13 minute read
FILM
from AUGUST 2022
THEY/THEM Debuts on Peacock
John Logan previews his highly anticipated queer psychological thriller.
By ZACH McKENZIE
When a group of queer youth arrive at Whistler Camp, a secluded conversion-therapy site tucked deep in the woods, it’s quickly revealed to be hell on Earth—in more ways than one. In addition to the horrendous treatment they experience at the hands of their counselors (including actors Kevin Bacon and Anna Chlumsky), they’re also faced with a masked murderer who picks people off, one by one.
Award-winning screenwriter John Logan (whose screenplays include The Aviator, Gladiator, and Skyfall) makes his directorial debut with a new take on the horror genre. The psychological thriller THEY/THEM (pronounced They Slash Them) will premiere exclusively on Peacock
on Friday, August 5. Logan sat down with OutSmart to chat about his film.
The original setting for THEY/THEM was not a conversion camp, Logan explains. “It started with wanting to write something about horror and gender. Horror cinema has a really complicated relationship with gender and sexual identification. When I was growing up, queer characters mostly didn’t exist on screen. If they were in horror movies, they were victims, jokes, or killers, but they were never the hero. There was never a queer character you rooted for.”
Longing for the film he wished he’d had as a kid, Logan put pen to paper. “When COVID happened, every writer I know (including myself) suddenly had a chance to write something for ourselves, from the heart. I had met some kids who had gone through conversion therapy in the past, and their stories about what that experience was like really stayed with me. It seemed very natural to me to write a movie where the greatest horror isn’t necessarily the masked killer, but what’s going on in the conversion camp.”
In addition to writing the film, Logan directs and executive-produces THEY/THEM, steering the ship as he taps into his favorite film genre. “I could have written a very serious indie movie on this subject, but I’m a popular writer. That’s what I do,” he adds. “I want to write for (and appeal to) audiences, and I love horror movies. I take every trope of the slasher movie—from it being set in a camp in the dark woods to having a killer with the mask—and use all of those parts and subvert it in an interesting way to tell a story that is about queer empowerment in, of all things, a slasher movie!”
Authenticity is the name of the game for Logan, as THEY/THEM features an LGBTQ ➝cast depicting all of the queer characters
in the fi lm. “It’s a movie about the power of belief in yourself, protecting your identity, and proclaiming who you are with glory. It was important to me that those seven actors could embody that. I wanted LGBTQ+ actors who were associated in some way with those roles.”
An exhaustive casting search ultimately led to some on-screen magic. “The actors were incredibly generous and straightforward with me, talking about language, issues, and things they had experienced that were either like the character or unlike the character,” Logan says. “It was joyous to watch on set, because they were so proud of the story they got to tell. I think that comes through in the movie.”
Logan doesn’t shy away from scenes that are oftentimes erased from cinema. “We’ve had 100 years of straight sex in mainstream movies, so it’s about damn time we embrace the joy of queer sex in a mainstream movie.”
The gay creator even adds an unexpected musical moment in the fi lm. “At an important point in the movie, we do a proper song-anddance number, partly because I’m a show queen and I own that. But more importantly, ‘Jordan,’ our hero, is at a very low point. They have to rediscover their pride and their power. Pink’s song ‘F’ing Perfect’ was the song to do that with, and I know how much it would have meant to me when I was a kid to hear someone tell me I was perfect just the way I was.” He adds, “That was the best day on the set, because I got to be Martin Scorsese and Bob Fosse on the same day!”
With his proven ability to create spaces that keep viewers entertained and engaged, Logan set out to create a thought-provoking fi lm that also sends a message. “The movie fails utterly if it is not emotional. If you just want to have a sensation of ‘Oh, I had a good scare,’ then go take a roller-coaster ride. That’s not art,” he emphasizes. “What cinema can do is give you characters you fall in love with, that you can’t help rooting for. My (and everyone’s) intention was to try to make a moving human story within the shell of this incredibly entertaining horror movie.”
THEY/THEM premieres August 5 exclusively on Peacock. For more info, visit peacocktv.com.
Exclusive Service for Exceptional Homes.
Looking for a vacation home or maybe a place to retire?
Now you have a connection with a broker you can trust. 30 years helping clients in Houston... now ready to help you fi nd your home in Palm Springs... or Fort Lauderdale. CALL OR TEXT ME...I CAN HELP YOU FIND YOUR PLACE IN PARADISE!
FOODIES WHERE HOUSTON’S SHOP & DINE
don’t miss our epicurean market featuring locally sourced & unique specialty items
3414 WASHINGTON AVE feasturbaneats.com @FEASTURBANEATS
Shakin’ the Blue Flamingo
Gwen Flager’s new play tells the story of six older lesbians planning a school’s first LGBTQ prom.
By JENNY BLOCK
Shakin’ the Blue Flamingo cast
Gwen Flager is a playwright who knows how to tell a story and capture an audience. She tried her hand at writing a novel, but she wasn’t comfortable with the end product. “I discovered that I loved writing dialogue to tell a story. I had more fun writing dialogue,” she says. “Playwriting was the logical vehicle to get me down that road.”
The out Shreveport, Louisiana native, who says she’s “old enough to remember 8-track tapes,” is currently living in southern Nevada after having moved to Houston following graduation from the University of South Alabama in Mobile. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, and her full-length plays Waiting to Be Mended and Shakin’ the Blue Flamingo were produced in Houston, as were her 10-minute plays In Flight and Jornada del Muerto.
Houstonians can now see Flager’s Shakin’ the Blue Flamingo, produced by Dirt Dogs UNLEASHED in association with Sweet Darlin’ Productions, August 12–20 at the Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston (MATCH).
Shakin’ the Blue Flamingo “tells the tale of six older lesbians planning the first LGBTQ prom for local high school seniors, whose jealousies, resentments, and regrets are fired up when the successful sorority sister returns to romance the woman she has loved all her life,” Flager says.
Director Bonnie Hewitt sets the show’s tone and the mood “almost before you’ve sat down,” according to Flager. “She’s phenomenal. There’s a feel. Before you even hear the first line, you are guided to a place to be receptive, to be curious. It gets you ready to be vulnerable, to exhale, to get to that place of once-upon-a-time.”
Flager chose the subject matter of the play to tell the stories of older lesbians like herself. “This story, to me, is about that sense of purpose for a woman to return to the love of her life. It’s about that passion to love someone you’ve loved all your life.”
Flager wants audiences to know that her play is inspired by women that she’s known and loved. “Most of the characters are composites of old friends, old loves. These women are your sisters, aunts, mothers, cousins,” she emphasizes. “These women are family.”
Flager’s work reveals the lives of lesbians who grew up in a time when it was neither fashionable nor safe to claim such an identity. “These stories reveal the courage of these nontraditional women to love one another, to claim happiness, to defy hatred. My characters are bound and determined to enjoy life,” she says. “I hope this will bring a light into our lives.” ➝
Despite her success in the field, Flager is not sure that playwriting is her calling, even though writing certainly is. “I love to write,” she says. “I feel a satisfaction, and perhaps a sense of accomplishment when I tell a good story through dialogue. I really think of myself as a storyteller.”
She even loves writing things as simple as someone’s résumé. “I love finding the right word to convey the right feeling. There are a gazillion words, [but I] try to find the precise word to convey the feeling I want to convey. My favorite book is the thesaurus.”
Flager took several writing courses at Rice University to get her career off the ground—in addition to reading many books. “Then you just start. Crazy me, I started with a full-length play.”
She submitted that very first play to a festival, and it was selected for their reading series. “They assigned a director who cast the roles. It was like, ‘Wow!’” Then a friend suggested she send it to Theatre Suburbia, and she did.
“They decided to produce it during their next season. It was the most extraordinary feeling. It’s one thing to hear it read; it’s a whole other adventure to see it onstage. It’s always been better than I imagined. I’m always fascinated when lines I don’t think are funny end up being funny. I feel like I can capture how people talk,” Flager explains.
Fortunately, there have been more festivals that featured her work, and she’s also dabbled in ten-minute plays. “The thing I love about a ten-minute is that it’s like you drop someone in hot grease. That’s nine pages, including stage directions, so you better have captured your audience by page one. It’s fun—I enjoy writing a 10-minute. It’s really compressed. You don’t have time for long-winded exposition.”
The central question for every writer, and certainly for every playwright, Flager notes, is “How do you tell a good story? How do you hold their attention?” Flager’s sister, Kathy Summers, describes it as being all about that “lean in” moment when you know you have them. “If you go to a play and watch the audience, they lean in,” she notes.
One of Flager’s favorite things about playwriting is the ability to share stories with people who might not otherwise see themselves onstage—stories that tend to reveal themselves to Flager. “Playwriting is a solitary art. If one is patient enough, the characters of the play will appear as they see fit. Then, if the playwright has a bit more patience, the characters will whisper their story. The key is to listen, get out of the way, and write as fast as you can. Some days I listen better than others.”
Playwright Gwen Flager
What: Shakin’ the Blue Flamingo When: August 12–20 Where: MATCH, 3400 Main St. Info: matchouston.org
HERE AT MET WE CAN TAKE CARE OF ALL YOUR PLUMBING NEEDS!
Sewer line replacements Water heater replacement All plumbing repairs and fixtures
832-694-0079
*Mention this add and receive $35.00 off your plumbing repair
Word of Mouth
Dr. Marcus de Guzman opens a second dental office in Montrose.
By KIM HOGSTROM | Photo by AISHA KHAN
No one likes going to the dentist. Even now, you’re probably admitting to yourself that you’ve been ignoring a dental issue for just that reason. But what if there were a dental service that could change your perception of those dreaded trips to the dentist?
Look no further than Houston’s Bayou City Smiles.
“Today’s work environment demands that everyone put their best foot forward,” states Chelsea Flack, Bayou City Smiles’ office manager. “A smile is your first ‘handshake,’ and we will ensure you have your best possible smile. That is exactly what we do here.”
Bayou City Smiles was founded by Dr. Marcus de Guzman, a proud member of the city’s LGBTQ community. Coming from a long line of medical professionals, he received his dentalmedicine degree in 2000 from the Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry in Philadelphia at the age of 25.
“My grandfather and three of my greatgrandfathers were doctors or dentists,” De Guzman explains. “I guess my path to medicine was pretty much set, but I wasn’t sure of what direction to take. At the ripe old age of 19, I took the dental aptitude test and started attending dental school a month after my 21st birthday. There was no turning back from there.”
After graduating and working as an associate dentist for nine years, De Guzman opened Bayou City Smiles in 2009, when the space had just two chairs and one employee. Today, his office at 2313 Edwards Street is an 8-chair, 22-person operation. De Guzman and his team have served over 10,000 individuals during that time, and his base continues to grow.
Bayou City Smiles is opening another office this month, housed in the stunning new Montrose Collective on Westheimer Road near Montrose Boulevard.
While his professional passion is dentistry, this doctor also cares deeply for his community and has initiated many charity dental programs over time. He spearheaded free oralhealth screenings in local public elementary schools, HIV clinics, and even nightclubs. He was an invaluable volunteer at ASIAC (AIDS Services in Asian Communities). To this day, De Guzman provides his services to those less fortunate throughout Houston.
He is also an active member of many professional organizations, including the Greater Houston Dental Society, the Texas Dental Association, the American Dental Association, the Academy of General Dentistry, the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, and the American Association of Public Health Dentistry.
As a result of this dedication, there is virtually nothing Bayou City Smiles can’t do. “We are committed to treating each individual with respect and integrity, and we work hard to stay on top of the most up-to-date techniques in dentistry,” De Guzman explains. “Our mission is to deliver uncompromising excellence in dentistry, to the very best of our abilities.”
So just how does Bayou City Smiles help patients who are nervous about their visit? “I think that fear and anxiety are manifested when people don’t understand what is about to happen,” De Guzman notes. “I take time to guide our patients through the procedures in advance and explain the importance of the treatment being rendered. I’ve found that the more patients are informed, the less fear and anxiety they have.”
Helping patients feel comfortable is a team effort at this doctor’s office, where the committment to assuring a pleasant visit starts at the front door.
“We greet every patient with a smile,” Flack says. “The entire team here is excited to come to work each day, because we like each other and we genuinely care about our patients. Forming good relationships with our patients helps us to meet their needs. They can tell the difference, and they really appreciate it.”
“Many of my patients have been coming to me for over a decade, and many of them have become friends,” De Guzman says. “Knowing that I have played a small part in their well-being and developing friendships within my practice makes it all worthwhile for me. The bonds I have developed with the people I treat are my greatest reward,” he concludes with a smile.
Dental hygienist Hilda Garcia, who has worked with De Guzman for 16 years, says there is nowhere else she would rather be. “The crew here is wonderful in all ways. The dental services this team offers are excellent. Working with nice, caring people who produce outstanding results makes all the difference in the world.”
Well said, Hilda.
For more information, go to bayoucitysmiles.com.
