The Georgia Straight - Chutzpah Festival - November 4, 2021

FREE | NOVEMBER 4 – 11 / 2021 Volume 55 | Number 2803

REZONING RUCKUS

CHUTZPAH!

Activists blast new approach

Comedian and broadcaster Ophira Eisenberg tells compelling personal stories that move audiences; plus, local storyteller Deborah Williams, A Night at the Opera, and a director’s examination of evil

EASTSIDE CULTURE CRAWL 25 years and counting

WHIPPED CREAM

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DAVID PAY

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CIRCLE CRAFT

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CHERI MARACLE

CHUTZPAH! FEST

City Opera will perform songs parodied by Marx Brothers

CONTENTS

November 4-11 / 2021

11

COVER

Former Vancouverite Ophira Eisenberg has reasons to celebrate as host of a radio show on 400 stations, admired comedian, and successful author.

by Charlie Smith

By Charlie Smith Cover photo by Arin Sang-urai

4

REAL ESTATE

Some neighbourhood activists worry that the NDP government is planning to scrap public hearings on Vancouver rezoning applications.

By Carlito Pablo

8

MUSIC

Vancouver producer Whipped Cream reveals the contents of her fridge, along with her life-changing shows and favourite records.

By Mike Usinger

That’s Groucho Marx (lower left) in this picture from the 1935 film A Night at the Opera, which will kick off this year’s Chutzpah! Festival along with a live performance by local opera singers.

C

ity Opera Vancouver says on its website that it’s possible for opera to tell any story in any time and place. In that spirit, the professional chamber opera company will be at the Norman & Annette Rothstein Theatre on Thursday (November 4) to deliver opera at, of all things, a Marx Brothers movie.

This isn’t just any Marx Brothers film—it’s the riotously funny A Night at the Opera, a 1935 classic that’s been preserved in the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry for its cultural, historic, and aesthetic significance.

City Opera Vancouver’s interactive concert—featuring mezzo-soprano Megan Latham and tenor Martin Renner Wallace— will launch the Chutzpah! Festival, which runs from November 4 to 24. They’ll sing music parodied in the film, accompanied by pianist Roger Parton and a “special guest”.

That will be followed by a screening of the movie.

In a phone interview with the Straight, City Opera Vancouver’s director of concerts, Alan Corbishley, said that there will be a “few little antics” throughout their performance, but certainly nothing that will upstage the Marx Brothers.

“We’re not trying to be the Marx Brothers by any stretch of the imagination,” Corbishley emphasized.

The aforementioned special guest will be Corbishley himself, impersonating U.S. actor Margaret Dumont, who played opposite the Marx Brothers in seven of their movies.

That included a smash performance as Mrs. Claypool in A Night at the Opera.

“She was always the one who never seems to get the joke,” Corbishley noted.

Audience members are being encouraged to dress up as Margaret Dumont or as either Groucho, Harpo, Chico, or Zeppo.

The winner of the costume contest will win a Chutzpah! Festival all-access pass.

As City Opera Vancouver’s director of concerts, Corbishley’s goal is to make this art form very accessible and less intimidating for audiences.

“So this [show] kind of helps us along the road—and in a fun way that just doesn’t feel pretentious,” he said. g On Thursday (November 4) at 7 p.m., the Chutzpah!

Festival: The Lisa Nemetz Festival of International Jewish Performing Arts presents City Opera Vancouver and A Night at the Opera at the Norman and Annette Rothstein Theatre.

e Start Here 12 ARTS 6 BEER 22 CLASSIFIED ADS 17 CULTURE CRAWL 9 FOOD 21 HEART OF THE CITY 7 LIVING 2 MOVIES 19 MUSIC 22 SAVAGE LOVE 15 THEATRE e Listings 20 ARTS

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EDITOR Charlie Smith GENERAL MANAGER (ACTING) Sandra Oswald SECTION EDITORS Mike Usinger (ESports/Liquor/Music) Steve Newton SENIOR EDITOR Martin Dunphy STAFF WRITERS Carlito Pablo (Real Estate) SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT Jeff Li ART DEPARTMENT MANAGER Janet McDonald

2

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NOVEMBER 4 – 11 / 2021

e Online TOP 5

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East Van home in prime development block sells for double its assessed value.

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COP26: Spare me the sophistry of Justin Trudeau on planned emissions cuts.

Home linked to local Olympic gold medallist sells for $7 million.

B.C. mask mandate extended, minus message about which ones are best. @GeorgiaStraight

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3

REAL ESTATE

City watchdog predicts end of rezoning hearings

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by Carlito Pablo

n October 26, the B.C. NDP government introduced legislation to remove the requirement for public hearings on rezoning applications.

In a media release, the province stated that the proposed amendment to the Local Government Act will speed up development and the delivery of new homes.

The planned change does not cover the City of Vancouver, because it is governed by a separate law called the Vancouver Charter. This means that the new measure, if passed, will apply only to municipalities outside Vancouver.

However, Vancouver city hall watcher Randy Helten believes that the move to amend the Local Government Act is just a first step.

Helten is a director with the CityHallWatch Media Foundation, a nonprofit that operates a website focused on city issues. In an interview, the watchdog laid out how Vancouver is actually the intended “bull’s-eye”.

“This is the endgame of the developer complex, which includes powerful developers and their friends in government,” Helten told the Straight by phone.

The Vancouver Charter empowers city

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THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

That will then do a complete end run around public process for any rezonings...

– City hall watcher Randy Helten

Veteran Vancouver city-hall watchdog Randy Helten says that “powerful developers and their friends in government” are planning to change the Vancouver Charter. Photo by Stephen Hui.

council to adopt an ODP. The Local Government Act, which applies to towns other than Vancouver, uses a slightly different term, which is official community plan, or OCP. In the province’s proposed legislation, local governments will no longer be required to hold public hearings on zoningbylaw changes as long as these are consistent with OCPs.

NOVEMBER 4 – 11 / 2021

Helten asserted that the next step is to change the Vancouver Charter so the City of Vancouver no longer has to undertake public hearings for rezonings if development projects are in line with the Vancouver Plan or its ODP. “That will then do a complete end run around public process for any rezonings in Vancouver, as long as these fit in with what they claim is the official development plan,” Helten said.

He said that if the provincial government eliminates public hearings for rezonings that fall under a community’s OCP, that’s “step one”.

“It would be a short next step to amend the Vancouver Charter correspondingly,” Helten said. “Then, anything that is equivalent to an OCP or ODP would be under similar processes: straight to development permits with no rezoning public hearing.”

Helten noted that he has yet to hear what city councillors think about what’s going on.

When reached for comment, councillor Jean Swanson indicated that she has yet to look deeper into the issue. However, one thing is clear to the first-term city councillor.

“It means that developers have got the ear of the province,” Swanson told the Straight in a phone interview. She added: “I think developers want faster permitting, and I think they’re trying to get the province to force that on the municipalities.”

However, Swanson also said that although it’s good for people to be able to have their input on a rezoning through the process of a public hearing, a case can be made that “sometimes it takes too long”.

As for herself, Swanson wants to see developments for social and nonmarket housing speeded up.

Joseph Jones keeps an eye on development in his East Vancouver neighbourhood, and he comments on city issues in his online Eye on Norquay site.

When reached by the Straight for com-

ment, Jones agreed with the view that the measure removing public hearings will make things easier for developers.

Both Swanson and Jones indicated that based on the province’s official pronouncement, the change does not affect Vancouver.

Community advocate Jak King shares the same opinion but offers a different take on the matter.

The Grandview-Woodland resident said that Vancouver has been doing what the proposed provincial legislation intends to do for other municipalities.

“What they’re doing is catching up with what Vancouver has already done, which is to reduce public engagement as much as they can,” King told the Straight in a phone interview.

King pointed out that although Vancouver does not have an official ODP or OCP, it has prezoned huge areas of the city through community plans.

These plans cover Grandview-Woodland, the West End, the Downtown Eastside, Marpole, and Cambie.

“Pretty soon, we’ll have the Broadway Plan and the Vancouver Plan,” King said.

The City of Vancouver has also adopted policies such as the one council approved on April 20, 2021, which shelved rezoning and public-hearing requirements for six-storey social-housing projects in certain areas.

The change covered the following neighbourhoods: Fairview, GrandviewWoodland, Hastings-Sunrise, Kensington–Cedar Cottage, Kitsilano, Marpole, and Mount Pleasant.

Prior to the April 20 decision by council, these areas provided for residential developments up to three to four storeys.

City hall watcher Helten compared the situation to what author Naomi Klein described in her 2007 book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism.

Klein wrote about how a crisis is often used to force through undemocratic processes. Helten said he believes that this is happening with the housing problem in Vancouver and many parts of B.C. “The crisis is partially created by a perfect storm of many factors, but public hearing for rezonings is not the major factor causing housing unaffordability,” Helten said.

He added, “I just don’t think its fair, and it really shifts the balance of power in the wrong direction.” g

CIRCLE CRAFT CHRISTMAS MARKET

November 10-14

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For advanced tickets and show details visit circlecraftshow.ca Photos: Dahlia Drive, Laura Van Der Linde Pottery and Dougherty Glassworks

SHOP HANDMADE FROM ARTISANS ACROSS CANADA NOVEMBER 4 – 11 / 2021

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

5

BEER

Before the Fall a reminder of more pleasant days

A

by Mike Usinger

s a valuable public service, we taste the latest in Lower Mainland beers and then give you a highly opinionated, pocket-sized review.

ON TAP

Main St. Brewing Before the Fall Fresh Hop Hommelbier THEIR WORDS

“Pride cometh before the fall, and so too does our end-of-summer, fresh-hop, Belgianinspired ‘hommelbier’. This saison combines Pahto, Czech Saaz and fresh BC Saaz hops with Belgian pilsner, Canadian wheat, German Carafoam and rye varieties of malt & farmhouse yeast for a brew that conjures up flavours of chamomile, spring flowers and light herbal spice. Hop on board for a one-ofa-kind ’bier that truly deserves to be lionized.”

TASTE TEST

Good lord, this has been an ugly one, even

by Wet Coast standards. If Vancouver’s fall of 2021 has proven something, it’s that there’s a price to be paid for everything. The summer brought endless days and months of blazing heat—the kind of almost-tropical weather that we normally hop on a plane to Mexico,

Main St. Brewing’s Before the Fall makes the most out of fresh hops sourced in Pemberton.

the Caribbean, or the Canary Islands to get a taste of. And then, sometime around the second or third week of September, that came to a screeching halt, flipping overnight to a fall that’s been like an unholy Mother Nature mashup of Seven, Blade Runner, and Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon. Remember when, in The Crow, Brandon Lee says “It can’t rain all the time?” Well, he was wrong.

So, for its name alone, Main St. Brewing’s Before the Fall gets huge points for

taking us back to happier times. Specifically a before-the-fall-of-2021 summer when it wasn’t tombstone grey with black sheets of rain eight days out of seven.

Before the Fall’s backstory starts with a trip to Pemberton Valley, where 150 pounds of fresh Saaz hops were sourced from the impossibly scenic Myrtle Meadows farm. The key word there—in case you’ve already forgotten what’s printed on the can’s label—is “fresh”, rather than dried or compressed into pellets.

Flash forward a bit and Main St. Brewing has given us a subtly fruity beer you’d order at À la Mort Subite in Brussels when you’ve had enough of cherry krieks, strawberry lambics, and peach hefeweizens, but don’t want a heavy Black Forest Charcoal Porter.

Before the Fall clocks in at 6.3 ABV, but doesn’t come on heavy or boozy. Instead settle in for a Belgium-brewers-inspired saison where the pleasantly heady floral notes will bring back memories of hoofing it through the alpine meadows surrounding Tenquille Lake and the Marriott Basin. Memories where, halfway through the hike, all you wanted was a beer. There’s a whisp of bitterness and a bit of whitepepper bite, along with an undercurrent of ripe bananas and toasted cloves.

DEEP THOUGHTS

If Accuweather, the Weather Network, and the national treasure known as Frankie MacDonald are to be believed, it’s going to rain every day for the next week. Enough already—somebody, anybody, make it stop.

That, of course, isn’t going to happen. So you can sit around and complain, or you can pop the tab on Before the Fall and think back to the summer that was. g

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THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

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LIVING

Circle Craft Christmas Market ready to blossom

by Carlito Pablo

P

eople go to craft fairs primarily for two reasons.

One is the chance to find unique and high-quality products at shows such as the Circle Craft Christmas Market, which runs at the Vancouver Convention Centre West (1055 Canada Place) from November 10 to November 14.

“The excitement is you’re not walking into Walmart or Gap or most big-box places where you’re buying everything that everybody else is buying,” Peter Harbic told the Straight in a phone interview.

Harbic describes himself as a show producer with Signatures Shows Ltd. His company has taken over the management of the annual Christmas fair through a licence agreement with Circle Craft Co-operative, an artist-run organization based in Vancouver.

“You’re buying something really cool and nobody else has it,” Harbic said about the allure of shows featuring handmade items.

The second reason people go to such fairs is the chance to meet the artisans who create distinctive products.

“They have a story about where they’re from and what inspired them to do their creative work, be it, you know, fine arts or fashion or what have you,” Harbic said.

Featuring handmade West Coast items such as Island Soap and gourmet foods, Circle Craft Christmas Market is back after a 2020 pandemic hiatus that had a major impact on artisans.

He noted that such a person could be the “eclectic artist that lives on Salt Spring [Island] or Gabriola [Island] or Courtenay or over in Tofino or in Prince George or in the middle of Saskatchewan”.

“They come out of their caves once a year to sell their stuff. They go on a tour for two months, and they spend the year getting ready for this,” Harbic said.

The first Circle Craft Christmas Market took place at The Cultch in East Vancouver

in 1973. It has since become a tradition in the city, kicking off shopping for the holiday season.

The fair had a hiatus in 2020 due to COVID-19. Harbic noted that the economic impact of the pandemic on artisans has been “horrible”.

With its return this year, the Circle Craft Christmas Market will provide makers from all over Canada an opportunity to showcase their products. “It has been

a quiet, dark time and we’re blossoming once again,” Harbic said.

This year’s show will feature 200 artisans, of whom 40 are new exhibitors. As Harbic noted, artisans come in different forms, be they clothing designers, potters, jewellers, wood and metal workers, glass blowers, candle and soap makers, or culinary artists.

Speaking of artisanal food, the Christmas market will include a so-called gourmet alley.

Harbic said that visitors can find everything from salsas to sauces, chocolates, and pâté.

The Circle Craft Co-operative states on its website that it made a decision in 2020 to focus on its artist members and the group’s store on Granville Island.

The organization sought a partner to manage its Christmas market and found Signatures Shows, a Canadian company founded in 1980 by glass blower John Ladouceur and jeweller Casey Sadaka.

Many members of Circle Craft Cooperative are participating in the show, like potters Gordon Hutchens and Cathi Jefferson, both of whom will be doing demonstrations on the pottery wheel.

Proof of full COVID-19 vaccination is required for visitors. Tickets are available at signatures.ca/circle-craft. g

IKEA continues to target the booming world of esports

by Mike Usinger

I

f you’re an active member of the esports universe looking to upgrade your living space, get ready to do a whole lot of cursing, which is fine because the payoff is always worth it. Already the go-to store for everyone from downtown condo dwellers to budget-conscious university students to Airbnb landlords, IKEA continues to go after the gaming market. Starting November 4, the Swedish furniture and lifestyle giant will be selling a whole spectrum of products aimed at gamers in Singapore.

To those who either work at IKEA, or blow three-quarters of every paycheque there, the names UTESPELARE, HUVUDSPELARE, UPPSPEL, MATCHSPEL, and LÅNESPELARE will give you a good idea what to expect.

Get ready for everything from CPU stands on castors to glass-door cabinets with ventilation holes to mug holders which should prevent you from spilling your coffee everywhere during a League of Legends match. There will also be IKEA gaming chairs, desks, mouse bungees and pads, neck pillows, and ring lights with phone holders.

As for gamers living in Singapore, the big news doesn’t stop with the furniture

IKEA is selling products aimed at gamers as well as organizing DOTA 2 competitions.

line. Perhaps to celebrate the new line, or maybe because someone at the company is a huge Dota 2 fan, IKEA is putting together a major esports competition. The game is Dota 2, with the format being good oldfashioned 1-on-1. Registration starts November 4 and runs until November 15. There are two categories—professionals and casual.

The top dog in the pro category gets a US$2,000 IKEA gift card as well as a Republic Of Gaming Strix portable gaming monitor which retails for US$999). g

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MUSIC

Keto shakes, Frank Ocean thrill Whipped Cream

W

by Mike Usinger

hat’s In Your Fridge is where the Straight asks interesting Vancouverites about their life-changing concerts, favourite albums, and, most importantly, what’s sitting beside the Heinz ketchup in their custom-made Big Chill Retropolitan 20.6-cubic-foot refrigerators.

and doesn’t fit anywhere and it’s so artistically beautiful and musically, [it’s] genius.

ON THE GRILL

Active Child “Hanging On” This song has so much meaning because I felt like this a lot in my personal life and the video especially is very touching. If you really listen to it, it will make sense. The video doesn’t explain itself but you have to feel it.

I like sad music and this song is very dark and melancholy.

WHO ARE YOU

Anhoni “Drone Bomb Me” I love their vocals, the production, and the feeling the song brings.

Whipped Cream Whipped Cream is a juxtaposition to what my project really is. My artist name sounds commercial, but I want to bring true, raw, authentic art to the forefront of this project and really make people question what they know about me. Caroline is someone who likes to live life to the fullest and be her best self. I am here to offer experiences. Things people can take from me and learn together. I think I am what the world has built around me. I take a piece of each thing life has given me.

FIRST CONCERT

My first concert was at the Gorge in Washington at a festival called Sasquatch. Active Child was performing to like 50 people at the side stage. I was with one of my best friends and it was the best experience ever. It led me to switch gears from ice skating to music, and it’s the reason I’m a producer today.

LIFE-CHANGING CONCERT

A concert that was most life-changing to me was EDC

ALL-TIME FAVOURITE VIDEO

Sevdaliza “Human” This video is powerful and thoughtprovoking. It’s a walking embodiment of art.

WHAT’S IN YOUR FRIDGE?

Some people find themselves out on the street with no idea what time it is. Whipped Cream is not one of those people.

2019 when I performed. By being on a stage this massive and it being the closing slot into the sunrise, I just knew in that moment I was made to do this!

TOP THREE RECORDS

Frank Ocean “Pyramids” Because of the switch-ups, you feel like you’re watching a movie. It’s iconic and timeless

High-protein keto shakes (30g). I usually have these shakes around noon; they help me get my protein in and give me energy all day.

Dark chocolate. I love having a dark chocolate snack with breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It’s probably not most people’s first choice of chocolate since it’s not the sweetest, but I can’t live without it.

Apple cider vinegar. First thing every morning, I have apple cider vinegar. It’s definitely an acquired taste but it has tons of benefits. g

Fionn and Mauvey put a silky spin on deep angst

H

by Mike Usinger

ere’s something we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about in the record store: angst comes in more than flavour.

The morbidly depressed, endlessly tormented, and fascinatingly morose likes of Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley, and Downward Spiral–era Trent Reznor tend to get most of the attention, and there’s little arguing that’s not entirely deserved. Misery loves company, and the last thing anyone wants to be listening to when everything’s none-more-sad is

Pharrell Williams’s “Happy”, Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”, or “Put on a Happy Face” by Dick Van Dyke.

Instead, we want Nirvana’s “Pennyroyal Tea” and the pretty much perfect lines, “Give me a Leonard Cohen afterworld/So I can sigh eternally”. Or everything by the Smiths, Portishead, and the fantastically untouchable Lana Del Rey. But as proven by “I Won’t Lie”—a new collaboration between Vancouver’s Fionn and Vancouverite-via-London solo art-

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THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

NOVEMBER 4 – 11 / 2021

ist Mauvey—sometimes angst comes in a sleek and silky-smooth package.

A duo that describes itself as “young women with old souls”, Fionn is Alanna and Brianne Finn-Morris—twin sisters with a serious thing for the likes of Lorde and Frank Ocean. With Mauvey you get suave R&B with an indie-pop edge, along with a penchant for hair the colour of Lik-M-Aid’s irresistible Grape Yumptious dipping powder.

For most of “I Won’t Lie” it’s Fionn’s show, the Finn-Morris siblings working a downbeat vibe with dark-tower strings and minimalist-minded percussion. And that couldn’t go better with lines like “Holding onto parties like an old pill”.

Visually, even when things are flooded with neon-hued pinks, blues, and purples, the mood is somehow greyer than Vancouver in November. As for smiling, that’s for other folks. You’re never going to see nine people on the same queen-sized bed look so bummed.

When Mauvey shows up and then decides to stick around at the 1:25 mark, the mood changes. One minute Mauvey’s locked in a good old-fashioned yelling match, the next he’s shoved flat on his ass. Think about that moment the next time you decide to wear your shoes in the house.

Not only wearing a kangol hat, but pull-

Two members of the Fionn/Mauvey crew refused all requests to look at the camera.

ing off the almost impossible task of looking good while doing so, Mauvey surfaces again at the 2:40 mark, this time outside. After a quick clinic in velvety suave urban excellence, things end on a note that suggests nothing’s going to be okay. Which is perfectly fine.

There are times when angst can be beautiful. And this is one of them. g

Sidebar

OF THE WEEK

d LOST + FOUND CAFÉ in Vancouver is looking for a new direction.

The Downtown Eastside coffee shop founded by traveller, photographer, and philanthropist Kane Ryan has been listed for sale.

Lost + Found has been operating for almost nine years at 33 West Hastings Street. As chronicled by cafeyvr.com, the coffee shop and gallery space opened on January 28, 2013. Lost + Found is on the ground floor of the Chelsea Inn building.

On its website, Lost + Found notes that the location “attracts locals and tourists, painters and writers, photographers and... anyone looking to get lost in a comfy corner of the vast, bohemian space”.

The sale is being handled by realtor Jean Seguin’s Restaurant Business Broker agency. The listing notes that the 3,900-square-foot café near Gastown provides a “great opportunity for a nightclub or a pub”.

The business is listed for $49,500. g

by Carlito Pablo

FOOD

New-look Raja menu pleases vegetarians

O

by Charlie Smith

ne of Vancouver’s oldest Indian restaurants is also one of the most contemporary.

Raga (1177 West Broadway) underwent a makeover during the pandemic, with newly upholstered furniture complementing a more chic interior.

The owner of the 40-year-old establishment, Raj Sharma, has also added an extensive selection of vegetarian specialties to the menu in response to consumer demand.

“I don’t know if it’s trendy or for health, but they’re asking for it,” Sharma told the Straight during a recent visit.

The revised Raga menu includes two eggplant and eight paneer entrées, as well as three curries with potatoes. That’s in addition to standard vegetarian classics such as saag paneer and bhindi masala, along with other dishes.

Sharma said that after including desserts and naan, there are about 30 vegetarian offerings on Raga’s menu.

The meals in some Indian restaurants can be jarringly spiced and heavy in the gut, but not at Raga, where the cooking is subtle: the dishes are skillfully flavoured and exceptionally low on grease, and you won’t leave the room with your mouth on fire.

The venerable Raja revamped its menu along with the decor recently, adding vegetarian dishes such as the Bhojan feast (above), featuring black dal, vegetable curries, rice, naan, and dessert.

That was apparent during my visit, when I enjoyed a sumptuous feast. The Raga Vegetarian Bhojan ($20.95) featured black dal and two vegetable curries, along with pulao rice, raita, fresh naan, and dessert.

If you’re starving, vegetarian, and in need of a good, warm dinner on a rainy night, this will do the trick.

For centuries, the soul of Indian cui-

sine has been vegetarian. Sharma pointed out that even nonvegetarians in his home country often eat meat only on weekends or special occasions.

But in recent years, the popularity of butter chicken and tandoori chicken has created a misleading impression in the West that Indian cooking is all about the meat, when it’s not. It’s the opposite, actually. g

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CHILL.

Enjoy stress-free reading without the noise on CreatorNews.

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THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

NOVEMBER 4 – 11 / 2021

CHUTZPAH! FEST

Comedian tells hilarious stories without lecturing Former Vancouverite Ophira Eisenberg made it big in New York City and credits her outsider status

I

by Charlie Smith

t’s a long way from Vancouver to New York. Or so it must seem for anyone hoping to make it big in what’s considered to be the media capital of the world.

But one former Vancouver resident, Ophira Eisenberg, managed to cross this great distance, now making her home in Brooklyn as a successful standup comedian, author, actor, NPR radio host, and professional storyteller. New York Magazine even included her on its list of the “Top 10 comics that funny people find funny”.

In a phone interview with the Straight, Eisenberg recalled living for a brief time with a boyfriend near English Bay in the mid 1990s. She also had a place for a while on the East Side, “which was somewhat undesirable at the time”. In those days, she wasn’t even being invited to the local comedy festival.

Eisenberg was no trust-fund kid, so how did a child born in Calgary and educated in Montreal manage to settle in New York and get her own comedy and trivia radio show in 2012 that airs on more than 400 stations?

“I guess practise, practise, practise,” Eisenberg replied. “You know, just by a lot of work. It’s a lot of work.”

She said that she was living in Toronto 21 years ago when she travelled to 92nd Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan to do a standup-comedy show. Following her performance and shows by two other comedians, there was a panel discussion with four Canadians who’ve enjoyed monumental success in American comedy.

Eugene Levy, Martin Short, Michael J. Fox, and Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels had gathered there to answer this question: why are Canadians so funny?

“They were talking about Timbits: ‘That’s what makes Canadians so funny— the fact that they made a donut hole into a desirable product that people want to buy,’ ” Eisenberg recalled with amusement.

Not long afterward, she moved to New York, not knowing if she could afford to stay in the country. She now believes that what helped her as a Canadian in those days was having an “outsider perspective”.

She was familiar with U.S. pop culture and much of its media but she could still view it through a “critically objective lens”.

This enabled her “to make fun of it to a certain degree because you’re not inside of it”.

This month, Eisenberg will share stories from her life in her first appearance at Vancouver’s Chutzpah! Festival: The Lisa Nemetz Festival of International Jewish Performing Arts. “I feel like, in a weird way, it’s a homecoming, yet it’s also going to be new,” she said.

Ophira Eisenberg is not only a standup comedian but also a storyteller, actor, author, and a very successful radio host. Photo by Arin Sang-urai.

They were talking about Timbits: ‘That’s what makes Canadians so funny...’

– Comedian Ophira Eisenberg

STORYTELLING COMES very naturally to Eisenberg, whose autobiographical account of her life is called Screw Everyone: Sleeping My Way to Monogamy. Sure, she sometimes had rotten taste in men, but with enough work, she overcame that to become a married mother “at an advanced age, as they say so eloquently in the medical industry”.

She’s also been a storyteller on The Moth Radio Hour. It’s a division of a New York–based organization called The Moth, which has been promoting storytelling since the late 1990s.

Eisenberg said that although there is sometimes an anecdotal story within a standup-comedy routine, what the Moth does is very different. She has gravitated to telling stories with literary arcs in which a person is up against something, either small or large.

“You are changed as a person, to some extent, by the end of the story,” Eisenberg explained.

She added that in true storytelling events, like the ones supported by The Moth, the audience has different expectations. They don’t come looking for comedians to offer

up bite-sized items that elicit a big reaction and then move on to the next observation.

The storyteller takes audience members on a journey, sometimes challenging them to be “the best version of themselves”.

“It’s fun,” Eisenberg stated. “I also like playing with audience tone and dynamics.”

Her stories draw from her personal experiences, which include two battles with cancer and incorporate the harrowing and, in hindsight, sometimes hilarious aspects of her journey.

“I say ‘hilarious’ because I can stand in front of you and tell these stories,” she noted, “so you know by that virtue that it’s kind of worked out with a happy ending.”

Eisenberg also enjoys sharing stories of some of her wild experiences as a kind of naive and innocent Canadian moving to New York. Sometimes she offers up lessons she’s learned from past heartbreaks, like when she tried to have “the best New Year’s Eve ever and having it fall apart so magnificently”.

“It’s like a TED talk but without that lecture feeling,” Eisenberg quipped. “This is a true personal story. There’s no specific call to action or takeaway.”

OVER THE YEARS, Eisenberg has appeared on Comedy Central, The Late Late Show, The Today Show, and on HBO’s Girls.

She has also been invited to the New Yorker Festival and created a comedy special.

So has there been any guest on Eisenberg’s radio show who has changed her life in any way? Without hesitating, she men-

tioned cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The musician was on her program a few months ago to talk about a project that he was working on when the conversation turned to professional success. Ma told her that the key is to overcome the lack of curiosity that can sink in over time.

“He was calling it a ‘beginner’s mind’— getting to a certain point in your life where maybe you have some professional success or you feel like at a certain age you have experience and expertise at a whole bunch of things,” Eisenberg said, “and what it is to try to get yourself back to that initial place of curiosity and wanting to learn and feeling the newness. To basically invigorate your next passion. Or the next thing that you are going to pursue.”

In discussing her own eclectic career path, Eisenberg brought up an old phrase once used by a critic of William Shakespeare when the Bard switched from being an actor to a playwright: “jack of all trades, master of none”.

“We usually don’t add the real, true end of that quote, which is ‘jack of all trades, master of none, which is better than being a master of one’,” she said.

“Why can’t I be that person who picks one thing and just focuses really hard on that?” Eisenberg said. “But that’s never been who I am.” g The Chutzpah Festival: The Lisa Nemetz Festival of International Jewish Performing Arts presents Ophira Eisenberg at 7 p.m. on November 10 at the Norman & Annette Rothstein Theatre.

NOVEMBER 4 – 11 / 2021

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

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CHUTZPAH! FEST

Deborah Williams believes everyone has a story

D

by Steve Newton

eborah Williams developed her love of storytelling at an early age. It helps when your father— and grandfather, too—are big on bedtime stories.

“My dad’s stories were always sort of a big adventure,” Williams recalls on the phone from her home near Main Street and 33rd Avenue. “He actually grew up on Macdonald Street in Vancouver, so now I can see all these places that he talked about. He and his best friend made their own canoe out of birch bark and paddled through Pitt Lake and Pitt River and then all the way home down the Fraser River and carried it up through the marshes.

“So I always felt like you had to live exciting things to have exciting stories,” she adds.

“And a lot of the best stories come from misadventure, when things get outta hand and they’re not under your control. I think that’s what people mostly want to hear, is challenges. We all want to know that everybody is struggling along as much as the next person.”

As well as embracing the art of storytelling—which Williams will celebrate with two events at this year’s Chutzpah!

Festival—she is an established actor, playwright, comedian, and director. In other

We wake up in the morning and we create a story of who we are.

– Storyteller Deborah Williams

Deborah Williams is also a cocreator of the hit play Mom’s the Word. Photo by Emily Cooper.

words, she really likes words.

“I do, I do,” she admits, “and I’ve been making a living with them for 35 years. I

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THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

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NOVEMBER 4 – 11 / 2021

don’t know if you know the show Mom’s the Word, but I’m one of the creators there, and it’s basically a storytelling show. So we’ve been doing that now for 28 years, actually, and about 13 years ago I decided that I would like to hear some other stories besides just parenting, so with a friend and my husband we started The Flame.”

Williams launched the storytelling series in her living room, thinking it would be just a few friends and acquaintances coming over to share stories, but people loved it so much that they decided to find it a home. That was Main Street’s Cottage Bistro, where once a month for 11 years it would feature various storytellers and a musician and often draw more than 100 people. That venue folded during the pandemic, so the Flame folks have partnered with different festivals, nonprofits, and theatres like the Surrey Arts Centre and Victoria’s Belfry Theatre for virtual presentations, which reach more people and allow Williams to invite folks from different parts of the world to tell stories.

The Flame’s online success notwithstanding, Williams is excited about her upcoming live appearance at Chutzpah!

She believes that storytelling is the ultimate way that we connect as human beings.

“We wake up in the morning and we create a story of who we are,” she says, “and then we live that story, right? It’s what we do: we create meaning. So we all are creatures of narrative; that’s how we connect on a very fundamental level. These polarizations that are happening in our society right now are really about people telling different stories and not actually listening to real stories, really human stories. I think we’d have a lot more empathy for one another if we actually stop and listen to the person talk and tell their story. We need to listen a lot more.”

When it comes to the themes that Williams likes to address in her stories, she says that it comes down to some basics, like love and adversity and questing.

“You know, I just got back from Victoria, where we had our first night on the stage there in two years, and someone told a most gorgeous story about going on a road trip

with his father, who had Alzheimer’s, but finding this incredible connection together on the road. And by the end, we were all in tears. It was a beautiful piece.

“So there’s such a range,” she adds, “but everybody has a story, and mostly if I ask people if they want to tell a story, they go, ‘Oh, nothing interesting happened to me.’ But everybody has stories, right, and I think that’s what I’m actually good at: pulling a story out of a person, because I know that there’s a story in you.”

At her Chutzpah! storytelling night, Williams will be joined by the likes of actor Stephen Aberle, novelist and creativewriting teacher Glenda Zenoff, retired counsellor and educator Eleanor Lipov, and standup comic Helen Schneiderman.

“It’s all Jewish storytellers,” she notes, “and some people are entertainers by profession, or novelists, and some people are just storytellers through The Flame or have taken my classes over the years. But everybody’s scared before they go on-stage, and then when they finish they just feel so great and realize that they’ve been heard and that they have value and connection.”

Budding storytellers thinking about taking the plunge might want to consider the workshop Williams also has lined up as part of the festival.

“There’s room for people of all levels,” she promises, “from those who are brand new and terrified of telling stories right up to people who are working on their oneperson show and just want to find some new inspiration or ideas. It isn’t for kids—you have to be 19 and up—but it’ll be a range of ages and life experiences and physical and mental abilities. It’s for everybody.”

Williams’s goal of inclusivity in storytelling is mirrored in the project she’s currently working on with Zee Zee Theatre called Virtual Humanity, in which she’s helping 20 Indigiqueer and two-spirited people create and share their stories. The main misconception that she attempts to address in her stories is the one of “perfection”.

“I make a living with Mom’s the Word,” she says, “telling stories about what a bad wife, what a bad friend, what a bad mother I am. I’ve been doing this for 28 years, and it’s in 19 countries and 14 languages, so obviously it’s hitting some chords. People just want to know they’re not alone, so that’s what I like. I like to let the audience off the hook.

To let them know that we all do stupid things and we’re all making mistakes all the time, and it’s better to laugh at it or to share it so it doesn’t turn into, like, a stone in your heart.”

As part of the 2021 Chutzpah! Festival, Deborah Williams will lead a storytelling workshop at the Jewish Community Centre on November 7 and will host The Flame—Home at Chutzpah! at the Norman & Annette Rothstein Theatre on November 17.

The Lisa Nemetz International Jewish

Performing Arts Festival

NOVEMBER 4 TO 24

OPENING TONIGHT!

Live Performances at the Norman & Annette Rothstein Theatre & other venues at the JCC | Plus Digital Streaming OPENING NIGHT EVENT | A Night at the Opera with Interactive Concert by City Opera Vancouver November 4 | 7pm

C O M E DY

Enjoy Marx Bros. classic with festive treats, glamour, costume contest, and live music by City Opera Vancouver.

Avi Liberman | November 20 | 7pm Israeli-American’s quirky style has made him a comedy club favourite. W/ guest Jacob Samuel and host Kyle Berger.

Ophira Eisenberg | November 10 | 7pm Selected as one of New York Magazine’s “Top 10 Comics that Funny People Find Funny.”

Iris Bahr | November 23 | 7pm Award-winning Israeli-American writer, actor, director, producer and podcast host performs her new solo show.

T H E AT R E / S T O R Y T E L L I N G

Lilach Dekel-Avneri & The Pathos-Mathos Company The Eichmann Project – Terminal 1 | November 8 | 7pm

Multidisciplinary stage event revisits Eichmann Trial and ensuing public storm.

STORYTELLING WORKSHOP November 7 | 10am to 5pm

In-depth Sunday workshop to hone aspiring storytellers’ craft. Fee includes a ticket to the Storytelling Evening.

DANCE Project inTandem | Deep END & moving through, it all amounts to something November 6 & 7 | 7pm Double-bill explores themes of female struggle and

empowerment in its BC premiere.

Shay Kuebler/Radical System Art | world premiere of Momentum of Isolation (M.O.I.) November 13 & 14 | 7pm

Promising to be dynamic, active, and reflective of our current moment.

The Flame – Home at Chutzpah! | November 17 | 7pm

Real People share their personal true stories in fiery, grassroots storytelling series. With special musical guest Anton Lipovetsky. Presented by RBC

Surplus Production Unit | A Timed Speed-Read of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Trial Transcript November 21 | 6pm and November 22 | 11am & 7pm

With only a stopwatch and a stack of paper, and some theatrical magic, this true story comes to life in an immersive experience. Sponsored by Actsafe Safety Association

Alexis Fletcher | Vancouver premiere of light in the rafters Ne.Sans Opera & Dance | world premiere of Solo for Orpheus November 16 & 18 | 7pm Chutzpah Artists in Residence dance companies

return with two stunning solo performances.

M U LT I M E D I A

Tamara Micner – Old Friends | November 8-12 Theatre, Installation | Intimate, one-on-one experience

inspired by the music of Simon and Garfunkel.

Artist Conversation Series Throughout the Festival

Iris Bahr co-curates conversations with influential artists and intellectuals.

MUSIC

Josh “Socalled” Dolgin with Strings | Di Frosh | November 19 | 7pm Rediscovered Yiddish songs with Dolgin accompanied by string quartet!

Guy Mintus Trio | A Gershwin Playground | November 24 | 7pm Magnificent Israeli jazz combo channels the legendary George Gershwin.

Tickets and Event Details: chutzpahfestival.com Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver

NOVEMBER 4 – 11 / 2021

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

13

CHUTZPAH! FEST

Theatre artist delves into trial of Holocaust kingpin

T

by Charlie Smith

he world was riveted when one of the major organizers of the Holocaust, Adolf Eichmann, was captured in Argentina in 1960, taken to Israel, and put on trial. Journalists from many countries converged on the courtroom in 1961 to watch prosecutor and then Israeli attorney general Gideon Hausner dramatically illustrate the magnitude of Eichmann’s crimes by bringing forth dozens of survivors to testify.

For his part, Eichmann tried to portray himself as a bureaucratic functionary who was simply following orders after swearing an oath to Adolf Hitler. And after the highranking Nazi was convicted and hanged, one of the journalists in the courtroom, Holocaust survivor and philosopher Hannah Arendt, created a monumental uproar with her 1963 book, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil.

Arendt’s portrayal of Eichmann as an ambitious bureaucrat—a thoughtless “desk murderer” not emotionally driven by a hatred of Jews—was highly disputed in subsequent years. And her claim that the prosecution was more intent on characterizing Eichmann’s actions as a crime against Jewish people rather than a crime against humanity resulted in her being viewed in Israel as an example of “Jewish self-hatred” and as anti-Zionist, according to a lengthy 2019 Haaretz article by Holocaust-studies researcher Michal Aharony.

Aharony’s 2019 piece, “Why Does Hannah Arendt’s ‘Banality of Evil’ Still Anger Israelis?”, pointed out that the nowdeceased intellectual’s books have been translated into Hebrew after years of being boycotted in Israel. And that has led to some vigorous public debates.

Israeli theatre artist Lilach DekelAvneri is among those who are deeply fascinated by the various interpretations of Eichmann. She spent six years researching and writing a major interdisciplinary production with 21 scenes, which was going to be presented by her company, the Pathos Mathos Company. But when the pandemic struck, she had to revisit her plans.

The result is a shorter work created for the camera on video, The Eichmann Project–Terminal 1, which will be shown at this year’s Chutzpah! Festival: The Lisa Nemetz Festival of International Jewish Performing Arts in Vancouver. It revolves around three characters: Hausner, Arendt, and Israeli poet Haim Gouri, who was a journalist in 1961 covering the trial of Eichmann for the newspaper LaMerhav.

The playwright and director described the Gouri character as her version of the “Greek chorus” between the protagonist, Hausner, and the antagonist, Arendt.

“His language is more poetic,” DekelAvneri told the Straight over Zoom. “He is

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THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

The Eichmann Project–Terminal 1 is the videotaped version of Israeli playwright and director Lilach Dekel-Avneri’s interdisciplinary look at various interpretations of the trial of Adolf Eichmann.

How is it possible that a nation would follow such a crazy, insane idea?

– Lilach Dekel-Avneri

trying to tell the story chronologically, and they disturb him.”

The three characters rely on the texts of historians, but that’s just one of several layers, according to Dekel-Avneri. There’s also an exploration of the performative nature of the trial.

She emphasized that The Eichmann Project–Terminal 1 is not a reenactment and none of the survivors’ evidence is presented. Nor does this work erase or humiliate those who shared their experiences.

THIS IS NOT Dekel-Avneri’s first theatrical foray into the Holocaust. Far from it.

Her interest in the subject began as a girl, listening to her grandmother’s stories of surviving the Second World War when so many other Jews were murdered.

“The questions that arose originally back then were mainly, ‘How can it be?’ ”

NOVEMBER 4 – 11 / 2021

Director Lilach Dekel-Avneri has been studying evil for many years. Photo by Shachaf Dekel.

Dekel-Avneri said. “ ‘How is it possible that a nation would follow such a crazy, insane idea?’ So during my youth, I started reading a lot about the system and about Hitler…trying to figure out the dehumanization that they did to human beings.”

Her first theatrical project in university was writing her grandmother’s story. It included a moment when her grandmother encountered a German officer. They spoke about theatre and opera. And that, according to the playwright, may have saved her grandmother from being murdered.

“He had an opportunity to kill her and he decided to let her go,” Dekel-Avneri said.

Since then, she’s continued researching evil for several years. Yet she still feels that she needs to deepen her understanding of

this subject to comprehend what brings people to embrace an ideology that she feels is completely against human nature, morality, and the responsibility of citizenship.

This exploration of evil led her into directing Muranooo, which she described as a “black comedy” about the Holocaust by Polish writer Sylwia Chutnik. The heroine, a Polish grandmother, hears voices in the night. It sounds like a young boy crying out “Muranooo, Muranooo, Muranooo.”

It’s set in Muranów, which is a part of central Warsaw that was the Jewish ghetto in the Second World War. “They say bones and stones were mixed together in order to build the walls,” Dekel-Avneri said. “So you can hear a lot of stories. Even my assistant in Warsaw, she told me that she rented an apartment in Muranów and after a few days she left it because she really heard voices.”

The play was performed in Warsaw. One of the Holocaust writers who has influenced Dekel-Avneri is K. Zetnik (pseudonym of Jehiel Dinur), a Polish-born Jew who survived Auschwitz and later moved to Israel. He testified at Eichmann’s trial.

She said that she admires his “performative writing”, showing the gritty details of the Holocaust up close. She also reviewed his testimony from Eichmann’s trial.

Another author who influenced her thinking is contemporary German philosopher Bettina Stangneth, who wrote Eichmann Before Jerusalem: The Unexamined Life of a Mass Murderer. This 2011 book documented Eichmann’s secret life, exposing his deception in presenting himself at the trial as some sort of small-time bureaucrat.

In fact, Stangneth revealed that he retained close links to SS members after the Second World War and he bragged about his mass deportations of Jews to concentration camps.

As a result, Dekel-Avneri came to conclude that while Arendt was correct in laying out her argument that evil can often be banal, it did not apply to Eichmann.

“It doesn’t mean her theory is wrong,” Dekel-Avneri said. “Her theory is very true.”

Moreover, she agrees with Arendt’s claim that what happened in Israel in 1961 was a show trial. And Dekel-Avneri criticized the prosecutor, Hausner, for not presenting a case that would lead society to ask the “important questions”.

“The trial was focusing on the pain and how we suffer,” Dekel-Avneri noted. “He was not focusing on the system that made that horrible period of time exist.” g The Eichmann Project–Terminal 1 will be screened on Monday (November 8) at the Norman & Annette Rothstein Theatre and online as part of the Chutzpah! Festival: The Lisa Nemetz Festival of International Jewish Performing Arts.

ARTS

ASSANTE MASTERWORKS DIAMOND

Trailblazer Pauline Johnson celebrated on Firehall stage

NOV

5/6

Rachmaninoff & Strauss TOMORROW! Fri & Sat, 8pm | Orpheum

by Charlie Smith

Discover the full power of a seventy-piece symphony orchestra with Richard Strauss’ epic tone poem Don Juan and Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Featuring guest pianist Stewart Goodyear. Maestro Tausk conducts.

Stewart Goodyear

Actor Cheri Maracle will depict the life of one of Canada’s most famous Indigenous people of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Pauline Johnson, in the one-person musical Paddle Song.

A

ctor and musician Cheri Maracle has some things in common with Pauline Johnson, one of Canada’s most remarkable feminists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Johnson was a famous poet of mixed Indigenous and English heritage who performed in theatre productions in many communities. A brilliant orator, Johnson travelled widely, including to Europe, as a single woman. She was published overseas and spoke extensively about her Indigenous ancestry to white audiences.

When Johnson died at the age of 52 in Vancouver in 1913, mourners gathered for the largest public funeral in the city’s history up to that point. Her ashes were dispersed in Stanley Park, where a memorial was created in her honour in 1922.

Maracle, whose credits include the TV series Blackfly and Moccasin Flats, will play Johnson in the one-woman musical Paddle Song, which will be performed at the Firehall Arts Centre this month. In a recent phone interview, Maracle described Johnson as a “trailblazer”, “pioneer”, and “innovator”, as well as a “lateral thinker”.

“Her father was Mohawk, which mine was,” Maracle said. “Her mother was European, which mine is. So there is a lot of similarities.”

Not only that, but they both spent time on the Six Nations reserve in Ontario, where Johnson was born.

When asked if that gives her an advantage when it comes to portraying Johnson in Paddle Song, Maracle quipped, “I’ve been accused of that.”

On a more serious note, she said that their shared heritage gives her an intrinsic understanding of some of the choices that Johnson made in her life. Some of those decisions were rooted in Mohawk culture, which Maracle said is very matriarchal.

According to her, women traditionally chose the chiefs and played a leading role

in discussions about the land.

“The Mohawk are very, very forward people,” Maracle added. “We are very walk-through-talk people. It’s about doing—getting things done.”

She also described Mohawk people as innovators. And that is on display in her depiction of Johnson in Paddle Song.

“Mixed blood is a recurring theme in the work,” Maracle said. “She did half of her show in English dress and the other have in Native dress that she created.”

Like Johnson, Maracle also has a strong connection to B.C., having lived in Bella Bella and Prince Rupert before moving to Vancouver to study theatre at Capilano University. Her first professional performance was at the Firehall as a 19-year-old theatre graduate, and it’s where she performed her last play before her 50th birthday.

So it’s like a homecoming for Maracle to be returning to the Firehall, which has been overseen for decades by its artistic producer, Donna Spencer.

“I’ve done about six shows here, so it’s really nice to reconnect with her,” Maracle said. “I just love her.”

Maracle is often asked if she’s related to Sto:Lo poet and writer Lee Maracle. The connection comes through that author’s marriage to one of her cousins. But nowadays Maracle jokes that she’s Lee’s daughter, and, according to Maracle, Lee tells people that Maracle is her daughter.

Maracle also said that Lee’s grandfather knew Pauline Johnson and that Lee’s daughter, theatre artist Columpa Bobb, grew up with Johnson’s poetry.

“It’s wild for me to be bringing the show here, knowing the relationship Pauline had with Joe Capilano, the Squamish chief, and with other First Nations chiefs,” Maracle said. g The Firehall Arts Centre will present Paddle Song from November 9 to 21.

Hear it. Feel it.

NEWMONT MASTERWORKS GOLD

Bronfman, Tovey & Beethoven

NOV

12/13 Fri & Sat, 8pm | Orpheum

VSO Music Director Emeritus Bramwell Tovey is joined by the great Yefim Bronfman, who brings his deep and passionate playing to Beethoven’s 3rd Piano Concerto. A very special musical treat.

Yefim Bronfman

MUSICALLY SPEAKING

Romeo & Juliet

NOV

Fri, 7pm | Orpheum

19

Prokofiev’s lush and romantic vision permeates every note of this dramatic musical masterpiece.

Special visual effects help to bring Shakespeare’s classic tale to life.

Otto Tausk

ASSANTE MASTERWORKS DIAMOND

The Valkyries Ride Again

NOV

26/27 Fri & Sat, 8pm | Orpheum The Valkyries ride again! Enjoy the greatest moments of Wagner and discover Lalo’s splendid concerto with VSO principal cellist Henry Shapard.

NOV 5 & 6, 26 & 27 MASTERWORKS DIAMOND SERIES SPONSOR

GOLD SERIES SPONSOR

VancouverSymphony.ca NOVEMBER 4 – 11 / 2021

MEDIA SPONSOR

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THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

NOVEMBER 4 – 11 / 2021

CULTURE CRAWL

Culture Crawl’s resilience reflected in its history

F

by Charlie Smith

or many years, Esther Rausenberg has been a pillar of the Vancouver art community. As one of the founders of the Eastside Culture Crawl, she has helped countless artists show their work to thousands and thousands of residents every year. In 2019, 23,000 visitors went through the Parker Street Studios alone.

This has helped artists forge connections with patrons—as well as lifelong friendships—and earn a living. In the process, the Eastside Culture Crawl has helped turn East Vancouver into a vibrant national centre for visual arts, crafts, and design.

So it might come as a surprise to some that the Eastside Culture Crawl, now celebrating its 25th anniversary, doesn’t receive any federal funding.

“We have had very, very minimal support from government funding bodies— like, we get zero from the Canadian government,” Rausenberg told the Straight in a phone interview. “Zero. Zero.”

She thinks it comes down to a very Eurocentric definition of what the visual arts are all about to qualify for federal funding.

“The way that the visual arts are supported and seen always has to be mediated

If I’m a visual artist, it has to go through a gatekeeper…

– Esther Rausenberg

Esther Rausenberg helped found the Eastside Culture Crawl. Photo by Adam P.W. Smith.

through the eyes of a curator,” Rausenberg explained. “And so visual artists can’t selfrepresent their own work and can’t curate

their own work.”

The Eastside Culture Crawl breaks through that model by offering a way for artists to get their work in the hands of patrons by creating opportunities for buyers to visit their studios. This year, more than 400 artists will be participating in the two major events: a by-appointmentonly preview weekend from November 12 to 14 and an open-studio component from November 18 to 21.

Rausenberg said that although artists cannot obtain government funding through self-representation, this option is available to artists in other areas.

“If I’m a dancer or a choreographer, I can do that,” she declared. “If I am a theatre director, I can do that. If I’m a writer, I can do that.

“I put my own work out there, and if it sticks and somebody is interested in that, I can promote it,” Rausenberg continued.

“I don’t do all of that if I’m a visual artist; it has to go through a gatekeeper like a private gallery or a public gallery.”

She doesn’t think that’s fair to people who make their livelihood in the visual arts.

After getting that off her chest, Rausenberg had many other interesting things to say, including how she became interested in art. She was actually not exposed to it as a child. Her father had escaped Yugoslavia and had no interest in this area.

But a life-changing event came with the visit of a famous artist to Vancouver in the 1970s. Milton Ernest “Robert” Rauschenberg had a show at the Vancouver Art Gallery. According to Rausenberg, that elicited the interest of her father, whose name was originally Rauschenberger but had been anglicized to Rausenberg. Her dad decided to go to the VAG to see if he could meet the artist. see next page

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THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

17

Jessica Craig

from previous page

The two did end up talking, and Rausenberg’s dad returned with one of Rauschenberg’s catalogues.

“That was my first real exposure to contemporary art,” Rausenberg revealed.

“I was like, ‘Wow, what is this?’ It was really bizarre.”

That triggered a greater interest in visual art, leading her to study photography at Britannia secondary. Rausenberg went on to take video, film, sound, and contemporary-dance courses at Simon Fraser, eventually finding a job at the Firehall Arts Centre.

In 1980, Rausenberg met her partner, visual artist Richard Tetrault, and the rest is history.

Another of her colourful stories concerns how the crow came to become the mascot of the Eastside Culture Crawl. It was Richard’s idea.

“He’s the crow man,” Rausenberg said with a chuckle. “Richard was painting crows way before the Crawl.”

In the early days, they actually had a cricket as the mascot for one year.

“Then at one point—you know, us being

Studio 9A 9A - 1310 William Street jcraig.va@gmail.com www.jessicajcraig.com instagram@jcraig.va

artist and former journalist Carlyn Yandle is curating a series of discussions on the process of researching, creating, and making a living by creating art. Beginning on November 9, Talking Art/Histories in the Making: From Research to Artwork takes place over three days on Zoom with artists Julie McIntyre, Monique

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THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

NOVEMBER 4 – 11 / 2021

TIP SHEET

Motut-Firth, and Mia Weinberg.

Here are some other online highlights of this year’s Crawl:

AT THIS YEAR’S Eastside Culture Crawl,

10B - 1310 William Street | www.probynart.com info@probynart.com | Instagram @probynart

The Eastside Culture Crawl’s preview weekend takes place by appointment only from November 12 to 14; the open studio festival component does not require an appointment and takes place from November 18 to 21.

Culture Crawl

Karen Lorena Parker

studio 10B

kind of irreverent East Siders—we thought maybe we should do a cockroach, ha, ha, ha,” she said. “We didn’t think it would go over well with the public.”

Back in the early days, Rausenberg conceded that the Eastside Culture Crawl was a bit of a free-for-all, open to whoever opened their doors with whatever they might be selling. Nowadays, the curated catalogue reveals how professional it has become over 25 years.

“I’m so excited about the quality of the work and how far we’ve come in regards to that,” Rausenberg said. “Having said that, I’m very supportive of the fact that we are so embracing of the art form and that we don’t make judgements as we embrace emerging-to-established artists.

“We really do provide opportunities for artists to develop their art practice. I think that’s a really important function of the Crawl.” g

c CREATING ART WITH DIGITAL MEDIA (November 16) The art director of the Parker Art Salon, Karen Lorena Parker, explains how to create art with digital media, including nonfungible tokens, a.k.a. NFTs. c APES, PUNKS AND 1/1S:

COLLECTING NFTS FOR BLOCKCHAIN BEGINNERS

(November 17) Multidisciplinary artist Kate McDonald will offer a one-hour workshop covering basic information on one of the hottest new fields of collectibles: nonfungible tokens.

Learn how to purchase them, how to send cryptocurrency to a digital wallet, and security precautions to determine authenticity. g

ARTS

18 ANNUAL DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE

HEARTTHEOF CITY FESTIVAL Modulus fest brings back HEART OF THE 28CITY NOVEMBER 8 live & online immersive concerts for one OCTOBER info: heartofthecityfestival.com FESTIVAL 17TH ANNUAL DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE

2020

TO

by Charlie Smith

OCTOBER 27 TO NOVEMBER 7

Vancouver TH Moving Theatre with the Carnegie Community Centre and the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians with a host of community partners presents

OVER 100 EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE AND ONLINE

FINAL WEEKEND – SELECT HIGHLIGHTS HEARTOFTHECITYFESTIVAL.COM

OPENINGS: Indigenous elders & knowledge-keepers share cultural teachings of resilience, hope and humour.

November 3 to November 6, 7:30pm. $15 - $35 sliding scale Produced by Firehall Arts Centre w/ Vancouver Moving Theatre

Firehall Arts Centre, 280 East Cordova 7LFNHWV DW GRRU RU ZZZ o UHKDOODUWFHQWUH FD

GRACE EIKO THOMSON: CHIRU SAKURA Musician Mark Takeshi McGregor (right) plays to an audience member at Music on Main’s As dreams are made, which offers theatrically produced, individualized concerts. Photo by Jan Gates.

T

he artistic director of Music on Main, David Pay, has an amusing story to tell from his childhood. It concerned his propensity for wanting to stage shows—from a very young age.

“My kindergarten teacher used to call me Cecil B. DeMille,” Pay recalls in a recent phone interview with the Straight. “She called my parents and told them I had to stop auditioning kids for my productions.”

Fortunately for Vancouver music lovers, the unnamed kindergarten teacher didn’t get her way. And Pay’s love of producing will be on display this month with the 10th edition of Music On Main’s Modulus Festival. It’s his imaginative response to a serious question: how do artists respond to chaotic times?

At the heart of this year’s festival is a revival of a pandemic-inspired series of concerts, As dreams are made, which premiered last year in Vancouver. It’s inspired by a speech by Prospero in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest: “We are such stuff / As dreams are made on, and our little life / Is rounded with a sleep.”

This year’s concerts feature a mostly new lineup of musicians who will offer individualized performances to one person at a time on the stage at the Annex. The audience member shows up at the lobby at an appointed time.

“You’re greeted in the lobby,” Pay explains. “You’re told a little bit about what’s going to happen.”

The guest is brought into a dark room and a light comes up on the musician. The guest then sits in an empty chair nearby.

“There’s a moment where the musician looks at you and you look at the musician,” Pay says. “It’s all silent.”

The performer then plays a piece that is decided in that moment to suit the sole

audience member.

According to Pay, musicians who are part of the series have a repertoire that they will choose from.

“You’ll see the show and nobody is watching you see the show,” Pay says.

“Then the next person will come in and have a different experience.”

After each performance, the theatre darkens and the person leaves the theatre, where they’re greeted again. He says that once people reenter the world outside, it’s akin to emerging from a dream.

“It’s sort of like, ‘Whoa, did that just happen? Did I just sit in a space with beautiful lighting and hear an unbelievable musician all by myself?’ ” Pay says.

Last year, he adds, the response from audiences was overwhelmingly positive. At this year’s Modulus Festival, there will be five musicians featured in As dreams are made: Chloe Kim (violin), Dailin Hsieh (zheng), Jonathan Lo (cello), Saina Khaledi (santour), and Mark Takeshi McGregor (flute).

On any given day, attendees will not know which musician will be performing in what Pay describes as “an immersive performance for one person”.

The series relies on some methodologies developed in Europe for what are called 1:1 Concerts.

“But we’ve theatricalized it so that it has this relationship to a famous Shakespeare speech,” Pay says.

These brief live performances will be part of The Tempest Project, which is a fulllength immersive show that Music on Main plans on premiering in 2024. g

Elder and activist Grace Eiko Thomson reads and talks about her book Chiru Sakura (Falling Cherry Blossoms).

November 4 | 7pm free Massy Arts Gallery, 23 East Pender Live. Registration required, visit website

HONOURING OUR GRANDMOTHERS HEALING JOURNEY LAUNCH

Three days of ceremony, teachings, storytelling and art respecting Mother Earth.

November 5 - 7 Full event details, visit website

FIGHTING FOR SPACE: DRUG USERS’ RESPONSE TO THE OVERDOSE CRISIS

Online presentation and conversation with author and award-winning journalist Travis Lupick, with Ann Livingston and Eris Nyx. November 6, 1pm free Online. Registration required, visit website

INCARCERATED: Truth in Shadows Shadow plays dedicated to those who have faced unjust treatment in Canada’s incarceration system. Presented by Illicit Projects November 6, 8pm free Online. Registration available, visit website

Music on Main presents the 2021 Modulus Festival from Friday (November 5) to next Wednesday (November 10) at various venues.

NOVEMBER 4 – 11 / 2021

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

19

ARTS LISTINGS ONGOING A SEAT AT THE TABLE Exhibition explores historical and contemporary stories of Chinese Canadians in B.C. and their struggles for belonging. To Dec 31, Museum of Vancouver. $10.

CANOE CULTURES :: HO’-KU-MELH Work of 20 Indigenous artists and carvers curated by Indigenous artist and cultural historian Roxanne Charles. To Jul 3, Vancouver Maritime Museum. $13.50/$11 EASTSIDE CULTURE CRAWL : SURFACING The Pendulum Gallery hosts one part of the Eastside Culture Crawl’s multi-venue curated exhibition, Surfacing. To Nov 26, Pendulum Gallery. Free.

THE HUMAN VOICE City Opera Vancouver presents an online adaptation of Cocteau and Poulenc, starring Isaiah Bell. To Dec 31, Online, cityoperavancouver.com. Free.

A PRACTICE IN GESTURES Textile works, beading and embroidery, video, ceramic, and mixed-media works by B.C. artists Farheen HaQ, Deborah Koenker, Bev Koski, Mitra Mahmoodi, Bettina Matzkuhn, and Barbara Zeigler. To Nov 7, Richmond Art Gallery.

DRIFT: ART AND DARK MATTER EXHIBITION Exhibition of works by artists Nadia Lichtig, Josèfa

Ntjam, Anne Riley, and Jol Thoms. To Dec 5, Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery.

CHARLENE VICKERS | ANCESTOR GESTURE Painting, sculpture, performance, and installation by Charlene Vickers. To Jan 2, Contemporary Art Gallery.

SHO ESQUIRO: DOCTRINE OF DISCOVERY Solo exhibition by designer, artist, and activist showcases meticulously crafted couture gowns, textiles, paintings, and photographs. To Jun 5, Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art. TEETH, LOAN AND TRUST COMPANY, CONSOLIDATED: THE TRYLOWSKY COLLECTION Exhibition curated by Patrik Andersson features select works from Vancouver dentist Zenon Trylowsky’s private art collection. To Dec 11, 12-5 pm, Griffin Art Projects. Free.

FRUITS OF MY LABOUR Fruit-shaped jewellery objects made from decorative plastic fruit covered in recycled swimsuit lycra, displayed on mirrored surfaces. To Nov 25, Craft Council of B.C. Gallery. Free. #WHATNOW Docu-theatre dance creation in response to #metoo. To Nov 7, Russian Hall. $15-22.

E-FEST 2021: ELECTRIC FIELDS - GESTURAL SONIC EXPANSIONS Vancouver New Music presents five new, streaming performance video pieces from seven artists who play with unique intersections of body and technology. To Nov 10, online, newmusic.

Paddle Song

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4

A Firehall Arts Centre Presentation

CHUTZPAH! FESTIVAL 2021 The Chutzpah!

Festival returns with an exciting and dynamic lineup of performances presenting music, theatre, comedy, and dance that reflects the joy of coming back together. For over two decades the Chutzpah! Festival has been an eagerly anticipated and annual highlight of Greater Vancouver's arts season. Nov 4-24, Norman Rothstein Theatre. Tix from $18.

SANKOFA: AFRICAN ROUTES, CANADIAN ROOTS Exhibition explores the relationships between traditional and contemporary African art and Black Canadian art. Nov 4, 2021–Mar 27, 2022, 10 am–5 pm, Museum of Anthropology at UBC. TRASIEGO: THE MULTIPLE VOICES AND LANGUAGE OF UPROOTING AND RE-ROOTING An installation of poetry and visual art by Dafne BlancoSarlay and Carmen Rodríguez. Nov 4, 5:30 pm, Marpole Neighbourhood House. Free.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5 10TH MODULUS FESTIVAL Music on Main presents a festival of new music and conversations. Nov 5-10, Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre.

VANCOUVER SPECIAL COMEDY SHOW Standup comedy show featuring Julie Kim, Ola Dada, Steev Letts, and Talie Perry. Nov 5, 7:30 pm, Slice Next Door. $20.

RIVERS OF GRIEF - A JOURNEY THROUGH THE UNDERWORLD Soprano Mireille Asselin, tenor Asitha Tennekoon, violinist Parmela Attariwala, and pianist Perri Lo perform works by Danika Lorèn, Ian Cusson, and Cecilia Livingston. Nov 5, 7:30-9 pm, Pyatt Hall. $0-35.

Produced and Performed by

Cheri Maracle Directed by

Dinah Christie Co-written by

Dinah Christie & Tom Hill Music by

Tom Hill

NOV 9 - 21

Tue-Sat 7:30pm | Sat & Sun 3:00pm Wed 1:00pm PWYC

604.689.0926

firehallartscentre.ca 280 EAST CORDOVA STREET

FIREHALL ARTS CENTRE 2021-2022 | REUNION SEASON

20

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

NOVEMBER 4 – 11 / 2021

Cheri Maracle

COVID protocols in place

org. By donation.

MASS REINCARNATION OF WISH FRAGMENTS 願 (GANHEN TAIRYOU TENSEI) Eva Wong and Naoko Fukumaru’s collaboration brings together the traditional Japanese practices of origami and kintsugi to tell a tale of queer transformation. To Dec 15, Pride in Art Society. Free.

THE ODD COUPLE Classic Neil Simon comedy centred around the antics of uptight, neat Felix Unger and easygoing, dishevelled Oscar Madison. To Nov 14, Metro Theatre. Adults $34, seniors $31.50.

S.T.A.N.D. - A THEATRE FESTIVAL FOR IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE ARTISTS A live and livestreamed celebration by and for immigrant and refugee theatre artists, featuring workshops, panel discussions, and public showcase performances. To Nov 7, Presentation House Theatre. $22/18/15/free.

OPENINGS: A CULTURAL SHARING Conversations with and presentations by Indigenous elders, knowledge keepers, and artists from different nations about resilience, hope, and humour. To Nov 6, Firehall Arts Centre. Tix from $15.

WE THE SAME A multicultural journey through reality, fantasy, and the supernatural utilizing ritual dance, shadow play, live music, and animation. Trigger warning: implied sexual violence. To Nov 7, online, thecultch.com. Tix from $29.

OG PUNK Dina Goldstein’s photographs of key figures from the punk scenes of the late 1970s and 1980s in Vancouver and Victoria as they are today. To Jan 2, 2022, The Polygon Gallery.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6 VANCOUVER CLASSIC GUITAR SOCIETY GALA CONCERT Classical guitar performances by David Sossa, Luis Medina, the Vancouver Guitar Orchestra and the Capilano Guitar Trio. Nov 6, 7 pm, Pyatt Hall. $25-35.

PROJECT INTANDEM: DOUBLE-BILL DANCE PRODUCTION The Chutzpah! Festival presents an evening of contemporary dance featuring the works of Calgarian choreographers Sylvie Moquin and Meghann Michalsky. Nov 6-7, 7 pm, Norman Rothstein Theatre. $20.

BRUCE MCCULLOCH: TALES OF BRAVERY AND STUPIDITY Comedian, actor, writer, musician and director Bruce McCulloch performs his one-man show, Tales of Bravery and Stupidity. Nov 6, 8 pm, The ACT Arts Centre. $42.

FOREV CIRCUS Former Cirque performers performers Santé D’Amours Fortunato and Alexandr Yudintsev. Nov 6, 7, 8-9:30 pm, Shadbolt Centre for the Arts.

In-person $30, livestream $15.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7 VINTAGE BURLESQUE BINGO! An evening of vintage glamour featuring bingo games, burlesque, and live music. Nov 7, 7-10 pm, LanaLou's Restaurant. $20.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8 RAMA VAIDYANATHAN + ENSEMBLE New work choreographed by Indian Bharatanatyam artist Rama Vaidyanathan. Nov 8-15, Scotiabank Dance Centre. $15.

TWINS: STAND UP COMEDY Standup comedy show hosted by Danika Thibault and Nathan Hare.

Nov 8, 8 pm, Little Mountain Gallery. $8/$10

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9 PADDLE SONG One-woman musical tells the story of Mohawk poet Pauline Johnson. Nov 9-21, Firehall Arts Centre. Tix from $15.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10 CIRCLE CRAFT CHRISTMAS MARKET Western Canada’s largest craft market features hundreds of craftspeople and artisans. Nov 10-14,, Vancouver Convention Centre. Adults $15.

BREATHE IN HOPE The voices of Chor Leoni transform the grief of war and loss into a dream of reconciliation and peace in this 30th observance of a cherished annual tradition. Nov 10, 7:30 pm; Nov 11, 2 & 7:30 pm, St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church. Tickets from $20.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12 EASTSIDE CULTURE CRAWL The 25th annual Culture Crawl takes place in person and online over two consecutive weekends. Nov 12-21, various Vancouver venues and online.

ARTS LISTINGS are a public service provided free of charge, based on available space and editorial discretion. Submit events online using the eventsubmission form at straight.com/AddEvent.

Events that don't make it into the paper due to space constraints will appear on the website.

ARTS

Tales of Indigenous success offered at Heart of the City

by Charlie Smith

ON VIEW NOW | VANARTGALLERY.BC.CA The Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival invited storyteller Rosemary Georgeson to create a lineup of Indigenous speakers to share their insights on arts and culture. Photo by David Cooper.

S

ahtu Dene filmmaker and writer Rosemary Georgeson says that she doesn’t look at art through a western lens.

“I’ve always known who I was speaking to,” the former Vancouver Public Library storyteller in residence tells the Straight by phone. “To do that, I always had to do it in the way I was taught as a child and in the way I was raised to speak to people.”

Her work is integrally linked to her experiences growing up in an Indigenous fishing family on Galiano Island. Ask her how many times she’s seen a B.C. Ferries vessel travel through Active Pass and she erupts in laughter before saying “too often”.

In fact, Georgeson finds humour in many things, noting that amusing stories and jokes can help Indigenous people get through tough times.

“I think back to growing up with my family and some of the crazy things we laughed about,” Georgeson says. “Other people would look at us funny. Humour gets us through.”

So it only seemed natural that Georgeson would include a night on Indigenous humour as part of a storytelling series that she’s cocreated with Firehall Theatre artistic producer Donna Spencer. Called Openings, it’s a follow-up on a series that they did last year at the Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival called In the Beginning: A Cultural Sharing, which focused on Indigenous people’s history in Vancouver.

The producers of the festival, Terry Hunter and Savannah Walling, talked to the Straight last month about the importance of highlighting ceremony, storytelling, and teaching in this year’s schedule.

They feel that this is what art can look like through a non-European lens.

It’s a perspective that Georgeson shares. “That’s how I’ve always looked at art,” she declares.

Georgeson says that during last year’s events, audience members were curious to learn more on everything from queer Indigenous concerns to canoe culture.

“That’s where the idea came for this year: questions that people asked last year,” she reveals. “It’s all discussion. Nothing is scripted.”

It opens on Wednesday (November 3) with three Indigenous women who have succeeded magnificently in the world of arts and culture: Métis-Cree filmmaker Loretta Todd, Cree and Salteaux actor-director Renae Morriseau, and Sto:Lo poet and author Lee Maracle. Their event is called Openings: Women Standing Their Ground in the Arts.

“The first night is going to be incredible to hear their strength and resilience,” Georgeson says.

That will be followed on Thursday (November 4) with an exploration of queer Indigenous identity, featuring Cree actor Billy Merasty and Haida carver Skundaal (Bernie Williams). Friday (November 5) is devoted to canoe culture and will include Squamish Nation elder Bob Baker.

Openings will culminate with a night of humour on Saturday (November 6) with Indigenous actor Curtis Ahenakew and comedians Keith “Bubbas” Nahanee and Brenda Prince.

Prince has collaborated with Georgeson on projects in the past.

“Brenda is funny,” Georgeson says. “She lights up a room.” g The Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival will present Openings at 7:30 p.m. at the Firehall Arts Centre from Wednesday to Saturday (November 3, 4, 5, and 6).

Major Sponsor:

Generously supported by:

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Media Partners:

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Organized by the PHI Foundation for Contemporary Art, Montréal, and presented in collaboration with the Vancouver Art Gallery

LISTENING. TOGETHER.

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musiconmain.ca | @musiconmain | #MyModulus NOVEMBER 4 – 11 / 2021

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

21

SAVAGE LOVE

Reader shows why some bisexual men stay closeted

by Dan Savage

b I WANT TO correct you on something you’ve said repeatedly: a man can “hide” his bisexual orientation. I disagree. I felt my boyfriend was gay or bi immediately, but he flatly denied it. But it was so obvious! He sucked at sex, he never initiated, and he was clueless about female anatomy! I was forced to hunt for proof, which I discovered after nine months. Then I mercilessly outed him to friends, humiliated him to his face, and finally confronted him with the proof of his profile on a gay hookup app.

I enjoyed every wicked minute exposing his lies and telling everyone the truth because he used and exploited me in a fake relationship. I was wrong about a couple of things.

First, I thought if I asked him if he was gay, he would confess and come clean with me.

Wrong, he never did. Second, if he was gay, he wouldn’t hide that fact because gays won the LGBT rights fight. Wrong. I am a fag hag, but only because I like feeling superior and enjoy what I get out of my friendships with gay men.

But I’m not interested in fruit juice.

- Furious And Vengeful Ex

terrible person, I don’t want you reading my column, and I hope your gay friends come to see you for the toxic person you are and cut you out of their lives—unless they’re just as awful as you are, in which case they deserve you.

To be clear, FAVE, what your ex did was wrong. I have always taken a dim view of closeted gay men who date straight women to throw people off the scent of cock on their lips (assuming your ex was gay and not bi).

But if this dude sucked at sex (when he had it with you), never initiated sex (at least not with you), and couldn’t find your clit if you gave him a flashlight (and probably not even then), why waste nine months on him? You

You are a

Dan Savage savages a reader who outed a boyfriend who may be gay. Photo by Ivan Balvan/Getty.

could’ve and should’ve dumped him the first time the sex was awful, FAVE, or when you first suspected it wasn’t you (or your kind) that he wanted to have sex with.

And for the record, FAVE, anyone can hide their sexual orientation, not just bi men. But many bisexuals don’t come out because they fear being mercilessly outed by angry, bitter, vindictive partners. Again, I don’t have much sympathy for closeted gay men who lie to and mislead women. But if your ex-boyfriend was bi, not gay, and you two hadn’t made a monogamous commitment to each other, he had every right to fuck other people—including other people with penises. b I’M A WOMAN in a committed relationship with a man and we’ve just started exploring ABDL. I’m the sub; he’s the Dom. I was wondering if it would be okay for me to change his diapers. I want to show him I’m willing to clean him and take care of him too, but I feel like subs aren’t really supposed to take on those roles. And to be a good sub, I really

want to know my place. I trust your opinion on these things.

- Pensively Approaching Diapered Dom

me if you change your boyfriend’s diapers, PADD, but you’re going to have to check with him. Not all “Adult Baby/ Diaper Lover” play involves power exchange, but when people combine ABDL with D/s, it’s typically the sub who wears the diapers (and has them changed) and the Dom who does the diapering and changing. But if your Dom is into wearing diapers, PADD, he’s already blurring those boundaries—so, I don’t see why you can’t at least offer to change his.

If having his diapers changed by his sub would make him feel less dominant, he can continue to change his own damn diapers.

It’s fine with

b I’M A SINGLE cis woman in my mid-40s. I’ve never wanted kids, but I did think at some point I’d get married or have a long-term partnership. That hasn’t happened. Which is fine. I’m content with my life; I make good

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- She Isn’t Necessarily Getting Laid, Eh?

Online meetups feel fleeting because most online meetups, like most offline meetups, are fleeting. They’re chance encounters, like striking up a conversation with a stranger in a bar, and they typically go nowhere. If you’re content with your life as it is, and if you value being able to fart whenever you need to, there are married men out there who aren’t getting any at home, SINGLE, and not all of them are assholes. Some are loving, decent guys in loving, low-conflict marriages who’ve decided to stay married for loving, decent reasons. An ongoing connection with a loving, decent woman who doesn’t want more than they can give could obviously make one of these guys very happy, SINGLE, and it might make you a little happier too. g Follow Dan on Twitter @FakeDanSavage. Email: questions@savagelove.net. Website: www.savage. love.

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money; I own my own home; and I love and appreciate all of the great things that come with being single. (Doing whatever I want, whenever I want, and—let’s be honest—farting at home whenever I gosh darn need to.)

I have a lot of dear friends who are married, and they are family. I accept that I may be single (but not alone!) for the rest of my life, and that’s fine too. But it comes down to this: I need physical intimacy.

I’m okay with my life, but I’m not okay never having a sexual partner again. I really, really, really like sex. I want to be with a person I know well enough to get comfortable.

But I live in a place where online meetups are either fleeting or scary. And I’m overweight Companion and lack confidence and don’t exactly have all the boys coming to my yard. Give me some guidance, Dan.

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THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

NOVEMBER 4 – 11 / 2021