Watermark Issue 30.18: Royal Debut

First-time director Matthew López scores worldwide hit with ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’

Celebrate the one year anniversary of our awardwinning exhibition Figurehead: Music & Mayhem in Orlando’s Underground!

Downtown Walking tour

Friday, September 8, 2023

Venue tour with Figurehead’s Jim Faherty.

figurehead night out

Saturday, September 9, 2023

Concert with Steven Foxbury, The Riddlers, and more!

Morning after brunch

Sunday, September 10, 2023

Buffet-style brunch with live music by Terri Binion. Tickets and more information: TheHistory Center.org/FEW

Parenting

STRIKING DISTANCE:

As SAG-AFTRA and WGA remain united, the ongoing strikes push the entertainment industry into unprecedented times — again.

With Pride is about so many things but at its core it’s about demanding a Florida that is better. … Demanding a Florida where every single student is protected and every single family is respected. –

#CCC1332700

I was never a reader of what are commonly referred to as “trashy romance novels” by many I know, but the premise of this one sounded cute so I gave it a whirl — and whirl me it did. I fell in love with Alex and Henry and their relationship. So you can imagine how excited I was to find out Amazon was turning it into a movie and imagine how even more excited I was to get to opportunity to talk with the director of the film, Tony Award-winning playwright of “The Inheritance,” Matthew López. I have been doing this job for many years now and this was by far my favorite interview. He was kind, gracious and fun and I probably came across as a fangirl meeting Taylor Swift for the first time.

books than taking up gun control legislation. From Pulse to Parkland to Jacksonville this past weekend, the evil on the ground uses their guns to try and erase us in the streets while the conservatives up in Tallahassee use their power to try to erase us from history. It’s enough to make you feel hopeless and defeated, which I know is how many Floridians felt, and not know how to keep going.

As the weekend wrapped up, I was honored with an invite to an exclusive listening session for local singer CeCe Teneal. She is working on an all-new original album and she wanted to share it with a small, select group. As she prepared to sing one of her new songs, she

ABBY BAKER

is a writer, photographer and cat lover with a knack for news in and around Tampa Bay. She is based out of Wilton Manors. Page 10

I

Don’t get me wrong, I still read but it was usually two or three books a year as opposed to two or three a month, that is until the great pandemic of 2020. When COVID hit I came up with two goals for myself:

1.) I was going to take up a hobby to distract me from the outside world — thank you, Lego — and 2.) I was going to start reading more. At the time, I had just finished Ronan Farrow’s “Catch and Kill,” his recount of bringing his Harvey Weinstein story on the Hollywood mogul’s years of rape and abuse

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to light, and prior to that read Bob Woodward’s “Fear: Trump in the White House.”

So I went into the pandemic looking to start reading some books on lighter subjects as an escape from the terror of the real world, that is when I found “Red, White & Royal Blue.” This LGBTQ+ rom-com novel, written by Casey McQuiston, is about the love-hate — then secret love-love — relationship between the son of the first female POTUS and the Prince of England.

DON’T TAKE THE TIME TO READ AS much as I did when I was younger. I don’t know if it’s because adulting keeps me busier than I like or that I actually have plenty of free time and just choose to spend it on Tik Tok or trying to get passed the next level on Project Makeover, my go-to app game on my phone, but the number of books I read in my teens and 20’s slowly dwindled down in my 30’s and 40’s.We chatted on a Friday and I went into the weekend on a giddy high until I was woken up Saturday morning by our sales director and president of the LGBT+ Center Orlando, Danny Garcia, with pictures of The Center and Zebra Youth. Overnight a nazi group had spraypainted over several LGBTQ+ murals with hateful messages and symbols meant to stir up fear and anxiety in the LGBTQ+ community. As I was getting details to that incident news broke that a white man, armed with a rifle and handgun, walked into a Jacksonville Dollar General and started targeting Black customers. He killed three people before killing himself. The shooter had a swastika painted on his rifle, the same symbol that was painted on the murals.

Make no mistake, while these attacks are the fault of the perpetrators, they are egged on by the vitriol and ignorance that has been coming from Florida’s governor and GOP lawmakers who have spent years fanning the flames of fires set by hate-filled individuals and groups who are racist and anti-queer. Particularly this past session where the GOP-led legislature was more focused on editing school history

It’s enough to make you feel hopeless and defeated.

MELODY MAIA MONET has her own trans lesbian themed YouTube channel at YouTube.com/MelodyMaia and is the vice president of the board for Come Out With Pride Orlando. To find more information on Pride, visit ComeOutWithPride.org. Page 17

spoke of the love, power and strength she gets from her wife and their marriage. In front of a room filled with about a hundred people in this state, this Black queer woman spoke passionately about the love of her life without changing up pronouns or using words like “partner” or “my special friend.” She looked at all of us and said this is my wife with no fear.

As she sang I thought how in today’s Florida, where nazis and bigots are literally marching in the streets and killing marginalized people, what a defying act that is of standing in front of a crowd and celebrating your queer love. She reminded me that living as your authentic self is a way of standing up against these people. By not letting their hate take away your love, that is how you keep going.

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PHOTOGRAPHY

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CONTENTS

is not responsible for damages due to typographical errors, except for the cost of replacing ads created by WATERMARK that have such errors. Watermark Publishing Group Inc.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jeremy@WatermarkOnline.com watermark Your LGBTQ+ News Source. AUGUST 31 - SEPTEMBER 13, 2023 // ISSUE 30.18 WATERMARKONLINE.COM 7

DESK EDITOR’S

Ryan Williams-Jent MANAGING EDITOR Ryan@WatermarkOnline.com

I

There are around 5.18 billion users online now, which amounts to 64.6% of the global population. It was a much slower world in 2002, one with only three million websites to visit, which is why we used Internet Explorer.

These days there are 1.13 billion websites to choose from, with another built every three seconds. The information superhighway’s never been more super: 85.95% of cell users carry the internet with them everywhere they go.

That wasn’t the case back then. I didn’t dare launch the web browser on my Nokia, the brick I primarily used to play state-of-the-art games like Snake, for fear of its absurd charges and

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crawling speeds. Information could be scarce if you didn’t know where or how to look.

It was in that slower world that the nation was still healing from 9/11, understandably so, while many Americans were finding new ways to hate because of it. It was also when I was tasked with casting my first vote for president. No pressure.

I didn’t know it at the time, but just two days before my 18th birthday one of the nation’s two viable choices began to form his campaign: John Kerry, the former U.S. Senator and Secretary of State. He now serves as the nation’s first Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and seemed like a fine choice to me.

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After he received the Democratic nomination for president, he went on to face incumbent George W. Bush in 2004. Even as a teenager, I could tell how inept the Republican was.

I didn’t think that because of his party affiliation, or because I was a Democrat. In fact, I was initially registered to vote as a Republican myself.

It was basically a default setting. My immediate and extended family never talked about politics or religion growing up, out of apathy or what I assume they considered to be a courtesy, so I knew only two things about either for years. That I was a Southern Baptist and a Republican.

I’m proud to say I’m neither now, but I didn’t think much about politics at the time. It didn’t seem like politics thought much about me, so I was just returning the favor.

TURNED 18 IN DECEMBER OF 2002, just five months before I graduated high school. A quick Google search tells me that only 9.1% of the world’s population used the internet at the time, so it wasn’t big news.It was in that context that I cast my first presidential ballot — for Bush, even though I gravitated toward Kerry. It felt like that’s what I was supposed to do, and he was re-elected with 50.7% of the vote.

I regret it these days, and it’s not something I’ve told many people over the years, because the man was terrible for our country and community. But I share it to express how important it is to educate others on what truly matters, particularly with so much information available at our fingertips.

That’s one of the reasons I became a journalist. I’ve long believed that listening to every side of an argument is the best way to understand one’s own point of view, which is why I also recently watched the GOP’s 2024 presidential primary debate.

I wouldn’t vote for Bush today, and I’ve proudly voted Democrat in every election since

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I did, but I can tell you I’d choose him over any of the Republican candidates standing on that stage. They made that choice for me when almost all of them said they’d still support Donald Trump — the twice-impeached ex-president who clearly tried to steal the 2020 election — should he win their party’s nomination next year.

The man is the only president in U.S. history to face criminal charges, and he was indicted for the fourth time the next day. He faces 91 charges so far and now holds another distinction: it isn’t Trump’s presidential portrait

ABBY BAKER

is a writer, photographer and cat lover with a knack for news in and around Tampa Bay. She is based out of Wilton Manors. Page 10

MELODY MAIA MONET has her own trans lesbian themed YouTube channel at YouTube.com/MelodyMaia and is the vice president of the board for Come Out With Pride Orlando. To find more information on Pride, visit ComeOutWithPride.org. Page 17

history will remember, it’s his mug shot.

The man should never have been elected president to begin with, but if the destruction of his first term — before, on and after Jan. 6 — can’t sway a Republican’s devotion, there’s no hope for the party. So much for law and order.

While I was tuning into the debate, plenty of others opted to stream “Red, White & Royal Blue” on Amazon instead. The LGBTQ+ love story has taken the world by storm and was a much easier watch. In this issue, we chat with the film’s director about its success. We also bring you the latest about Gulfport Pride, Come OUT St. Pete, anti-LGBTQ+ vandalism in Orlando and more.

Watermark strives to bring you a variety of stories, your stories. Please stay safe, stay informed and enjoy this latest issue.

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HOLLY KAPHERR ALEJOS, SABRINA AMBRA, ABBY BAKER, STEVE BLANCHARD, DEBORAH BOSTOCK-KELLEY, JOHNNY BOYKINS, NATHAN BRUEMMER, BIANCA GOOLSBY, JAKOB HERO-SHAW, LORA KORPAR, JASON LECLERC, JERICK MEDIAVILLA, MELODY MAIA MONET, TIFFANY RAZZANO, GREG STEMM, SYLVIE TREVENA, DR. STEVE YACOVELLI, ANGELIQUE YOUNG, MICHAEL WANZIE

PHOTOGRAPHY

BRIAN BECNEL, NICK CARDELLO, J.D. CASTO, BRUCE HARDIN, JAMARQUS MOSLEY, CHRIS STEPHENSON, LEE VANDERGRIFT

DISTRIBUTION AFFILIATIONS

LVNLIF2 DISTRIBUTING, KEN CARRAWAY, RAYLENE HUNT, ZACHARY WELCH

CONTENTS

is not responsible for damages due to typographical errors, except for the cost of replacing ads created by WATERMARK that have such errors. Watermark Publishing Group Inc.

watermark Your LGBTQ+ News Source. AUGUST 31 - SEPTEMBER 13, 2023 // ISSUE 30.18 WATERMARKONLINE.COM 7

THE CENTER ORLANDO, ZEBRA YOUTH VANDALIZED

Jeremy Williams

ORLANDO | The LGBT+ Center Orlando and Zebra Youth were vandalized by a hate group overnight. Members of The Center Orlando discovered messages of hate Aug. 26 spraypainted across LGBTQ+ murals that were painted on the outside walls of The Center Orlando and Zebra Youth’s Drop-in Center across the street.

Along with messages of hate, the vandals painted white nationalist symbols including swastikas and crosses. A sign was hung on one of the walls with “Knights of the Black Sun,” a known white nationalist group, written on it.

Dr. George Wallace, The Center Orlando’s CEO, says the attacks have left him “discouraged.”

“There just seems to be an uptick with anti-gay rhetoric,” Wallace says. “It’s disheartening.”

The Center Orlando shared a statement on its Facebook, writing “The Center & Zebra Youth’s murals have been vandalized with hateful messages and n*zi symbols. It’s not the first time it has happened and even though is frustrating, we are not going to stop being a beacon of light for our community.”

Zebra Youth also issued a statement Aug. 26, writing “We will not allow the recent vandalism to our building by a hate group detour or waver us.”

The statement goes on to thank the Orlando Police Department and government leaders, including Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan and Florida House Rep. Anna V. Eskamani, for their support and assistance.

“Zebra Youth stands strong in our dedication to empowering LGBTQ+ youth to become healthy, productive, and self-sufficient individuals,” the statement concludes. “We will never allow hate to win!”

Carlos Guillermo Smith, former state representative and current candidate for Florida Senate District 17, where The Center and Zebra Youth are located, took to social media saying that the murals were vandalized by “bigoted morons who don’t represent Orlando.”

“Within hours, our community came together to repair the damage,” Guillermo Smith stated, thanking Sheehan for showing up immediately. “We will NOT let hate win and will continue to proudly fly our flags high.”

As Guillermo Smith stated, several members of the community, including Sheehan, Zebra Youth’s executive director Heather Wilkie and mural artist Kim Murphy, came out within hours to start cleaning and repairing the murals. Many more volunteers came out on Aug. 27 and had the murals all cleaned and repaired within 24 hours of the incident.

Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost online called the vandalism “disgusting.”

“The Center and Zebra Coalition are beacons of light and love for so many folks in our communities,” Frost wrote on social media. “Hate should have no home in Central Florida.”

The Orlando Police Department was contacted and footage from security cameras from both buildings is being reviewed to try and identify the perpetrators.

Celebrating Unity

Come Out with Pride navigates challenges for 2023 celebration

Lia Epps

ORLANDO | As the LGBTQ+ community faces increasing challenges posed by discriminatory legislation and a shifting political landscape, Orlando’s Come Out with Pride is gearing up to send a resounding message of unity, resilience and advocacy. With its annual event just around the corner, executive director Tatiana Quiroga recently shared her insights on the festival’s preparations, addressing concerns and highlighting the community’s unwavering determination to push back against adversity.

Quiroga spoke passionately about the event’s commitment to reflecting the current realities of the LGBTQ+ community. Quiroga stressed that this year’s festival will look different, serving as a poignant reflection of the struggles and challenges faced by the community in the midst of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

“Pride this year ... has to look different. We’re in a different place as a movement and in the community than we were even last year,” Quiroga stated emphatically.

Quiroga emphasized the festival’s dedication to striking a balance between providing a joyous and inclusive space for the LGBTQ+ community while acknowledging the very real challenges they confront. The festival’s initiatives, such as the Trans and Non-Binary Task Force, highlight the importance of ensuring inclusive spaces for marginalized groups within the LGBTQ+ community. Quiroga emphasized that these initiatives are a crucial response to the current political climate and are intended to uplift and empower those who often face discrimination.

Amid hesitations expressed by some corporate sponsors due to travel advisories and the political climate, Quiroga emphasized the importance of demonstrating that Orlando and Orange County are committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment for all attendees. Quiroga clarified that no sponsors have totally withdrawn their support, but highlighted the need for community backing to counterbalance potential funding challenges.

“We really hope that the community will support us

... we are in a time of need,” Quiroga underscored.

Quiroga shared a heartening insight into the outcomes that have emerged from the challenges the community is facing. She highlighted the increased collaboration between various marginalized communities as a vital aspect of the fight against discrimination. The festival intends to shine a spotlight on these collaborative efforts, creating spaces where diverse voices are not only welcomed but celebrated.

Quiroga emphasized, “This is the time to start standing up for those who are standing next to you ... it’s going to be a lot harder to come for all of us if we’re standing together.”

Among the festival’s efforts to foster inclusivity and solidarity, the Trans and Non-Binary Task Force has launched an initiative that highlights the importance of creating a space for the trans and nonbinary community.

Quiroga revealed plans for the inaugural Trans & Non-Binary Family Picnic to be held Sept. 17. This free event aims to provide a safe and enjoyable environment for the community to gather, connect and build a sense of unity. The picnic serves as a reminder that community support and togetherness can triumph over adversity.

Come Out With Pride’s festival and parade will take place in Orlando Oct. 21. For more information on Come Out with Pride, please visit their official website at ComeOutWithPride.com.

ORLANDO PROUD: crowds gather to watch Come Out With Pride’s parade in downtown Orlando in 2022.

PHOTO BY DYLAN TODD

COME OUT ST. PETE TO CROWN NEXT ROYAL COURT Ryan Williams-Jent

ST. PETERSBURG | Come OUT St. Pete will hold its 2023 Royal Court Pageant Sept. 24 at the VFW Post 39, crowning its next set of representatives.

COSP was founded to celebrate National Coming Out Day in 2017, which has honored coming out as LGBTQ+ every year since 1988. The organization advocates for all sexual orientations and gender identities by participating in and leading LGBTQ+-focused events, including its annual pageant.

The competition was restructured in 2020 to be more inclusive, seeking drag kings and nonbinary entertainers in addition to drag queens. It has crowned a Miss and Mr. COSP as well as a COSP Ambassador ever since.

“We are excited to invite you to participate in the 2023 Royal Court Competition of Come OUT St Pete,” COSP’s website reads. “This is your chance to become one of our performing representatives and serve a one-year term promoting diversity and inclusion for the LGBTQIA+ community in Tampa Bay.

“As a member of the Royal Court, you’ll have the opportunity to be an outstanding ambassador for our community, making a positive impact and helping us make Come OUT St Pete even better,” it continues.

Interested parties are required to register by Sept. 23. Miss COSP is open to cisgender females, drag queens and trans feminine performers; Mr. is open to cisgender males, drag kings and trans masculine performers and Ambassador is open to performers who are nonbinary/gender neutral.

Registration is $100 in advance or $125 at the event, which will be hosted by Daphne Ferraro. Entry is $10 and contestants will be evaluated in four categories.

“This is our second live pageant since COVID-19,” COSP Chair Pat Fearns says. “We are confident that we will draw from the significantly vast pool of talent in the greater Tampa Bay area.

“We are also holding this in a new venue for COSP this year, the historic VFW Post 39,” she continues. “This allows us to continue to honor our historic roots in the Grand Central District while also supporting an organization and venue that is important to all Americans and our military!”

Winners will receive $250, a sash and a crown or medallion. They will also represent COSP during and beyond this year’s event, scheduled for Oct. 14 at Seminole Park. That’s when COSP will hold a Family Day Celebration and Chili Cook Off featuring local vendors, entertainment and more.

“Our community is under attack from the far right … we must continue to speak up, stand up and say this is not acceptable,” Fearns says. “We will not go back into the closet! We will mobilize and we will vote and we will elect officials who represent our values.”

For more information about this year’s pageant and COSP 2023, visit ComeOutStPete.org/COAYA.

tampa bay news

New Direction

Gulfport leaders at odds over Pride

Abby Baker

GULFPORT, FLA. | While the fourth annual Gulfport Pride is nearly a year away, there’s controversy surrounding the event.

Since Gulfport Pride’s inception, it has been managed by one nonprofit, the LGBTQ+ Resource Center, also its sole beneficiary. Next year, the celebration will be held under Gulfport Pride Florida Inc, established this year and as voted on by the Gulfport City Council Aug. 15.

The nonprofit is overseen by Gulfport Councilmember Paul Ray, its president, along with Ray’s husband Wesley Ray, vice president. Ester Venouziou is its secretary and Suzy King serves as treasurer. LGBTQ+ Resource Center President Susan Gore believes the creation of Gulfport Pride Florida Inc. was retaliation for a previous dispute between herself, Ray and King, the event’s traditional organizer as owner of SIK Promotions.

Gore says King confronted her at Gulfport Pride 2023 after she questioned Ray’s stance to not hold a peaceful, pro-LGBTQ+ protest at the parade. Ray, who helped launch the first festival, denies this.

He says forming a nonprofit was always the plan. “This [nonprofit status] was always, always, a long-time in the works,” Ray notes.

Before Ray and the Gulfport Pride board brought the nonprofit for approval to the city council, he invited Gore to lunch on July 13 to share the news. He did so in a letter.

“I would like to extend the LGBTQ Resource Center the courtesy of advising you that we have incorporated and established the Gulfport Pride Florida, Inc 501(c) (3) with the assistance of our attorney and accountant,” it reads. “Such incorporation will allow the organization to act independently.”

Both parties say there was a verbal disagreement that ended in Gore leaving the restaurant. On Aug. 15, the city council discussed the next Gulfport Pride and other events, with Gore among those who opposed the new direction during public comment.

City officials claim that while applications were submitted by both nonprofits for Gulfport Pride 2024, the center’s application was not chosen as it was “incomplete.” They had not attached an event organizer, as it was always King in previous years; Gore was not aware that she

would be involved with Gulfport Pride Inc at the time she submitted.

Councilmember April Thanos spoke up, countering with the fact that the Resource Center had always put in an application with King as the organizer. “It doesn’t matter,” Ray said.

“It doesn’t matter to you,” Thanos responded. She then introduced a motion to allow the Council to take additional time to review the matter, but she did not receive a second.

During the meeting, another Gulfport resident questioned if Ray should recuse himself from the voting process. Gulfport City Manager Jim O’Reilly advised that it is not a conflict of interest, as Ray is not personally financially benefiting from his nonprofit being chosen to lead Gulfport Pride 2024.

As for next year’s event beneficiary, Ray is confident that Gulfport Pride will donate funds to the LGBTQ+ Resource Center. It’s unclear if the nonprofit will be the sole beneficiary, however, which concerns Gore. She says funds from Pride make up 20% of the organization’s budget.

“We are an all-volunteer board, so when we lose money, there are no cuts to make, but we get to offer fewer services,” Gore says. “That’s not something we can wait until June 5th to find out.”

Learn more about Gulfport Pride and the LGBTQ+ Resource Center at GulfportPrideFlorida.com and MyGulfport.us/ LGBTQ-Resources.

COMMUNITY CONCERNS: Susan Gore (C) speaks at the Gulfport City Council meeting Aug. 15. SCREENSHOT VIA MYGULFPORT.US.

EPIC’s Sexual Health Center offers essential sexual health and disease prevention services through education, support and resources, empowering all people to achieve better sexual health and well-being.

Services include STI diagnostic and treatment services, pregnancy testing and referrals, PrEP and PEP education and medication as well as sexual health education services and workshops with an onsite sexpert.

EPIC’s Sexual Health Center serves Tampa Bay at the following locations:

Rodrigo Sabec, ARNP | Michael Cooley, ARNP

EQUALITY FLORIDA LAUNCHES STATEWIDE PARENTING WITH PRIDE INITIATIVE

Jeremy Williams

Equality Florida, the state’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, held a press conference outside the Orange County Public Schools building in Orlando Aug. 15 to launch its new Parenting With Pride program.

Parenting With Pride, which was created as a response to the many anti-LGBTQ+ laws that were passed in the state’s most recent legislative session as well as to debunk misinformation from groups such as Moms For Liberty, will bring together LGBTQ+ organizations and resources for Florida parents to utilize.

“As the attacks on families have escalated, as books have

been ripped from shelves, class schedules have been upended, support systems for students have been dismantled, Black history has been censored, curriculum has been whitewashed and propagandized, as schools have been made less safe and less welcoming for all students, the need for support has escalated dramatically,” said Equality Florida Press Secretary Brandon Wolf at the press conference.

The program has more than 1,000 families involved already from all across the state.

“Families that are represented in the program already spanned from Pensacola to Key West,” said Wolf. “We’ve held a number of informational town halls and virtual briefings to help them

understand the implications of legislation that’s already passed in Tallahassee. People have questions about bathrooms, they have questions about pronouns and books and curriculum and AP courses, and we’ve been able to get them in touch with experts to help walk them through the implications of those laws.”

During the press conference, several LGBTQ+ organizational leaders who are also parents to children attending Florida public schools spoke including All About the Ballots executive director Cassandra Brown, Florida Freedom to Read Project co-founder Jen Cousins, Hope CommUnity Center LGBTQ immigration coordinator Andrea Montanez, Seminole County PTA President Shelly

Pedraza, Zebra Coalition executive director Heather Wilkie and Come Out With Pride Orlando executive director Tatiana Quiroga.

“Being part of an LGBTQ+ family comes with so many trials and tribulations yet at the same time with so many joys and victories because we so intentionally create our families,” Quiroga said. “So to know that we are in a time where the state of Florida is trying to erase us, telling us that these efforts are being done in the name of parent rights, the true question has to be for which parents and who’s rights.”

Equality Florida’s Parenting With Pride website is now live and includes a wide array of resources including information on anti-bullying, banned books,

GSAs, legal support and more. The information is also broken into categories depending on who is looking to access it whether it be students, teachers or parents.

“Parenting With Pride is about so many things but at its core it’s about demanding a Florida that is better,” Wolf said. “It’s about demanding a Florida that is safer, that is more welcoming, that is more open, that is more equal, that is more free. Demanding a Florida where every single student is protected and every single family is respected.”

You can find more information, as well as tools and resources, at ParentingWithPride.org.

HOW RON DESANTIS USED FLORIDA SCHOOLS IN ANTI-LGBTQ+ CULTURE WARS

Wire Report

In the name of “parental rights,”

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has banned instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity and limited what Florida schools can teach about racism and U.S. history. He has exercised control over the pronouns and bathrooms students use. Tenured professors now must undergo regular reviews, as part of sweeping reforms to police “left-wing ideology” and “indoctrination” in higher education.

His policies have faced wide criticism from civil rights leaders and educators, among others, but they also have paid off politically. DeSantis went into the first GOP presidential debate on Aug. 23 as one of the country’s most popular Republican politicians.

Policy and education experts say DeSantis’ agenda on education has influenced what it means to be a viable Republican candidate.

“A good way to win a Republican primary these days is to be pro-voucher, anti-woke, anti-DEI and anti-LGBTQ,” said Doug Harris, an expert in education policy and economics chair at Tulane University.

DeSantis was not always a culture warrior. Experts who follow

DeSantis’ policies say after he was elected to his first term in 2018, by a slim margin, there was no sign education policy or courting controversy would become his hallmarks. Then, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he seized on discontent with school shutdowns and mask mandates.

“The pandemic was clearly a turning point for DeSantis,” said Carol Weissert, a professor emerita of political science at Florida State University. “He pitted himself against schools and aligned himself with parents.”

It was the beginning of many policies that made DeSantis a leader in the conservative push for “parents’ rights.”

“Our school system should be about educating kids, not indoctrinating kids. And that means we have gone on the offensive against toxic ideologies,” DeSantis said shortly after announcing his presidential bid in May. “I can tell you this, I have only begun to fight.”

A major theme of DeSantis` tenure has been a pledge to banish critical race theory from classrooms, following the lead of former President Donald Trump, who banned federal agencies in 2020 from offering diversity training on racial and gender biases.

Trump’s ban was rescinded by President Joe Biden, but CRT became a lightning rod for conservatives. The theory is rarely taught in K-12 schools, but the term has become a catchall for systemic racism.

Critical race theory has made its way into proposed legislation of 44 states, including 18 that have passed laws.

“These laws are inducing chaos and confusion in public schools, and that may be part of the point,” Kim said. He said culture war policies have coincided with school voucher policies as part of what he calls a “multi-pronged attack on public education.“

One of DeSantis’ most controversial policies has been the “Parental Rights in Education” bill, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” by opponents. It banned instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation in Florida classrooms “in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate.” But its impact has rippled to the books schools offer students.

New laws in Florida have prompted schools to pull books from their shelves, according to the free-speech organization PEN America. Florida ranks second, behind Texas, as the state with the highest number of book removals,

according to an April report. Teachers and librarians across the state say laws on discussion of race, gender and sexual orientation are so open to interpretation that they feel compelled to pull books that touch on those subjects.

DeSantis has dismissed reporting on book bans as a “hoax,” and parents who have advocated for removal of books say literature with sexually explicit passages should not be freely available to teens.

DeSantis also has taken several steps to regulate the teaching of Black history, which other conservative leaders have emulated.

In January, he rejected a new Advanced Placement course on African American studies, saying it was not “historically accurate” and violated the Stop Woke Act, a 2022 Florida law that limits the way gender and race are discussed in classrooms and workplaces.

Following Florida`s lead, Arkansas officials announced objections to the course earlier this week, but several school districts have pushed back, saying they still plan to offer the AP course. North Dakota, Mississippi and Virginia said earlier this year they plan to review the course material before deciding if it can be taught in their schools.

In July, guidelines announced by Florida’s Board of Education for teaching African American history ignited criticism from educators and historians. The standards say middle schoolers should be taught that “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit,” a rewriting of history that drew wide rebuke.

Ahead of the return to classes, Florida also became the first state to approve the use of videos in its classrooms produced by the Prager University Foundation, a media company named for conservative radio host Dennis Prager. The company makes videos to “promote American values,” according to its website.

One video depicts slavery abolitionist Frederick Douglass saying that while slavery was wrong and evil, it was a compromise the Founding Fathers had to make to “achieve something great.”

The Republican primary will reveal much about the direction of the conservative agenda on education, Valant said.

“A lot of that is going to be about whether or not DeSantis’ ‘antiwoke agenda’ resonates in other states,“ he said. “I think we’re going to see either a lot of copycats or we’ll see people pulling back away from that.”

CALIFORNIA SHOP OWNER KILLED OVER PRIDE FLAG WAS ADAMANT SHE WOULD NEVER TAKE IT DOWN Wire Report

LOS ANGELES | The California woman killed for apparently refusing to remove an LGBTQ+ rainbow Pride flag from outside her store was adamant that she would never take it down, a longtime friend said Aug. 23.

Laura Ann Carleton was fatally shot Aug. 18 outside Mag.Pi, the clothing and home decor shop she owned in Cedar Glen, a mountain community east of Los Angeles.

The shooter, Travis Ikeguchi, was killed by deputies after he opened fire on them a short time later, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said Aug. 21. Ikeguchi had frequently posted anti-LGBTQ content on social media, sheriff’s officials said.

Korey Pollard, whose wife worked at Mag.Pi, said Carleton was defiant in the face of criticism she received for hanging the rainbow flag outside the small store.

“She would say, ‘Korey, this is the hill I’m going to die on. No one is going to make me take down that flag,’” Pollard told The Associated Press. At one point, Carleton even ordered a much larger rainbow flag to replace an older one that had become faded, Pollard said.

Moments before shooting Carleton, Ikeguchi tore down the Pride flag outside her shop and shouted homophobic slurs at her, the sheriff said.

Carleton, who preferred to be called “Lauri,” is survived by her husband and nine children in a blended family.

An LGBTQ+ group in nearby Lake Arrowhead said Carleton didn’t identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. But she spent time helping and advocating for everyone, and she was defending her Pride flags placed in front of her shop on the night of the shooting, the group said.

Pollard, who said he was friends with Carleton for a decade, spoke outside a second Mag.Pi location in Los Angeles. He said he was there at the request of Carleton’s family to remove a makeshift memorial that had been growing outside the LA store’s front door.

“It’s, you know, beautiful in its intentions. But it’s the opposite of what Lauri would have been about,” Pollard said. “Also, we’re concerned about copycat situations … we don’t want to put anyone in jeopardy.”

CHESS OFFICIAL CALLS FOR MORE RESEARCH AS DECISION TO BLOCK TRANS WOMEN DRAWS FIRE

Wire Report

GENEVA | A top global chess official called for more research into whether factors such as hormone levels and physical endurance might have an impact on players’ abilities at the male-dominated game. Her comments came Aug. 18 after the world chess federation was heavily criticized for its decision to block transgender women from official women’s events.

The Switzerland-based federation FIDE said the decision, which went into effect Aug. 21, would stay in effect until the federation does an assessment of the issue.

Critics, including advocacy groups and some European players and federations, have derided what they call an unnecessary and discriminatory policy that appears to foster “trans panic,” with one former British women’s champion calling for the world federation to reverse its decision.

Dana Reizniece-Ozola, the deputy chair of the chess federation’s management board, insisted the goal of the new regulations was “actually to increase the rights of the transgender persons and allow them being registered under their new gender” in its official directory.

Tournaments for women only were created in the 1970s as a way to foster their participation in a sport that has long been dominated by men. Even now only 2% of all players — and 10% of rated players — are women, she said.

The new regulations, which could subject transgender women to a waiting period of up to two years as the issue is examined, was aimed at giving FIDE a “grace period” to sort out the matter of transgender players and men’s dominance in the sport.

“What is still not clear is if the hormonal levels do influence the competitiveness in chess,” Reizniece-Ozola said by video from Latvia’s capital, Riga. “There is no serious research or scientific analysis that would

prove one or the other way. There are speculations, but no more than that.”

Many sports involving intense physical activity — which chess does not — have been grappling with how to formulate policies toward transgender athletes in recent years.

Cathy Renna, communications director for the U.S. National LGBTQ Task Force, said the new rules appeared to be “a case of trans panic with no justification, not grounded in reality and once again marginalizing trans people.”

The foundation of chess, which Reizniece-Ozola called an “intellectual sport,” is equal: “I mean, there is no difference between men and women at the intellectual part. But still, we see that the statistical data show the differences between men and women.”

The federation has open competitions that allow all players to take part, as well as specialized categories, such as for young players and even computers.

IOWA CITY REVERSES CONVERSION THERAPY BAN

The city council in Waterloo, Iowa repealed its ban on conversion therapy Aug. 21 after the Orlando-based Christian organization Liberty Counsel threatened in a letter June 30 that it would “take further action” if the city did not repeal the ordinance by Aug. 1. It was enacted in May. The organization argued the ordinance infringes on the constitutional right to free speech and acted on behalf of a therapist in Waterloo. The Waterloo council approved its conversion therapy ban 6-1 in May but overturned it 4-3 amid the prospect of costly litigation.

FRUIT GROWER WINS RULING OVER ACCESS TO PUBLIC MARKET

The rights of Michigan fruit grower Steve Tennes were violated when East Lansing barred him from a seasonal market because of his opposition to same-sex weddings at his orchard, U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney said Aug. 21. Tennes made his farm available for weddings but wasn’t allowing same-sex weddings, citing his religious beliefs. Tennes said he wasn’t invited back to the East Lansing market for the 2017 season. East Lansing cited its non-discrimination ordinance and vendor rules in barring Tennes from the market but the judge said Tennes’ rights were violated.

BRAZILIAN SUPREME COURT RULES HOMOPHOBIA PUNISHABLE BY PRISON

The Brazilian Supreme Court ruled homophobia is now punishable with up to five years in prison. The justices on Aug. 21 ruled by a 9-1 margin. Their decision equates homophobia to racism in terms of prison time. The Supreme Federal Court in 2019 criminalized homophobia and transphobia. The Supreme Federal Court issued its ruling less than eight months after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office. His predecessor, former President Jair Bolsonaro, faced sharp criticism over his rhetoric against LGBTQ and intersex Brazilians and other groups.

UGANDA’S LEADER SLAMS WORLD BANK FOR HOLDING UP NEW LOANS

Uganda’s president slammed the World Bank Aug. 17, calling the global lender “insufferable” for holding up new loans after the East African country enacted an anti-gay bill that includes the death penalty in some cases. In a strongly worded statement, President Yoweri Museveni said he was struggling to restrain himself “from exploding with anger.” The World Bank — which has over the years played a key role in financing ambitious government projects in Uganda and helped build many roads, schools and hospitals — had deployed a team to the country after the law was enacted in May. It determined that additional measures were necessary to ensure projects align with the bank’s environmental and social standards.

Complacency Will Kill Us

EARLY LAST MONTH I scrolled through my Twitter feed, a bad idea on the best of days and even worse since it became X, when I came across a graphic by the Florida Democrats of the “Bad Bills” that went into effect on July 1.

Foolishly assuming that my interests as a trans person aligned with the Florida Dems, and thus the tweet would likely be trans-safe unlike so many others on that hellish platform, I scanned the list. Imagine my dismay after I looked at both pages of the graphic to find that the anti-trans bathroom bill was not listed. Not to diminish the bills that were included because the six-week abortion ban and the anti-immigrant bills are indeed true disasters for the economy of the state and well-being of Floridians, but this wasn’t an either/ or situation. Surely, space could have been made for a particularly heinous and blatantly discriminatory anti-trans bill. Unfortunately it appeared as if, for the sake of a pithy Letterman-style Top 10 list, somebody had made the decision to leave it off.

I could have let it go like I have with so many of the attacks from the right-wing haters who live in the comments of my YouTube channel, but this was a supposed ally, so instead I decided to try to hold the only hope trans people have in our state legislature accountable. If they weren’t willing to be visible allies, we wouldn’t stand a chance of one day living in a Florida that was safe and inclusive. So I took some screenshots and reposted them on my social media, tagged the Florida Dems account and its chairwoman Nikki Fried, and basically asked “what gives?”

To my great disappointment, despite posting on multiple days across several platforms, there was no response. It’s probably reasonable to assume that they had written me off as some sort of crackpot, but I wasn’t willing to drop it without doing everything I could. My next step was to reach out to my bestie, journalist extraordinaire and trans woman Dawn Ennis, explain the situation and see if she could get a reply through official channels where I couldn’t.

Despite multiple attempts at contacting the FL Dems via their press contacts and on her social media, she was also stonewalled for days until finally receiving a less-than-encouraging reply a week later from a spokesperson that essentially amounted to “We didn’t have enough space to include it as well as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill in the top ten list and besides, there is pending litigation against the bathroom bill.”

What was most shocking was the blithe nature of the reply. For the sake of not angering the gods of symmetry and late-night hosts, they decided to sacrifice highlighting what amounted to trans Jim Crow. Even worse, the response wasn’t accurate as there is in fact no pending litigation against the bathroom bill. They didn’t even bother to double-check to make sure they weren’t passing on misinformation before making a statement to the press. I would have expected that of Republicans in their misguided twisting of facts for the sake of the “culture war,” but not Democrats who should be doing everything they can to correct the record.

When it was pointed out to the FL Dems that they were in fact wrong, they retracted their statement in favor of an utterly bland “We will continue to be a vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ communities and the repeal of Florida’s anti-trans bathroom bill…,” blah, blah, blah. They somehow missed the irony in the fact that NOT being a vocal advocate for the trans community was why Dawn and I had asked them about their omission in the first place.

The utter laziness and complacency of it all is frustrating beyond belief. What we need right now from everyone, and especially from those with the most direct ability to effect change at the legislative level, is to push back and push back hard.

Not posing for pics with Joe Biden and the same old politics as usual. Trans people right now feel like we are potentially risking our safety and maybe our lives when we use bathrooms away from our homes. ANY bathroom, not just the publicly owned ones made off-limits to us by the law. As often visible members of the queer community, we experience violence at much higher levels than any other group and I doubt explaining the nuances of the law and how it doesn’t apply to private businesses would do us much good with someone angry at our presence. A

recent case of a trans woman who was told she could no longer use the ladies room at a local RaceTrac only highlights the confusion purposefully created by the law. The Florida government declared war on trans people on July 1 and more people need to be alarmed

changes to abortion laws and is now helpless to do anything in the face of the increasingly homophobic and transphobic laws we are seeing today. A party that once told a trans friend of mine volunteering for them that trans concerns were “not a winning issue.”

by that instead of distracted by political posturing. Perhaps I shouldn’t have expected more. This is a party that lost sight of the importance of local politics until they were overwhelmed at state legislatures across the country. A party that allowed incremental

Hopefully they are able to see the light and turn it around before somebody gets the idea that it would be easier not to have us around at all.

Melody Maia Monet has her own trans lesbian-themed YouTube channel at YouTube. com/MelodyMaia.

What we need right now from everyone, and especially from those with the most direct ability to effect change at the legislative level, is to push back and push back hard.

Listen, the world is a scary place. Politicians are using us as political pawns (again) and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric is at an all-time high, thanks to large swaths of citizens of a certain political persuasion who just also happen to be delusional.

It’s especially frightening here in Florida. Who needs a witch- and zombie-filled holiday like Halloween when you have wickedly creepy politicians running our state?

But we do need Halloween. In fact, we need it now more than ever.

Gay Christmas, as so many of us lovingly call Oct. 31, is a time when we can be not only whoever or whatever we want to be for a few hours, but it also gives us all — celebrants of all ages — a chance to stand up to our fears and literally laugh in their collective faces.

Scared of spiders? Get a good scare from one of those animatronics from Spirit Halloween! Hate clowns? Watch “IT” and laugh yourself silly at each jump scare. Even better, stream the classic “Killer Klowns From Outer Space” and revel in its creepy ridiculousness.

The first scary movie I ever saw, at least that I can remember, was the 1962 film “Premature Burial.”

The film, based on a short story by none other than Edgar Allen Poe, tells the story of a man who is so afraid of being buried alive that he builds an elaborate mausoleum with several clever ways to escape, just in case he, like his father, gets buried alive.

It freaked me out, and I wanted more!

The “Halloween” and “Poltergeist” films were regular viewing for me and so were “Friday the 13th” and “Candyman.” Each one scared me more than the last, but it gave me a chance to laugh, along with my friends, at how ridiculous fear can be.

In college, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” became a staple, and not just because I was figuring out my sexuality. It was the one time of year that everyone on campus seemed to be on the same page, celebrating the same insane thing in one location.

Admittedly, the chances of encountering a maniacal killer with a slow, menacing walk and a butcher knife is obviously insanely low. And accidentally buying a house with a portal in the bedroom closet taking you to “the other side” is probably never going to appear on a land survey.

But the adrenaline rush of a good scare kept bringing me back to scary movies.

When I discovered haunted attractions, I was 100% hooked. I’d stand in line for hours to walk through a dark maze or traverse a wooded trail somewhere in rural Missouri, just waiting for a stranger to pop out and make me jump out of my skin.

Today I anxiously await my seasonal gig as a VIP Tour guide at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s Howl-O-Scream event, where I gladly laugh as

guests get scared at every turn for five to seven hours a night.

None of those experiences have messed me up. In fact, I think they each helped prepare myself for the unexpected life into which adulthood evolves. Real fears like rent

saying “it’s so scary it’s almost comical.”

Let’s be real, 100% of the anti-LGBTQ+ laws and opinions being spewed by these elected officials are so obviously either A) projection or B) deflection. They aren’t made to accomplish anything.

education elsewhere, and grassroots groups and lawyers are working hard to push back against the outrageous changes we’ve seen in our state these past two years.

But fear is also a good way to escape, and as we get closer to the best time

and mortgage payments, doctors’ bills, illnesses and employment stress seem more manageable than, say, an unpredictable puzzle box or a child with Satanic tendencies.

Scarier, of course, are the very real threats coming at us from politicians. There is a lot of weight to the

Are these laws and opinions a laughing matter?

Absolutely not.

Are the politicians laughable? Absolutely.

Fear is a good motivator to get things done. Rallies have sprouted up across the state, students are protesting their colleges or leaving the state to pursue

of the year — Halloween — I encourage you to embrace it.

Steve Blanchard is the former editor of Watermark. He currently works in public relations, runs the B&B Phantom History House and hosts the paranormal podcast “Phantom History.” Learn more at PhantomHistory.com.

IT’S HEALTHY TO LAUGH AT our fears. Maybe that’s why I’ve always been so drawn to Halloween.

100% of the anti-LGBTQ+ laws and opinions being spewed by these elected officials are so obviously either A) projection or B) deflection. They aren’t made to accomplish anything.

Visibili-T

MCCARTHY TUCKER

Tucker says she started doing theater in the second grade and continued right on through high school and into adulthood before deciding to step away.

Jeremy Williams

VISIBILI-T IS

DEDICATED

TO transgender members of our community in Central Florida and Tampa Bay, some you know and many you don’t. It is designed to amplify their voices and detail their experiences in life.

This issue, we check in with Daisy McCarthy Tucker, a Central Florida performer and costume designer. Tucker will have both talents on display as she and her costumes will appear in Central Florida Community Arts’ upcoming “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast: In Concert” at Northland Church in Longwood Sept. 7-8. She will be playing the role of Madame de la Grande Bouche, aka Wardrobe.

“I think it is so fitting that I’m playing Wardrobe since I also worked on the costumes for this show,” Tucker says with a laugh.

Thanks to Central Florida’s theme parks and tourism industry, Orlando has a large transient population, but

Tucker is one of the few Central Floridians who is born and raised here.

“I truly owe so much of who I am to having grown up in Orlando, especially as a performer and a creative,” Tucker says. “Being in this area from a very young age, I understood the entertainment industry in a way that I don’t think I would have if I was somewhere else. I visited the parks an awful lot as a kid.”

Tucker’s love of performing came partly from her mother and father’s love of watching live theater, something they exposed Tucker to from a young age, and partly from seeing the parades at Walt Disney World.

“I remember from a very young age understanding that a parade performer is a job and that the shows I was seeing were theatrical performances,” she says. “I remember being like 5 years old and asking my mom if I could be in a Disney parade, and being like, ‘I can play Peter Pan. That’s a kid.’ And she was like, ‘No, they’re not played by kids. Maybe when you get into your teenage years.”

While the parades would have to wait until she was a teen, Tucker was more than encouraged to perform at home with her family as her audience.

“I’ve been recounted by my family that I’ve always wanted to perform and that I was always a little ham, always performing and always playing with costumes and fabrics,” she says. “Some of my earliest memories are performing along with my VHS tapes, specifically I remember performing along with ‘Jolly Holiday’ and pretending I was Mary while watching ‘Mary Poppins,’ and then some of my other earliest memories were seeing ‘Hunchback of Notre Dame’ at Disney’s MGM Studios, and being totally entranced, being so excited and transported and really wanting to be on that stage and to join them.”

“I couldn’t find my place in it until the last like two years when I’ve reentered performing again,” she says. “I was able to figure my own gender identity out and find my place on stage with a new perspective on what I was doing.”

While in high school and before she started living as her authentic self, Tucker had a moment of terror when, during her junior year, she learned that the school was doing a production of “Hairspray.”

“I was terrified that I would be cast as Edna because I knew that I sang very high and I thought, I can’t let anyone see me dress up as a girl,” she recalls. “I was so afraid of being perceived as feminine and thought it would have a really bad effect on, not only my career, but also my social life. I thought that boys that I was attracted to wouldn’t be attracted to me if I was wearing a dress in a show.”

Tucker did get cast as Edna but the terror of the experience faded quickly.

“It was such a wonderful time getting to explore a persona on stage that felt much more akin to how I actually walk through the world,” she says.

After high school, Tucker played Edna again and also got to play Ursula in “The Little Mermaid,” as well as a few masculine roles but she found herself auditioning less and less.

“I look back now and realize it was because I just wasn’t finding myself on stage and wasn’t seeing myself reflected on stage,” she says.

Tucker began to focus more on her love of costume design and a couple of years ago found herself sitting behind the table during auditions for The Garden Theatre’s production of “Beauty and the Beast.”

“I got to see a lot of people audition for roles that even just a couple of years ago they never would have been able to audition for,” she says. “All of these actors and this creative team are coming with their full authentic selves and I can’t come to this process if I’m not going to do that too.”

That is when Tucker decided she was changing her name and would live as her authentic self moving forward.

“It’s been really cool to be able to step into my trans identity while stepping back into theater because it’s really stepping back into who I already was as a very young child before I was encumbered by all of these concepts that pushed me into an identity that I didn’t ever really want to be a part of,” she says.

Interested in being featured in Visibili-T? Email Editor-in-Chief Jeremy Williams in Central Florida or Managing Editor Ryan Williams-Jent in Tampa Bay.

29, She/Her/Hers

DAISY

talking points

AFTER BRADLEY COOPER’S PROSTHETIC NOSE IN THE TRAILER FOR THE UPCOMING LEONARD BERNSTEIN BIOPIC “MAESTRO” stoked criticism of antisemitism, the conductor’s children have come to the defense of the actor. The teaser trailer for “Maestro,” which Cooper directs and stars in, debuted Aug. 15 and offered the first close-up look at Cooper’s makeup and performance. Cooper, who is not Jewish, dons a prosthetic nose to play Bernstein, who was. The nonprofit group Stop Antisemitism called it “sickening.” “Hollywood cast Bradley Cooper — a non-Jew — to play Jewish legend Leonard Bernstein and stuck a disgusting exaggerated ‘Jew nose’ on him,” the group tweeted on X. Bernstein’s three children issued a statement Aug. 16 supporting Cooper, saying they were “touched to the core to witness the depth of (Cooper’s) commitment, his loving embrace of our father’s music and the sheer open-hearted joy he brought to his exploration.” “Maestro” will release in select theaters Nov. 22 before landing on Netflix Dec. 20.

SHA’CARRI RICHARDSON BECOMES

FASTEST WOMAN ALIVE

OUT QUEER RUNNER

SHA’CARRI RICHARDSON

WON THE 100-METER

WORLD TITLE at the World Athletics Championships in Hungary Aug. 21. Her time of 10.65 seconds is a world-championship record and makes Richardson the fastest woman in the world. Her victory over Jamaicans Shericka Jackson and five-time world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce capped a comeback two years in the making and made good on the mantra she’s been reciting all year — and repeated yet again after her latest victory: “I’m not back. I’m better.” Two summers ago after Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon, Richardson’s road to the Tokyo Games was roadblocked by a positive test for marijuana.

‘A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN’ TV SERIES CANCELED

AMAZON PRIME’S “A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN,” A TV SERIES adapted from the 1992 hit film of the same name, has been canceled after a single season, Amazon confirmed Aug. 21. The show, which was co-created by and starred openly bisexual comedian Abbi Jacobson, premiered last summer and was a critical and commercial hit. The show had been greenlit for a shorted, four-episode second season which would have also been its final season. Deadline reported that the series was canceled due to the ongoing writers and actors strikes, something Jacobson called “bullshit and cowardly” on her Instagram.

‘RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE’ RENEWED FOR ANOTHER SEASON

THE MASSIVELY POPULAR REALITY COMPETITION SHOW, “RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE,” has been renewed for a 16th season. Paramount, the studio behind “Drag Race,” made the announcement Aug. 21. The new season will again air on MTV. Companion show “RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked” and spinoff “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” were both also renewed for new seasons. While dates have not yet been announced, new seasons of “Drag Race” have typically premiered in January with new seasons of “All Stars” following after the original show finishes its run.

93% OF TRANSGENDER AND NONBINARY FLORIDIANS REPORT THAT GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE BANS MAKE THEM FEEL LESS SAFE AS A MEMBER OF THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY.

NEARLY 81% SAY THEY WANT TO MOVE TO A NEW STATE OR COUNTRY AS A RESULT OF THE BANS, OR HAD ALREADY TAKEN STEPS TO DO SO.

It is important my kids are definitely exposed to [LGBTQ+ books]. What these parents [who are trying to ban books] are really doing is demonstrating how fragile their worldview is, that a children’s book is enough to shatter it.

—AN OPENLY GAY FATHER TO THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ON ATTEMPTS TO BAN LGBTQ+ BOOKS CROSS THE U.S.

LEONARD BERNSTEIN’S CHILDREN DEFEND BRADLEY COOPER’S PROSTHETIC NOSE IN ‘MAESTRO’

STRIKING DISTANCE

As SAG-AFTRA and WGA remain united, the ongoing strikes push the entertainment industry into unprecedented times — again

Jacqueline Krause

IN THE NOT-SO-DISTANT PAST, September was once one of the most exciting times to turn on the TV. Fan favorite network hits made their return to homes around the world, shows that survived pilot season earlier in the year would get to make their full season debut — after writers and actors worked all summer to turn out a full 24-episode season. But as streaming services have continued to inspire more households to “pull the plug,” the entertainment industry has had to shift exponentially in how it creates programming.

The success of streaming service original programming such as “Stranger Things” (Netflix), “The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu), “And Just Like That” (Max, formerly HBOMax), “The Mandalorian” (Disney+), “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+) and hundreds more has forced networks — and subsequently every person involved in the creative process — to adjust to the new culture of entertainment. And as the prices continue to rise on just about everything, including your favorite streaming service, writers and actors stand on a united front demanding production companies adapt contracts to better support artists as the industry continues to change.

On May 2, the Writers Guild of America went on strike after ongoing labor disputes with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Beginning July 14, the Screen Actors GuildAmerican Federation of Television and Radio Artists went on strike, joining forces with the WGA to combat broader labor disputes in the entertainment industry. Currently AMPTP negotiates on behalf of over 350 production companies, including entertainment giants such as Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., Universal Studios, Sony Pictures and streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon, Apple and Max. The monumental strike marks the first

time since 1960 both unions have joined forces against production companies, with SAG-AFTRA standing firmly by WGA.

The WGA represents dual labor unions for writers, Writers Guild of America West as well as Writers Guild of America East. At the time of the strike, the union represents 11,500 writers with 97.85% of those members agreeing to the strike April 17 if AMPTP was not willing to agree to the demands being presented by WGA. SAG-AFTRA represents actors, broadcast journalists, dancers, voice over artists and more. The union covers approximately 160,000

PHOTO BY JEREMY WILLIAMS

members. The previous contract held between SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP was set to expire June 30 but negotiations were extended until July 12. When both parties were unable to reach an agreement, SAG-AFTRA officially joined WGA on strike.

Prior to officially striking, many prominent SAG-AFTRA members had taken to the picket lines to vocalize their support for WGA. The decision to strike was not something taken lightly by SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher who delivered a fiery press statement July 13 following the announcement of SAG-AFTRA joining the picket lines.

“You cannot change the business model as much as it has changed and not expect the contract to change too,” Drescher said on AMPTP’s unwillingness to meet the union’s demands.

WGA remains firm on their demands, with SAG-AFTRA remaining firm in their support for the writer’s guild. Both unions are seeking a reevaluation of residuals, pay increases and contracted agreements on the involvement of artificial intelligence within the industry. SAG-AFTRA is seeking to have regulations of the currently popular, and completely unregulated, “self-tape” audition process. WGA is addressing how streaming culture has changed the writer’s room, and demanding AMPTP companies adjust the way series are produced to better protect writers from gaps in employment, and subsequently a paycheck.

Prior to the success of streaming giants such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, network television operated on a relatively stable schedule once a show was added to a network’s weekly lineup. A first season of a show would run 10-13 episodes to gauge interest, and if picked up by the network, a season would consist of 22-26 episodes running between September to May. While of course there’s always the risk of canceling/ ending a series, this production format provided writers with a sense of stability that has since ceased in the streaming eras.

Streaming services’ success, in part, is due to the flexibility it offers viewers. Gone are the days of having to be at home to see what happened on the latest episode of your favorite TV show, now viewers can tune in when it’s

convenient to them because the episode will live indefinitely on that network’s streaming service. After finding success in creating original programming with shows such as “House of Cards” and “Orange is the New Black,” Netflix began to drop full seasons of a show at one time, once a year (or two or three), with other streaming services following this business model. These seasons are often times half, or less, than that of a traditional network series runtime with 13 or less episodes but have more content per episode without having to account for advertisements or constricting scheduling blocks that network television presents.

Through this business model, writers have been shifted to spending less time on a series annually, despite turning out longer form episodes. Additionally, writers have found themselves locked into contracts with production companies that prevent writers from being able to pick up other writing jobs between projects, leaving them at the will of the streaming service for an indefinite period. As the writer’s pay period shortens and the writing period for a project shrinks, residual checks become increasingly important in supplementing a writer’s income between jobs.

Writers and actors alike have taken to social media platforms to share their residual checks in hopes of bringing clarity to the issue.

Actress Kimiko Glenn, of Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black,” has been outspoken on the issue of residuals for years now, first speaking out on her Tik Tok (@kimiko) in 2020.

“We did not get paid well,” Kimiko says in a July 15 TikTok, detailing her time on “Orange is the New Black.” “People were bartenders still, people had their second jobs still. They were famous … internationally famous, like (sic) couldn’t go outside but had to keep their second jobs because they couldn’t afford to not (sic).”

Social media has allowed actors and writers to humanize the strike, breaking down the concept that it is the “Hollywood elite” seeking more money, opposed to the hundreds of thousands SAG-AFTRA members that have not reached A-List celebrity status. SAG-AFTRA and WGA members from around the country have taken to the platforms to share what their residuals and annual income looks like for someone that works on several big budget projects but isn’t a Hollywood A-list name. These actors are arguing that while once residual checks were a stable source of an actor’s income, unregulated streaming has stripped them of that supplemental paycheck.

Locally, demonstrations have been popping up around the state through the Miami SAG-AFTRA chapter, which represents Florida, Puerto Rico and Alabama union members. The Miami SAG-AFTRA chapter held a strike support rally in Orlando Aug. 10 and one in Tampa Aug. 29, with more expected to be announced.

Florida-based actor Adam Vernier has been a SAG member since 1999 and until the strike has worked steadily on projects such as “Outer Banks” (Netflix) and “Queen Sugar” (OWN). Vernier spoke to Watermark and detailed

scheduled programming, nearly a year later.

The 2007-2008 WGA strike is also credited for leading to the reality TV boom of the mid 2000’s. Networks needed unscripted content resulting in new competition shows, home improvement shows, baking shows and inevitably shows that followed around friend groups and families and turning their daily lives into viewing content such as “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” and “Jersey Shore.”

what it’s like to be a SAG member in Central Florida.

“Florida was once a hotspot for film but once incentives were removed film studios picked up and moved production out of the state to places like Atlanta.”

Incentives had included certain percentages of the production budget were given back to the project from the state as an incentive for growing the local economy and employing Florida locals including talent and crew. The removal of these incentives has driven the need for self-tape auditions more and more.

“People think it’s a COVID thing, but self-taping has been around since the early 2000s,” Vernier says, “self-taping is the only way us Southeastern people can get seen.”

But just as self-tape auditions remain necessary so do regulations on turnaround times and page limits.

The last time WGA went on strike was in November 2007 lasting until February 2008, and it laid the groundwork for the ongoing 2023 strike. The 99-day shutdown permanently altered the course of television as writer’s struck in the middle of production season for many network projects. Many popular network shows, such as “Lost,” “The Office” and “Grey’s Anatomy” had their seasons cut in half due to the lost time and network standard production schedule at the time of return. Shows such as “Heroes” and “Friday Night Lights” returned to a less receptive audience after their midseason shutdowns created plot holes and confusing storylines for viewers upon return to regularly

While it’s not possible to know how many projects have been affected by the strike, since studio projects in any stage of production have ceased, it’s been reported at least 73 major studio films and TV series have come to a standstill. Interim contracts are being granted to projects on a case-by-case basis, permitting they align themselves with WGA and SAG-AFTRA’s demands, and are being produced by a company not represented under AMPTP.

With queer representation at an all-time high in media, the strike presents challenges for both the LGBTQ+ viewer, writer and actor. Fans will have to wait indefinitely to see some of their favorite queer storylines return to their screens, with shows such as “Yellowjackets,” “Abbot Elementary,” “The White Lotus,” “Good Trouble” and “Euphoria” writer’s rooms now stuck in limbo as WGA continues to fight for their demands.

And with SAG-AFTRA joining in the strike, thousands are now out of work as sets around the world shut down. Creative driven jobs on sets such as hair styling, wardrobe, set design and make-up artists have been sent home from sets as AMPTP refuses to meet the union’s joint demands, and the union’s refuse to budge. SAG-AFTRA is seeking to include these creative, behind-the-scenes jobs in their contract negotiations, seeking more wardrobe representation and diversified hair and make-up artists on set that can work safely with different hair textures. The strike is expected to cost the industry millions of dollars, and undoubtedly has already disrupted the lives of thousands of working artists in the entertainment industry.

Both WGA and SAG-AFTRA have set up relief funds for union members who meet qualifications and accept donations for the fund. For more information, to donate or to seek relief, go to SAGAFTRA.Foundation/ EmergencyFinancialAssistance and WGAContract2023.org/Strike-Hub.

STRIKE: Members of SAG-AFTRA’s Miami chapter hold a support rally in Lake Eola Park in Orlando Aug. 10. PHOTO BY JEREMY WILLIAMS

QUEER PROJECTS

7 LGBTQ+-themed films, shows you need to check out Jeremy

Williams

IN

THE MIDST OF MANY PROJECTS

being put on hold or shifted to another release date due to the ongoing strikes, queer entertainment seems to be having a bit of a renaissance at the moment with several LGBTQ+ films and TV seasons recently releasing or being released by year’s end. Below are a few current and upcoming LGBTQ+ projects that you can watch at home or in your local cinema.

“Heartstopper”

“Heartstopper,” a British queer coming-of-age rom-com series, took the world by storm when it premiered on Netflix in 2022. The story follows teens Charlie and Nick, played by Joe Locke and Kit Connor, respectively, as they discover romance in their unlikely friendship. As the first season’s episodes unfold we meet Charlie and Nick’s friends, including Tao (William Gao), Elle (Yasmin Finney) Iassac (Tobie Donovan), Tara (Corinna Brown), Darcy (Kizzy Edgell) and Imogen (Rhea Norwood), as they work through teenage angst, navigate relationships and stress over school. The show’s highly anticipated second season released on Netflix Aug. 3. In the season, we catch up with Charlie, Nick and the gang as they deal with exams, a school trip to Paris and prom on the horizon, all while dealing with the next stages of life, love and friendship.

“Heartstopper” seasons one and two are streaming now on Netflix.

“Strange Way of Life”

Silva, played by Pedro Pascal, rides a horse across the desert that separates him from Bitter Creek. He comes to visit Sheriff Jake, played by Ethan Hawke. Twenty-five years earlier, both men worked together as hired gunmen but their relationship, as you will learn in this 31-minute Western short film, was more than just a working relationship. Written and directed by openly gay Oscar-winning filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, “Strange Way of Life” premiered at Cannes Film Festival earlier this year before being sold to Sony Pictures Classic. The studio announced that “Strange Way of Life” will be released in theaters Oct. 6 playing alongside Almodóvar’s only other English-language film, 2020’s short film “The Human Voice” starring Tilda Swinton.

“Strange Way of Life” opens in New York and Los Angeles Oct. 4 before expanding nationwide Oct. 6.

“Red, White & Royal Blue”

“Red, White & Royal Blue” tells the story of Alex Claremont-Diaz (played by Taylor Zakhar Perez), the son of the President of the United States (played by Uma Thurman), and Britain’s Prince Henry (played by Nicholas Galitzine). The two have a lot in common: Stunning good looks, undeniable charisma, international popularity … and a total disdain for each other. That loathing turns into lust when Alex and Henry realize there is more to their feelings than just their competitiveness. The film is based on the 2019 New York Times Bestseller romance novel of the same name by Casey McQuiston. The film features a stellar supporting cast including Sarah Shahi, Rachel Hilson, Aneesh Sheth and Stephen Fry. “Red, White & Royal Blue” premiered on Amazon Prime Video Aug. 11 and was the most watched film in the world on the platform its opening week. “Red, White & Royal Blue” is written by Tony Award-winner Matthew Lopez and Ted Malawer, with Lopez also directing.

“Red, White & Royal Blue is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.

“Bottoms”

“Bottoms” is an R-rated teen sex comedy about a pair of queer high school students looking to lose their virginity before the end of their senior year. PJ and Josie, played by Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri, respectively, devise an outlandish plan to set up a fight club as a guise to hook up with cheerleaders … and surprisingly to them, the plan works. The fight club gains traction and soon the most popular girls in school are beating each other up in the name of self-defense. But PJ and Josie find themselves in over their heads and in need of a way out before their plan is exposed. “Bottoms” is written by Sennott and Emma Seligman with Seligman also directing. The film was released in theaters Aug. 25 and also stars Dagmara Domińczyk, Havana Rose Liu, Kaia Gerber, Marshawn Lynch, Miles Fowler, Nicholas Galitzine, Punkie Johnson and Ruby Cruz.

“Bottoms” is in theaters now.

“Rustin”

The powerful story of Bayard Rustin, the openly gay Black civil rights leader who dedicated his life to the quest for racial equality, is finally getting the spotlight with a feature film coming from Netflix. Emmy Award-winner Colman Domingo (“Euphoria,” “Fear The Walking Dead” and this year’s musical “The Color Purple”) will play Rustin, the driving force behind the 1963 March on Washington in a new film from three-time Tony Award-winning director George C. Wolfe (director of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”). The performance marks Domingo‘s first leading role in a feature film. “Rustin,” which also features Chris Rock, Glynn Turman, Aml Ameen, CCH Pounder, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Michael Potts, Bill Irwin, Jeffrey Wright and Audra McDonald, will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival Sept. 13 before releasing in theaters Nov. 3 and dropping on Netflix Nov. 17.

“Rustin” opens in theaters Nov. 3 and premieres on Netflix Nov. 17.

“Sex Education”

“Sex Education” is a British dramedy series that began streaming on Netflix in 2019. The series, created by Laurie Nunn, follows Otis Milburn, played by Asa Butterfield, a teenage boy with a sex therapist mother, played by Gillian Anderson. In the show’s first season, Otis teams up with his classmates, including Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) and Maeve (Emma Mackey), to create an underground sex therapy clinic at school. As the show entered its second and third seasons, it focused on the lives of the students, staff and parents of the fictional Moordale Secondary School as they contended with various personal dilemmas, often related to sexual intimacy. The series’ fourth and final season, which premieres on Netflix Sept. 21, will pick up with most of the students at a new school as they prepare for the series’ conclusion. “Schitt’s Creek” star Dan Levy will have a recurring role in the new season.

“Sex Education” seasons 1-3 are streaming now on Netflix. Season four premieres Sept. 21.

“Eillen”

“Eileen” is set during a bitter 1964 Massachusetts winter. Young secretary Eileen, played by Thomasin McKenzie, becomes enchanted by Rebecca, the glamorous new counselor — played by Oscar-winner Anne Hathaway — at the prison where she works. Their budding friendship takes a twisted turn when Rebecca reveals a dark secret — throwing Eileen onto a sinister path. “Eileen” is directed by William Oldroyd.

“Eileen” opens in select theaters Dec. 1 before expanding nationwide Dec. 8.

© NETFLIX

© SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

© NEON

© AMAZON

© MGM

© NETFLIX

© NETFLIX

Royal Debut

Jeremy Williams

WHEN A BELOVED BOOK IS

turned into a movie, it’s no guarantee that the film will be as big of a hit as the novel was. However, in the case of director Matthew López’s feature-film debut, Amazon Studio’s queer rom-com “Red, White & Royal Blue,” all expectations were exceeded with fans and critics alike.

López, while new to film, is no rookie when it comes to queer stories. He is the award-winning playwright of “The Inheritance,” a play inspired by the novel “Howard’s End” that looks at the life of three generations of queer men in New York decades after the start of the AIDS epidemic. The

play was nominated for 11 Tony Awards and won four, including Best Play for López, making him the first Latinx writer to win in that category.

He followed that up by co-writing the book of the musical adaptation of “Some Like It Hot,” which not only earned him another Tony Award

nomination but also updated the classic film into a musical for a new generation and earned nonbinary actor J. Harrison Ghee a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical.

Before making it on Broadway, López, a Florida native born in Panama City, learned the trade at the University of South Florida, earning a bachelor’s degree in theatre performance.

“Go Bulls!” he exclaimed over a Zoom call as he was gracious enough to chat with Watermark after the release of “Red, White & Royal Blue,” which became the No. 1 film on Amazon worldwide in its opening weekend.

This interview has been edited for space and clarity.

WATERMARK: “RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE” DEBUTED

AT NO. 1 WORLDWIDE ON AMAZON PRIME. HOW ARE YOU FEELING NOW AFTER THE FILM HAS BEEN RELEASED AND YOU’RE SEEING IT GET SUCH A POSITIVE RESPONSE?

Matthew López: The first wave of it was just sort of being told by friends. Just overnight, Twitter and Instagram and TikTok were just ablaze with reactions, and then over the course of the weekend, I was hearing from folks at the studio going it’s overperforming. And it’s exceeding expectations left and right, everywhere and it just took off. It was exciting — really, really exciting.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST HEAR ABOUT “RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE” AND WHAT ABOUT IT APPEALED TO YOU ENOUGH

TO WANT TO MAKE IT YOUR DIRECTORIAL DEBUT?

I read the book just before the pandemic in very, very early 2020. My agent sent it to me thinking I might a.) enjoy it and b.) thinking that I might want to turn it into a musical. I read it and I honestly couldn’t see the musical, but I could see the movie, and so I pursued it. It was not one of these things where people came to me and asked if I wanted to work on it. I called the producers and I made sure that my name was at the top of everybody’s list. I was very, very shameless about how I wanted it and sort of letting them know that I’d kneecap anybody who came near it [laughs].

First-time director Matthew López scores worldwide hit with ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’

PHOTO COURTESY AMAZON

WERE THERE ANY NERVES ABOUT JUMPING FROM THE STAGE, WHERE YOU ARE KNOWN AND ESTABLISHED, TO FILM?

I will say that when you make a film that has the resources that this does, the whole process of getting ready to get to your first day of filming is really a process of preparing for that. The pre-production process on this was four months long so by the time I got to day one of filming I knew the movie I was making. I had talked about it at nauseum to my director of photography. It’s funny, there were nerves but a lot of the inherent sort of nausea that might come from taking on something this big for the first time was alleviated by the necessity of being prepared. So, I think yeah, sure there were days when I just wanted to be anybody else but me, but there is just a deliberate quality to the pre-production process that I was ready to shoot the day we started. ONE THING I LOVED WAS THIS SEX EDUCATION LESSON IN THE FILM. AFTER ALEX AND HENRY MAKE LOVE, YOU CAN SEE EMPTY CONDOM WRAPPERS. WHEN ALEX COMES OUT TO HIS MOM SHE MENTIONS GETTING ON TRUVADA AND GETTING THE HPV VACCINE. WHY DID YOU WANT TO INCLUDE A QUEER SEX EDUCATION THROUGHOUT THE FILM, THAT I ASSUME WAS INTENTIONAL?

Deeply. Well, you know why not? I think that it was I couldn’t think of any reason why I shouldn’t, you know? We knew that even though we were effectively making a fairytale, if the movie didn’t feel grounded in real world stakes, if it didn’t feel relatable to its audience — even the audience that aren’t men who have sex with men — it needed to be rooted in real truth. And these are things that parents should talk to their young, queer sons about, and these are certainly things that I would love my president to know about.

So there was a bit of wish fulfillment in some ways in that maybe as a result of watching this movie, a parent of a queer child who comes out to them may be better equipped to have that conversation because they watched Uma Thurman [who plays the U.S. president] and

Taylor [Zakhar Perez, who plays her son Alex in] that scene. We went endlessly on about condom wrappers and the lube bottles, and I just wanted the movie to, even though we’re talking about fairytale princes and all that stuff, I just wanted it to feel real.

I WATCHED THIS FILM WITH FRIENDS AND DURING THE LOVE MAKING SCENE YOU SHOW ALEX SLIDE HIS HAND INTO HENRY’S AND THEY LOCK FINGERS. THEN AT THE END YOU SEE HENRY’S HAND TENSE AND ALEX SLIDES OUT. TO ME THAT WAS SYMBOLISM FOR THE INTERCOURSE AND EVERYONE TOLD ME THAT I WAS READING TOO MUCH INTO IT. WAS IT YOUR INTENTION WITH CUTTING IT LIKE THAT?

Yeah, well look I didn’t film it with that intention. I was just getting shots, like what do you want to get? Should we get their hands? I remember on the day, we shot the hands on a different day than the actual scene in the hotel room because I was talking to my editor like a week or so later and she was just like, “I really wish I could have some shots with their hands because I would really like to get some close, close, close shots.”

So we went and we did an afternoon of pickups for that and we had [Nicholas Galitzine, who plays Prince Henry]’s hand, and they were smart enough to give them a manicure that day [laughs], you know, I just remember working with our intimacy coordinator and we were like alright, run your hand

up his forearm then take his hand. I was just narrating to them what they would do, and we did a number of those things and then we got into the edit and we pieced it together that way and then it became very intentional.

“RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE” AND THE NEW SEASON OF “HEARTSTOPPER” ON NETFLIX CAME OUT WITHIN A WEEK OF EACH OTHER, SO QUEER STORIES ARE BEING TALKED ABOUT A LOT RIGHT NOW AND THE CONVERSATION OF “QUEER ROLES SHOULD BE PLAYED BY QUEER ACTORS” HAS COME BACK UP AGAIN. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT DEBATE?

When it comes to that question, I’m allergic to the word “should.” I think it is very antithetical to the creative force. I am in favor of “it’s often better when,” I actually find that a little more helpful. For me when it comes to queer actors playing queer roles and gay actors playing gay roles, where I stumble across very quickly is the notion that human sexuality is a continuum and is not a binary thing. It changes over time, it changes throughout your life. It is based on many, many things so what I have always sort of believed is the most important thing, is that an actor’s life is mostly spent auditioning unless you’re Matt Damon or Meryl Streep. You spend most of your life auditioning for roles that you won’t get just based on the odds, and what is most important to me is that as many queer actors as possible are seen for roles.

A lot of this conversation came about because queer actors weren’t even allowed to audition for these roles, and it was because they were openly queer. I am only going to cast the actors that I believe I can work with to create my vision. That is based on how they look, how they sound, what their emotions lead them to, what their spirit is; do I see the character in them?

But what is important, and I think it’s important in terms of the business, is that queer actors need to be known by casting directors, need to be known by directors, need to be known by producers and studios. I can’t cast actors whom I don’t know. I can’t cast actors who are not allowed to audition. I can’t create in a vacuum. I can’t create that which I don’t know that I don’t know.

So for me it was important to have as many choices as possible when I was making this film. I wanted to make sure that queer actors were seen for it, then in terms of employment you’re not allowed to ask a person their sexuality, so for me that was not the determining factor. I didn’t ask, I didn’t want to know. All I wanted to know was, are you my character? Are you the character?

WITH HOLLYWOOD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STRIKES, DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW OR A MESSAGE TO THOSE WHO ARE ON THE PICKET LINES?

I don’t want to give a message just because I don’t think it’s my place necessarily. I’m one of many, that’s the point of the

union. I’m also not privy to the negotiations beyond what the rest of us get when the WGA emails us the update.

What I will say is that it’s obvious that our resolve and our solidarity is very strong. And the one thing I will say is that I think that the studio really underestimated our resolve and especially when it comes to the actors. I mean, one of the most telling bits of data that has come out of the actors’ strike is that in order to qualify for the health insurance, annually an actor has to make $26,000 a year, and 86% of SAG-AFTRA members did not qualify. When you consider the fact that 86% of SAG-AFTRA membership do not make $26,000 a year as an actor, which means they’re Uber drivers, they’re waiters, they’re nannies, they’re whatever it is that they have to do to supplement their income. What difference does it make if we’re not working for six weeks, six months? Why would they care if the strike has to go six months? They’re still not making that money anyway.

So I think that the studios really, really underestimated the stomach of the writers and the actors for a long strike. We don’t want to be on the strike forever, it’s not like that’s fun but we won’t go back to work until there’s fair deal. Period, full stop and we’re not afraid of it lasting as long as it needs to.

“Red, White & Royal Blue” is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video now.

HITMAKER: “Red, White & Royal Blue” director Matthew López. PHOTO BY EMIL COHEN

DYNAMIC DUO: Nicholas Galitzine (L) as Prince Henry and Taylor Zakhar Perez as Alex Claremont-Diaz in “Red, White & Royal Blue.” PHOTO COURTESY AMAZON STUDIOS

(ABOVE) BROTHER LOVE: Wyatt Oleff (L) and Fig Argus are brothers in the film “Stay Awake.”

Wide ‘Awake’

An interview with actor Fin Argus

intimacy. I think the big thing was tapping into the way their respective toxic masculinity clashes. But that wasn’t hard to do. Also, Wyatt and I became so close, so fast, it really feels like he’s my brother.

IF FIN ARGUS LOOKS FAMILIAR TO YOU, you may recognize them from their portrayal of Mingus in Peacock’s 2022 revival of “Queer As Folk” or as Cary Dubek’s method actor boyfriend Lucas in Max’s “The Other Two.” Depending on how old you are, you may also recognize Argus from the time they spent as a member of “Kidz Bop.”

In their most recent film, 2022’s “Stay Awake” — now available on VOD — Argus plays 17-year-old Derek, who along with his 15-year-old kid brother Ethan (played by Wyatt Oleff), struggles to keep their prescription drug-addicted mother Michelle (played by Chrissy Metz) alive and prevent her from overdosing, which she does with some frequency.

Argus, who identifies as gay and genderqueer and uses they/them pronouns, was kind enough to make time for an interview ahead of the film’s VOD release.

WATERMARK: FIN, WHAT WAS IT ABOUT THE CHARACTER OF DEREK IN “STAY AWAKE” THAT APPEALED TO YOU AS AN ACTOR?

Fin Argus: Derek is a born and bred people-pleaser. That’s

something I can relate to. I grew up in an evangelical environment, which for me, turned into appeasing everyone else’s wishes for my life path and personality. I saw a lot of that in Derek. There were things that I could relate to in his experience of caring for some past the point of actually being able to make a meaningful impact on their health or well-being.

There comes a point when you start taking away your own light in order to keep someone else alive. That’s been a recurring theme throughout my life that I’d like to think I’ve dealt with. This was a way I could find catharsis and help get that story told so other people realize that they don’t need to be that crutch for people. There’s a certain point where you need to let people help themselves.

ADDICTION AND REHABILITATION ARE COMPLEX ISSUES, OCCASIONALLY RESULTING IN FAMILIES BEING TORN APART. AND YET, DEREK AND HIS BROTHER ETHAN DO EVERYTHING THEY CAN ON THEIR MOTHER MICHELLE’S BEHALF. DO YOU THINK THAT THAT’S A REFLECTION OF YOUR UPBRINGING, TO HOLD THINGS TOGETHER?

Yes, definitely. I think I’ve done a lot of work to not behave on that wavelength anymore. But it’s still a voice in my head, and that’s what spoke to me about Derek, and the brothers’ experience, in general. But, specifically, Derek, because I think he’s more on the wavelength of, “We need to live our own lives and move on.” It kind of personifies the battle I’ve had within my own brain.

DEREK HAS ACTING ASPIRATIONS AND ETHAN DESCRIBES HIM AS “THE MOST PROLIFIC TV COMMERCIAL ACTOR” IN THE REGION. DID YOU, AT ANY POINT IN YOUR CAREER, DO REGIONAL OR NATIONAL COMMERCIALS?

I did! That was my start in the TV/film industry. I was a part of a children’s music franchise called “Kidz Bop” for three years. That was my launchpad. I’ve done plenty of other commercial work here and there. That embarrassment in that audition scene [laughs], I deeply resonate with. Commercial auditions tend to be humiliating, I’ll be honest. But it’s a super-valid work path, and I was on it for quite some time.

SPEAKING OF ETHAN, HE AND DEREK HAVE A CLOSE AND SUPPORTIVE RELATIONSHIP. DO YOU HAVE SIBLINGS, AND IF SO, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM?

I have two sisters, one older and one younger. They are my best friends. We’re very close. They also live in L.A., as well. I don’t have a brother, so I had some nerves going into this movie not really knowing the dynamic of two brothers. What I discovered is that it’s not dissimilar from my relationship with my two siblings. It’s the closeness, it’s the

YOUR “STAY AWAKE” CO-STAR CHRISSY METZ PERFORMED IN EARLY JUNE 2023 AT THE ANNUAL PRIDE MONTH CONCERT FOR LOVE & ACCEPTANCE. AS A MEMBER OF THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU THAT CHRISSY IS PART OF SUCH AN EVENT?

Allyship is important. That’s what provides queer people with safety and a large sense of community. While it’s incredible that the queer community is so close-knit and we support each other, we’re part of a larger community, which is just the fact that we’re humans, and we need to take care of one another. When people who are outside of marginalized communities use their voice and their platforms to uplift marginalized communities, that’s the best thing you can do. I really appreciate her doing that, as well as any ally using their voice to help queer folks.

YOU PLAYED THE ROLE OF MINGUS IN THE 2022 REVIVAL OF “QUEER AS FOLK.” THERE IS A SCENE IN WHICH A GUNMAN OPENS FIRE IN THE BAR WHEN MINGUS IS PERFORMING ONSTAGE. AT A TIME WHEN THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY IS UNDER CONSTANT ATTACK, WHAT DO YOU THINK IT WILL TAKE FOR REAL SOCIETAL CHANGE TO OCCUR?

I think everything starts on a micro level. Outreach to your immediate community and being active in local politics. I think that’s what will make long-lasting impacts and being open to difficult conversations. It’s a scary time to be a queer person in America. It has been, basically since America’s inception, but especially now, there’s so much hate targeting trans folks specifically. I don’t know what the answer is. But I do know that what we can do is focus on community. Helping people day-to-day, making sure people are supported emotionally, and staying active in local politics. Making sure that we maintain our rights and make our voices heard, whether that’s protesting or using our vote or just being there for our queer friends or queer loved ones.

“Stay Awake” is available to buy or rent through all Video On Demand services including Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu and YouTube.

PHOTO BY ALEJANDRO MEJIA © STAY AWAKE LLC

Gregg Shapiro

CONGRATULATIONS

Empath Partners in Care held Strike OUT for AIDS 2023 Aug. 19 and 26 across two locations, raising funds for essential services in Tampa Bay. Learn more at MyEPIC.org.

Veronica Foxx was crowned Miss Daytime during the second annual competition on Aug. 21. Learn more and watch the televised pageant at WFLA.com.

John Gascot and Laurie Meehan-Elmer shared Aug. 23 that they officially own Studios at 5663 and the lot next door in Pinellas Park, home of LGBTQ+ events like Pride at The Village and more. “Exciting things are coming, including renovation and a new building which will create brand new galleries, event spaces, food venue and MORE art studios,” Gascot shared. Read more at Facebook.com/Studios5663.

Mr. D’z Men’s Emporium is open now and scheduled to celebrate its grand opening in Tampa Sept. 1-2. For more information, search for the venue’s name on Facebook and read more soon at WatermarkOnline.com.

COMPETITIONS

Come OUT St. Pete will hold its 2023 Royal Court Pageant Sept. 24 ahead of the organization’s seventh year. Read more on p. 10. Tampa Pride will also hold its Miss Tampa Pride pageant at Southern Nights Tampa on Sept. 17, detailed at Facebook.com/OfficialTampaPride.

CONDOLENCES

Gregg Chose of Port Richey died Aug. 14 at 58. He will be missed.

LOCAL BIRTHDAYS

Fan connoisseur Ed Adams, St. Petersburg Swiftie Ricky Celaya-Renaud, Tampa Bay theatre pro Dan Kelley (Aug. 31); Tampa Bay stylist Nicholas Grawey, Habitat for Humanity handyman Rick Vail, Florida Studio Theatre

Director of Marketing Becca Jennings, Disney lover Dave Reynolds-Steele, Poet and Naked Boys Reading Tampa Bay director Nathan Truly (Sept. 1); Creative Pinellas

Marketing and Communications Manager Roman Black, Activist Jessica Bond, Tampa actor Troy LaFon (Sept. 3); Asolo Rep social media coordinator David Valdez, Bluegreen Vacations’ Erik Carroll, Tampa pharmacist Brian Wehling, St. Pete software genius David Palio, Gulfport party host Ed Dunn, Tampa Bay entertainer Kenneth Lawson aka Juno Vibranz, (Sept. 5); Sarasota teacher

Steve Eller, Reiki practitioner Lauren Lansrud (Sept. 6); St. Pete retiree Jerry Rechek, EPIC Special Events Coordinator

Ryan Young, St. Petersburg grillmaster Shane Jeffers, Hustle & Heart Group realtor Wendi Johnson (Sept. 7); Tampa’s Colombia transplant Ricardo Mendez, HSN bigwig

Darryl Blaker, Tampa bear Mike Scott, Tampa athlete Marty Walsh, St. Pete socialite Clinton Nickels (Sept. 8); St.

Pete big bear David Reynolds, St. Pete chiropractor Karen Reese, Tampa Bay entertainer Brianna Summers, Publix pro Raymond Jamison (Sept. 9); Ybor favorite Cassandra

Hair (Sept. 10); St. Pete fundraiser Jonathan Soots, Tampa animal lover Greg Burton, St. Pete staple Alan Heflin, Tampa Gallery curator Albert Burruezo (Sept. 11)

1

TEAM TAMPA: Chuck (L) and Joe Diaz-Henson (R) flank EPIC Executive Director Joy Winheim for the second session of Strike OUT 2023 at Pin Chasers Aug. 26.

PHOTO FROM EPIC’S FACEBOOK

2 BEY’S QUEENS: (L-R) Annie Morrissey, Ally Cannon and Jeremy Skidmore get heated at Beyonce’s Renaissance stop in Tampa Aug. 16. PHOTO COURTESY JEREMY SKIDMORE

3 OUT IN D.C.: Chair Pat Fearns represents Come OUT St. Pete at the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington Aug. 26 in D.C.

PHOTO COURTESY PAT FEARNS

4

STRIKING SISTERS: The Tampa Bay Perpetual Sisters of Indulgence strike a pose and more at EPIC’s first session of Strike OUT 2023 at Dunedin Lanes Aug. 19.

PHOTO FROM EPIC’S FACEBOOK

5 MAKE IT BLUE: State Rep. and Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell addresses attendees of Florida Democrats’ “Take Back Florida” tour in St. Pete Aug. 23. PHOTO FROM THE HILLSBOROUGH CO. YOUNG DEMOCRATS’ FACEBOOK

6

FRESHENING UP: CAN Community Health staff and volunteers hold the first Freshen Up Fest at their St. Petersburg location Aug. 18 to assist those in need.

PHOTO FROM CAN’S FACEBOOK

7 WALKING THE WALK: (L-R) Gianna Pergamo, John Gascot, Laurie Meehan-Elmer and Nicki Knowlton celebrate John and Laurie’s purchase of Studios at 5663 during 4th Saturday Artwalk Aug. 26. PHOTO BY DYLAN TODD

8

SOUL SISTERS: (L-R) Te Monet, Adriana Sparkle, Conundrum and Jay Miah step into the Moulin Rouge for the Britney v. Christina drag show at The Floridian Social Aug. 25. PHOTO BY RYAN WILLIAMS-JENT

CONGRATULATIONS

Southern Nights Orlando announced on its Facebook Aug. 24 that it is soon opening Orlando’s newest LGBTQ+ bar, Stiffy’s Central Florida singer CeCe Teneal held “Up Close and Personal,” an exclusive listening session at the Luxmore Grande Estate in Winter Springs Aug. 27, to premiere new original music from her upcoming album.

CONDOLENCES

Central Florida teacher Kevin Lang passed away Aug. 27. He will be missed. A public viewing will be held Sept. 5 from 4-6 p.m. at Mitchell’s Funeral Home, located at 501 Farvilla Rd. in Orlando.

CLOSINGS

After 13 years, Nick Smith’s Situation Sundays came to an end on Aug. 27. The downtown Orlando LGBTQ+ Sunday Funday staple included Sunday Surrender at Ember, Runway Sundays at Chillers, She Sundays in Cahoots and Skyline Sundays at High Tide. “Thanks for the journey, folks,” Smith wrote on Facebook. “Every person who walked through those gates, slung a drink, climbed those crazy stairs, twirled on the dancefloor and partied on the rooftop with me has changed my life for the better. Thank you thank you thank you. You have been the textbook definition of ‘one love.’” In a previous post, Smith stated that Church Street Entertainment will be relaunching its own vision of the Sunday event. More information will be released at a later time.

LOCAL BIRTHDAYS

GayDayS owner Joseph Clark, Human Rights Campaign’s Xavier Persad (Aug. 31); Central Florida performer Philip Ancheta, Central Florida performer and FrogPig creator Joel Swanson (Sept. 1); Former LGBT+ Center board president Jeffrey Buak, LGBTQ activist Heather Lea Soersdal (Sept. 2); Central Florida LGBTQ+ super ally Jennifer Kunsch, Orlando realtor Kate Maini (Sept.

3); Watermark’s Remarkable People cover model Joan Rodriguez (Sept. 4); Former Watermark intern Alexis Bell (Sept. 5); Rollins College honcho A. Eddie Mehnert, Orlando Gay Chorus member Andrew Lemin, ex-intern and former Watermark cover model Randa Griffin (Sept. 6); Anthony Bella Capelli Studio owner Steven Dorsagno, Gods and Monsters owner Anna Maiya Young (Sept. 7); Central Florida entertainer Darcel Stevens, Disney entertainment tech Charles Cantrell (Sept. 8); Les Vixens dancer Christine Machado (Sept. 9); President of Falk Research Associates Thor Falk, Crew Health CEO Chadwick Thomas, LGBT+ Center board member and Edward Jones financial adviser Veronica Woodard, Green House Realty owner Joshua Cooper, Owner of Lee Forrest Designs Lee Forrest (Sept. 10); Former Watermark Creative Designer Deanndra Meno, Orlando-based international drag performer Joshua Eads-Brown a.k.a. Ginger Minj, political activist Wes Hodge, The News Junkie co-host and ally Chris Lane (Sept. 11); owner of A Comic Shop Aaron Haaland (Sept. 12).

CENTRAL FLORIDA OUT+ABOUT

1

STANDING UP FOR KIDS: Members of the LGBTQ+ community gather outside the Orange County Public Schools building in Orlando Aug. 15 for the announcement of Equality Florida’s new Parenting With Pride program.

2

WEEKEND UPDATES: Andrew Lammes (L) and Joe De Matei at the Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando to see “Saturday Night Live’s” Colin Jost Aug. 26. PHOTO BY RICK TODD

3

PHOTO BY RICK TODD

ALLY SERVERS: Wayne and Lynn Dictor volunteer to be celebrity servers for the Orlando Youth Alliance’s fundraiser at the Winter Park Event Center on Aug. 21.

4

MAKING MUSIC: CeCe Teneal greets fans and friends at her “Up Close and Personal” listening session at the Luxmore Grande Estate in Winter Springs Aug. 27.

PHOTO BY JEREMY WILLIAMS

5

NO. 1 PICK: Florida Rep. Anna V. Eskamani shows off her 2023 Best of Orlando recognitions awarded by Orlando Weekly readers at Will’s Pub in Orlando Aug. 27. PHOTO FROM FLORIDA REP. ANNA V. ESKAMANI’S FACEBOOK

6

ERASING HATE: Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan arrived within hours to the LGBT+ Center Orlando to help remove hateful nazi graffiti from LGBTQ+ murals Aug. 26. PHOTO BY DANNY GARCIA

7

SAYING I DO: Wes Hodge (L) and Cannon Ouellette celebrate getting married in Orlando Aug. 17. PHOTO FROM WES HODGE

8

TO THE MOVIES: The Pride Chamber’s Daniel Sohn sports some Barbie style as he sees the hit film at Regal Pointe Orlando on National Cinema Day Aug. 27. PHOTO FROM DANIEL SOHN’S FACEBOOK

PHOTO BY JEREMY WILLIAMS

community calendar

CENTRAL FLORIDA

The Center’s 80’s Homecoming

SATURDAY, SEPT. 2, 8 P.M. THE ABBEY, ORLANDO

Join the LGBT+ Center Orlando for a totally rad night at it 80’s Homecoming party! Get ready to step back in time and relive the glorious decade of big hair, neon colors and unforgettable music. Featuring performances by the legendary band Company B, April Fresh, Blue Star, Darcel Stevens and more. Tickets are $50 for general admission and $100 for VIP. For more information, go to Facebook.com/ TheCenterOrlando.

Apopka Pride at Hope

SATURDAY, SEPT. 9, 12-4 P.M.

HOPE COMMUNITY CENTER, APOPKA

Hope CommUnity Center invites you to join them for the second annual Apopka Pride. Aquí estamos (We are here) is a free event at Hope’s 800 S. Hawthorne Ave. and will feature local vendors, food, live entertainment and family-friendly activities. For more information, visit Facebook.com/HopeCCApopka.

TAMPA BAY

The Breakdown: ‘Chromatica Mini-Ball’

SATURDAY, SEPT. 9, 6-10:30 P.M.

SOUTHERN NIGHTS, TAMPA

Yummy’s World returns with its monthly ball series, welcoming one and all “to come and enjoy some hot ballroom competition and electrifying energy!”

Mother TABU Ninja will emcee with music from DJ Nightwing. All categories will feature chrome looks like metallics, sparkles, latex and more. Doors open at 6 p.m. and entry is $5 before 7 p.m. or $10 after. Learn more at Facebook.com/SouthernNightsTampa.

“Joey Fatone & Friends”

FRIDAY, SEPT. 15, 8 P.M.

TAMPA THEATER, TAMPA

Ruth Eckerd Hall on the Road presents a “Welcome to Tampa 90s Party” with original *NSYNC member Joey Fatone and original Backstreet Boys member AJ McLean, also the winner of “RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race” as Poppy Love. Others are also expected to join ahead of 90s Con in Tampa, scheduled for Sept. 15-17. Tickets start at $39.50 and are available at TampaTheatre.org.

BOY BANDED

ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT

CENTRAL FLORIDA

Absolute Queen, Sept. 1, Clemont Performing Arts Center, Clermont. 352-394-4800; ClermontPerformingArts.con

Disney on Ice presents Magic in the Stars, Sept. 1-3, Amway Center, Orlando. 407-440-7000; AmwayCenter.com

National Theatre Live: “Best of Enemies,” Sept. 2, Enzian Theater, Maitland. 407-629-1088; Enzian.org

Classic Albums Live: Queen’s “A Night at the Opera,” Sept. 2, Hard Rock Live, Orlando. 407-351-5483; HardRock.com/Orlando

Orlando Urban Film Festival 10th Anniversary, Sept. 2, Dr. Phillips Center, Orlando. 407-358-6603; DrPhillipsCenter.org

Drag Brunch Sing-ALong, Sept. 3, Island Time, Orlando. 407-930-2640; IslandTimeOrlando.com

Spend the Afternoon with Miss Vicky, Sept. 3, District Dive, Orlando. 407-412-5039; Facebook.com/DistrictDive

Revival Sunday Patio

Party: Labor Day Weekend Kickoff, Sept. 3, Southern Nights, Orlando. 407-412-5039; Facebook.com/ SouthernNightsOrlando

The Pride Chamber’s Business Connect, Sept. 6, NEC Headquarters, Orlando. 407-420-4895; ThePrideChamber.org

SemDems Monthly Meeting, Sept. 7, Eastmonte Park, Altamonte Springs. 321-549-8683; SemDems.com

“Beauty & the Beast” in Concert, Sept. 7-8, Northland Church, Longwood. 407-937-1800; CFCArts.com

Jazz’n Blues Concert, Sept. 9, Harry P. Leu Gardens, Orlando. 407-246-2620; LeuGardens.org

Juno Vibranz Birthday Show, Sept. 2, Quench Lounge, Largo. 727-754-5900; QuenchLounge.com

EPIC Generations

Movie: “Monica,” Sept. 5, Empath Partners in Care, St. Petersburg. 727-328-3260; MyEPIC.org

“A Tribute to Elton John,” Sept. 8, Cage Brewing, St. Petersburg. 727-201-4278; Facebook.com/ GreggieAndTheJetsDoCom

Bear Party, Sept. 8, Quench Lounge, Largo. 727-754-5900; QuenchLounge.com

EPIC Generations Coffee

Hour, Sept. 8, Sunshine Center, St. Petersburg. 727-328-3260; MyEPIC.org

Chloe: “The In Pieces Tour,” Sept. 9, The Ritz, Ybor. 813-248-4050; TheRitzYbor.com

The Billy Mick and Friends Theme Parks

Extravaganza, Sept. 9, The 808, Orlando. 407-440-4079; The808Olrando.com

The Art of Unity, Sept. 13, Snap!, Orlando. 407-212-7535; SnapOrlando.com

Nerd Nite Orlando season

11 premiere, Sept. 14, Stardust Video & Coffee, Orlando. 407-623-3393; StardustVideoAndCoffee. wordpress.com

TAMPA BAY

“A Motown Celebration,” Through Sept. 10, freeFall Theatre, St. Petersburg. 727-498-5205; freeFallTheatre.com

Cocktail Invades

Uranus Pool Party, Sept. 2, The Wet Spot, St. Petersburg. 727-592-1914; CocktailStPete.com

Labor Day Boys Night

Out, Sept. 1, Quench Lounge, Largo. 727-754-5900; QuenchLounge.com

Road to Heart of Florida Benefit, Sept. 10, Showbar, Ybor. 813-443-8581; ShowbarYbor.com

EPIC Generations

Yoga4Change Session, Sept. 12, Empath Partners in Care, St. Petersburg. 727-328-3260; MyEPIC.org

EPIC Generations Painting with a Twist, Sept. 14, Salty Nun and Painting with a Twist, St. Petersburg. 727-328-3260; MyEPIC.org

Transcend: Transgender Social Group, Sept. 15, Empath Partners in Care, St. Petersburg. 727-328-3260; MyEPIC.org

90s Con, Sept. 15-17, Tampa Convention Center, Tampa. 813-274-8511; Thats4Entertainment.com

SARASOTA

LGBTQ+ Dance Classes, Sept. 5; 12, Ballroom City, Sarasota. 941-726-0569; Facebook.com/ BallRoomCitySarasota

To submit your upcoming event, concert, performance, or fundraiser visit watermarkonline.com.

*NSYNC’s Joey Fatone will be joined by Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean for “Welcome to Tampa 90s Party,” presented by Ruth Eckerd Hall and held at Tampa Theatre Sept. 15. PHOTO FROM RUTH ECKERD HALL’S EVENT PAGE

Florida’s First Orthopedic Hospital.

Now Open

Experience innovation in motion at the first and only orthopedic hospital in the Southeast. Now open, the Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute downtown complex gives patients an all-in-one experience with specialized orthopedic surgery, faster MRIs, smart-room technology and more — at one convenient location. Giving you more reasons to choose well. OrlandoHealth.com/DowntownOrthoInstitute