&
Matt Riddlehoover
BRINGS
LGBT FILMMAKING TO NASHVILLE PREVIEW THE HOTTEST
HALLOWEEN COSTUMES
OF THE YEAR
&
NOVEMBER ELECTIONS COULD SEE
TENNESSEANS' RIGHTS EVAPORATE
OUTANDABOUT NASHVILLE.COM
OCT 2014
VOLUME 13 | ISSUE 10
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10.14
LETTER
FROM THE
EDITOR
October is upon us, and in its wake it comes that most mystical and magical time of the year, when nothing is as it appears. That’s right, we’re gearing up for the prime political season leading up to Election Day! I know you thought I was talking about Halloween, but with elections looming, in particular some very serious ballot measures targeting the Tennessee constitution, O&AN thought it was time to prime the pumps and help “get out the vote.” Inside you’ll find our endorsements, as well as a discussion of constitutional amendments you’ll be asked to consider at the ballot this year. Choose wisely, because the ramifications of the passage of these measures could be felt for years. We’ve dealt with a lot of other serious issues this month: LGBT adoption in our focus on Jewish Family Services, safe schools and LGBT youth in our GLSEN profile, the opening of a new LGBT-run farm and CSA in our piece on Cudge Hollow Farm, the return of the Miss Gay America pageant to Nashville (the city of its founding), Facebook’s “Real Name” policy in this month’s Untucked, and the importance of trans people being out to their healthcare providers in Bobbi Williams’s column. This month’s cover features director Matt Riddlehoover, who has made a cottage industry out of LGBT filmmaking in Nashville. Currently his film, More Scenes from a Gay Marriage is doing very well on the film festival circuit, and he’s already shot another film in town! For those of you who know him, we hope you’ll learn something, and for those of you who don’t, we think you really should check him out! In other entertainment news, we also profiled the upcoming seasons of Nashville Ballet and the Nashville Opera, as well as Jennifer Knapp’s memoir. But don’t think we’ve forgotten Halloween: this October, our center spread is dedicated to some of the best costume ideas for this year, drawn from your favorite television shows. While the costumes featured were provided by Performance Studios and represent the best professional costumes available for rent, we hope that you are inspired by our offering, and we look forward to seeing what all you guys and gals come up with this Gay Christmas (Halloween). @jamesallengrady
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Cover/Feature Photographer: Ethan James Political Cartoon: Damon Xanthopoulos
LEGAL Out & About Nashville strives to be a credible community news organization by engaging and educating our readers. All content of Out & About Nashville is copyrighted 2014 by Out & About Nashville, Inc. and is protected by federal copyright law and shall not be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. All photography is licensed stock imagery or has been supplied unless otherwise credited to a photographer and may not be reproduced without permission. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, writers and cartoonists published herein is neither inferred nor implied. The appearance of names or pictorial representations does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of the person or persons. Out & About Nashville accepts unsolicited material but cannot take responsibility for its return. The editor reserves the right to accept, reject or edit submissions. All rights revert to authors upon publication. The editorial positions of Out & About Nashville are expressed in editorials and in the editor’s notes as determined by the editor. Other opinions are those of writers and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Out & About Nashville or its staff. Letters to the editor are encouraged but may be edited for clarity and length. There is no guarantee that letters will be published. Out & About Nashville only accepts adult advertising within set guidelines and on a case-by-case basis.
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OUTANDABOUTNASHVILLE.COM
OCTOBER 2014
SALES AND DESIGN HIRES
Michael Price
Michael Moore
STAFF
Recent openings have given O&AN an opportunity to add new energy and skills to its staff. “We’re very excited about the opportunity we have,” publisher Jerry Jones said. In the last six weeks, O&AN has put an entirely new sales and print design team in place. Steven Altum resigned as Director of Sales, Marketing & Events to join his partner in Tampa, Florida. To fill the gap, O&AN brought on Scott Bryant as Director of Sales, Marketing & Events and Michael Price as Account Executive. As director, Bryant has assumed all of O&AN’s ongoing accounts and existing clients. Scott Bryant brings more than fifteen years of marketing experience to the job. He began his career at The Jackson Sun while attending college at Union University, before taking on the job of Circulation Sales and Marketing Manager for The Paducah Sun. There he implemented the company’s first branding policies and catapulted the publication into the digital world with creative, multi-media ad campaigns. In Nashville, he became the Manager of Advertising and Creative Services for Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee. During his six year tenure he handled all of the organization’s advertising purchasing, as well as implementing innovative art direction and marketing campaigns that garnered national recognition. Most recently, Scott was a digital specialist
Scott Bryant
BRING NEW ENERGY TO OUT & ABOUT NASHVILLE with the Schurz Corporation in Central Kentucky, handling large clients like Amazon, The University of Kentucky, and Keeneland. Michael Price moved to Nashville to pursue a career in the music industry. Michael has been studying music business at MTSU. Additionally, he’s worked with and been mentored by singer, songwriter, actress, and author Stella Parton, whom he describes as “one of the hardest working women in the business!” As a new account executive for O&AN, Michael will be expanding his experience with PR, marketing, booking, communications, photography, and styling as an advertising representative. He will also facilitate and manage partnerships with advertisers to promote mutual growth. “As a huge fan of Out & About, I am beyond excited for the opportunity to join the team,” he said, “[and to contribute] to the advancement and success of the advertisers in addition to
the magazine!” Designer Tylor Loposser left O&AN for a full-time design position, though he expressed gratitude to O&AN for the opportunity to grow and flourish as a graphic artist. O&AN’s former designer, Neil Ward, designed the September and October issues during the search for a new artist. After vetting many fine candidates, O&AN has hired Mike Moore to head up print design. Like Price, Moore moved to Nashville because of the music industry. Upon graduating from Belmont in 2009, during the depth of the recession, Mike taught himself graphic design while simultaneously seeking a music-business career. With only four years of selftaught graphic design under his belt, Mike has made an impressive name for himself within the music, advertising, and marketing industries in Nashville. After working for a small digital music marketing agency and freelancing, Mike landed a job in the
creative services department at Big Machine Label Group. Subsequently he moved on to G/O Digital Marketing at the Tennessean, designing websites and email marketing campaigns for businesses around the country. Most recently, Mike has returned to the music industry, leaving G/O Digital for a full time graphic design position at Warner Music Nashville. “I feel like everything is falling into place right now,” Moore said. “My partner and I just bought a house together, I landed a new dream job back in the music business, and I picked up this amazing opportunity to design the monthly O&AN print issues. I am probably the happiest I have ever been in my life!” Asked about his new team, O&AN Publisher Jerry Jones said, “We’re delighted to have an energetic new team in place. Each member of our staff has so much to offer our brand and this community. I think that you’re going to see some exciting things from us.” @O U T A N D A B O U T N A S H
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GENERAL ELECTION 2014
SOME ENDORSEMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS O&AN STAFF REPORTS
The 2014 general elections in the state of Tennessee will be held on Tuesday, November 4. Early voting will be held from Wednesday, October 15 through Thursday, October 30. After careful consideration of the candidates and their positions, Out and About Nashville is making the following recommendations (for Tennessee constitutional amendments, see page 8).
US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
There are two Democratic incumbents running for reelection this year: Jim Cooper (District 5) and Steve Cohen (District 9). Cooper has cosponsored hate crime legislation and ENDA. Cohen also cosponsored both pieces of legislation, as well as safe schools legislation. The loss of either would be a huge blow to LGBT rights. Republican-dominated districts surround the Nashville area, and as a matter of principle every LGBT citizen in their districts should get out the vote just to send a message. Diane Black of District 6 introduced the current anti-abortion amendment when she was in the state senate. District 7’s Marsha Blackburn is practically infamously anti-LGBT. And District 4’s Scott DesJarlais, whose realm includes Murfreesboro, strongly opposes anti-discrimination employment laws.
it’s time
to feel
better
US SENATE
While it seems likely that incumbent Lamar Alexander (R) will prevail, members of the LGBT community should cast their vote for Gordon Ball (D), whose spokesperson said he “believes that everyone has the right to get married and has said publicly that he thinks government should stay out of people’s bedrooms. Gordon also believes that every child deserves a loving family. As for ENDA, Gordon believes that everyone deserves a fair wage and discrimination has no place in the workforce.”
STATE SENATE RACES OF NOTE
Either way things are looking up in Knoxville. Richard Briggs is a hardcore conservative, but he’s no Stacey Campfield (whom he defeated in the Republican primary for Senate District 6). He is unlikely to go out of his way to target LGBT Tennesseans. Democratic candidate Cheri Siler is a known supporter of LGBT rights, however, and deserves enthusiastic support. Jeff Yarbro (D) making a run at District 21. The incumbent, David Henry (D), is not running for reelection, so it’s vital to keep this seat blue. Yarbro is a long-time supporter of organizations like TEP, so we have high hopes for him. Tony Gross (D) is running against
Jim Cooper
Steve Cohen
Kerry Roberts (R) in District 25, and while Gross has no record on LGBT issues to speak of, he supports liberal healthcare and education policies, against Roberts, who is anti-abortion rights, antiObamacare, and anti-immigration.
Gordon Ball
STATE HOUSE RACES OF NOTE
While few local races are generating a lot of news, one local race which is in contest deserves note. Hermitage Rep. Darren Jernigan (D-60) is running for reelection, and he has a good record of support for, and from, the LGBT community. Further, Jernigan, along with Gloria Johnson (D-13), has been recognized by Battleground Tennessee PAC, which supports candidates whose races are key to promoting progressive politics. Good luck to both candidates.
GOVERNOR
While Charlie Brown (D) may be an uninspiring candidate, your vote for governor is more than a vote for governor. Every vote cast for governor increases the number of votes required to pass a state constitutional amendment: so to secure the right to privacy in Tennessee (at issue in Amendment 1) vote for anyone. But we recommend a vote for Brown as a vote against Bill Haslam.
Jeff Yarbro
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Cheri Siler
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ELECTION 2014
FEATURES CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS JAMES A. GRADY │ @JAMESALLENGRADY
On Tuesday, November 4, 2014, Tennesseans will be asked to vote on measures to alter the state constitution that could change the way judges are selected and significantly reduce the rights of women and the privacy protections of all Tennesseans. One fact that all Tennesseans need to be aware of is that the percentage of votes required to pass a constitutional amendment is NOT based on total votes cast, but on votes cast for governor. If you skip the governor’s vote, you lower the threshold required to pass an amendment—so vote for governor, whether you love the candidate or not—and make it harder, two times over, for your opponents to pass their amendments. Amendment 2 addresses judicial appointments at the state level. This is sure to be a hot-button issue after Lt. Governor Ramsey’s heavy-handed attempt to undermine the courts in the summer elections. According to Ballotpedia, Amendment 2 “would empower the governor to appoint judges to the supreme court or any other state appellate courts subject to confirmation by the general assembly. The appointed judge would serve an eight-year term. Thereafter, the judge could serve another term via a retention election by voters.” This would formalize the current status quo, in part, but would dismantling the Judicial Nominating Commission and empower the legislature to confirm appointments. Former Governor Phil Bredesen, a democrat, and former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson, a republican, co-wrote an editorial supporting the measure, arguing that the measure secures a more impartial court. But John Jay Hooker argues that the Tennessee constitution demands that “qualified voters” elect judges, and he feels that it is perfectly clear this means a popular vote. Bret Brandenburg of Justice at Stake argues that the Judicial Nominating Commission puts judges forward based on merits, while the new
8
situation would allow purely political appointments and would subject court appointments to the kind of gridlock we see in Washington. In the end, the individual voter must decide whether the situation that currently exists or the solution as described in Amendment 2 better provides for judicial independence. Amendment 1 is far more controversial. It reads: “Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion. The people retain the right through their elected state representatives and state senators to enact, amend, or repeal statutes regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the mother.” Vote No on One Tennessee’s website accurately points out that the main aim of the law is to establish that “There is absolutely no right to abortion, and Politicians can pass laws for exceptions in case of rape or incest, or when a woman’s life is in danger, if they choose to.” And further, they may choose not to do so. But the measure is actually far more pernicious, threatening the rights of all citizens, not of women only. As David Harper of Tennessee’s state Democratic Party points out, “The bill is written very deceptively. And the bill effectively turns over all rights to the state legislature. If you look at that bill and look at what it says, it says exactly that.” This may seem a stretch, but as Rev. Harry Knox, President and CEO of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, explained to Out and About Nashville, the danger is real. The key is that abortion rights as secured by the Roe v. Wade decision hinge on the concept of a right to privacy, which is not explicit in the constitution of the United States. In fact, in the whole country, Tennessee is unique in that it enshrines a protected right to privacy in its constitution! But
OUTANDABOUTNASHVILLE.COM
OCTOBER 2014
abortion isn’t explicitly mentioned, so they’re going after abortion directly. Given the link between privacy and abortion, however, an attack on abortion severely limits the interpretation of privacy in Tennessee. “It’s really quite hypocritical,” Knox said. “The clever wording makes it sound as if this amendment is concerned with protecting the rights of Tennessean. But by attacking abortion, they’re attacking a far more broad right. In the end this will erode the rights of all Tennesseans, especially the LGBT community.” The LGBT community must utilize its vote now: we must make a stand for the rights of women and, in the process, for the right to privacy of all Tennesseans. We must all vote NO on Amendment 1. For more information about the fight against Amendment 1, visit http://voteno1tn.org.
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MAKING MIDDLE TENNESEE SCHOOLS SAFER FOR ALL OUR KIDS
BY JUSTIN SWEATMAN-WEAVER & KISHEN PATEL
Bullying, violence, and harassment directed at LGBT youth are endemic in K-12 schools, negatively affecting millions of students annually. According to the 2011 National School Climate Survey by GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, & Straight Education Network), over 90 percent of LGBT students in Tennessee have heard the words “gay,” “fag,” and “dyke” used offensively by others. About the same percent experience verbal harassment on a daily basis. That’s a troubling and unacceptable reality.
Since 1990, GLSEN has led the nation on LGBT issues in K-12 education. GLSEN remains at the vanguard of the “Safe Schools Movement,” actively partnering with national organizations in elementary/secondary education, youth development and service, as well as civil and human rights. GLSEN’s Middle Tennessee chapter was founded in 2011, and while based primarily in Nashville, it leads the local safe schools movement and mobilizes constituents throughout the region to engage in three pillars of action:
“
SILENCE AND INACTION CANNOT BE THE NORM IF WE EVER WANT TO SEE SOCIAL PROGRESS AND EQUALITY.
”
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EDUCATE: Using our National Safe Space curriculum, we offer local skill-building workshops and other professional development opportunities for teachers, administrators, and youth-serving individuals to learn concrete strategies for supporting LGBT students. ORGANIZE: The chapter’s youth
programming is led by their JumpStart Student Leadership Team, a group of energetic students who are leaders in their own schools and are committed to spreading the work of GLSEN. Activities include Day of Silence, No NameCalling Week, Ally Week, as well as other days of initiative that support safe schools.
ADVOCATE: On the local level,
we work with counties, districts, and school administrations that wish to develop policies that suppress bullying, harassment, and discrimination to create safer learning environments for LGBT youth.
Adults and students serve as leaders for the chapter’s initiatives. To revitalize its programs and develop new partnerships, GLSEN Middle Tennessee
OUTANDABOUTNASHVILLE.COM
OCTOBER 2014
has appointed a host of energetic new individuals to its board of directors and has selected a fresh team of Jump-Start student leaders. Cookeville High School senior and Jump-Start student leader Kishen Patel reflected upon the experiences of LGBT students in Middle Tennessee and the importance of GLSEN: “It wasn’t until recently that I realized how common the use of hateful words had become. At a statewide conference for young adult leaders, I recognized that even amongst the more educated and civic-minded, the word ‘gay’ had lost its meaning… I was listening… to a Tennessee politician teach us about the government. After about five minutes, my neighbor decided that calling the politician and others around us ‘gay’ was more important than learning.…I attempted to ignore this clearly confused boy, but quickly decided that silence in this situation would solve nothing. This was a teachable moment. I turned to him and asked him if he knew any other adjectives to describe people …[not] in a hateful way. His answer was a curt “no,” to which I responded with, “Please expand your vocabulary.” Seeing him impacted by my statement, I decided to pursue the topic further, asking him why he chose to act
that way. No response. I simply ended the conversation with, ‘Why is it so hard to treat everyone with equal respect, why must we categorize everyone, why do we live in a society that will not treat others the way we want to be treated?” … I chose to act in that moment and … become a part of GLSEN’s Jump-Start team. Silence and inaction cannot be the norm if we ever want to see social progress and equality. GLSEN has afforded me opportunities in the past and given me tools and courage to identify and address issues when they arise. I want to be part of the solution. And I want to empower others to be part of the solution as well.” GLSEN Middle Tennessee helps make schools safe for students of all sexualities and gender identities, and fosters all-inclusive celebratory events throughout the year. The chapter’s upcoming events include GLSEN Middle Tennessee’s two-day convocation of LGBT youth leaders (October 4–5) and GLSEN Middle Tennessee’s Ally Week open house in partnership with PFLAG Cookeville (October 15). A complete, detailed list of the organizations many events can be found on their website glsen.org/chapters/middletn/ events. To reach a chapter leader, contact middletn@chapters.glsen.net.
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“WEST HOLLYWOOD” Matt “Scenes” Riddlehoover “To a Tee” BRINGS “More Scenes”
LGBT FILMMAKING TO NASHVILLE
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OUTANDABOUTNASHVILLE.COM
OCTOBER 2014
JAMES A. GRADY │ @JAMESALLENGRADY
When most people think of Nashville, they think of country music and cowboy boots. Over the past decade, however, director Matt Riddlehoover has been working to add LGBT filmmaking to that list. Riddlehoover, who was born in Bermuda and grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, moved to Nashville ten years ago to attend Watkins College of Art, Design, and Film. “I had gone to a small arts high school,” Riddlehoover explained. “I looked at bigger schools in Tempe and New York, but Watkins, like my high school, was small and focused on the individual. That drew me [to Nashville].” Like many young filmmakers, Riddlehoover headed for Los Angeles after school. “I got out there and worked on a couple of projects, but, you know, it’s day and night. When I wasn’t busy with work, it was apparent that LA wasn’t for me. Nashville had become home to me.” So, Riddlehoover returned to Nashville and started working on some of his own projects. To date, most of his features have been filmed on site in Nashville. His first feature, To a Tee (2006)— about a playwright chronically attracted to the wrong type of guy—set Riddlehoover’s course as an independent filmmaker and was his first big break. “It’s funny now,” he said, “but it was MySpace that really helped me find my audience and get exposure for To a Tee.” His second feature, Bookends (2008), solidified that fan base and established Riddlehoover as an up-andcomer in LGBT filmmaking. Scenes from a Gay Marriage (2012) marked a second major break in his career. “Scenes was a combination of a couple of scripts that I’d been sitting on for a couple of years,” Riddlehoover explained. Scenes centers on a recently single young man who looks to his upstairs neighbors as role models of a great relationship, until he
begins to suspect one of them is having an affair. “The fans of my earlier work helped me fund the film through a Kickstarter campaign,” Riddlehoover said. That continued support has helped Riddlehoover continue his independent filmmaking, but it was also a sign that his movies had a market. “Scenes performed better than anything I’d made, and it was released by TLA, which helped!” Crowdfunding, he said, provides more than money: “It’s a great way of connecting with people. They get excited about the project, invest in it; they message me and offer support. It’s a great boost!” While making West Hollywood Motel (2013) in California, Riddlehoover received some fan feedback that made him do something he never planned. “I was shocked to read in customer reviews and online film reviews that fans experienced the ending of Scenes as a cliffhanger!” he said. “The sequel isn’t something I ever imagined writing, but, hearing the audience, I decided to explore where it would go.” So, Riddlehoover returned to Nashville and answered his fans with More Scenes from a Gay Marriage (2014). In the sequel, a filmmaker decided to make a movie about how Darren and Joe, from the original, fell in love, but in the process this complicates their relationship. More Scenes, released theatrically in August, has already begun to have success at film festivals: on September 21, 2014, it was awarded Best Feature (Non-Genre) and Best Feature (Overall), among others, at the 2014 Imaginarium Film Festival in Louisville, Kentucky. While feedback so far has been limited, Riddlehoover reported, “It has sold out multiple screenings already, and Jared Allman [who plays Joe in Scenes and More Scenes] described a Q&A at one festival as ‘epic.’ So people seem excited.” CON’T ON PG 14
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More Scenes is set for release on DVD and download in December. But Riddlehoover hasn’t taken time off. He’s just finished shooting his next project, Paternity Leave. The movie, co-written with his fiancé (now husband) Dustin Tittle, is about a man who becomes pregnant. Paternity Leave builds on the reality-bending concept of a male pregnancy in some quite traditional ways. “Basically what Paternity Leave does,” Riddlehoover explained, “is co-opt the traditional family and some of its roles. There’s a
total blurring of the lines. I don’t think it was intentional, but watching the footage it’s easy to forget it’s two men.” This film is thus a bit of a departure from his recent work. As Riddlehoover put it, “Scenes and More Scenes are about loners that meet people and make families out of friend groups. Paternity Leave is explicitly about family: a couple having a biological child, one of the men’s half-sister and her kid are prominent. It’s a more traditional family, however non-traditional it seems.” The movie is written to
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highlight family, despite the strange concept of male pregnancy: “A quarter of the way through, we find out the pregnancy wasn’t isolated. This cuts out the news frenzy: It’s not a movie about a side show.” Even behind the scenes, Paternity Leave is about family. Riddlehoover and co-writer Tittle have been together officially for about 14 months, though they first met on a blind date seven years ago. Riddlehoover laughed as he explained, “We were both young and we both left thinking, ‘If he liked me, he’ll call me!’ But we did keep in touch. When I moved back to shoot more scenes we fell in love.” By the time of printing the two will have married. So, how did the two love birds manage to fall in love and work together? “At first, it started with him sending me pieces to edit,” Tittle, who grew up in a family of writers and honed his own writing at Vandy, explained. “He ended up liking [“Loving,” Riddlehoover interjected] what I was doing, and gradually yielded more input to me. It was an amazing way for us to bond. The running joke when we were shooting the movie was that it was our baby and it looks like both of us!” Tittle was quick to point out, though, that this doesn’t work both ways: When he’s working on his web design, “I have to tell him to go away!” Aside from the co-writers’ love affair, the cast and crew also jelled. Tittle joked that, “Our cast and crew was just like a real family, the only difference being that everyone got along.” Most of the crew, including Tittle’s best friend Lori Puryear, are from Nashville. But even out-oftowners and the bigger names—Charlie David Dante’s Cove) and Chris Salvatore (the Eating Out franchise)— pitched in with the behind-the-scenes work and helped pull the movie, and their little group, together. Riddlehoover’s Nashville films do depend on donors like Californian David Peters, who not only helped crowd fund Paternity Leave but also came to Nashville for the entire filming. Peters wasn’t above getting his hands dirty, either, and Riddlehoover said, “He quickly became a part of the movie making family. He was there longer than most of the leads.” But Nashville gets a good deal of credit. One of the downsides of being an independent filmmaker is a lack of resources. But, as Tittle pointed out, “The scope of Matt’s work is such that we can work on less. And people
believe in his work, so resources become available.” Nashville has been generous, Riddlehoover said, adding, “For this film I thought it would be hard to get locations we needed, a doctor’s office for instance, but in the end people offered everything we wanted and more!” “We are so incredibly proud to have all this happen in Nashville,” Tittle, a Nashville native, said. “It feels right, it feels natural to do this kind of work here. It’s not something that happens here all that much, so it feels good, in my small way and in Matt’s much larger way, to put our mark on this already diverse and thriving city.” For more information about the project, or to participate in the postproduction crowdfunding (which continues through October 9), visit https://www. indiegogo.com/projects/paternity-leavepost-production-funds
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JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES
TENNESSEE PIONEERS IN LGBT ADOPTION
JAMES A. GRADY | @JAMESALLENGRADY
Fifteen years ago, openly gay people in Tennessee had to look out of state for adoption services. That all began to change in 2002, thanks to the courage of one agency, Jewish Family Services of Nashville and Middle Tennessee (JFS), when they received a phone call from a man trying to adopt as an openly gay person. JFS Executive Director Pam Kelner explained that, after two years of struggling with other agencies, “He and one of our adoption caseworkers, Teri Sogol, met, talked, and she had the home study completed and this man approved to adopt within two months…” The agency worried it might not find a child to place with him, but Teri had a prospective birthmother and risked posing “a question she had never asked before: Would you consider a gay man?” The prospective mother reportedly said, “My only concern would be that he will spoil the child. I have relatives who are gay, and they spoil all the children in the family!” This was just the beginning for JFS. “In 2005,” Kelner recalled, “Judge Marietta Shipley called us to ask if we would do the first home study in Tennessee for second parent adoption.” Second parent adoption allows same-sex couples
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to adopt their partner’s biological or adopted children without terminating the first parent’s parental right. It protects both parents by giving both of them legally recognized parental status. “Without hesitation we said ‘Yes!’ She had called every agency in Nashville and again, we were the only agency to say yes.” Since then, JFS has overseen thirtyfive LGBT first adoptions. Additionally, their home studies for second parent adoption have provided security and stability to eighty-seven children who, in the event something happens to their biological or originally adopting parent, will still have a legal relationship with the only other parent they have ever known. For Kelner, what’s even more important than these impressive numbers is the care JFS provides its clients: “It is not the quantitative that makes me proud. It is the qualitative…. Our clients speak of the way we treat members of the LGBT community— with dignity, respect, and openness, as potential parents like all others, wanting to create loving families with a partner or as single people.” The organization has enthusiastically advocated for gay marriage rights at the state level as well. “In 2005, Teri testified as an adoption professional before the Children and Family Affairs Committee of the State House of Representatives against the dangerous bill to ban gay adoption in Tennessee,” Kelner said. “In 2010, I expressed to multiple state legislators JFS’s strong opposition to another potential bill to ban gay adoption in Tennessee. And if this bill should rear its ugly head again, we will be there again to help defeat it.” Very few of JFS’s LGBT clients are Jewish. JFS Board Member Stan Schklar said, “JFS supports LGBT
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JFS HELPED MAKE MY DREAM OF BECOMING A PARENT A REALITY. FROM BEGINNING TO END, THEY PROVIDED SKILLFUL AND COMPASSIONATE GUIDANCE THROUGH THE LONG AND EMOTIONAL ADOPTION JOURNEY. I HAVE REFERRED MANY OTHER FAMILIES TO THEM, AND I REMAIN FOREVER GRATEFUL AND BLESSED FOR THE WORK THEY DO IN THE LGBT COMMUNITY. MARIA SALAS adoption rights because Jews remember what it was like to face that kind of discrimination. There was a time when no one would help Jews adopt without a pledge to raise the child in a particular non-Jewish faith. So we stand against this discrimination too.” While JFS is no longer the only agency in Middle Tennessee to handle LGBT adoption, they still do the vast majority, and LGBT adoption accounts for over half of all of JFS’s adoptions. Until recently, JFS bore the full cost of providing this service to LGBT couples, but funding cuts have led them to reach out to the LGBT community for support. This year, JFS will again be hosting a large house-party fundraiser to increase awareness of their services and their need for support among the LGBT community. For more information about JFS’s adoption program and how you can help, visit http://jfsnashville.org/services/ adoption-journeys/
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HOT LOOKS FOR HALLOWEEN
INSPIRED BY YOUR FAVORITE SHOWS
AMERICAN HORROR STORY: COVEN
SUPER HERO Super heroes will always be a sure choice for any Halloween night. With so many spandex-clad hotties from your favorite comic books appearing as blockbuster hits, super heroes always go over well.
TRUE BLOOD
Premiering last October, FX’s American Horror Story: Coven was one of the most popular seasons of the hit show to date. With so many characters to choose from, gaining inspiration for Halloween couldn’t be simpler. For Fiona Goode, just think highfashion black and accessorize with more black: black gloves paired with black shades, a small, black umbrella and you’re set. Don’t forget to bring a cigarette for added effect, because, let’s face it, witch loved her smokes. For Madam Delphine LaLaurie, think 18th century socialite, slash serial killer: smear a little fake blood on your face and you’re set. A simple white Grecian dress wrapped with cloth bands, a head
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wrap and animal tooth necklaces will transform you into the perfect voodoo priestess, Marie Laveau. Don’t forget a fake snake to help raise your army of the dead. And for Marie’s lover, the Minotaur, well, a bull’s head or horns and ragged pants will suffice. No shirt required, or desired. Spalding, the Academy’s servant, requires a creepy grey wig and dirty, long fingernails, paired with a butler’s outfit. And last, but certainly not least, for Myrtle Snow, find your inspiration in seventies chic, with loud bright patterns, a crimped, frizzy red wig and cat eye glasses.
OCTOBER 2014
In honor of HBO’s final season of True Blood and one of the show’s hottest characters, Eric Northman, grab a set of fake fangs and blood. Get your leather out and and leave the shirt at home.
GAME OF THRONES All things medieval repurpose well for one of HBO’s hottest series, Game of Thrones. For male characters like Jaime Lannister, John Snow or Joffrey Baratheon, grab outfits perfect for Camelot and add fake weaponry. For the Mother of Dragons, Daenerys Targaryen, get a long, blonde wig and show some skin with a beautiful, light dress. For added effect, add a pet dragon.
BREAKING BAD
A hazmat or bee-keeper suit with a face mask and rubber gloves will allow you to create the ideal Walter White, from AMC’s Breaking Bad.
ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK
An orange or beige jumpsuit or pair of scrubs with a simple white, longsleeve thermal shirt underneath would make the perfect Alex and Piper from Netflix’s series Orange is the New Black. Accessorize with dark rimmed glasses and fake tattoos for Alex or a blonde wig for Piper and you’re all set.
A very special thanks to the staff at Performance Studios for their assistance with the wardrobe and styling of this feature. All costumes props and special effects are available for rent or purchase. Performance Studios is located at 523 W. Thompson Lane in Nashville. @O U T A N D A B O U T N A S H
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Well, folks, it’s that time of year again! The Grizzlies’ sixth annual Grizzlies Red Dress Rampage is right around the corner! The event was originally conceived as a way to have a fun day while also raising money for the Grizzlies’ travel fund and local nonprofits, such as the Belcourt Theatre and Friends of Shelby Park. For the first three years, the event was held in the Belmont/12 South area, but then it jumped across the river to the 5 Points neighborhood of East Nashville, where it has taken place ever since. When asked why the Grizzlies chose a Red Dress event instead of a more traditional fundraiser, Mark Pilkington responded, “While there had been popular red dress runs across the country and a famous one in New Orleans, we thought this was an event that Nashvillians would love. The concept hasn’t changed much, if any, six years later. There have been an infiltration of numerous different runs over the years, but the Red Dress Rampage is still an event truly like no other in Nashville.” The concept of the event is simple: you dress up in a red outfit (dresses are
preferred) and then run/walk to five different bars, enjoying a Yazoo beer at each location. The Grizzlies are still laying out the route for this year’s run, but Mark was excited to announce, “This year we are excited to add additional sponsors and bars to the mix. The Crying Wolf is one of our newest bars, in addition to Beyond the Edge, Lipstick Lounge, Drifters and Edgefield Sports Bar.” This year the proceeds will be going to support the Nashville Grizzlies RFC so they can continue to curtail travel and other costs for the players. Mark explained, “As a traveling team, we want everyone to be able to participate in the sport and not be constricted by any financial difficulties.” Participation in the event costs $35, but for that fabulous price you get six Yazoo beers and an awesome commemorative koozie! So, come out on Saturday, October 18th to Beyond the Edge at 11 a.m. to support your Nashville Grizzlies and have a Rampaging good time! For more information about this and other Grizzlies activities, visit their website: http://www.grizzliesrugby.org/.
™
2014
Our lgbt rEADErS’ chOicE AwArDS... nOminAtE nOw!
Gay Faves 2014 – our LGBT readers choice awards – begins its two-week nomination process on October 15. Readers can log onto the O&AN website October 15 -31 and nominate their favorite LGBT individuals, businesses, and community events in 50 categories. Once the nominations have been tallied, readers will then be able to vote on the Top 3 nominations in each category. Voting will begin on November 1 and continue until close of business on Friday, November 14. Winners will be unveiled in the O&AN year-end wrap up Gay Faves issue in December.
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OUTANDABOUTNASHVILLE.COM
OCTOBER 2014
For sixteen years, Ted Jensen and Kevin Medley operated OutLoud Bookstore, and for many of those years it was one of the original nuclei of the Nashville gay community. “There wasn’t anybody around at that time that didn’t end up there at some point,” Ted Jensen said. Now, former OutLoud owner Jensen, along with partner Robert Parker, is launching a new business endeavor sure to appeal to environmentalists, locavores and foodies, an LGBT owned and operated farm providing community supported agriculture (CSA). Jensen well-known in the Nashville LGBT community. The history of OutLoud Bookstore, once Nashville’s de facto community center, lies in Jensen’s own coming out experience. “In college, I was on the way to a Crusaders for Christ meeting,” he recalls. “Somehow, instead I ended up at Virginia Tech’s gay student group. I really began coming out at the point, but I was confused. The church of
course said it was wrong, and what little I knew about gay culture—mostly drag queens—made me confused about where I could fit. Libraries and bookstores were where I did my research.” It was the frustration of trying to find his place that inspired the store. “OutLoud was supposed to be a safe place for anyone to come and be who they were: gay, straight, bisexual, and questioning. Over the years, especially when we were in the process of closing,” Jensen recalled proudly, “I had parents come in and say it was a safe haven for their kids, that their children would have died without it.” Unlike many traditional gay spaces, OutLoud was a family friendly environment and was a sanctuary for young and confused people. In 2002, six years after opening the store, Jensen and Medley bought a farm in Hohenwald. It was a private retreat, and they originally intended to operate the store and make the farm
self- sustaining. “When the economic crash came,” Jensen said, “around the same time you saw the collapse of small booksellers, we just couldn’t maintain the store. We officially moved to the farm on May 1, 2010, and continued to commute to the store daily, but we just couldn’t keep that up. We closed up in 2012.” Around that same time, Jensen and Medley met Robert Parker, who is now Jensen’s partner. Parker had farmed and helped operate a small CSA in Liberty, Tennessee. Parker said, “They needed someone on-hand with experience, so it was a good fit for us all.” Ted had already worked for ten years to build up the soil with cover crops, so the farm was nearly ready. After about six months, Medley and Jensen separated, and Medley left the farming operation. “Kevin and I were in the public eye a lot,” Jensen said. “We’re still best friends. We just have different passions and different paths.” They did, however, still hold the lease on the stretch of Church Street than now includes OutCentral, Canvas, and WKND, and subleasing to those businesses provided them with some income, until a prolonged legal battle dried up that revenue stream. Parker explains, “We never intended to make a business out of the farm. Our original goal was to be off the grid, and sell or donate excess produce.” Once their other revenue stream dried up, however, Jensen and Parker had to think about how they could monetize their farm. Given Parker’s experience with the CSA model, they recognized a number of options. In the CSA model, the customer makes a commitment to a set number of weeks. “They’re buying into the farm, the real food experience,” Parker explained. Cudge Hollow offers customers an advantage,
however, Jensen said: “Since we’ll have Amish farms providing backup produce, customers don’t have the same liability. Crop failure won’t mean our customers lose out.” Also, in many CSAs, customers get food they don’t like. Cudge Hollow will be a customer selected CSA. “The customer selects what they want. People meet at a central location and each customer gets to fill a half-bushel as they see fit.” Right now the farm is producing milk products— including cottage and feta cheeses, yoghurt, butter, etc. Jensen says the immediate goal is “getting weekly subscribers for winter produce—milk, cheese, and eggs. Starting in the spring, we’ll be offering produce. We’re gonna specialize in a few crops and supplement with produce from Amish and Mennonite farms, naturally and sustainably farmed.” Jensen and Parker are organizing their weekly
drop off locations and are actively recruiting subscribers one taste test at a time. I had the opportunity to sample some of their milk-based products at OutCentral this month: their vanilla yoghurt is both pleasantly less tart that some commercial yoghurt, as well as richer and more flavorful. The same can be said of a fabulous farmer’s cheese. But by far my favorite is their cow’s milk feta, which is tangy and a bit salty, perfect for salads. The couple is eager to educate our community about their farm and the importance of supporting local, sustainable agriculture. Jensen added, “We hope that our friends will support our new mission, to help usher in the new phase. It’s not OutLoud, but it’s still all about community.” For more information about Cudge Hollow Farms visit https://www.facebook.com/CudgeHollowFarm.
THIS OCTOBER, IT’S ALL
TREATS AT NASHVILLE HUMANE ASSOCIATION • • • • •
Adoption Specials Events Festivals Microchip Clinics Teddy’s Wagon & much more!
Please visit our website for more details! nashvillehumane.org VISIT US 213 Oceola Avenue Nashville TN 37209 615.352.1010 Monday 10am – 5pm Tuesday 10am – 5pm Wednesday CLOSED Thursday 10am – 5pm Friday 10am – 5pm Saturday 10am – 5pm Sunday 12pm – 5pm
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///////////////JENNIFER KNAPP RELEASES MEMOIR DURING NATIONAL COMING OUT WEEK BY AMY E. HALL
FACING THE MUSIC
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OCTOBER 2014
Jennifer Knapp knows the power of a story. No stranger to penning poetic prose, the Grammy-nominated, DoveAward-winning Nashville singer/songwriter has five studio albums of original material to her credit, including her brand new project, Set Me Free, scheduled to drop on October 14. Throughout her musical career, she’s witnessed her fans’ heartfelt responses to her earthy folk-rock narratives, but in April of 2010, Knapp experienced an entirely new set of reactions from fans and foes alike when she publicly came out as a lesbian on a number of media outlets. Her story became one of overnight controversy, equally celebrated and criticized. Four years after an explosion of affirmation and attacks, Knapp’s memoir, Facing the Music: My Story, will hit the shelves on October 7. Though a seasoned songstress and storyteller, writing a book was not Knapp’s idea. “When I came out in 2010,” she explains, “and that kind of nuclear bomb went off in the public at large, a lot of the people that responded to that positively and [who] needed somebody in public to come out…a lot of the people that I talked to that experienced similar things were like, ‘Please, please just tell us how you did it. Please write a book.’” She didn’t seriously consider the possibility, however, until being approached by an editor at Simon & Schuster. “I run into people all the time that are desperate to find something that they know they can read and go, ‘Oh, wow. My life is like that.’ It has to be really close for some people. It has to be just like their story in order to make it helpful,” says Knapp. “So it’s important for me to tell my story, you yours and the next guy and the next guy so we can kind of find that everybodylive-life experience of what we all have to get through. For some people, it’ll be a Southern Baptist perspective. For another, it’d be like [an] I-don’t-wantreligion-at-all perspective.” A beneficiary of other people’s stories—presented in books like Rev. Dr. Mel White’s Stranger at the Gate, Anthony Venn-Brown’s A Life of Unlearning, and Jewish scholar Dr. Jay
Michaelson’s God vs. Gay?, as well as the documentary film A Jihad for Love— Knapp hopes to be able to pay it forward with Facing the Music. “I really wanted to try and write a book that people who left religion could still relate to and maybe even in some sense find peace with wherever they’ve landed—having left their faith or having accepted it in some fashion, in perhaps a new fashion, all the way to the other side—the people that I meet every day who…still really want to hold on to…the conservative practice of faith,” shares Knapp. “My hope is that everyone will be able to find ownership in their own story.” An engaging read for long-time fans, an enlightening perspective for those curious about the experiences of Christians who discover that they are gay, and an encouraging testimony for those in the process of coming to terms with their sexuality and spirituality, Facing the Music is an honest account of Knapp’s life from childhood to her public coming-out whirlwind of 2010. A book-release party will be held in connection with Vanderbilt University’s National Coming Out Week activities in the Reading Room of the Divinity School, located at 411 21st Ave. South in Nashville. Free and open to the public, the event will be held on October 11 and will begin at 5 p.m. Copies of Facing the Music will be available for purchase and Knapp will be present to do a reading from the book, host a brief Q&A session, perform a song or two, and sign books. Dr. Ellen Armour, Carpenter Associate Professor of Feminist Theology and Director of the Carpenter Program in Religion, Gender and Sexuality at Vanderbilt’s Divinity School, trusts that those who attend the event will not regret it. “What will really inspire them, I think, will be the theological and musical creativity, thoughtfulness and integrity that has brought [Knapp] to where she is now,” notes Armour. “I hope the event will show those struggling to reconcile who they love with a faith they love a way forward.”
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25
A LOOK AT THE
NASHVILLE OPERA’S
2014-15 SEASON JONNY LIM
Founded in 1981, Nashville Opera has become the largest opera company in Tennessee and continues to grow, now staging four productions a year. John Hoomes, the general artistic director and stage director of the Nashville Opera, spoke with O&A about the company and its upcoming season. Hoomes grew up in the Florida panhandle and graduated from Indiana University. He worked in major metropolises such as New York and Philadelphia before working his way down south. Hoomes was working in Louisville when the position for the Nashville Opera opened up. The rest is history: he has served the Nashville Opera for 20 years now. Hoomes says that he loves living in Nashville because of the city’s great support for the arts. Hoomes selects the productions for the Opera, and oversees everything from casting to costuming and lighting; his work is enormously important for the success of the company. He brings in singers from New York, Los Angeles, and sometimes Europe, and also selects singers from the cream of Nashville’s crop of classical vocalists. Most often, local singers fill chorus positions, which can number between twelve and sixty depending on the show. Perhaps Hoomes’s most important task is programming the four central shows of the Opera’s annual season. For major performances, he says that he picks shows that are guaranteed to please audiences, such as Carmen or Aida. Throughout the year, however, he does pick edgier shows. This year, Hoomes has chosen La Bohème as the fall centerpiece. Composed by Giacomo Puccini, La Bohème is about six young, poor artists in Paris. (The popular musical Rent is loosely based on this opera.) Hoomes says that he chose this show particularly because of its accessibility. Since it is one of the most famous operas, he said, “If someone hasn’t
been to an opera, it is a great piece to start with because it’s beautiful, it’s funny, it’s sad and the music is fantastic.” Hoomes described it as the operatic equivalent of the television show, Friends. La Bohème and most of the Opera’s major shows are staged at TPAC. However, smaller shows are performed in the Noah Liff Opera Center, the home of the Nashville Opera. This year in December, Romulus Hunt: A Family Opera will be performed there. The performance is notable in that it was composed by singer-songwriter Carly Simon, who will be in Nashville for the performance. In January, a Spanish opera by Mexican composer Daniel Catán, Florencia en el Amazonas, will be performed in the Jackson Polk Theatre at TPAC. Hoomes describes this show, which has never before been staged in Nashville, as very romantic and lush. In April, the season will conclude with Gilbert and Sullivan’s iconic show, The Pirates of Penzance. In this comic opera, the audience will follow pirates on unforgettable adventures in wordplay, more than swordplay, on the high seas. The phenomenal music is an unforgettable treat. Hoomes is eager for the Nashville Opera to connect with the LGBT community. He says that in all the companies he worked with previously, he has felt a huge sense of support from and opera attendance by the LGBT community. In Nashville, he does not feel that this relationship has been well developed, and he is serious about building more bridges with our community. His belief that the LGBT communities have a natural connection with opera is driving Nashville Opera’s outreach efforts in those regards. For more information about this year’s season, and how you can support Nashville’s fine arts through the Nashville Opera, visit http://www. nashvilleballet.com/.
BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL 26
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OCTOBER 2014
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27
NASHVILLE BALLET’S 2014-15 SEASON 28
OCTOBER 17–19
SWAN LAKE
BY JAZ DORSEY
Nashville Ballet traces its roots to 1974, with the opening of The Dancers Studio in Green Hills. Defying the odds facing a small arts group, The Dancers Studio survived and evolved to become Nashville Ballet in 1987. In 1989, Paul Vasterling joined the company as a dancer, and nine years later, in 1998, he was named Artistic Director. Under Vasterling, Nashville Ballet has become a world-class ballet company, making its international debut in Basel, Switzerland, in 1999. The following year, the company moved into its permanent home at 3630 Redmon Street. I was able to grab a quick word with Sharyn Mahoney, who is the Director of Artistic Operations. In that capacity she is the overseer of all creative operations, the Education and Outreach Program, and the School of the Nashville Ballet. Sharyn gave me some extra insight into the Ballet’s exciting 2014–2015 season, which kicks off in October. While ballet does not happen without a tremendous team of dedicated artists, Nashville Ballet owes much of its success to its Artistic Director, Paul Vasterling. Mahoney says “Paul Vasterling has done a tremendous job of capturing what we have here at our fingertips here in Nashville.” Vasterling and his company are truly one of Music City’s greatest cultural treasures. For further information, see www. nashvilleballet.com.
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This iconic work by Tchaikovsky has been referenced so often in popular culture that its music is certainly familiar to us all. The production employs the traditional and timehonored 1895 choreography by Petipa and Ivanov, whose choreography of this ballet has been presented for over a century by dance companies world-wide. The Nashville production is supplemented with choreography by the artistic director or its resident choreographer for scenes where the original choreography has been lost. This allows the company to showcase its own creativity within the ballet’s traditional presentation.
DECEMBER 6–24
NASHVILLE’S NUTCRACKER
Over 200 dancers, including an extensive youth cast, will perform Nashville Ballet’s reinvention of this Tchaikovsky Christmas classic. Vasterling has set Nashville’s version during Nashville’s 1897 Centennial Exhibition. The story’s central character, Clara, first encounters the subjects of her later Christmas Eve visions when visiting the International Exhibition. For this adaptation, Vasterling did a great deal of research in the Nashville Public Library’s Nashville Room. The ballet opens with a skating scene set in Shelby Bottoms Park.
FEBRUARY 13–15
ATTITUDE
Attitude is a mixed repertory work that combines the music of Johnny and June Carter Cash, the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice as tone-painted by Philip Glass, and the ballet And Legions Will Rise by Brian Enos . It provides audiences a chance to experience both representational and abstract works within a broader definition of ballet, while challenging the dancers to communicate in divergent styles. FEBRUARY 14th
PETER AND THE WOLF
Peter and the Wolf is Prokofiev’s wonderful melodrama for children of all ages, here presented as a ballet. The Nashville Symphony will join the Ballet to tell this now-familiar story, which was written by Prokofiev himself. It will introduce audiences to the instruments of the orchestra, as each character is represented by a different instrument. Local artist Norris Hall created the set, which opens like a children’s pop-up book.
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APRIL 24–26
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A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a ballet based on composer Felix Mendelssohn’s Overture and Incidental Music to Shakespeare’s play; familiar in the music is the Wedding March that is nowadays commonplace as a wedding recessional. Combining this music and dance with Shakespeare’s wonderful storyline creates another great experience for all audiences.
MAY 10–17
CLOWNS AND OTHERS
Clowns and Others is the perfect introduction to the world of ballet. The choreographer, Salvatore Aiello, uses clowns and other circus elements to capture human personalities in amazing ways. Kids will love its slapstick comedy and older audiences will enjoy its adult humor. MAY 14–16
EMERGENCE
Emergence is a series of works created by the choreographers and dancers of the Nashville Ballet themselves. In a span of two-and-a-half weeks (normal rehearsal time is five to six weeks), the artists team-up to create original works that are often presented as works-inprogress. This gives the audience a window on the Ballet’s artistic process and provides the Ballet a workshop for developing new pieces. OCTOBER 2014
NASHVILLE ARTIST
THOMAS BRODHEAD
ON DISPLAY AT THE K.C. POTTER CENTER
Your life. Your pharmacy. BY CODY TRACEY
The K.C. Potter Center—home of Vanderbilt University’s Office of LGBTQI Life—got a vibrant new look this fall. The center’s new director, Chris Purcell, decided the walls of the center should reflect LGBT art of Nashville and Middle Tennessee. He first showcased paintings by Arthur Kirkby, a local artist made prominent when his work appeared on the popular show, Nashville. Time came to cycle the art in August, and Purcell put out a call for local artists to submit their work for consideration. Thomas Brodhead, an accomplished musicologist and aspiring painter, submitted his colorful, comical, and yet darkly ironic work. On his art’s merits and with Kirkby’s recommendation, Brodhead was selected, and now twenty of his paintings grace the Center’s walls.
nations of abstract works that we’ve all seen at galleries. So my work is a reaction to those things: the more color I put into the image, the better, and the more abstruse and ridiculous I make the explanation, the better. And that’s true even when I’m making serious commentary. CT: You call your work “epigrammatic.” Could you explain that? TB: An epigram is a witty, concise summary of something. My writing is often expansive, so I’m stretching the definition a bit, but it’s still accurate in that it’s an explanation of the thing. I’m actually trying to marry visuals and words in a humorous way, where the painting and its epigram are interdependent...you can’t experience the total work without viewing one and reading the other.
CT: What motivates your work?
CT: Does that make you an illustrator of sorts?
TB: Color, motion, and narrative. I’m not a fan of Rembrandt’s partially lit faces surrounded by a veil of darkness, and I also puzzle at the rarefied expla-
TB: Yes and no. I typically mix serious social commentary with tongue-incheek humor. But the painting comes CON’T ON PG 31
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NASHVILLE VS FACEBOOK UNTUCKED BY PAIGE TURNER
HOLY UNTUCKED! IN CASE YOU HAVEN’T HEARD, THE DRAG COMMUNITY IS IN A COMPLETE UPROAR WORLDWIDE OVER A SOCIAL MEDIA LOCKDOWN. THAT’S RIGHT, FOLKS! OUR WONDERFUL FRIENDS AT FACEBOOK ANNOUNCED EARLIER THIS WEEK THAT ANYONE USING A FAKE/STAGE NAME WOULD BE BLOCKED FROM THEIR ALIAS ACCOUNTS. MANY SUSPECTED THIS TO BE A RUMOR, LIKE THOSE WE ALWAYS SEE ON FACEBOOK, BUT THIS ONE I KNOW FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IS VERY TRUE.
You see, there are little things hidden in the Terms of Use you agreed to when you set up your account with the social media site. Let’s face it, how many people really do read that stuff? Over two years ago, when logging into my “Paige Turner” account, I received a message stating something to the tune of “Your account has been temporarily suspended because it looks like you are not using your real name. Facebook is a community where people use their REAL identities. We REQUIRE everyone to provide their real name so you always know who
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OCTOBER 2014
you’re connecting with. Don’t worry, you will be able to get back into your timeline with you FULL REAL name.” I responded that this was my real name, and I even contacted Facebook. I explained that Paige Turner was a stage name, a persona created and lived by me! So it was me! They responded by saying, “If you send valid proof that your name is Paige Turner in the form of state identification, you can regain access to your account. Otherwise it will be deleted.” So, I gave in and just created a fan (LIKE) page so I wouldn’t run into this issue again. I was very upset because I was losing a large number of followers. I wanted their heads in a bag! But, in all seriousness, I wish I would have pressed and fought the issue more. If more of us had, then maybe Facebook wouldn’t be on its modern day witch hunt, forcing the queens to change their names. Many queens have fallen victim to this in the past months, but the targeting of a big name really brought the issue into the spotlight. Even some RuPaul girls, including Sharon Needles, have fallen prey to Facebook’s policy. But it was Sister Roma who made a big stand, announcing a full-on protest at the Facebook headquarters. The protest was later canceled after Facebook agreed to meet with her and the protestors. Ultimately, this meeting failed: the Real Name Policy would not be changed. While Facebook announced that they would reinstate the profiles LGBT community members recently targeted, suspended, or removed, Facebook hoped that within 2 weeks those users will either confirm their official
identity, change to their legal names, or move to a fan page. Tons of people use fake names on Facebook. Many college students do it because they don’t want anything to come back and haunt them. Law enforcement officers, teachers, and I’m sure even some politicians—because you know we all watched House of Cards—do it for the same reason. True, if I never saw another “HOTBOY GOODLOVIN” tranny chasing me on my fan page, I wouldn’t mind, but I don’t want that at the risk of not using my stage name. I can’t help but ask why the drag community is being so aggressively targeted, while realsounding fake profiles that are used to lure children and other victims aren’t on Facebook’s radar. They are just surfing your newsfeed as you read this. Facebook is friendlier to the electronic “white van with blacked out windows” than it is to drag performers. Many queens, like the legendary Jackie Beat, who has not yet been affected, are leaving the social media site. She said, “I will not and cannot stand around and remain silent while my friends and family are being threatened.” A lot of girls are opting for more drag-focused media sites, such as Dragwatch.com, which allow drag queens and their fans to interact and connect. Whether Facebook will back down on this policy is yet to be seen, but I know the queens stand strong together on this issue and are not backing down. It has, in one sense, brought back the old camaraderie: Queens really care about one another and have each other’s backs.
CON’T FROM PG 29 first, the commentary second. I sometimes begin a painting without a definite message in mind; it’s only after I’m finished that the writing begins. And I simply ask myself, “What do I see in this painting?” I don’t mean to prescribe an exact interpretation for anyone, as everyone will see different things, and that’s exactly the way art works. But if I can put a smile on your face either by the image or the writing, then I’ve accomplished my goal. CT: Does that mean you’re a comedian?
TB: I think of myself as a satirist, most especially in my writing. But I’m dead-serious about visual appeal, comic or otherwise. The paintings are hyper-fauvist…they’re definitely not by Rembrandt. And I do enjoy the element of narrative, something that was all but lost in 20th century visual art. And if that’s not immediately suggested by the images in the painting, it will take shape in the epigram. CT: Now, some of your work seems to be for, shall we say, a mature audience? TB: Ha! I know a local curator who told CON’T ON PG 33
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October 10 – 12 Cowboys ‘n Boots Weekend Country music and men in tight jeans! A country recipe for fun! Cowpoke Ho-Down on Saturday night at The Tavern with country music. Dust off your hats and get back on that horse! It is going to be a long hard ride! Break out the boots men.
October 31 – November 2 Monster Bash Halloween Weekend Friday Night Halloween Costume Party and Saturday Night Leather Party! Great music videos, lights, and dancing! Upper levels and lower levels shots party on Friday & Nights!
November 14 – 16 Harvest Weekend Special 10% discount on 2-night stay.
November 28 – December 1 Harvest Weekend Special Traditional menu and a gathering of great friends. Special Gobble-Gobble GO-GO Dance Parties Friday and Saturday nights!
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MISS GAY AMERICA
RETURNS HOME Local Queen Suzy Wong among the Contestants BY JONNY LIM
Miss Gay America, an annual female impersonation pageant founded in Nashville, is set to return to its hometown for the first time on October 8–12, 2014! Jerry Peek started MGA in 1972 in his Nashville bar, the Watch Your Hat and Coat Saloon. Jerry founded the pageant because, “Back in the dark ages (my 20s), just about every gay person watched the Miss America pageant religiously. At my club, the reaction to the female impersonation shows was phenomenal. It just struck me that there should be a contest to showcase these amazingly talented people.” Peek is rightfully proud of the pageant. “Thanks to Norma Kristie, then Larry Tiger and Terry Eason, the vision I had all those years ago has become the longest continuous running pageant for female impersonators in the world.” Forty-two years later, MGA holds a reputation for being one of the largest, most prestigious, and most respected of such pageants. Contestants demonstrate that they have what it takes to be performers through creative, sophisticated, and elegant performers. The pageant encourages the growth of the art form that is female impersonation. It highlights a contestant’s ability to separate himself from his onstage female persona while still conveying a believable female illusion without alteration of the body.
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OUTANDABOUTNASHVILLE.COM
OCTOBER 2014
The pageant operates on a model very similar to Miss America or Miss USA. Contestants progress through regional and state competitions, with each state’s winner and one alternate advancing to the national pageant. Each contestant then participates in four days of competition that include talent, male interview, solo talent, and evening gown. Talents include live vocals, dance and comedy skits, but lip syncing is the most popular route. The male interview allows the judges to become more familiar with the contestants and to judge their transformation in drag more accurately. On the final night, the top ten contestants advance to the onstage question and evening gown portions. The queen crowned MGA will receive a cash prize, jewelry, and sponsorship opportunities. MGA will bring contestants from all over the nation to Nashville for a fierce competition. Tennessee will be represented by Miss Gay TN America Iris Le’Fluer and first alternate Bella Duballe, both of Memphis (which, incidentally, is where the state competition was held). Nashville native and celebrity chef Arnold Myint’s alter ego, Suzy Wong, will also be competing, representing Miss Gay California as first alternate. This will be Myint’s third year competing in the pageant. Formerly Miss Gay Tennessee and Miss Mid America, he looks forward to representing his other home, California. “My decision to qualify through a preliminary on the West Coast was simple,” he said. “This is a National Pageant and I feel that I owe it to myself to learn and develop bonds from coast to coast.” Myint, who became enamored of the glamour and beauty of the LadyBoy productions he attended with his family while on vacation in Thailand, views his identity as a brand. He feels his approach will be mutually beneficial to him and to the pageant. “Marketing is key to the success of any business. MGA is just that, a business: one that requires commitment, focus, and vision.” Should he win, Myint hopes to use his platform to contribute to the pageant’s legacy and to develop the reputation of both MGA and Suzy Wong. Organizer Jerry Peek is among those most excited about the pageant’s
return to Nashville. Ever since he met Tiger and Eason, the pageant’s current owners, he’s been encouraging them to bring MGA back to Nashville “just once before I actually [make] my final exit. Thankfully they have made it possible for me to see my dream realized. I will forever be grateful to them. I actually don’t have words to describe how much it means to me.”
MGA founder Jerry Peek with Joe Heatherly in front of the Watch Your Coat and Hat Saloon in 1971.
Miss Iris Le’Fluer, 2015 Miss Gay Tenneessee America
About fifty contestants will be participating at MGA this year. It will be held in the Grand Ballroom of the Millennium Maxwell House in Nashville, October 8–12. For information and tickets, please visit www. missgayamerica.com.
CON’T FROM PG 31 me that many of my pieces would be barely acceptable for display or discussion in a college setting, let alone a high school art class. CT: So, your more risqué pieces are not on display at Vanderbilt right now?
TB: Yes, understandably. If you peruse my website, in which my pieces are organized into carousel-operated galleries, you’ll see some paintings that may make your jaw drop. And each painting has its epigram directly to the right of the image, often with red hyperlinks that will open videos and other web pages in a separate tab. The hyperlinks amplify my writing and add to its humor, so I encourage everyone to click on them, but be prepared for the unexpected. CT: Is there any over-arching theme you want to convey? TB: Yes: life is ironic, absurd, pathetic, and wonderful. We’ve all suffered pain that no one else can fully appreciate, and in my case, my own ability to see and be amused by the ironic and the absurd within it is precisely what has helped me get through it. If I can remove someone from whatever personal hell they may be enduring on a given day, even for a moment...well, then, I’ve lightened their load and succeeded. Brodhead’s paintings at the K.C. Potter Center are both on display and for sale. See more of his art and writings at www. thomasbrodhead.com.
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BEING OUT TO YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT THESE ISSUES CAN IMPROVE MEDICAL OUTCOMES Cosmetic surgery Sexual reassignment surgery (SRS) Breast Augmentation Some transwomen resort to the black market so are at higher risk of postoperative infections.
ON A TRANS-
MISSION BEING MEDICALLY OUT BY BOBBI WILLIAMS
About three years ago I slipped and fell while getting dressed for bed. I bruised my hip pretty badly, so the next morning I went to see my doctor. She smiled and shook her head critically. “High heels again?” she asked. “No,” I replied, but then added, “I was taking off my pantyhose.” “You see?” she said, almost smiling. “Being a woman is dangerous” I nodded. Being a transgender woman is dangerous, I said to myself. A couple years before that, shortly after I came out to her, I developed a rash. After the doctor’s usual questions she paused, looked at my chart and said “You changed make-up brands?” She learned well, although it was clear when I first came out to her that she didn’t have a clue (most medical people don’t), so a few days later I brought her some pertinent literature. We had a short chat about gender identity, sexual orientation, and the impact one’s LGBT status can have on his or her health issues. Some of it may seem trivial, but sometimes it’s the trivial that trips us up. When I ask my transgender brothers and sisters if their doctor is aware of their transgender status, many reply that it’s “none of his (or her) business.” But it is. Or if it’s not, it should be.
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Post-op Treatment Because they are now their true gender transpeople may avoid preventive procedures like prostrate screening and pap smears.
Medical professionals need to know about our health issues, and, for now, it’s up to us to teach them. If yours isn’t receptive to learning, it’s time to find a new provider. In order to best secure your health, your doctor needs to know you are trans, and he or she needs to know what that entails and be able to discuss it intelligently and objectively. Insurance plans routinely deny insurance coverage for SRS and other procedures; a patient who declares transgender status can be denied coverage for ailments and injuries associated with it. A transman was denied coverage for an injury sustained during a local soccer match because he was considered a female who was playing on a man’s team In order for transfolk to improve their quality of life through better access to healthcare, issues such as those above make it critical that we are open and honest with our medical professionals. And it is equally important for them to become educated and to be open to and understanding of transpatients. As for my pantyhose accident? Well, my doctor was smart enough to leave that part off the record. Dr. Bobbi Williams is an author, teacher, lecturer, and consultant. Comments may be sent to her at bobbi@bobbiw.net
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OCTOBER 2014
STDs & HIV Transwomen are at higher risk of HIV and many are on the ‘down low.’ Medical professionals need to be discrete and respectful, especially toward those who ‘work the streets’ as the only way to obtain money for hormones and/or surgery.
FIND OUT MORE ON THE WEB Right to Dignity
(Barriers to Healthcare for Transgenders)
http://tinyurl.com/p8bzs9n The State of Transgender Health Care http://tinyurl.com/q9poqnl TransHealth Web Site: http://tinyurl.com/cgyo52
Electrolysis This common procedure can come with unanticipated health issues, like a histamine response, congestion of superficial capillaries, scars, and bumpy skin; most of those clear up over time, but sometimes medical treatment is necessary. Hormones Many in the trans community purchase hormones without a prescription and take them without medical supervision, but there’s no good research on the effect they have on those born in the other gender. Potential side effects include blood clotting, strokes and anemia.
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Brian (right), with his spouse, Greg, son, Micah & new daughter Esther.
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