, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook as well as a personal web site. Those lips. Those eyes. That pectoral cleavage. They’re all on ample display in Broadway actor Nick Adams’ online accounts. “It’s so much more than that two-minute conversation that used to happen at the stage door,” he explained in a recent phone conversation. “It’s an open dialogue. You can really connect with people.”

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Nick Adams in the Broadway production of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

“When I was coming up in the ensemble of shows,” recalls Adams, who was a chorus member and understudy in his earliest Broadway gigs, “I had a publicist and my colleagues thought it was crazy. Now, every member of every cast has thousands of followers. You have to put yourself out there.” “It’s been great for me,” enthuses Adams who won his plum Priscilla lead after prancing the boards another drag role: Angelique in the Kelsey Grammer-led revival of La Cage Aux Folles. “When I was auditioning for Priscilla, there was a Facebook petition to hire me run by

my fans. One of the producers came up to me at an event and showed it to me.” “Having followers is a factor now,” he said. “It has an effect, because everyone you connect with on social media is potentially going to buy a ticket and help spread word of mouth. The publicists for every show encourage the cast to tweet and get engaged with fans.” Those abs. Those guns. That heart of gold. Lest Adams come across as oversinging his Song of My Selfie, he’s more than due to take a bow for persistently leveraging his social media presence to support gay causes. “I’ve raised a lot of money for AIDS charities through my Instagram and Twitter accounts. There are a lot of generous people out there, and this is the easiest way to get their attention.” Adams was born in 1983 and grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania and did community theater from the age of 9, performing in more than 90 local shows. He says that as a

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June 2-8, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 33

Nick Adams (in bunny ears and carrot G-string) at a recent underwear-themed cabaret benefit.

Nick adams (center) strips down in a recent Broadway Bares show.

still-closeted teenager in a small city, “AIDS didn’t seem like a reality. We talked about it in health class, but it seemed like something that could never enter my realm.” After moving to Boston to attend Conservatory and earn his BFA, recalls Adams, “I met so many people in the professional theater community who had really been impacted by the epidemic. I think my generation and young people today don’t grasp the magnitude of what happened at all. And I don’t think I did either, until I met HIV-positive people and people who had experienced the deaths of their loved ones. It’s become a passion for me. There has to be an ongoing conversation about AIDS.” Adams’ consciousness of AIDS came in tandem with his own coming out. “I came out and had my first relationship when I was in college,” he said. “My family has been totally supportive. But I’m so inspired by LGBT youth now. Its crazy to me that they can be that self-aware. I was a really shy kid. Theater was a way to express myself and to have a community around me.” Between his work on behalf of charities supporting AIDS and youth, Adams, whose boyfriend Kyle Brown dances in An American In Paris, has become something of an ambassador for gay Broadway. “I host every gay event I can,” he said. “It feels like a responsibility. I have so much fun with it, too. I just did the AIDS Walk kick-off. I got to sing with the New York and Boston Gay Men’s Choruses. I do the Broadway Bares and Broadway Backwards benefits.” Adams, who has never performed in San Francisco prior to this weekend’s performances, says audiences should expect a mix of pop songs and numbers from shows he’s performed in. “I’ll definitely do ‘It Only Takes A Moment’ from Hello Dolly! and ‘It’s Today’ from Mame. You’ll find out why they have so much significance to me and learn about my connection to Carol Channing.” And if you come to his birthday party, he’ll be more than happy to be your Facebook friend.t Nick Adams performs at Feinstein’s at the Nikko June 10 (8pm) and 11 (7pm). $45-$65. $20 food/drink min. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www. ticketfly.com http://nickadams.biz/

Nick Adams

Nick Adams and Emma Hunton in the Broadway Sacramento presentation of Wicked at the Sacramento Community Center Theater in 2014.

<< On the Tab

34 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2016

On the Tab

Sat 4

From page 31

La Bota Loca @ Club 21, Oakland

Thu 2

Latin, hip hop and Electro music night. $5-$25. 9pm-4am. 2111 Franklin St., Oakland. www.club21oakland.com

Bulge @ Powerhouse Grace Towers hosts the fun sexy night. $100 cash prize for best bulge. $5-$10 benefits various local nonprofits. 10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Club Rimshot @ Club BNB, Oakland The weekly hip hop and R&B night. 8-$15. 9pm to 4am. 2120 Broadway. (510) 759-7340. www.club-bnb.com

Mary Go Round @ Lookout Mercedez Munro and Holotta Tymes’ weekly drag show. $5. 10:30pm show. DJ Philip Grasso. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

The Monster Show @ The Edge The weekly drag show with DJ MC2, themed nights, gogo guys and hilarious fun. $5. 9pm-2am. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

Nightlife @ California Academy of Sciences Themed event nights at the fascinating nature museum, with DJed dancing, cocktails, fish, frogs, food and fun. June 2: Wine Nightlife, with tastings, performances by SynthTigers and The Bedazzlers. June 9: Twilight Zone Nightlife with DJ Mark Gorney, artist Andrew Zuckerman and marine magic. $10-$12. 6pm-10pm, 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. 379-8000. www.calacademy.org

Sex and the City Live @ Oasis D’Arcy Drollinger and crew perform new episodes of the HBO comedy about four women in Manhattan. $25 and up. 2-drink min. Thu Sat Thru July 2 (some nights off). 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Thursday Night Live @ SF Eagle Music night with local and touring bands. $8. 9:30pm. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

Tubesteak Connection @ Aunt Charlie’s Lounge Disco guru DJ Bus Station John spins grooves at the intimate retro music night. $5. No cell phones on the dance floor, please! 10pm-2am. 133 Turk St. at Taylor. auntcharlieslounge.com

Fri 3 Ain’t Mama’s Drag @ Balancoire

Sat 4

Go Bang! @ The Stud

Tobirus Mozelle at Go Bang! @ The Stud

Ladies of San Francisco @ Club OMG Galilea hosts the weekly “old school drag show” with guest performers and DJ Jack Rojo. $4. 9pm-2am. 43 6th St. www.clubOMGsf.com

Latin Explosion @ Club 21, Oakland Enjoy Latin, hip hop and electro, plus hot gogos galore, and a big dance floor. April 29: Violeta and Jacqueline La Gata. $10-$20. 9pm-3am. 2111 Franklin St., Oakland. www.club21oakland.com

Manimal @ Beaux Gogo-tastic dance night starts off your weekend. $5. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Midnight Show @ Divas Weekly drag shows at the last transgender-friendly bar in the Polk; with hosts Victoria Secret, Alexis Miranda and several performers. Also Saturdays. $10. 11pm. 1081 Polk St. www.divassf.com

Point Break Live @ DNA Lounge Dude! The bro-tastic live version of the surfer-bank robber movie, with suspended surfers and a lucky audience member picked to play the lead, concludes its splashtastic run. $20-$50. 7:30pm and 11pm. 375 11th St. www.dnalounge.com

Polyglamorous @ Oasis The groovy cruisy monthly dance night features guest DJ Carlos Souffront (with a vinyl house set), plus residents Mark O’Brien, and Trevor Pearson and Steve Sherwood in The Fez Room. $7$10. 9:30pm-2am. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Weekly drag queen and drag king show hosted by Cruzin d’Loo. 8pm10pm. No cover. 2565 Mission St. www.balancoiresf.com

Friday Nights @ Oakland Museum The family-friendly night events returns, with exhibit tours, dancing, food, drinks, and live music. $7-$15. 5pm-9pm. 1000 Oak St. www.museumca.org

Gogo Fridays @ Toad Hall Hot dancers grind it at the Castro bar with a dance floor and patio. 4146 18th St. www.toadhallbar.com

Judy Kuhn @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko The Tony nominee and Fun Home Broadway star performs her new solo show. $45-$65. 8pm. June 4 at 7pm. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.hotelnikkosf.com/ feinsteins.aspx

DJ Bus Station John guest-spins (with residents Carnita and Brown Amy) at the popular funk patio party; free BBQ. $10. 2pm-8pm. 3158 Mission St. www.elriosf.com Heklina’s weekly drag show night with different themes, always outrageously hilarious. June 4: a memorial tribute to Nikki Star, who passed away in January. Proceeds go to Maitri Hospice. $15-$25. 10pm-2am. 298 11th St. at Folsom. 795-3180. www.sfoasis.com

Saturgay @ Qbar Stanley Frank spins house dance remixes at the intimate Castro dance bar. $3. 9pm-2am (weekly beer bust 2pm-9pm). 456 Castro St. QbarSF.com

Ships in the Night @ The New Parish, Oakland Hip hop and booty james for women and queer folk. $5. 9pm-2am. 743 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. www.thenewparish.com

Soul Delicious @ Lookout Brunch, booze, sass and grooves, with the Mom DJs, Motown sounds, and soul food. 11am-4pm. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

Ziggurat @ Oakland Museum VIP dinner and vibrant after-party fundraiser for the museum, including performance by SambaFunk, DJJ. Espinosa, exhibit viewings, cocktails and food. 6pm (dinner, cocktails) 9pm dance party. $125-$1,000. 1000 Oak St., Oakland. www.museumca.org

Queerdo Pride, an afternoon patio dance party with DJ Justime, plus guests Timothy Parker, Marcus Jerard, and Siobhan Aluvalot, plus a wild performance by Jupitor Knows! $ 3pm-8pm. 1743 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. www.thenewparish.com

Sat 4

Samba Funk performs at Ziggurat @ Oakland Museum

Radiohead Kid A Tribute @ The Independent Seven bands with varying styles play unique versions from Radiohead’s hit album in a special 3-night encore. $30-$35. 8pm. Also June 4 & 5. 628 Divisadero St. www.apeconcerts.com

Red Hots Burlesque @ Beatbox The saucy women’s burlesque show hosted by Dottie Lux. May 20 is a Dolly Parton tribute night. $10. 7pm10pm. 314 11th St. www.beatboxsf. com Also Sunday brunch shows (see Sun.) www.redhotsburlesque.com

Some Thing @ The Stud Mica Sigourney and pals’ weekly offbeat drag performance night. $7. 10pm-3am. 399 9th St. studsf.com

Pollo del Mar’s weekly drag show takes on different themes with a comic edge. 8:30-11:30pm. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Jock @ The Lookout Enjoy the weekly jock-ular fun, with DJed dance music at sports team fundraisers. 12pm-1am. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

Rachel Sage @ Hotel Utah The talented pop-rock singer performs original songs from her new album, Choreographic, inspired by her days as a ballet dancer. Anna Schulze and Lauren Crosby also play. $10. 8pm. 500 4th St. at Bryant. www.rachaelsage.com www.hotelutah.com

Rockstars Fundraiser @ The Edge Softball studs serve it up at the $10 beer bust. 4pm-7pm. 4149 18th St. www.edgesf.com

Beer Bust @ SF Eagle The classic leather bar’s most popular Sunday daytime event in town draws the menfolk. Beer bust donations benefit local nonprofits. 3pm-6pm. Now also on Saturdays. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

Big Top @ Beaux The fun Castro nightclub, with hot local DJs and sexy gogo guys and gals. $5. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.Beauxsf.com

Sing along at the popular musical theatre night; also Wednesdays. 7pm2am. 2 for 1 cocktail, 5pm-closing. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. edgesf.com

No No Bingo @ Virgil’s Sea Room Mica Sigourney and Tom Temprano cohost the wacky weekly game night at the cool Mission bar. 8pm. 3152 Mission St. www.virgilssf.com

Piano Bar 101 @ Martuni’s Sing-along night with talented locals, and charming accompanist Joe Wicht. 9pm. 4 Valencia St. at Market. www.dragatmartunis.com

A Toast to Prince @ Slim’s Purple Pam (DJ Pam the Funkstress), plus band EQ and Friends play Prince dance classics; costume contest, too. $10 ($35 with dinner). 8pm. 333 11th St. www.slimspresents.com

Underwear Night @ 440

Tue 7 Sun 5 Afternoon Delight @ The New Parish, Oakland

Bandit @ Slate Bar New weekly queer event with resident DJ Justime; electro, soul, funk; cocktails and food available. $3. 2925 16th St. www.facebook.com/ BanditPartySF www.slate-sf.com

Gaymer Night @ Eagle

Sunday’s a Drag @ Starlight Room Donna Sachet hosts the weekly fabulous brunch and drag show, now celebrating its tenth anniversary. $45. 11am, show at noon; 1:30pm, show at 2:30pm. 450 Powell St. in Union Square. 395-8595. www.starlightroomsf.com

Gay gaming fun on the bar’s big screen TVs. Have a nerdgasm and a beer with your pals. 8pm. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

Hella Saucy @ Q Bar Queer dance party at the stylish intimate bar. 9pm-2am. 456 Castro St. www.QbarSF.com

Sundance Saloon @ Space 550 Weekly two-stepping and line-dancing fun, with lessons and DJed music (not just country). 5pm-10:30pm. Also Thursdays. 550 Barneveld Ave. www.sundancesaloon.org

Sunsation Sundays @ Oasis Tea dance on the roof with DJs Brian and Scott Shepard. $7. 3pm-9pm. 298 11th St. at Folsom. 795-3180. www.sfoasis.com

Sun 5 Rachel Sage @ Hotel Utah

Mon 6

High Fantasy @ Aunt Charlie’s Lounge

Drag Mondays @ The Cafe

Weekly drag and variety show, with live acts and lip-synching divas, plus DJed grooves. $5. Shows at 10:30pm & 12am. 133 Turk St. at Taylor. www.auntcharlieslounge.com

Mahlae Balenciaga and DJ Kidd Sysko’s weekly drag and dance night. 9pm-1am. 2369 Market St. cafesf.com

Gaymer Meetup @ Brewcade The weekly LGBT video game enthusiast night includes big-screen games and signature beers, with a new remodeled layout, including an outdoor patio. No cover. 7pm-11pm. 2200 Market St. www.brewcadesf.com

Mahogany Mondays @ Midnight Sun Honey Mahogany’s weekly drag and musical talent show starts around 10pm. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Domingo De Escandal @ Club OMG Weekly Latin night with drag shows hosted by Vicky Jimenez and DJ Luis. 7pm-2am. 43 6th St. clubomgsf.com

Hysteria @ Martuni’s Irene Tu and Jessica Sele cohost the comedy open mic night for women and queers. No cover. 6pm-8:30pm. 4 Valencia St.

Naked Night @ Nob Hill Theatre Strip down as the strippers also take it all off. $20. 9pm. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 397-6758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

Ronn Vigh’s Gay Bash @ Punch Line Comedy Club Shawn Pelofsky, the TV comic actress and gay cruise ship fave, performs at the new monthly (1st Tuesdays) gay comedy night. $16.50. 8pm. 2-drink min. 444 Battery St. www.Punchlinecomedyclub.com

Trivia Night @ Hi Tops Play the trivia game at the popular new sports bar. 9pm. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Femme, Xtravaganza @ Balancoire Weekly live music shows with various acts, along with brunch, Mimosas, champagne and more, at the stylish nightclub and restaurant; shows at 12:30pm, 1:30pm and 2:45pm. After that, T-Dance drag shows at 7pm, 10pm and 11pm. 2565 Mission St. at 21st. 920-0577. balancoiresf.com

Monday Musicals @ The Edge

Strip down to your skivvies at the popular men’s night. 9pm-2am. 440 Castro St. 621-8732. the440.com

Mother @ Oasis

Afternoon Delight @ The New Parish, Oakland

Valerie Branch’s weekly comedy night, where she embodies her faux queen character Pia Messing for some offbeat wit, along with guest performers. $5. 8pm-10pm. 2565 Mission St. www.balancoiresf.com

Season 12 of the fun art parties returns, with the Oscar de la Renta exhibit, live music and drinks. 5:30pm-9pm. 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, deyoung.famsf.org

Hard French @ El Rio

Sun 5

Comedy Noir @ Balancoire

Friday Nights @ de Young Museum

The fun disco dance night with residents Steve Fabus, Sergio Fedasz and Prince Wolf features guest DJs Futurewife, Chakaquan, Tobirus Mozelle singing live. $10 (free before 10pm). 9pm-3am. 399 9th St. at Harrison. www.studsf.com

GlamaZone @ The Cafe

Tue 7

Shawn Pelofsky at Ronn Vigh’s Gay Bash @ Punch Line Comedy Club

Una Noche @ Club BnB, Oakland Vicky Jimenez’ drag show and contest; Latin music all night. 9pm-2am. 2120 Broadway. (510) 759-7340. www.club-bnb.com

See page 38 >>

Read more online at www.ebar.com

June 2-8, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 35

Pet projects by Donna Sachet

utting on the Ritz: Cirque de L’Arc last Tuesday night at Oasis raised funds for The Arc San Francisco, which provides services and life training for adults with physical and mental developmental disabilities. The entire evening, co-chaired by Heklina, Bevan Dufty, and this columnist, honored long-time Director of Facilities and Operations Kitty Glamour who recently retired and moved to Palm Springs. It was she who created this bi-annual event several years ago, giving The Arc SF a signature gala featuring the best in drag and other performances, silent auction, food and drink, and a lively and diverse gathering of supporters. The spacious event room of The Arc was decorated in a circus theme and many attendees joined in the fun with colorful costumes and/or accessories. Performers included Alexis Miranda, Cockatielia, DaftNee Gesuntheit, Serena Jackson, Candy Dee-Light, Kippy Marks, Kitten on the Keys, Vocal Minority from the SF Gay Men’s Chorus, and The Unstoppables, a delightfully entertaining ensemble made up of clients from The Arc SF. Auctioneer extraordinaire Lenny Broberg successfully wrangled bids from the audience on a handful of live auction items, and ringmaster Jason McMonagle kept the proceedings running flawlessly. The undeniable highlight of the night was a touching video tribute to Kitty, followed by her own performance and candid remarks. In sharing personal stories of her time with The Arc SF, Kitty truly demonstrated her amazing humanity, dedication, and generosity; she will be greatly missed in San Francisco and at The Arc SF. Wednesday morning, we had one of those rare and treasured opportunities to join City leaders in a civic event celebrating the opening of the new headquarters of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission on Beale Street. A derelict 1940s building has been brought back to life with extensive remodeling and repurposing to house many of the region’s transit organizations. Joining us in the soaring, modern atrium for this ribbon-cutting were Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, San Francisco Supervisors David Campos and Scott Wiener, and many dignitaries from the transit community. We were greeted with a sumptuous breakfast buffet and lively Chinese dragon dance, followed by short speeches, employee recognition, and our own rendition of “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” We thank Brenda Kahn, Senior Public Information Officer of the MTC for inviting us to add a little color to this civic celebration. Later on Wednesday, we joined Ken Gorczyca & Lorenz Obwegeser at the Fairmont Hotel for Petchitecture, Pets Are Wonderful Support’s annual gala. We arrived

Brooke Michael Smith won this year’s Cabaret Showcase Showdown at Oasis. Drew Altizer

Frank Petkovich, Kaushik Roy, Dede Wilsey and Donna Sachet at the Petchitecture gala.

to a ballroom packed with elegantly dressed supporters and their treasured canine companions, some also dressed up, but all enthusiastically sniffing the surroundings. This is the first PAWS gala since it merged with Shanti in a broadly praised effort to combine resources and streamline services, so supporters of both agencies were visible everywhere. We socialized with Executive Director Kaushik Roy, Chair of the Board of Directors Frank Petkovich, the Honorable Willie Brown, San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim, Paul Henderson, Dan Bernal, Valentin Aguirre, Alex Rivera & Miguel Bustos, Anna Damiani, Joy Bianchi, Robert Austria, Beth Feingold, John Lipp & Peter Lunny, and many others. But the peak of our night personally was meeting and speaking briefly with San Francisco philanthropist and social paragon Dede Wilsey, who received special recognition that night for her years of commitment to PAWS, Shanti, and so many other worthy organizations. Yes, we are still overwhelmed and frankly intimidated by such San Francisco giants, but we were instantly charmed by her genuine warmth, civility, and graciousness. Thank you to photographer Drew Altizer for that treasured moment. On stage, the speeches were short, but incredibly inspirational, including a video greeting from the Honorable Nancy Pelosi. Auctioneer Marty Grimes quickly but skillfully raised thousands of dollars during the live auction, including a “funda-need” portion that encompassed the entire room. This special evening was a tribute and thanks to the late Wilkes Bashford, whose love of dogs was evident throughout his life. His generosity to PAWS was credited with elevating the organization and touching countless lives of pet owners and their companions. Musical performances by the incomparable Paula West gave the evening a final beautiful touch. The next night, Joe Wicht and Katya Smirnoff-Skyy hosted the finale of the Cabaret Showcase Showdown at Oasis. After separate contests in several categories, seven singers gathered before an illustrious

Kitty Glamour (lower right) in a video from this year’s Putting on the Ritz: Cirque de L’Arc at Oasis.

Kira Stackhouse

A pup in a tux at Petchitecture.

panel of judges, including accomplished cabaret performer Russ Lorenson, Martuni’s proprietor Skip Ziobron, Bay Area Cabaret producer Marilyn Levinson, internationally recognized entertainer Paula West, and this humble columnist. Each judge brought their own unique experience to the contest as crooners and belters, comedians and balladeers competed for the winning spot, while the hosts kept the crowd rolling in laughter and previous winner Carly Ozard sang beautifully. When all was said and done, first

Mother hosts a Nikki Star tribute and Maitri Hospice fundraiser at Oasis on June 4.

runner up was Ted Zoldan with hilarious originality and the winner was Brooke Michael Smith, who instantly connected with the audience and demonstrated all the best characteristics of cabaret performance. Congratulations to them both and to Joe and Katya for a wonderful event encouraging live performers and the enthusiastic audiences who love them. We regret to announce that this Friday, June 3, marks the final show of Fauxgirls at Infusion Lounge. As this club changes its direction, the talented troupe of drag performers is pulling out all the stops for their final show there at 7PM. We are

confident that Victoria Secret and her cast will find a new home elsewhere soon, so watch this column for announcements. This Saturday at Midnight Sun from 4-7PM, meet the contestants for this year’s Mr. and Miss Gay Pageant to be held on Sunday, June 12, at Oasis. The Pageant has a Masquerade Ball theme and will feature appearances by many of the past title-holders, many of whom have gone on to support many of our beloved San Francisco organizations. As it happens, even this columnist once held the title of Miss Gay San Francisco, way back in the early ‘90s, in case anyone remembers. We look forward to a fun afternoon at Midnight Sun and later at Oasis with the current Mr. Gay Yayy Winn and Miss Gay Lily Rose. Later that night, at 10PM at Oasis, the drag community gathers to celebrate the life of the late Nikki Star. Proceeds will benefit Maitri Hospice, an important organization in San Francisco and a vital part of Nikki’s final years. And we wish all the best to the many riders and support staff who take off on Monday, June 5, on AIDS/LifeCycle 2016! This arduous 545-mile journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles not only raises thousands of dollars for the SF AIDS Foundation and Los Angeles LGBT Center, but it represents a tremendous commitment by hundreds of athletes and their financial supporters to end AIDS. If it is June, then it must be time for the annual LGBTQ Pride Parade and Celebration, June 25 and 26! This year’s theme is “For Racial and Economic Justice.” Watch this column for a complete list of the must-attend events. All indications are that San Francisco will once again show the world how to celebrate, commemorate, and activate with pride!t

I am the future of the LGBT community. I’m 26 and transitioning. I have a lot going on - I don’t need to be mocked, misgendered, or marginalized, and I don’t have time to hunt out news that matters to me. That’s why I read EDGE on my Android tablet. I’m being true to my future - and that’s where it will be.

The person depicted here is a model. Their image is being used for illustrative purposes only.

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

36 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2016

NSFWork it by John F. Karr

n this month that highlights gay pride, I’ve been asked, what is there in the world of porn to be proud of? While the industry can certainly take pride in a quality of filmmaking that could hardly have been dreamed of a couple decades ago, there is one company that can

be proud of a program it has inaugurated that’s unique within the industry, and which deserves a grand salute. It’s streaming porn website NakedSword’s adventurous series, NakedSword Film Works, aka, NSFW. You’ve probably understood the acronym NSFW as a warning, that the jpg or streaming video you’re about to open at your cubicle

is Not Safe for Work. But clever NakedSword (NS) has appropriated that for its collection of independent gay short films which bridge a gap between porn and the world of mainstream film. Be advised, however, that you should still take the original proviso to heart, because the films that NS is curating within the series are still Not Safe For Work. Good porn, the hardcore stuff, is all over the place. But what about those short movies that you see at film festivals, the ones that treat gay sexuality in an adult manner that’s erotic, but only guardedly or momentarily, graphic. Where do they go after they’ve made the festival circuit, and had their initial moment of acclaim? Most of them disappear into the ether. As NakedSword spokesman Mike Stabile explained to me, “You’d think it would be easy for gay short films to find a home, what with sites like Netflix and Hulu. But beyond short length or edgy language is the fact that many online distributors are cautious of sexual content, so that a film that is acclaimed at festivals can be blocked from distribution if it’s too racy.” Enter NakedSword, which saw an opportunity to expose the movies to new audiences, providing filmmakers with exposure (and money), and audiences with something they wouldn’t otherwise be able to see. As a result, said Stabile, “We get a richer, more sexually uninhibited culture.” Despite some explicit sex scenes and cock shots, the movies that Jack Shamama and Adam Baran are curating to be part of NSFW, are distinct from traditional porn content. They’re more intimate, more narratively driven, and have an aesthetic quality that’s more comparable to art-house films. The program was launched by filmmaker Travis Mathews’ portrait of two gay men conversing amidst making out. I Want Your Love conveyed an intimacy unheard of in porn, and it mixed sex and story in a real, authentic way. It was met with an immediate response when it was posted on NS in April of 2012. Within two months, it had been watched over two million times, and it remains one of the most visited pages on NS. Its initial success led ultimately to NSFW, which now has eight films in its library. It was soon followed by Hattie Goes Cruising, in which 70-year-old African-American (and perennially

NakedSword

An unconflicted moment highlights the cruising of 100 Boyfriends Mixtape.

NakedSword

Every dude in town tries to prove it was his tongue the Pornstar (Colby Keller) fell for, in Zolushka.

horny) Hank Major teaches us the finer points of the nearly lost art of cruising. Doors Cut Down is director Antonio Hens’ story of cute high-schooler Guillermo. He’s traumatized by a homophobic dad, and seeks consolation by hooking up with a hot biker behind the full-length doors of a restroom stall. But the cops know what’s going on, and Guillermo goes to jail. Don’t worry. There’s a happy ending, even if those stall doors get cut down. I had little patience for director Menelas’ Raspberry Reich GR, which reflects the oppression of gays by a former Greek regime. Described as “an edgy, political short,” it’s an homage to Bruce LaBruce, and like his movies, is crudely made and largely incoherent. It’s in-yourface, and decidedly not erotic. Still, it’s startling, and may perhaps broaden one’s world view, which makes it deserving of inclusion in the NSFW program. Much more accessible, and quite enjoyable with its lively punk rock

NakedSword

Cutie and biker get it on in a restroom stall, during the short, Doors Cut Down.

NakedSword

Monogamy, promiscuity—what's love got to do with it, in Catharsis, at NakedSword Film Works.

aesthetic, is 100 Boyfriends Mixtape by Bay Area performer and artist Brontez Purnell. It’s got explicit sex, alright. Shannon and the Clams’ 2005 “I Am on a Hunk Hunt” blares on the soundtrack during a cruising montage that includes a surprise fisting. The movie’s snippets of one dude’s daily life show a conflicted fellow, who whispers, “I want you to cum in me,” but wails, “My future!” after his partner follows instructions. Catharsis, by Robert Aquino, is a real winner, and the most erotic of the shorts. Being coupled seems to be the new order, but youthful romanticism leads to a break up for a dude who expects to be part of a twosome – and monogamous, at that. Does he find consolation in promiscuity? Check it out. The most recent NSFW film is Zolushka. That’s Cinderella in Russian. Written and directed by Wes Hurly, it’s a queer, quick, and jovially filmed retelling of the Cinderella story. It’s jump-start visual style shows a wit that’s mirrored by the soundtrack, which treats us to bits of Prokofiev’s Cinderella ballet. Barback yearns for visiting Pornstar (a heated Colby Keller), and is ridiculed by the bartenders, gogo boys, and customers. Until Pornstar shows up, when, wouldn’t you just know it, he spurns the advances of them all for the now elated barback. The pair go to it in a whirlwind of crazy sex, with an emphasis on rimming, all of it mimed. So, although Zolushka isn’t a hardcore film at all, it delivers sexuality hilariously and unashamedly. Remember all the ladies of the kingdom forcing their foot into Cinderella’s shoe? In this version, all the region’s gents want Pornstar to recognize them as his rimmer of choice by lining up to force their tongue up Keller’s ass. The shorts are entertaining, for sure, but of greater reward is the empathy they engender for a wild diversity of men. The price of admission to NSFW is membership in NakedSword, but that’s not prohibitive. I think NSFW is rather visionary, a real reach beyond porn into a more artistic realm of erotica. Imagine, a site where indie gay film shorts are streamed. Almost a public service. I’ll keep tuning in for the promised additions.t

Read more online at www.ebar.com

June 2-8, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 37

Hella Sexy

Straight To Hell and The Magazine celebrated

STH #67.

by Cornelius Washington

traight To Hell magazine prints the truth about gay male sexuality and The Magazine bookstore sells the gay lifestyle, in vintage VHS, print and DVDs. Naturally, the two had to meet in advance of the June 3 event, InterLubes: An Evening of Words, Music, Film, Smut and Such, In Appreciation of The Magazine Bookstore. Two titans – Billy Miller, owner and Editor of STH Magazine, and Trent Dunphy, co-owner of The Magazine bookstore, discussed their work and the world of gay sexuality in print.

STH editor Billy Miller

Cornelius Washington: Who had the genius idea to hold such an interesting, sex-drenched event here, at the most iconic place for sex, art and publishing in San Francisco, The Magazine bookstore? Billy Miller: The event was organized by artist, writer and zinemaker, Johnny Ray Huston. I’m just one of a few performers, and I’ll be reading a text piece I wrote entitled “The Towers of Cum & The Horndogs of Yore,” which is about cruising at the former World Trade Center and the world of public sex before 9/11, from a book called Art and Queer Culture, published by Phaidon Press. Trent Dunphy: We’d held an event or two like this before, and we did very well. So, we want to continue. STH magazine is also iconic in the gay world of print and penis. When did you first see a copy, and what was your initial reaction? BM: I first ran across Straight To Hell in a bookstore in Chicago

around 1977 and almost instantly became a fan of the series and the editor-publisher, Boyd McDonald. TD: I first heard about Boyd McDonald from Mr. David Hurles, the genius behind Old Reliable Studios. His work was featured very prominently in the magazine. This was probably the late ‘70s. When we began carrying it, our customers were crazy about it! Boyd did an excellent job of editing. He had a great, jaundiced eye on everything in politics and pop culture. The sex stories were very transgressive, and I think that that was the key to the magazine’s success. It’s a lot more commercial now, not that that’s a bad thing. But back then, it was much more transgressive. Billy, why, when and how did you acquire the magazine? BM: I started writing McDonald, and to my surprise and delight, he wrote back. When I moved to New York City in 1985, I contacted him and asked if I could interview him, and he agreed. We didn’t end up doing the interview, but we did become friends, and over the space of the next several years, we became close friends. We shared a common point of view on many things and I suppose our friendship was largely based on a shared sense of humor. Boyd was one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. He was an odd guy and, despite being a great writer and one of the smartest guys I’ve ever run across, he had a lot of phobias and that was a challenge. I didn’t actually mind his weirdness so much because I admired him so much and felt privileged to be his friend. He lived in an S.R.O. (single room occupancy) dive boarding house on the Upper West Side, with no kitchen and a bathroom in the hall that he shared with others on the same floor. He lived pretty much exclusively on instant black coffee, donuts and cigarettes. The walls in his room were yellow from years of accumulated cigarette smoke and when they insisted on painting the place, the painters moved his stuff to the middle of the room-which is where it all stayed until the day he died, in 1992. For those not-in-the-know, Boyd

David Elijah-Nahmod

Bob Mainardi and Trent Dunphy of The Magazine.

and Straight To Hell was also greatly admired by others like Robert Mapplethrope (a regular contributor), Fran Lebowitz, William S. Burroughs (who was interviewed for the chapbook series), John Waters (who wrote about Boyd in his book, Influences) and, in particular, Gore Vidal, who called the series his favorite publication. Vidal became a personal friend of Boyd’s and talked about him in many interviews. These folks and others were among his followers. In the early ‘90s, Boyd spent more and more time on his STH compilation book series with titles like, Cum, Meat, Skin, Wads, etc., and initially turned the original chapbook series over to another young fan named Victor Weaver. Weaver and his friend, artist Trey Speegle, hosted several very popular STH-themed parties at venues like the infamous Pyramid Club in the East Village, with performers such as Joey Arias, John Sex, Fran Lebowitz and others too numerous to mention here. After a few years and several issues of the chapbook, Weaver moved to London and lost interest in the project. Boyd asked me to take it over in ‘89 and I’ve been doing it since. I have continued both the chapbooks series and STH-themed events. We’ve expanded them over the years to include film screenings, talks, and art exhibitions, like the one we did at Exile Gallery in Berlin a few years ago. Presently, we’ve added “STH Editions” to the mix and there are now around thirty participating artists, and counting, who’ve created print editions for us that are sold online and at shops and galleries internationally.

A vintage STH reprint

It’s Gay Pride Month. How do you want STH to help everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation, get a better understanding about male sex and sexuality? BM: To be honest, both Boyd and I have always been allergic to the term ‘gay’ and I personally believe that, in most ways, it’s a social construction. We’re more focused on sex acts (the other title for STH is The Manhattan Review of Unnatural Acts) and not so concerned about ‘lifestyle’ choices, etc. I’m old enough to remember the world before ‘gay.’ Although I’d never suggest we go back to that sort of repression, it sure as hell was a lot hotter and dirtier. Trent: The Magazine bookstore’s contribution is that we’re sex-positive for all orientations. We don’t judge. Previously, we had few women customers. Now, we’re getting more of them. They have fun and they buy. Straight guys come in to get their straight porn, and I notice a marked interest in transsexual porn. Gay people, particularly the young, need to know their historical, sociological and economical history. We provide that. Oh, and by the way, instead of people dumping their porn into a trash can, follow-

ing their spring cleaning, they can donate it to us and contribute to gay history.t

Appreciation of The Magazine Bookstore, Friday, June 3, 7pm. 920 Larkin Street.

(Read more online at www.ebar.com/bartab.)

www.straight-to-hell.com

InterLubes: An Evening of Words, Music, Film, Smut and Such, In

www.cuirphoto.com

www.themagazinesf.com

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

38 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2016

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So You Think You Can Gogo? @ Toad Hall

On the Tab

From page 34

The weekly dancing competition for gogo wannabes. 9pm. cash prizes, $2 well drinks (2 for 1 happy hour til 9pm). Show at 9pm. 4146 18th St. www.toadhallbar.com

Underwear Night @ Club OMG Weekly underwear night includes free clothes check, and drink specials. $4. 10pm-2am. Preceded by Open Mic Comedy, 7pm, no cover. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Wooden Nickel Wednesday @ 440

Wed 8

Ambler & Brandt @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko

Ambler & Brandt @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko The two Broadway musical actors return in their duo concert, Not All Who Wander are Lost. $30-$50. 7pm. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. hotelnikkosf.com/feinsteins.aspx

Ask/Tell @ Oasis Landa Lakes hosts a storytelling and talk session with LGBTQ veterans. No cover. 7pm. 298 11th St. at Folsom. 795-3180. www.sfoasis.com

Bedlam @ Beaux New weekly event with DJs Haute Toddy, Guy Ruben, Mercedez Munro and Abominatrix. Wet T-shirt/jock contest at 11pm. $5-$10. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Bone @ Powerhouse New weekly punk-alternative music night hosted by Uel Renteria and Johnny Rockitt. 10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Bottoms Up Bingo @ Hi Tops Play board games and win offbeat prizes at the popular sports bar. 9pm. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. HiTopsSF.com

Floor 21 @ Starlight Room Juanita More! presents a new weekly scenic happy hour event, with host Rudy Valdez, and guest DJs. No cover, and a fantastic panoramic city view. 5pm-9pm. Sir Francis Drake Hotel, 450 Powell St. www.starlightroomsf.com

San Jose:

(510) 343-1122 (408) 514-1111

Buy a drink and get a wooden nickle good for another. 12pm-2am. 440 Castro St. 621-8732. www.the440.com

Thu 9

Dream Queens Revue @ Aunt Charlie’s Lounge

Miss Kitty’s Trivia Night @ Wild Side West

Collette LeGrande, Ruby Slippers, Sophilya Leggz, Bobby Ashton, Sheena Rose, Kipper, and Joie de Vivre perform at the twice-monthly classic drag show. Reservations for the best seats! 9:30pm. 133 Turk St. 441-2922. www.dreamqueensrevue.com

The weekly fun night at the Bernal Heights bar includes prizes, hosted by Kitty Tapata. No cover. 7pm-10pm. 424 Cortland St. 647-3099. www.wildsidewest.com

Enjoy whiskey shots from jockstrapped hotties and sexy sports videos at the popular sports bar. 10pm-2am. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Pussy Party @ Beaux

Lee Roy Reams @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko

Latin Drag Night @ Club OMG Weekly Latin night with drag shows hosted by Vicky Jimenez. 9pm-2am. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Man Francisco @ Oasis The sexy, funny weekly male burlesque show returns with a few new handsome talents; choreographed by Christopher James Dunn; Mr Pam MCs. $20. 2 Two-drink min. 9:30pm. 298 11th St. at Folsom. 795-3180. www.sfoasis.com

Open Mic/Comedy @ SF Eagle Kollin Holts hosts the weekly comedy and open mic talent night. 6pm-8pm. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

Pan Dulce @ Badlands The Latin & hip hop dance night returns, with DJs Adrian and Krazy Spin. $5. 9pm-2am. 4121 18th St. www.sfbadlands.com

Ladies night at the Castro dance club. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Shit Talk @ Oasis Yuri Kagan’s naughty weekly comedy night. 7pm. 298 11th St. at Folsom. 795-3180. www.sfoasis.com

Wed 8 Landa Lakes hosts Ask/Tell @ Oasis

Gym Class @ Hi Tops

The veteran Broadway star ( The Producers, Hello, Dolly!, Applause, La Cage aux Folles, Sweet Charity) makes his debut at the intimate upscale cabaret nightclub. $40-$60. 8pm. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.hotelnikkosf.com/ feinsteins.aspx

To place your Personals ad, Call 415-861-5019 for more info & rates My So-Called Night @ Beaux Carnie Asada hosts a new weekly ‘90s-themed video, dancin’, drinkin’ night, with VJs Jorge Terez. Get down with your funky bunch, and enjoy 90cent drinks. ‘90s-themed attire and costume contest. No cover. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Nap’s Karaoke @ Virgil’s Sea Room Sing out loud at the weekly least judgmental karaoke in town, hosted by the former owner of the bar. No cover. 9pm. 3152 Mission St. 8292233. www.virgilssf.com

Picante @ The Cafe Lulu and DJ Marco’s Latin night with sexy gogo guys. 9pm-2am. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Queer Karaoke @ Club OMG Dana hosts the weekly singing night; unleash your inner American Idol. 8pm. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Throwback Thursdays @ Qbar Enjoy retro 80s soul, dance and pop classics with DJ Jorge Terez. No cover. 9pm-2am. 456 Castro St. www.QbarSF.com

Thump @ White Horse, Oakland Weekly electro music night with DJ Matthew Baker and guests. 9pm-2am. 6551 Telegraph Ave, (510) 652-3820. www.whitehorsebar.com

Tubesteak Connection @ Aunt Charlie’s Lounge Disco guru DJ Bus Station John spins grooves at the intimate retro music night; 10pm-2am. 133 Turk St. at Taylor. www.auntcharlieslounge.com Want your nightlife event listed? Email events@ebar.com, at least two weeks before your event. Event photos welcome.

Read more online at www.ebar.com

June 2-8, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 39

Shooting Stars

photos by steven underhill

Bloom @ City View Metreon

festive fundraiser gala for the Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center, Bloom brought out beautiful blossoms, bouquet décor, and sweet smiling faces on May 25 at the City View Metreon. Food, bubbly, auctions and performances were included at the event, which raised funds for the nonprofit that provides local health support for people of color. www.apiwellness.org More event photo albums are on BARtab’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/lgbtsf.nightlife. See more of Steven Underhill’s photos at www.StevenUnderhill.com.

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For headshots, portraits or to arrange your wedding photos

call (415) 370-7152 or visit www.StevenUnderhill.com or email stevenunderhillphotos@gmail.com

DR. TIMOTHY SEELIG, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

r e v e d n a b y o b t s e g g i b JUNE 24 8 p.m. june 25 2:30 + 8 p.m. nourse Theater featuring well-struNG the singing string quartet

TICKETS: SFGMC.ORG OR 415-392-4400 Season 38 is presented by