SGN October 14, 2016 - Section 2

Seattle Gay News

Issue 42, Volume 44, October 14, 2016

Arts & Entertainment

Seattle Opera presents a Transgender story at Washington Hall

Taylor Raven as Hannah after in As One – Photo courtesy of Seattle Opera

SEATTLE OPERA AS ONE WASHINGTON HALL November 11-19 Next month, Seattleites can hear opera

at the historic Washington Hall when Seattle Opera presents As One, a chamber opera with two singers, which tells the story of Hannah, a Transwoman, and her journey to self-understanding. Washington Hall, see AS ONE page 18

Seattle Rep’s A Raisin in the Sun shines brightly

From left: Mia Ellis (Ruth Younger), Denise Burse (Lena Younger), and Catalino Manalang (Travis Younger) in A Raisin in the Sun – Photo by Alan Alabastro

by Miryam Gordon SGN A&E Writer A RAISIN IN THE SUN SEATTLE REPERTORY THEATRE Through October 30

The Seattle Repertory Theatre’s new production of A Raisin in the Sun at Seattle Repertory Theatre is a fabulous opportunity to experience this classic play on stage, and it appears that a good number of see RAISIN page 7

Mark Morris Dance Kids far from all right in Group with the Silk Road Arnold’s American Honey Ensemble a feast for the senses and intellect

Scene from “Layla and Majnun” – Photo by Susana Millman

by Sharon Cumberland SGN A&E Writer UW WORLD DANCE SERIES MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP WITH THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE “LAYLA AND MAJNUN” (2016)

MEANY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS October 6 & 7 Depend upon Mark Morris to do something surprising and genuinely new. Not resting on his tremendous success with see MARK MORRIS page 19

Sasha Lane in American Honey – Photo courtesy of fandango.com

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN A&E Writer AMERICAN HONEY Now playing Andrea Arnold does not make light and fluffy pictures. The Oscar-winner (Wasp

(2005)) anticipates audiences are smart, that they are intelligent enough to sift through a number of tough, esoteric cultural issues in order to find the truth lurking at the center of whatever tale it is she’s telling.

Her first two narrative features, the impressively prescient Red Road and the mesmersee HONEY page 8

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October 14, 2016

Celebrating 41 Years!

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October 14, 2016

Seattle Gay News 3

Bernadette Peters to appear at Benaroya Hall next month

by Albert Rodriguez SGN A&E Writer Broadway royalty is headed to Seattle, and right around Thanksgiving time, so you might want to adjust your holiday plans.

Three-time Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters will perform alongside the Seattle Symphony on November 26 in a show that will feature a selection of Broadway hits under the helm of Music Director Marvin Laird. The multi-ta lented, redheaded s i n g e r- a c t r e s s currently stars in the Amazon Prime TV series “Mozart in the Jungle” and recently appeared in New York City’s Encores! production of A Bed and a Chair: A New York Love Affair. This is a one-night-only performance, a single opportunity to see and hear this stage legend here at home.

Tickets start at $55 and can be purchased online at seattlesymphony.org, by calling the Symphony’s box office at (206) 215-4747, or (866) 8334747, or in person at Benaroya Hall (corner of 3rd and Union).

the Dog each released breakthrough albums that year, as did another Emerald City band, Soundgarden. The Chris Cornellfronted group emerged on the grunge scene with its ambitious sophomore effort, Badmotorfinger, which contained three big alternative rock singles, “Outshined,” “Rusty Cage” and “Jesus Christ Pose.” To com-

memorate the 25th anniversary of its classic album, Soundgarden will release four special editions of Badmotorfinger next month, including a “Super Deluxe” package with four CDs, two DVDs and a Blu-ray audio disc with 109 tracks, plus remastered original album, home videos, interviews, B-sides, live festival performances, 15 previously unreleased studio outtakes, “Live at the Paramount” recording (Soundgarden’s firstever complete concert album, recorded at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle on March 6, 1992) and much, much more. Also being released are “2CD Deluxe,” “2LP” and “1-CD” editions. Badmotorfinger, which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Per for m a nc e, landed in record stores on October 8, 1991.

Undoubtedly, one of this summer’s best albums was Home of the Strange, the latest release by pop-rock band Young the Giant, which has produced two hit singles, “Amerika” and “Something to Believe In.” This is the group’s third studio album, folBernadette Peters – Photo courtesy of thebroadwayblog.com lowing the sucA year and cess of 2014’s a half after its launch date, Coldplay’s “A Mind Over Matter and 2010’s self-titled deHead Full of Dreams Tour” will be coming but, plus a trio of Top 10 tracks, “My Body,” to Seattle. The internationally popular rock “Cough Syrup” and “It’s About Time.” To band opened the tour on March 31, 2016 at promote their freshest material, Young the Buenos Aires’ Estadio Cuidad de La Plata Giant is currently touring North America to a crowd of 48,000 fans, immediately folwith planned stops in Denver, Los Angeles, lowed by a second concert on April 1 with San Diego, Chicago and right here in Sean equal number of attendees. This particuattle, where they’ll perform October 28 at lar road outing, which has already traveled The Showbox SoDo. But before any of that through South America, Europe and parts happens, the SoCal outfit is speaking with of North America, incorporates some of Seattle Gay News for the second time; they Coldplay’s newest songs, including “Advenfirst chatted with us in 2011. Look for my ture of a Lifetime,” “Hymn for the WeekYoung the Giant interview in next week’s isend,” “Up & Up,” “Magic” and “A Sky Full sue, October 21, and for concert tickets go to of Stars.” If memory serves me correct, this aeglive.com. is the four-piece act’s first Seattle appearance since 2012, when they performed at Finally, if you missed Joey Alexander’s Key Arena. This time, they’ll be playing at appearance at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley last CenturyLink Field on September 23, 2017. month, you’ll be very glad to know that he’s Tickets to see Coldplay go on sale October coming back next year due to popular de15 (10am) at LiveNation.com, all Ticketmand. The 13-year old master pianist sold master outlets, or charge by phone 1-800out every performance at the downtown 745-3000. venue just weeks ago and he’ll likely do it again when he plays the Jazz Alley April 1991 was a historical year for Seattle 6-9, next spring. Go to jazzalley.com for Joey Alexander – music. Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Temple of Photo courtesy of joeyalexandermusic.com reservations.

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October 14, 2016

Celebrating 41 Years!

Kanye West and Norah Jones will entertain different crowds on same night in Seattle

by Albert Rodriguez SGN A&E Writer Two world-known musicians are performing in the Emerald City next week on the same night. This isn’t a rare thing, but it’s unfortunate because both are outstanding. Take your pick.

KANYE WEST KEY ARENA October 19 Music genius or spoiled, ego-bloated rapper? This is the big question that surfaces whenever the name of Kanye West enters a conversation. The consensus is that he’s probably a bit of both. Despite his ridiculous behavior, the man is a talented artist who has written and performed some of the coolest hip-hop songs of the past decade, especially those earlier jams like “Jesus Walks,” “Through the Wire” and “Gold Digger.” On the mic, his clever and bold lyrics mixed with catchy, R&B-electro backgrounds are too good to pass up; he’s simply one of the all-time best. When he isn’t rapping, however, he’s a ticking bomb, a guy that will say anything to anybody anywhere. That’s just the way he rolls.

But back to West’s music. Since 2004, the Chicago native has released one incredible album after another, from The College Dropout to Graduation to My Dark Twisted Fantasy. Even his most recent works, 2013’s Yeezus and this year’s The Life of Pablo, have delighted fans and critics alike, while also reaching #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. In fact, The Life of Pablo made music history when it came out in February, becoming the first album to ever debut atop the charts from a digital, or

Kanye West & Norah Jones – Photos courtesy of GOOD Music & dallasnewsblogs.com

stream, format.

Next week, West returns to Seattle, where he launched “The Yeezus Tour” three years ago on the exact same date he’s playing Key Arena this time, October 19. That show featured an opening performance by another hip-hop wizard, Kendrick Lamar. This concert, part of the multiple Grammy winner’s “Saint Pablo Tour,” will include a whopping 32 songs and is said to be somewhat of a low-tech experience with less theatrics and props and more of the focus on the music itself. West has been an outspoken advocate for the LGBT community, encouraging fellow rappers to do away with anti-Gay lyrics and offering his support to Frank Ocean when he came

out as Bisexual a few years ago. For any remaining tickets to see Kanye West live, go to livenation.com.

NORAH JONES BENAROYA HALL S. MARK TAPER FOUNDATION AUDITORIUM October 19 I didn’t know who Norah Jones was at the time, but there I was driving my car around Greenlake in early 2002 and the sweetest voice crooning over a jazzy background of piano and guitar came on the radio. It was love at first listen. Soon, she was everywhere; her music was getting heavy

rotation on pop, adult contemporary and jazz stations, and then came the Grammys.

Come Away with Me, her stunning 2002 debut, was the recipient of 8 golden gramophones that year, including 5 for Jones herself – specifically, Album of the Year, Record of the Year (“Don’t Know Why”), Best New Artist, Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

While her subsequent work hasn’t matched the commercial success of the first album, Jones has been artistically brilliant throughout her career, settling into more of a pure pop sound on her latest albums, 2012’s Little Broken Hearts and the newly-released Daybreaks, barely a week old. Even her collaborative project with Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, titled Foreverly, was an underrated gem, as were her guest vocal appearances and duets with Willie Nelson, Foo Fighters, Ryan Adams and Wilco, to name a few. My personal favorite Norah Jones recording is 2004’s Feels Like Home, featuring the singles “Sunrise” and “Creepin’ In” (with Dolly Parton) and I have yet to listen to either performed live. That could change this coming week.

It’s been a while since Jones has come to town and she never performs in arenas, so while it’s a treat to see and hear her in a more intimate setting like the Seattle Symphony’s hall, it doesn’t allow room for everybody to attend.

For any remaining tickets to see her live, go to livenation.com. A supporting act is possible, although I didn’t come across any information posted online about it; still, get to Benaroya Hall by 7pm to find your seat, because the doors might close during the first number and only re-open during song breaks.

FASHION

OUTBOUND: HONOLULU Fashion Week grows into a standout event in its third year

by Albert Rodriguez SGN A&E Writer When you think of Hawaii, you think of beaches, palm trees, pineapples, surfers and flower leis. You know, the typical stuff. But in recent years, it’s become a fashion mecca, specifically the island of Oahu. It’s not only a paradise for vacationers, it’s a paradise for shoppers and fashionistas as well.

When I lived on Oahu about 20 years ago, there were select stores and malls to buy top brand name clothes. Fast forward to 2016 and nearly every major department store is there, from Nordstrom to Bloomingdale’s, and every important international designer, from Balenciaga to Yves Saint Laurent, has a boutique shop with its very latest collections aimed directly at tourists. Even chain stores, like Guess, American Eagle, Banana Republic, Aeropostale and Uniqlo, plus discount retailers such as Target, Ross and TJ Maxx are scattered around the island. You name the store, it’s there.

Something that is helping put Oahu on the fashion map is HONOLULU Fashion Week, a three-day event held at the Hawaii Convention Center that attracts some heavy hitters from the fashion world, in addition to showcasing local talent. The third installment of HONOLULU Fashion Week, running November 10 through 12, shines the spotlight on several Hawaiian designers, including Project Runway alum Kini Zamora, who is presenting his latest collection on Saturday, November 12. His

Honolulu Fashion Week – Photo by Ross Hamamura

show will help benefit “Reach the Runway,” a nonprofit project that creates mentorship opportunities for Oahu middle school students interested in pursuing a career in the fashion industry. I met Zamora, along with Project Runway winner Sean Kelly, at last year’s gala and both were extremely polite.

Two more runway shows highlighting island talent are “Local Luxe” and “LIVE ALOHA,” both taking place on Friday, November 11. The former features four Hawaii-based designers, Malia Jones, Allison Izu, Ten Tomorrow and Koa Johnson, while the latter includes five locals, including Noa and ‘IOLANI Sportswear who are show-

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casing together. Additionally, Asaf Ganot, whose designs were featured last year on the TV series “Revenge,” and whose twin brother Eran is the University of Hawaii men’s basketball head coach, will kick off Fashion Week on Thursday, November 10 with his newest styles of athletic menswear.

HONOLULU Fashion Week presenting sponsor Hawaiian Airlines will showcase collections inspired by destinations the airline serves, from Japan and Australia to South Korea and New York, in a show called “Runway to Runway” on Friday, November 11. And, legendary Oahu designer Reyn Spooner, celebrating its

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60th anniversary this year, will unveil its latest island and tropical-themed attire on the same evening.

But perhaps the most anticipated show being staged at HONOLULU Fashion Week, certain to be an emotional high point of the event, is “Beautiful Survivors,” presented by Hawaii Pacific Health on the closing night, November 12, featuring survivors of various ages who have overcome severe health conditions that will participate as runway models.

Neiman Marcus, located at Ala Moana Center, and local shopping complex Ward Village will also present collections at the event, attended by island residents, as well as designers and fashionistas from North America and beyond. Aside from the runway shows, a Fashion Marketplace with more than 50 Hawaii-based merchants will provide attendees the opportunity to purchase handcrafted jewelery, clothing, accessories, home goods and other specialty items.

Last year’s event drew more than 8,000 people, including myself, and it’s expected to draw an equal number of attendees, if not more, this time around. Limited tickets will be available to the public via HONOLULUFashionWeek.com, where you’ll also find details and more information about the event. For travel information on Oahu, visit GoHawaii.com/oahu.

For anyone remotely interested in fashion, this is a great event to put on your calendar, if not this year then for 2017, when it will likely grow even bigger.

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LGBT HISTORY MONTH

Who you gonna call? New web series “Queer Ghost Hunters” blends thrill with LGBT history

by Paige Cooperstein Courtesy of Philadelphia Gay News Last December, seven LGBT people approached the cells that first housed inmates in 1889 at the Licking County Historic Jail in Newark, Ohio, about 40 miles east of Columbus. They hoped to find LGBT ghosts.

It had to happen at night – not for any creeping fear, but for the ghost hunters’ ability to tune their senses. There was no traffic and no light. They came prepared with dowsing rods to ask yes or no questions and recording equipment to capture “electronic voice phenomena,” called EVP, which are noted in paranormal circles as a way to hear spirits’ speech.

Scott Priddy had come across a flier for Queer Ghost Hunters around Halloween.

He went to a meeting organized by Stonewall Columbus, the LGBT community center for central Ohio, and joined a small

series of the same name. In time for the kickoff of LGBT History Month, the show debuted Oct. 1 with further episodes set for release every Friday on YouTube. The first season includes six episodes, each 8-10 minutes long. A Kickstarter campaign, at http:// ow.ly/HmNe304Je6n, also launched this month to raise funds for a second season.

“We work really hard to balance the fun of the series and the thrill of the ghost hunt with the history,” Gum said. “That’s sort of our magic potion.”

Katy Detrow became the historian for the Queer Ghost Hunters, looking up records of LGBT people who lived and died in the places they investigate.

“Gay people have been around forever in all walks of life,” Priddy said. “I’m sure most people don’t think of a gay sheriff in the 1930s. Does anybody think of lesbian nuns? It’s a broad history.”

Gum and Maddux had been discussing

a wife and children. That’s when Gum decided to bring Queer Ghost Hunters to Stonewall Columbus.

“I stared at her for 10 seconds,” Maddux said. “I thought instantly this is going to be my next documentary.”

In the last year, Maddux has traveled to Ohio a couple times a month. He’s based in San Francisco and works with his husband Joe Applebaum on producing the web series. Maddux said the Queer Ghost Hunters team keeps him motivated.

“They’re all very smart and funny people and really into it and skeptical as well,” he said.

A team of history buffs Many of the Queer Ghost Hunters described themselves as history buffs. Before a visit to the Ohio State Reformatory – where the movie “Shawshank Redemption” takes place – Gum and Detrow went to the Ohio Historical Society.

way to connect these young people to the lives of their LGBT forebearers.”

She added, “There’s nothing that bonds you to someone quicker than having the bejesus scared out of you.”

Kai Stone, one of the younger members of the team, had gone on a ghost hunt about a decade ago with people who considered themselves straight and cis-gender. It was before Stone transitioned.

“With queer people, I thought I’d feel comfortable,” said Stone, who’s had a longtime interest in the supernatural, but never thought about connecting with LGBT spirits.

One experience that stuck with Stone was a Valentine’s Day visit with the Queer Ghost Hunters to Prospect Place, a 19thcentury mansion in Ohio.

“A ghost named Sophie initially didn’t trust us,” Stone said. “We told our stories and she started talking about her lover Ana. [You have] these people living in a man-

Lori Gum helped found the Queer Ghost Hunters group at Stonewall Columbus, the LGBT community center for Central Ohio – Photo courtesy of Stu Maddux

group that visited the jail.

“They called me ‘ghost bait,’” Priddy said. “I seem to attract the ghosts.”

In his first time ghost hunting, Priddy connected with a sheriff. He said he felt a strong tingling and buzzing. All the hair on his arms stood up. Others said the sheriff followed Priddy around and flirted with him.

“We all really cut our teeth on Licking County Jail,” said Lori Gum, the program and pride coordinator at Stonewall Columbus.

A series is born From there, the team visited several other sites in Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia.

Stu Maddux, the filmmaker behind LGBT documentaries like Gen Silent, followed the Queer Ghost Hunters for a web

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LGBT history when she picked him up for the LGBTFest film festival in Columbus last year. He was in town to host a Q&A for his latest film, “The Reel in the Closet,” which features home movies of LGBT people dating back to the 1930s.

“It’s not history so much as it is seeing ourselves in the past,” Maddux said. “It makes you feel like you’re part of a people.”

On the drive, Gum also rattled off a list of new programs at Stonewall Columbus, ending matter-of-factly with the Queer Ghost Hunters.

She and Shane McClelland, a former staffer from the LGBT center, had dabbled in ghost hunting for fun and found the “presumed heterosexuality” “irritating.”

People would ask male spirits if they had

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They found records for 67 people, many teenage boys, who were convicted of sodomy and sent to the reformatory. A separate wing of the prison was dedicated to these inmates, several of whom died there, according to the records. At the reformatory, the ghost hunters shared their own comingout stories to encourage a connection with those inmates.

“That is very attractive to me, to be digging up history from a new perspective,” Gum said.

“We’re coming in with a queer eye.”

She said it also encourages young LGBT people to take an interest in their past.

“So many of our Queer Ghost Hunters are young people, under 30,” Gum said.

“It really bridges the generation gap in our LGBT community. I’ve never seen a better

sion, upscale lives, and still having to hide [their sexuality].”

In season two, Stone hopes to find a transgender or gender-nonconforming ghost. Stone said that might be possible by investigating sites connected to the Civil War, when some women presented as men to join the military.

“I really hope we can turn ghost hunting into a fun experience where you can connect with others,” Stone said. “I hope more folks feel comfortable to find that history.”

Paige Cooperstein has worked as a reporter for the past five years. She graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University, with a master’s degree in arts journalism.

Celebrating 41 Years!

RAISIN

continued from cover regional theaters are realizing that, almost 60 years later after its first performance it still represents a huge chunk of the AfricanAmerican struggle in this country.

When you realize that Lorraine Hansberry only wrote two major plays before she died in her mid-thirties, and how powerfully this play succeeds in standing the tests of time, it is even more distressing that we lost her voice so soon. While Hansberry certainly wasn’t the first black woman playwright, and Alice Childress (for one) was contemporaneously writing, Hansberry was the first to have a play on Broadway.

Apparently, that’s all that our theater community often paid attention to.

The title of the play is a reference to a line in a Langston Hughes poem: “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” We meet the Younger family. They have such dreams.

They dream of getting out of their tenement apartment in Chicago’s South Side, with a shared bathroom for the whole floor. They dream of owning their own house.

Walter Lee (Richard Prioleau) works as a chauffeur and dreams of being a successful businessman. Wife Ruth (Mia Ellis) works as a maid in richer homes and dreams of a house with a garden. Walter’s sister Beneatha (Claudine Mboligikpelani Nako) dreams of becoming a doctor. Mother Lena (Denise Burse) dreams that each of her children can be more successful than she and her late husband were.

The family is in a tizzy because they are waiting for an insurance payout from Lena’s husband’s untimely demise. $10,000 could change their lives. Lena wants to use it to pay for Beneatha’s schooling and a down payment on a house. But Walter Lee wants to use the entire amount to pool together with friends to open a liquor store.

The women in this play are full human

Ricardy Charles Fabre (Joseph Asagai) and Claudine Mboligikpelani Nako (Beneatha Younger) – Photo by Alan Alabastro

beings and played beautifully by each actor. Nako, in particular, gets to play all the complex emotions of a young AfricanAmerican who is on the cusp of societal change, aspiring to a new kind of employment, and breaking out of the submissive, religious chains of her forebears. Her character renounces God as a master and embraces the natural black beauty of her hair. This character is said to be most like Hansberry herself.

Prioleau has a tough row to hoe as a man-boy who is not ready for the trust that his mother puts in him. His is not a likable character, though we understand him. He comes off as a bit too much of a whiner and an opportunist. This makes his turn in the final moments less powerful than it could be, but it may well have been a choice made by director Timothy McCuen Piggee, and is certainly true to the dialogue.

Even if you have never read the play, you can tell from the beginning of the almost three hour production that things are not going to go so well. It’s not a surprise that Walter Lee, trusted by his mother to make good choices with cash, makes the wrong choices.

What many might not remember is what happens after that. The rest of the play deals with the choices remaining after bad choices, because there are choices to be made after bad choices. And those choices can compound the mistakes or reach for redemptive change. That is the brilliance of this play.

That is what I hope you will remember most clearly after seeing this production.

Technical support is stellar for this production, with a gritty, deteriorating set by Michael Ganio, an auditory pleasure of sound from Matt Starritt, and beautiful swaths of color and pattern from costumer

Melanie Taylor Burgess.

The main question mark about the set, for me, was the massive brick wall behind everything, with an American flag hanging from a window-like space. We can read into it, “the family is hemmed in,” “the wall of the ghetto,” “this is an American story,” etc., but it is far too literal, if so, and completely unnecessary, and distracting.

This production is something to bring the family to, especially high school students. It’s a powerful opportunity to see this classic come to life!

For more information, go to www.seattlerep.org or call 206-443-2222.

Discuss your opinions with SGNcritic@ gmail.com or go to www.facebook.com/ SeattleTheaterWriters. More articles can be found at MiryamsTheaterMusings. blogspot.com.

Village Theatre’s Pump Boys and Dinettes a down-home feel-good show

by Miryam Gordon SGN A&E Writer PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES VILLAGE THEATRE Issaquah: Through October 23 Everett: October 28-November 20 Village Theatre has a feel-good show for you to hoot and holler with and enjoy their kick-ass cast of seven. For Pump Boys and Dinettes, director Brandon Ivie assembled a bunch of mostly-local actor/singer/ musicians to pluck and strum their hearts out in a fun outing of this feels-like-a-country-concert musical.

There really isn’t a story here, except for some background information about the small town these characters inhabit, their auto repair shop and the local coffee shop.

There’s a bit of attempting to make some romantic coupling happen, but it’s not consummated.

The main reason to go is because these performers all work so very hard to please and to bring home the honky-tonky music.

Led by Joshua Carter of the aw-shucks boynext-door looks, Village also brings nowactual Nashville song-writer Sylvie Davidson home to Seattle to perform. The other big import is Levi Kreis and his magic piano-hands.

Kreis starred here in Million Dollar Quartet as Jerry Lee Lewis and you might have seen him jump over a piano (!) before he hurt himself and had to give that up.

Kreis plays some fabulous piano here, and you can occasionally hear him sing solo, though not enough for this reviewer-fan.

Kreis went to Broadway with MDQ and

From left: Sylvie Davidson (Prudie), Michael Feldman (Jackson), and Sara Porkalob (Rhetta) – Photo by Mark Kitaoka

won himself a well-deserved Tony! We are happy to have another chance to hear him sing and play.

The other two multi-discipline performers are Michael Feldman and Sara Porkalob. Feldman has toiled a long time as a yeoman-ensemble member in many a musical. It is fabulous to see him front and center with his pure singing and occasional

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lovely low notes. Porkalob shows her versatility in a jam-packed year that has included interations of her amazing one-woman autobiographical play, Dragon Lady, coming up this winter at Café Nordo in a brand-new version.

There are two musician-only performers, though you wouldn’t quite know it from the silent, but rockin’, antics of Olivia D.

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Hamilton on bass, bass guitar and more.

Her occasional participation in choreography is quite fun. James “Rif” Reif holds down the percussion and plays like he has five or six arms and legs!

It’s really all about the performing – both the music and the versatility of the instruments played, and heart. None of the songs are earth-shatteringly good, either lyrically or musically, but they’re all fine enough. The story elements are a bit dumb, but cute, mostly. They all play on country stereotypes of small town life.

The main thing that bothered me in execution is the lighting design, unfortunately,

by Geoff Korf. I’m told that good lighting is mostly invisible unless it has to be seen – like lightning strikes. This design is altogether too showy and visible. The overly dramatic “lowering of the lights” to spotlighted slow ballads is completely unnecessary and, in fact, really irritating. I do need a primer on aspects of lighting, more than any other technical area, but I know when there’s too much manipulation.

But besides that, this cast is the bomb and you will have a good time listening to music as if you just happened to be in town and stopped into the Double Cupp to ask the Cupp sisters for a coffee and slice of their world-renown pie!

For more information, go to www.villagetheatre.org or call 425-392-2202.

Discuss your opinions with SGNcritic@ gmail.com or go to www.facebook.com/ SeattleTheaterWriters. More articles can be found at MiryamsTheaterMusings. blogspot.com.

Seattle Gay News 7

HONEY

continued from cover izingly essential Fish Tank, don’t pull any punches and refuse to take the easy way out. Her last film, an adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, is an emotional stunner the filmmaker managed to make feel bracingly current, utilizing the author’s themes in a way that allowed them to take root in ways that were primal, heartfelt and pure.

For her U.S. debut, American Honey, Arnold hits the road Jack Kerouac style, taking her cast and crew through the American heartland while telling a story about a teen girl, Star (Sasha Lane), who joins up with a group of magazine salespeople, dubbed a “Mag Crew,” as a way to potentially get out of poverty and make new friends. She is smitten with the happy-golucky charmer Jake (Shia LaBeouf) who recruited her out of a Wal-Mart parking lot. She is wary of the manipulative, seductively feral Krystal (Riley Keough), the tough-as-nails woman who controls the purse strings and sets all the rules. Most of all, Star is taken with the collection of fellow outsiders who make up the core of the Mag Crew, coming to look at them as the close-knit family she’s heretofore never really known until now.

At an epic 163 minutes, Arnold’s movie has the guts to take its time even if the story itself isn’t complicated. Instead, this is an observational romp through image, expectation and perception, the filmmaker dwelling both on how Star begins to see the world she’s suddenly been unleashed upon as well as how society itself makes assumptions about her and the rest of the ragtag Mag Crew. What can sometimes feel like nothing more than a supercilious descent into poverty in all actuality ends up being anything but, Arnold’s sights set a heck of a lot higher, and as such her film ends up being all the more essential because of this.

The grungy, haphazard quality of the narrative, reminiscent in many ways of

The magazine crew or “Mag Crew” of American Honey – Photo courtesy of collider.com

Larry Clark’s 1995 drama Kids, is juxtaposed with the pure, simplistic beauty of the filmmaking itself. Robbie Ryan’s (Slow West) handheld, free-flowing cinematography manufactures a sense of individualistic grace that allows American Honey to achieve an internal elegance that’s touching. At the same time, Joe Bini’s (We Need to Talk About Kevin) lyrically dynamic editing allows for changes in tone and perception that are instantaneous and natural, and as such Star’s journey has a kinetically mesmeric quality that’s haunting.

Then there is Lane. Literally discovered by Arnold on a Florida beach while the young woman was enjoying her Spring Break collegiate holiday, the newcomer proves to be a fiery talent who is difficult to resist. In practically every scene of the film, everything seen through her eyes,

Star’s awakening to the world around her is breathlessly realized. Even with minimal dialogue, Lane manages these emotional transitions with stupendous intimacy, allowing her climactic interior transformation to ring with the kind of optimistic ebullience that brought tears to my eyes.

With LaBeouf and Keough, the latter of whom is marvelously terrifying, as the only real name actors making major appearances (Will Patton pops up for an important vignette, but his role is more of an endearingly grizzled cameo than it is anything substantive), the majority of the heavy lifting is left to the core group of youngsters making up the Mag Crew. They’re an intriguingly irresistible cross-section of America’s youth, each finding a way to make their mark utilizing the most minimal of screen time. Star’s interactions with them have

genuine warmth, and I loved the way they could so often come together as one, usually doing so in complete silence.

American Honey, for all the heart it proudly wears on its sleeve (especially near the end), isn’t exactly the most uplifting story a person is ever likely to see, and dealing with all the Sturm und Drang for almost three full hours is admittedly grueling. But Arnold remains a craftily intelligent filmmaker, and there’s a lot more going on here than just a documentary-like overview of youth culture in the face of extreme poverty. The themes keep evolving long after Star’s story has come to summation, and while the kids are far from all right the sense of hopeful possibility that some of them might be makes enduring this tale’s harsher realities markedly worthwhile.

ART IMITATING LIFE: Newcomer Sasha Lane on bringing truth to American Honey

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN A&E Writer AMERICAN HONEY Now playing When Sasha Lane was spending her 2015 Spring Break at Florida’s Panama City Beach, the last thing the young college student ever could have expected was to be approached by Oscar-winning filmmaker Andrea Arnold (Fish Tank, Wuthering Heights) about the possibility of starring in her new film. But that’s exactly what happened, and the next thing the now 20-yearold knew she was hitting the road for a cinematic trip alongside established stars like Shia LaBeouf and Riley Keough, along with a cavalcade of fellow newcomers, that would change her life forever.

The movie, American Honey, is a sprawling examination of street kids hired by unscrupulous managers to hit the road selling magazine subscriptions, a.k.a. Mag Crews, oftentimes earning less than $10 a day as they crisscross the country as a communal force of nature surviving on booze, drugs and the sense of family during their travels. The story focuses on Star (Lane), a newcomer to a mag crew lead by the toughas-nails Krystal (Keough) after being recruited to work for the team by the gregari-

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ous, charmingly outgoing Jake (LaBeouf).

During her journey, the young woman makes deeply personal friendships with other members of the team while romantic longings for Jake also begin to develop.

At the same time, Star refuses to bow to Krystal’s rules, believing she can be successful selling subscriptions if she’s honest with people and doesn’t try to pretend to be something she is not. It’s a stark, brutally honest film, and much like Arnold’s previous work it refuses to pull any punches as it looks at these street kids and their world.

As for Lane, she’s front and center throughout, appearing in just about every minute of the motion picture’s epic 163-minute running time. I had the opportunity to sit down with the exuberant, energetic youngster to speak about what it was like to work on the film. Here are some of the highlights from that conversation: Sara Michelle Fetters: This has got to be new for you. Not only were you running around the U.S. to make this movie, now you’re running around the world…

Sasha Lane: Yeah. It’s pretty bizarre, right?

Sara Michelle Fetters: …to talk about the movie.

Sasha Lane: Just to be in a different place every other day. You’re just like,

October 14, 2016

whoa! I feel like life’s been a big blessing, and it’s kind of crazy!

Sara Michelle Fetters: It’s like something out of Hollywood of the 1930s or ’40s, being discovered on a beach by a director who just happened to be there. What was that like? A famous filmmaker comes up to you and says, “Hi, I’m Andrea Arnold.”

Sasha Lane: One, it was obviously like, “What?” But, also, it was amazing because I’ve had such a struggle with people being like, you’ve got dreads, you have tattoos, how you are, it doesn’t fit, you have to go change. She just made me feel so beautiful inside and out. She made me feel seen, as if she saw the light in me that I was trying to think that I had and I was trying to have my family understand that, I’m going to be okay. That there’s something there. That you can’t put me in this box. It was a really nice feeling. I just remember being like, me? Wow. Sara Michelle Fetters: But did you take it seriously, though, when she said, I’m casting this film, and I want you to maybe be a part of it? Did you realize how certain she was?

Sasha Lane: Kind of. It’s weird, because I think me and Andrea both are… we have gut feelings. We have energies, and we’re all about that. Everything that

was leading up, even just having breakfast with her the next morning and hopping in her car, just a sense of, I have a really good feeling about this. It was all like, gosh, I think this is going to happen. It was weird because it’s still all unbelievable, but, I don’t know, we just connected so hard that it seemed like something that was meant to happen even though none of it seemed real.

I still didn’t believe that I made a movie until the trailer came out. That connection and the fact that it was meant to be, all of that, it was like, this is why [I’m] here.

Sara Michelle Fetters: When you’re in school, though, did you think about being an actress? Was this something that you were leaning towards or is this now something you feel like you have discovered?

Sasha Lane: Definitely discovered. The idea of portraying certain people, making them feel, always was an interest, but I’m so uncomfortable in my skin sometimes. It’s weird to have that kind of attention, and the idea of Hollywood and all of that was not me at all. So it definitely wasn’t something that I would think about doing or pursuing or whatever. Then I made the movie.

Sara Michelle Fetters: But did you know what you were getting yourself into, though, when you actually got there on the set? When you started on this road trip and realized, “Wait. I’m the main character. I’m

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in virtually every single scene of this film.

And I’m brand new.”

Sasha Lane: I know, right? Crazy!

Yeah, even no matter how many times they told me I was going to be in it and this was what it was going to be like, and I had watched Fish Tank so I felt like I was prepared, you don’t really realize it until you’re filming six days a week and everyone else is there maybe once or twice every two weeks. You think, I get a break now because I’m not really in this scene because it’s not from my point of view, and yet then you realize they still need your shoulder in the shot and Andrea wanting me there for the other actors to focus on.

It was a lot of pressure. Definitely.

You’re like, okay, I’m carrying this film. But then you’re like, hold up homie, you literally got me off the beach. You’re putting a lot of trust and pressure on me. But it was nice to form such a bond with everyone. I felt very empowered by the time we were done shooting.

Sara Michelle Fetters: The flipside is Andrea that has obviously worked with a lot of new actors, a lot of people that she’s discovered, so there had to be, I would imagine, some comfort level there. And you also spend a lot of time with Shia in this movie, who has gone from being a child star to now being a respected adult actor. I would imagine that combination probably helped you a lot?

Sasha Lane: I don’t know. Maybe.

As far as the fact that Andrea chooses a lot of non-actors, it’s still one of those things where you continually ask yourself, are you happy that you chose me? I didn’t want her to be kind like, “I wish I would have looked a little harder.” So that was really hard.

I was really insecure about that part.

Luckily, she made me feel so comfortable and all of that. She’s amazing.

I had this thing of like, man, I’m actually doing this! How am I doing this? Hopefully, I’m doing this right.

This is all I know. So it was one of those feelings again sometimes, where I felt like I had nothing left to lose. I didn’t have anything to base any of it off of. Hopefully, it’s good.

Sara Michelle Fetters: Those insecurities that you’re talking about.

That is Stars journey, isn’t it? This is who she is at the beginning, and then you get to the end and you get this strong sense that she has found herself. She’s discovered who she is. So, for you, is this life imitating art imitating life?

Sasha Lane: Definitely. Before Andrea, I was kind of like, this is all I know, this box I had been living in, even though it was horrible I was still in the comfort of that. I knew that. But I met her and as things progressed I was just kind of like, you don’t have to be what you came from. You are more than what people have made you out to be. It was very much like what Star experiences. It’s so cool.

Sara Michelle Fetters: What’s it like? To wake up every morning in a new place, not always knowing what the scene was going to be? What it was you were going to experience?

Sasha Lane: It’s like life. Every morning you wake up you don’t know what’s going to happen next, and you might have a general idea of where the next five minutes might go but that’s about it. That’s such a freeing feeling.

You just pack up your suitcase and hop in a van, and you still don’t know where you’re going necessarily. You don’t know what the next day is going to bring or how you’re going to react to something or how this is going to turn out. It is really freeing, but also exciting and frustrating.

Sara Michelle Fetters: You were in school, you talk about all of these different things that were going on in your life, but you were progressing, you were going in

what one would hope would be the right direction. How hard is it then to look at where these kids are and what they’re doing? How do you make sure that you’re telling their story in a way that is honest and true, but that can also be hopeful?

Sasha Lane: I know that life, and I know those kids. I was one of those kids.

And even though I was in college, and it looks pretty on paper, but mentally? I was

ence. But I do think you need to showcase that. You have to go there to stay true to the reality of the situation.

Sasha Lane: Definitely. Shit’s uncomfortable. Going through those situations and growing up in poverty or abuse, or having people constantly put you down. You’re uncomfortable and that’s just a part of life.

So I definitely wanted to make people uncomfortable, make them have that fear or

Sasha Lane plays Star in American Honey – Photo courtesy of gotceleb.com

not at that point. It wasn’t a progression. I felt like something was missing. I felt very lost. I still was a mess. So as much as portraying that life, it was what I knew, it was how I felt. I knew that there are so many other people who are the same way and that they experience these things and they’re going through these things. Those are my brothers and sisters. They’re my friends.

They’re the people I’ve met on the street because we’re all smoking cigarettes thinking on life, man. Life.

It was representing those people and that, if anything, was what kept driving me to keep doing it even when I was feeling, personally, that this was a lot of emotion for me and I don’t maybe want to go there, to be that vulnerable. But I knew that I had to because, not just me, I had to take myself out of it, but that there’s other people there, too, that I have to think about, that I’m representing, that deserved to be shown in a very authentic and beautiful way.

Sara Michelle Fetters: And how important is, to make sure that you’re able to do that? Because the movie can get pretty bleak and it’s uncomfortable for the audi-

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have that sense of like, where’s the beauty?

Where can we find the beauty? Because that’s what you have to do. I’m constantly wearing this big bubble of shit, basically, and I need to go look for some flowers, I need to look for a soul that makes me feel okay. I think it was good to push that energy through the movie.

Sara Michelle Fetters: What do you say to people that look at this film and look at the subject matter and they have that kneejerk reaction of, “Oh, that’s just too much for me. That’s too hard.” How do you convince them that, no, this is a movie you need to see?

Sasha Lane: I’ve never had someone be like, that’s too hard and uncomfortable. If anything, they’re more like, that’s just useless partying. I’m just like, that’s because you know that these type of things exist, you know this part of America exists. You just refuse to look at it and you’ve become ignorant. You’ve turned your eye because you’ve refused to see it. Those people, yeah, there are certain people who aren’t open.

They aren’t willing. If you don’t see it, it’s like, you won’t get it. You won’t understand

October 14, 2016

it. I wish you would, I wish you would just let it take you and ride it and feel it because, hello, this does exist. You’re just not looking at it.

But, it was really nice last night, at our screening, an older man asked me, “Does this really happen?” And I told him, yeah, that’s why it’s so personal. That was literally kind of me. And all of these kids, it happens all the time. Every day. He told me that it felt very real. That he thought he understood now why this happens.

His mind did open up and he became aware of this part of what America is today. He understood that these are the type of kids that are out there and these are the situations they’re in. I think that’d be amazing if more people could really open up and see that.

Sara Michelle Fetters: How surreal is it to make this kind of movie where you’re digging into these issues and you’re living this life; that you’re out there on the road basically doing this for real and then, suddenly, next thing you know, you’re showing the movie at the Cannes Film Festival on the French Riviera?

Sasha Lane: I know, right?

That’s it exactly; so surreal. To the point where, people are like, “How do you feel right now?” You’re just like, what do you mean? It’s all happening around me and it’s so fast and it’s so overwhelming, but it’s also so beautiful. So bizarre. It was such a giant wow.

Sara Michelle Fetters: You’re getting a lot of talk for this performance, and deservedly so. If people start wanting to hand you awards for this, what will go through your mind?

How do you think you’d feel?

Sasha Lane: I don’t know how to take that. I don’t know how to feel. I’m coming to this point where it’s like, Sasha, you worked really hard and you did a lot that not a lot of people had to do. I have such a love and such a sense of – that was my family. It was such a collective thing and something about me, I don’t know how to personally be like, you want to talk about me? Not everyone else? Just me? I don’t know how to react to that.

It’s really weird. I have a weird feeling about that. I don’t know how to take it all in. I’m just like, wow. Thank you. I appreciate it so much. But I don’t always know how to do that.

Sara Michelle Fetters: But you do know this, acting, this is what you want to be doing with your life?

Sasha Lane: Yes. Definitely. It feels like I’m here for a reason. I found that I can do it [acting] in a way that feels right with me. In a way that I think not a lot of people know that they can go about it in that particular way. I think it’s a blessing the way I was found this career. If I can continue in this fashion, do it in a way that feels right, then I definitely want to do that.

Sara Michelle Fetters: At the end of the day, now that the film has left the festival circuit and is going into general release, what do you want people to be talking about? What do you want them to take away?

Sasha Lane: I want them to see, this idea of these kids and this world and everything, while it’s so dark, that there’s also so much beauty; that we have to find that beauty. You have to understand it and acknowledge it. There is so much light and so much beauty in people in this world you just have to dig a little deeper and look for it. Stop turning a blind eye and become more open to that freedom of life, open to trying to understand people more. You need to understand that people are complex and life, life man, it is really complex. Overall, just chill out and try to understand. Try to see something else. That’s what I hope they see.

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Powerful Birth of a Nation an uncomforting history lesson

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN A&E Writer THE BIRTH OF A NATION Now playing Nat Turner’s slave rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia occurred on August 21, 1831. It lasted just under 48 hours, and by the time it was finished around 70 slaves went from plantation to plantation and killed roughly 60 or so men, women and children during the uprising. In the aftermath of the rebellion, Virginia executed 56 Black slaves suspected of taking part, while over 200 others were killed by angry mobs. Turner himself was hanged on November 11 of that year, his body beheaded, flayed and dismembered, receiving no official burial, his skull rumored to have past from hand-to-hand over the past 180-plus years, and according to a post on Wikipedia last reports having it being held in the collection of a planned civil rights museum scheduled to be built in Gary, Indiana.

The Birth of a Nation attempts to tell Nat Turner’s story. A labor of love for actor-turned-director Nate Parker (The Great Debaters), the movie was the toast of the Sundance Film Festival back in January, being picked up for distribution by Fox Searchlight and immediately christened an Oscar frontrunner even though there were still 11 more months of theatrical releases to sort through. A vital movie, maybe even an important one, Parker’s directorial debut is visually impressive, viscerally hypnotic and emotionally complex. It is also not the instant masterpiece it was initially pegged to be, and that’s even before the filmmaker’s own complex, potentially damning personal history is entered into the equation.

I’m going to try and judge The Birth of a Nation on its own merits. At the same time, it’s admittedly difficult to not let the information that has come to light regarding the 1999 rape allegation concerning Parker and his co-writer Jean McGianni Celestin while the two were roommates and wrestling stars for Penn State University influence my perspective of the finished feature. The specifics are public record, and they are as seedy and as disturbing as you’d imagine,

(Center) Nate Parker as Nat Turner in a scene from The Birth of a Nation – Photo courtesy of wtop.com

the revelation that the woman who accused them committed suicide in 2012 beyond upsetting. So, while I’d like to claim I’m treating the movie with total impartiality, that simply wouldn’t be true, and I honestly can’t say if my reaction to Parker’s opus would have been different had I never known anything about any of this.

I’d like to think I’d still have taken Parker to task for constructing one-dimensional female characters who only appear to exist for the sole purpose of moving all of the male characters, namely the protagonist Nat Turner himself, to take up arms and plant a few of the seeds that would eventually grow into the Civil War. The character’s wife, Cherry (Aja Naomi King), starts out being an intriguing figure only to quickly be forgotten about for long stretches of the narrative. The love between her and Turner never feels real, doesn’t blossom into anything deep or long-lasting, their personal connection nothing more than a device helping fuel the slave’s anger as he grows to believe raising arms against his people’s oppressors is the only course of action remaining to them.

But there is so much the movie gets

right, so much that is electric and vividly hypnotic, these issues aren’t nearly as disastrous as they otherwise might have been. The central story following Turner’s relationship with his owner, the constantly inebriated Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer), is remarkably well told, especially as it concerns his transformation into a respected preacher. The sections where the two travel from plantation to plantation so Nat Turner can use the Bible to preach servitude to his fellow slaves is absolutely horrifying on a number of levels, each adding a layer of depth and understanding that is positively undeniable.

As for the rebellion itself, it is marvelously depicted, never letting up for a moment as Parker showcases the grotesque nuts and bolts of what transpired over those bloody two days. The filmmaker doesn’t water things down, and it becomes fairly clear just how brutal Nat Turner and his men were as they sliced and diced their way through as many plantation owners and their families as they could. At the same time, Parker refuses to sensationalize any of this, allowing viewers to come to their own understanding as to why this was

Turner’s chosen course of action for he and his men, allowing for a deeper emotional connection between the viewer and the main character in the process.

I find it difficult to say just how good Parker is as Nat Turner. In the past, I’ve found him to be excellent in a variety of notable supporting roles in pictures as varied as The Great Debaters, Arbitrage, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints and Beyond the Lights, but I admit to not knowing if I’d have felt the same if I knew then what I do now about his past. Same time, Parker remains a strong actor, one who manages to commit completely to the various roles he chooses to portray, and that he does the same here is hardly a surprise.

But what to make of the two rape sequences that happen in the film, for which there’s no real way to ascertain the historical accuracy of? While I do not fault either Parker and Celestin for including such a depiction, the horrors of slavery in the United States is filled with inhuman stories of depravity and terror that go far beyond anything showcased here, the fact they only dwell on how these incidents affect the men in each woman’s life is both insulting and uncomforting for a multitude of reasons.

Yet, while I’d like to think my unhappiness with these sequences would exist without knowing about the Penn State incident, the fact I do makes them feel all the more egregiously unfortunate.

All of which has me questioning whether or not I should be reviewing the film in the first place. I will say, especially considering what is happening in the world right this second, with the political atmosphere being what it is, with athletes kneeling for the national anthem and Black Lives Matter marching in cities across the U.S., The Birth of Nation is hitting theatres at just the right moment. While I’m not entirely certain the lessons of Turner’s rebellion are ones that should be applied now, it’s just as clear they should still be looked at and analyzed. Whether Parker, considering his own complicatedly sordid history, was the one to bring the story to the screen is an entirely different question, one that I don’t think any of us will feel comfortable answering for quite some time to come.

Thrilling Accountant an entertainment windfall

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN A&E Writer THE ACCOUNTANT Now playing Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) is not the man he appears to be. The quiet, unassuming small town accountant has a unique side business. Thanks to his faceless assistant whom he only communicates with through secured channels, Christian works for some of the worst people in the world, cleaning their books, laundering their funds and making sure they appear squeaky clean to anyone who might take a look. So it’s a minor shock when his latest under the table task is to audit the corporate books of robotics wizard Lamar Blackburn (John Lithgow) and his suspicious, meticulously blunt sister Rita (Jean Smart). Their company, Living Robotics, is an honest one, a refreshing change from his usual clientele to say the least.

Or maybe not. Low-level Living Robotics financial analyst Dana Cummings (Anna Kendrick) was the one who initially found a minor discrepancy on the balance sheets, but she had no concept as to just how egregiously the company’s finances had been manipulated. But just as Christian is on the verge of discovering the extent of the embezzling, he’s handsomely paid for his time and told in no uncertain terms his

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services are no longer required. This does not sit well with the accountant. When he takes a job, he doesn’t stop until all of the pieces fit together completing the puzzle.

Send armed assassins to make certain he can’t finish? That just makes him mad and, make no mistake, no one with any sense wants to make Christian Wolff upset.

As thrillers go, The Accountant is incontestably absurd. Funny thing is, as insane as things are, the film is so expertly mounted by director Gavin O’Connor (Tumbleweeds) and scrupulously scripted

by Bill Dubuque (The Judge) all of the inanities and laughably convenient coincidences aren’t as big a problem as they should be. It’s also superbly acted across the board, all of the principals doing exemplary character work, each finding a way to make their respective parts sing in ways that are memorably impactful.

There’s a lot going on. While the core story deals with Christian’s attempts to unravel the mystery involving Lamar and Rita’s company, while also going out of his way to protect Dana from being murdered by a crack team of mercenaries, that’s only one small part of the story. There’s Brax (Jon Bernthal), an ex-soldier who takes particular glee in dishing out death, almost as if he were bred as a child to do it. His polar opposite is U.S. Treasury Agent Ray King (J.K. Simmons), head of the agency’s Crime Enforcement Division, a good man

October 14, 2016

who feels compelled to uncover secrets that might be the death of him. Finally, there’s his latest apprentice, Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), an analyst whom he knows is capable of greatness even if she doesn’t see it, tasking the youngster to uncover the identity of a faceless adversary he’s personally never been able to put a name to.

What’s remarkable is that somehow Dubuque manages to juggle all of these disparate tangents successfully, including two additional sections involving Christian as an autistic child being raised by a militaristic dad (Robert C. Treveiler) and another with him as a young man in prison making friends with a fatherly mob accountant (Jeffrey Tambor). At barely two hours, it’s a heck of a lot of stuff, but the reason it works is that the screenwriter keeps things tightly self-contained and the central focus relatively narrow, and even with so many subplots the spotlight remains on Christian’s dealings with Living Robotics and his protection of Dana and thankfully little else.

Does it get silly? Yes. Undeniably so.

The climactic twists of fate compound one upon another in almost laughable fashion.

Thing is, everyone plays these moments just straight enough that they never become as silly as they easily could have. O’Connor’s continuous restraint can be found on virtually every frame, the director bringing the same type of subtle yet confident self-disci-

pline he brought to efforts like Miracle and Warrior. He refuses to send things over into the arena of camp or lugubrious melodramatic treacle, so even when things become totally unhinged the emotional authenticity of the moment remains strikingly pure.

It does all play like The Bourne Identity meets Rain Man meets Good Will Hunting meets The Client, and any connection to reality this story has in relation to how individuals with autism are treated is nebulous at best. I can also say that the three main twists that take place I had pegged early on, so for my part I was more interested in seeing how Dubuque and O’Connor were going to make them come to pass than I was anything else. Additionally, the climactic action sequence is fairly sloppy, and if not for a terrific final sequence featuring Affleck, Bernthal and Lithgow, there’s a chance the sheer lunacy of it all might have bothered me far more than it actually did.

Not that any of this ends up mattering.

I had a blast watching The Accountant, enjoyed almost every single second even in the face of unparalleled ridiculousness. The final numbers all added up as far as I was concerned, the movie’s balance sheet notating a surplus of joy so massive and unforeseen the entertainment windfall was practically beyond compare.

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Chilling Under the Shadow an intimately human thriller

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN A&E Writer UNDER THE SHADOW Now playing When her doctor husband Iraj (Bobby Naderi) is shipped to the front lines to serve out his latest stint of required military service, former medical school student Shideh (Narges Rashidi) attempts to look after the pair’s young daughter Dorsa (Avin Manshadi) while missiles target the city. It is 1988 and the family lives in Tehran, and with the war between her country Iran and its neighbor Iraq showing no signs of letting up, maybe mother and daughter should head out to the country and stay with Iraj’s parents until he returns.

But Shideh is stubborn. She doesn’t want to rely on her in-laws. She doesn’t want to take Dorsa away from her home or school. She doesn’t care that her landlord is a fundamentalist jerk who is angry that Iraj allows his wife to drive. She doesn’t care that she has to hide her Jane Fonda tapes and do her morning workouts with the curtains closed and the volume turned down low. None of that matters to Shideh, as she is her own woman, and even if Iranian society doesn’t want her to be one, that doesn’t mean she’s not going to still do whatever she feels is necessary to stay true to her convictions and beliefs all the same.

Based on that synopsis, one would imagine that Under the Shadow is a drama about women suffering under the oppression of the Iranian Cultural Revolution, especially as it concerned the country’s eight-year war with Iraq. And this would be correct, this is what exceedingly talented writer/director Babak Anvari’s featurelength debut is about, and what it analyzes in unsettling detail. But there is an additional element to the tale, one that pushes it into territories that are as startling as they

Dorsa (Avin Manshadi) in Under the Shadow – Photo courtesy of screenrant.com

are tragic, the film ingeniously using genre tropes and tricks to push its points about female suppression and religious intolerance into a place of unforgettable genius that blew me away.

That additional element? There is something in the apartment with Shideh and Dorsa, something that is stalking the little girl with increasing rage and cruelty. Signs suggest it is a djinn, an evil spirit that has marked the youngster, an entity that would like to devour her soul. Problem is, because of the political and religious climate, Shideh can’t just grab her daughter into her arms and run into the street for help as doing so would get her arrested and likely flogged. If she’s not careful, she’ll be labeled a hysterical woman unfit to be a mother; if she does nothing, if she continues to battle this threat on her own, it’s very likely her daughter will be the one who suffers the most. Oh. Yes. There’s also the little matter of that continuing war with Iraq; missiles currently raining down on civilian targets inside Tehran, targets just like the apartment complex Shideh and Dorsa call home.

Much like The Babadook was about

dealing with loss and grief in the wake of unfathomable tragedy more than it was a horror tale about a malevolent spirit, Under the Shadow cannily uses a fairly standard, if also expertly staged, ghost story to obsess over a character-driven story arc involving issues of marriage, motherhood, religious fundamentalism and feminism in ways I have seldom seen before. Anvari subtly builds tension, showing how Shideh’s longing to remain true to herself is undone more by the dictates of those in power than by the djinn hunting her daughter. The director presents an incredibly multifaceted and thought-provoking character study, adding layers of introspective complexity that are absolutely astonishing thanks to the film’s refreshingly raw candor.

Not that Anvari skimps on any of the thrills or chills. Forget Don’t Breathe or The Witch, this movie is 2016’s scariest piece of pulp fiction. The director, handling the mechanics of his thriller as if he were channeling John Carpenter, William Friedkin, Stanley Kubrick and Henri-Georges Clouzot all at the same time, unveiling a restrained yet also seriously unsettling potboiler that

builds its frights with disquietly petrifying ease. The way doors creak, the idea that lethal threats are hovering just outside the frame, the fact the unseen is every bit as terrifying as what is standing right there in the hallway, it’s all perfect. Anvari proves to be a maestro of the macabre, the technical facets so strong it’s hard to find a single fault as far as any of those aspects are, and that includes the sound design, cinematography, production design and editing.

None of which would matter if he doesn’t nail the character dynamics, which he does spectacularly. Shideh is one of the most refreshingly complex characters, male or female, I’ve had the pleasure to get to know this entire year. Not always easy to relate to, she sometimes does things that feel selfish to the point of being obnoxious. But she’s also kind to her neighbors even when they casually toss insults or innuendos right in her face, going out of her way to look in on those in need and rushing to make sure all are okay when missiles rain down upon Tehran. Shideh is also a ferociously protective mother, doing all she can to make sure Dorsa stays safe even when doing so means she must dodge religious and law enforcement authorities who look at her actions as being nothing short of illegal.

Rashidi is excellent, as is young Manshadi, both proving to be a strong team as they navigate their way through the plot’s serpentine ins and outs. But this is Anvari’s baby, the filmmaker composing a fantastic script while also proving to be an assertive force behind the camera. Under the Shadow isn’t just a sensational thriller, it is also a mesmerizing look at a country and culture we here in the U.S. continue to know precious little about. Anvari delivers a phenomenal debut, the thought-provokingly personal human horrors he explores so violently universal I almost didn’t need the subtitles to understand exactly what it was he was trying to say.

Snarky Masterminds an absurdist satire

throughout, the inherent lunacy of the tale largely speaking for itself.

Hess, however, is no Coen brother, and while I liked how he tried to ground things in a weird, surrealistic form of rural MidAmerican practicality, he never is able to straddle the line between comedy, satire and drama as cleanly or as clearly as I kept feeling he wanted to. There’s no edge, nor deeper potency, and in the middle of a Presidential election cycle where many of the issues at the center of the political discourse are decidedly front and center here, the fact Hess fails to connect all the dots in a meaningful way is deeply disappointing to be sure.

Thankfully, the cast is willing to do just about anything for a laugh, and even if they’re not all utilized as well as they arguably could have been (Jones and McKinnon in particular), each and every one of them

still manages to have at least one moment that’s good for a solid chuckle or guffaw.

Galifianakis is surprisingly decent, and while he’s not exactly stretching himself (his version of David is basically just a kinder, gentler version of Alan from The Hangover trilogy), the actor still manages to tap into the character’s inner workings in a way that is oddly effective. More than that, he has striking chemistry with Wiig, the pair’s blossoming romantic longings growing in authentic potency as the story progresses.

The real scene-stealers, however, are Sudeikis and Wilson. The former gets to go a little darker than he usually gets the opportunity here, his happily merciless killer taking carnivorous joy in his work, especially if it allows him to get his hands literally bloody. As for Wilson, he’s in full Wes Anderson mode here, and comparisons to the character he played in the pair’s classic 1996 debut Bottle Rocket have to be intentional. It’s a marvelous, snidely obnoxious performance, Steve’s smarmy certainty in his own intellectual superiority, as wrong as it might be, a constant source of hilarity whenever this imbecilic know-it-all makes an appearance.

It’s impossible not to wonder what might have been, if the Coens or Anderson had directed instead; their sensibilities are matched so closely to the vibe the script appears to be going out of its way to generate, Hess’ inability to do so is frustratingly noticeable all the way through. Still, Masterminds has moments of hilarity I simply cannot dismiss, and while the movie itself failed to steal my heart it managed to abscond with just enough of my affection I’d be tempted to give it a second look at some point in the not so distant future.

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Seattle Gay News 11

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN A&E Writer MASTERMINDS Now playing In the summer of 1997, longtime Loomis Fargo armored truck driver David Ghantt (Zach Galifianakis) is convinced by his expartner Kelly Campbell (Kristen Wiig) to help her childhood friend Steve Chambers (Owen Wilson) rob his employer blind.

Unhappily engaged to the mentally imbalanced Jandice (Kate McKinnon), head over heels infatuated with Kelly, the good-natured, far too trusting everyman agrees to participate in the crime, becoming the key component in a theft that nets the conspirators a cool $17 million in stolen cash.

Thing is, Steve has no intention of sharing any of the ill-gotten gains. He has Kelly convince David he needs to go hide out in Mexico, promising to send his cut of the take down to him after the heat dies down. But that’s not what Steve is going to do. Instead, he’s going to call the Mexican authorities and attempt to turn his clueless compatriot in. When that doesn’t work, he hires a particularly bloodthirsty hitman (Jason Sudeikis) to do David in, certain in his belief that with him dead and gone the FBI agents (Leslie Jones, Jon Daly) investigating the case won’t be able to discover his identity.

Masterminds is like a “Saturday Night Live” remake of Fargo only as seen through the same cockeyed point-of-view director Jared Hess brought to his surprise hit 2004 debut Napoleon Dynamite. It’s messy and unfocused, its satire never as pointed or as effective as it should be, while its more absurdist comedic beats are por-

David (Zach Galifianakis) & Kelly (Kristen Wiig) – Photo courtesy of youtube.com

trayed with such tongue-in-cheek certainty the laughs they generate aren’t exactly massive. But with a cast this strong there’s still plenty about this effort to applaud, and admittedly I spent much of the film’s 90 or so minutes grinning ear-to-ear, the crazed ridiculousness of it all winning me over more often than not.

Based on a true story, the largest cash heist in U.S. history, in fact, how much of Chris Bowman (Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life), Hubbel Palmer (Humble Pie) and Emily Spivey’s (“King of the Hill,” “Saturday Night Live”) screenplay and story follows the actual tale I do not know. What I will say is that the trio have certainly done their Joel and Ethan Coen homework, elements of Blood Simple, Burn After Reading, Raising Arizona as well as the aforementioned Fargo obvious throughout. They play up the truth-is-stranger-than-fiction angle

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EDUCATE. INSPIRE. TAKE ACTION.

Music by Laura Kaminsky Libretto by Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed

NOVEMBER 11-19 WASHINGTON HALL SEATTLEOPERA.ORG/ASONE

This important exhibit

reveals the ruthless Nazi campaign against gay

united states holocaust memorial museum

AS ONE

Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals: 1933 - 1945 men, who were among those deemed “enemies of the state.”

A touring exhibit of the USHMM WITH CONTEMPORARY PHOTO ESSAY

robin hammond

WHERE LOVE IS ILLEGAL

Presented alongside a contemporary photo essay, Where Love is Illegal, these exceptional exhibits explore an ongoing narrative of persecution and bold resistance.

Where Love is Illegal is the work of acclaimed photojournalist Robin Hammond.

A TRANSGENDER STORY. A NEW OPERA EXPERIENCE. This November, join Seattle Opera for the Northwest Premiere of the intimate chamber opera As One, a contemporary exploration of a transgender protagonist’s journey told through two voices. With empathy and humor, we experience Hannah’s youthful challenges in a small town on the West coast, her quest for knowledge and understanding, her discovery of the larger trans community, and her inspiring journey to be true to herself. As One is performed by a baritone and a mezzo-soprano with string quartet at the historic (and newly renovated!) Washington Hall in the heart of the Central District.

• • • • •

Presented at Washington Hall, 153 14th Ave, Seattle 5 Performances: November 11, 13M, 17, 18, and 19 Evenings at 7:30 PM; Sunday matinee at 4:00 PM Tickets: $25* & $40 Performances are 21+ with cash bar

Open Sundays and Wednesdays 10am - 4pm | September 11 - October 31 Plan your visit at HolocaustCenterSeattle.org call to schedule community and student groups: 206-582-3000

Community Tours : Richard

School Tours: Julia

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS GILMAN FAMILY FOUNDATION Carter Subaru | Congregation Tikvah Chadashah | First Security Bank GSBA | Lifelong Aids Alliance | Pride Foundation| Seattle Gay News

*$25 tickets for As One are in the balcony and may have partial view due to the balcony railing.

Henry and Sandra Friedman HOLOCAUST CENTER FOR HUMANITY

BUY TICKETS 206.389.7676 SEATTLEOPERA.ORG/ASONE

2045 Second AVE, Seattle | Second & Lenora Learn more about the Center’s important work at

2016/17 Season Sponsor: Seattle Opera Guild, in memory of Marian E. Lackovich and Captain Louis J. Lackovich As One Production Sponsors: The Wallace Foundation, Pride Foundation

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Blandly tiresome Girl on the Train an almost total misfire

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN A&E Writer THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN Now playing Rachel Watson (Emily Blunt) is a drunk. Unable to get over the divorce from her former husband Tom (Justin Theroux), she rides the train into the city each and every day seemingly just because it goes right past her former house. From there, she can see him, if only for a moment or two, lovingly embracing his current wife Anna (Rebecca Ferguson) and the pair’s infant daughter, dreaming of the life that might have been had things between them gone just a tiny bit differently.

She also makes up stories about the beautiful blonde and her seemingly virile husband who live just a few houses down, imagining an entire, blissfully happy fantasy life for the two even though she’s never made either of their acquaintances. But when she spies the woman kissing another man from the train’s window, Rachel is furious, so much so she ends up going on an alcoholic bender the likes of which she hasn’t experienced in months. Waking up at home bruised, battered and covered in blood, she has no idea what happened the night before. Worse, the woman she’d been observing from the train, Megan Hipwell (Haley Bennett), has gone missing, her husband Scott (Luke Evans) the primary suspect in her disappearance.

This is the basic plot of director Tate Taylor’s (The Help, Get On Up) adaptation of Paula Hawkins’ best-selling novel The Girl on the Train. Early on, screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson (Secretary, Chloe) attempts to emulate the author’s triptych storytelling style, presenting the narrative from all three woman’s varying perspectives, planting the seeds of the darkly disturbing, sexually depraved mystery to come. She and Taylor do a wonderful job

(l) Anna (Rebecca Ferguson) & Tom (Justine Theroux) – Photo courtesy of bustle.com

setting the mood, editors Andrew Buckland and Michael McCusker (The Wolverine) moving between Rachel, Anna and Megan’s varying points of view with apparent ease.

All of which is great for about 20 minutes, the first act of the film an intriguing netherworld of a possibility and intrigue that’s enthralling. But in stunning short order, Taylor’s handling of things starts to become less self-assured, while at the same time Wilson’s script has trouble maintaining its focus, and suddenly what worked reasonably well enough on the page becomes downright laughable when depicted up on the screen. Worse than that, though, there’s just no energy propelling events forward, Rachel’s supposedly dogged pursuit of the truth having all the enthusias-

tic drive of a kiddie car stuck going in reverse. The movie is flat-out boring, and if not for Blunt’s sublime, fully committed performance, as well as the whacked-out barnburner of a lunatic climax, there’d be shockingly little worthwhile to be talking about.

The mystery itself, the solution to which I admittedly had pegged about halfway through reading the book, is honestly fairly lame, and had this been an episode of “Prime Suspect” Det. Supt. Jane Tennison would have had things solved by afternoon tea. All of which makes the detectives here look even dumber than they do in the book, which basically means the great Allison Janney is stuck portraying a moron, and the fact she never follows any of the more obvious clues is a major sticking point I found

impossible to get past.

More than that, the two side stories involving Anna and Megan just aren’t interesting. If anything, both women come off looking like shrill, soulless ciphers, both sucking all of the oxygen out of the picture as they manipulate their way from one crisis to the next. Ferguson and Bennett, both fine actresses who deserve better, are stranded with nothing substantive to do or play, the interior layers that potentially could have made their characters at least moderately interesting never materializing at any point during the proceedings.

The ace in the hole, of course, is Blunt.

She’s all-in, diving into Rachel with fearless abandon, and while her depiction of alcoholic decrepitude isn’t on the same level as say Ray Milland’s in The Lost Weekend or Mickey Rourke and Faye Dunaway’s in Barfly, that has more to do with the patronizing silliness of the story itself than it does with her ferocious devotion to the role. Blunt does a terrific job of cementing Rachel as an unreliable narrator, and thus her depressed frenzy as she tries to connect one dot to the next without being able to recall how they are supposed to fit together is instantly, tragically relatable, and it’s all thanks to her.

But it’s all for naught, and even with the unhinged lunacy of the climax proving to be a cringe-worthy force of unintentional, and uncomfortable, hysterics, The Girl on the Train is so leadenly paced and so blandly shot – this is sadly far from the usually reliable cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen’s (Far from the Madding Crowd, The Hunt) finest hour – even its great moments sink underneath the surface like a lead balloon. As thriller’s go, Taylor’s latest comes close to being an irredeemable misfire, Blunt’s impressive performance the single saving grace that keeps it from going off the rails completely.

AS ONE

continued from cover located at 153 14th Avenue, is a Central District venue that once showcased performances by Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, and was also home to On the Boards in its earlier years. The opera is meant to be both an aesthetic experience as well as a vehicle for meaningful conversation Based in part on true events, As One offers a narrative that’s both specific and universal.

“This beautiful, brave opera is about becoming whole – becoming true to one’s self,” says As One director L. Zane Jones, Artistic Director of Seattle’s Civic Rep. “It is one woman’s journey to becoming her authentic self; a love story – an adventure – and finally, a celebration.”

Seattle has never experienced opera in quite this way before. In As One, the grandeur of Seattle Opera’s mainstage performances is stripped away in favor of a vulnerable, immediate approach. With a string quartet and singers performing in-theround, this production puts the audience right in the heart of the action.

Award-winning filmmaker and librettist Kimberly Reed (Prodigal Sons), and award-winning librettist Mark Campbell (Silent Night) created the powerful story and text for As One, and Laura Kaminsky, a former chair of the music department at Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts, composed the music, which premiered September 4, 2014 at the Brooklyn Academy

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(l) Hannah before will be sung by baritone Jorell Williams, (r) Hannah after will be portrayed by Taylor Raven – Photo courtesy of Seattle Opera

October 14, 2016

Celebrating 41 Years!

of Music in New York. (The Seattle Opera Premiere of As One, with set design by G.W. (Skip) Mercier and costume design by Melanie Taylor Burgess, will be conducted

by John Keene.)

In this 90-minute opera, presented in English, the single protagonist, Hannah, is portrayed by two singers – a baritone and a mezzo-soprano. Hannah before transition will be sung by Jorell Williams, praised by The New York Times as “magnificent” and “rich toned.” Hannah after transition will be sung by Taylor Raven, a rising star currently in residency with Pittsburgh Opera.

Throughout the course of 15 songs, the audience will experience Hannah’s challenges growing up in a small town on the West Coast, her quest for knowledge and understanding, and her discovery of the Trans community. The opera embraces humor and heartbreaking realities within this personal narrative. While Hannah before is

faced with violence, Hannah after names those who did not survive similar attacks.

At the end of the opera, the protagonist finds peace, as well as her own self-acceptance and love, in rural Norway.

As One premieres in Seattle on Friday, Nov. 11, and runs through Saturday, Nov. 19, with performances on Friday, Nov. 11 at 7:30pm (doors at 6:30pm), Sunday matinee, Nov. 13 at 4pm (doors at 3pm), ThursdaySaturday, Nov. 17, 18 & 19 at 7:30pm (doors at 6:30pm). Tickets prices are $25 and $40.

Tickets are available online at seattleopera. org or by calling the Seattle Opera ticket office: 206-389-7676 or 800-426-1619.

Tickets may also be purchased at the Seattle Opera box office by visiting 1020 John Street (two blocks west of Fairview), Monday-Friday, 9am-3pm.

Prior to the performance, attendees can grab a beverage or drink from the in-house bar to enjoy during the performance. After-

ward, audience members are invited to participate in a discussion on topics affecting the LGBTQ community.

This Seattle premiere is supported in part by The Wallace Foundation and Pride Foundation. As One reflects Seattle Opera’s commitment to creating a safe and welcoming space within the arts. Moving forward, the company’s work will reflect the diverse communities of the Pacific Northwest in terms of age, race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and cultural/multicultural background.

Seattle Opera is working to reduce barriers that have historically made the art form inaccessible to certain groups.

MARK MORRIS

Hodgkin created the backdrop of changing colors as the Qasimovs sat cross-legged on a platform encircled by the Ensemble.

Three additional platforms for the dancers were configured in a horseshoe around the musicians with steps leading from the highest platform to the floor. This design allowed the dancers to move behind, beside, among, and in front of the static performers as they built a musical universe of love, longing, despair and madness. The platforms were especially effective in showing – without unnatural emphasis – the distance between male and female contact in this culture, with the women and men often segregated by the different levels, or

the gesture creates a veil of privacy around their love that the audience can plainly see.

One of my favorite MMDG dancers, Dallas McMurray, performed this section with the lovely Stacy Martorana.

Morris uses four pairs of dancers to represent Leyla and Majnun during the four stages of their initial love, suffering from parental disapproval, involuntary marriage of Leyla to another, and transformation of their love through death. All the dancers wear identical costumes – jodhpur-style white trousers with blue tunics for the men, orange flowing dresses with long sleeves for the women. When a dancer becomes one of the lovers, they don a bright orange

continued from cover

modern dances inspired by classical music – “Acis and Galatea,” “Mozart Dances,” “L’Allegro, Il Penseroso ed Il Moderato,” “Orfeo ed Euridice,” to name only a few – Morris has ventured East with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble. This new collaboration, “Leyla and Majnun,” is based upon an ancient love story as cherished and familiar to the Arab and Indian worlds as “Romeo and Juliet” is to the Western world. Danced to the mugham vocals of Azerbaijani singers Alim Qasimov and his daughter Fargana Qasimova – national treasures in their country – the multi-layered story, dance, and music were a feast for the senses as well as the intellect. I was fortunate to see this work twice, but wish I could consider its beautiful complexities many times more.

It began with a demonstration of the mugham form, a style of improvisational singing to the accompaniment of traditional instruments.

A folksong, “Loneliness is painful,” set the tone, performed by two young Azerbaijani singers to the plaintive sounds of the tar (a small, double-bellied lute) and the kamancheh (a small bowed instrument balanced on the knee). The vibrating, ornamented notes of both the voices and instruments sounded like what you might hear in a bazaar in Iran, Turkey, Morocco, Georgia, or Azerbaijan. The wailing quality, the intensity of the voices, the beauty of the singers’ hand gestures, as if lofting notes into the air, connected the listener to a music tradition much stranger and more ancient than what we usually hear in the dance world.

One might initially imagine cobras uncoiling from baskets and girls in veils and harem pants. How, I wondered, could a Western choreographer – even one as great as Mark Morris – avoid the orientalist clichés that such music might conjure up in the Western mind?

Part of the solution was the presence of the eleven-member Silk Road Ensemble, musicians from around the world who weave international styles and instruments together in new ways. If you’ve seen the excellent documentary “Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble” you’ll recognize some of the players: Wu Man on the big-bellied pipa, Evan Ziporyn on the clarinet. With their colleagues they brought a deep, rounded, orchestral quality to the traditional sound, creating a structure for the dancers as well as a frame for the improvisations that characterize mugham singing.

The score is based on the first Azerbaijani opera “Leyla and Majnun” (1906) by Uzeyir Hajibeyli, which was also the first successful integration of western orchestral style with traditional eastern forms.

A dramatic abstract painting by Howard

Seattle Opera’s 2016/17 Season Sponsor: Seattle Opera Guild – In memory of Marian E. Lackovich and Captain Louis J. Lackovich

Dancers from left: Rita Donahue, Michelle Yard, Domingo Estrada, Jr. Musicians (seen behind) from left: Fargana Qasimova, Rauf Islamov, Shawn Conley – Photo by Susana Millman

by showing Leyla and Majnun dancing the same steps together, but at different angles and on different levels from one another.

This strategy created a palpable distance, making the air itself a metaphor of separation and longing.

In this dance, Morris called upon his early training in folk dancing in Seattle’s Koleda Folk Ensemble. There he mastered the complex rhythms of Balkan chain and circle dances, which he used to develop highly stylized gestures of longing between the two lovers and of community solidarity.

In one particularly beautiful demonstration of this approach, Leyla and Majnun court each other by taking turns moving around their beloved in a deep fifth-position step with arms outstretched as if to embrace, while the lover twirls in the pocket of air created by the partner’s movement. At no moment do they touch, but the intimacy of

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scarf for Layla or a white scarf for Majnun.

This strategy worked perfectly for me, but my dance buddy didn’t like the dresses – she thought they looked like cheap polyester and she hated the color. I liked the color but, yes, I did have a moment’s doubt about the fabric – yet it flowed beautifully, and the bright orange matched the very gorgeous gown and headscarf worn by Fargana Qasimova as her expressive voice soared and sank with the development of the story.

Another moment that I find fixed in my memory is the section in which Majnun is driven mad with longing (“majnun” means “crazy” or “obsessed” in Arabic). Danced by Seattle’s own Aaron Loux, despair is shown with classic gestures – hands pressing both sides of the face, arm flung over the forehead – yet these stylized gestures are combined with a hopping, bending leap that makes the cliché of despair into a tragic, constrained

October 14, 2016

About Seattle Opera Established in 1963, Seattle Opera is committed to serving the people of the Pacific Northwest with performances of the highest caliber and through innovative educational and engagement programs for all. Each year, more than 95,000 people attend Seattle Opera performances, and more than 400,000 people of all ages are served through school performances, radio broadcasts, and more. By drawing our communities together, and by offering opera’s unique fusion of music and drama, we create lifeenhancing experiences that speak deeply to people’s hearts and minds. Connect with Seattle Opera on Facebook, Twitter, SoundCloud, and through the Seattle Opera channel on Classical King FM. 98.1.

Courtesy of Seattle Opera

sense of loss, as if a gazelle were trapped in a net it can never escape. As this solo unfolded, the rest of the dancers, segregated by sex and standing on different platforms, executed repetitive movements in a chorus effect that reiterated and developed Majnun’s dance of despair. As Alim Qasimov’s voice rose and broke with the intensity of these opposing dances, I could feel Majnun’s anguish on a visceral level.

Like “Romeo and Juliet” the protagonists are prevented from marrying and their lives end tragically, but unlike Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers, Majnun’s insanity is, in this tradition, a path to union with the divine. The story seems more like Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde,” transformed by love into eternal, mystical unity, or like Dante’s love for Beatrice that ends in Paradise, than the tale of two impetuous young people. In the final segment of the dance, the lovers are surrounded by their community as they execute a dance of death and transformation, finally falling backward into the arms of comrades who lay them gently side-by-side. Not only was this dance a moving culmination of earthly tragedy, but on a meta-note, I was particularly moved by the presence of the two mothers standing like statues of grief, holding their long skirts to their eyes in a classic pantomime of sorrow. The mothers were danced by MMDG’s longest-running members of the company, Michelle Yard and Lauren Grant – a beautiful touch for those of us who have been following this troupe for years, and who have watched these two wonderful dancers develop and expand in one brilliant dance after another. The life-expectancy of a dancer is short, though MMDG dancers seem able to hang in for longer than most. Yet we know that the day will come when we don’t see Michelle and Lauren on stage anymore, and we, with them, put a hanky to our eyes.

“Leyla and Majnun” has so many layers of performance, so many types of excellence, and so much to challenge and affect the entire sensorium of the audience that there may be a thesis or two written about it. A lot of us are going to go right out and find some Ajerbaijani music to listen to, and, as usual, we dance lovers will hope that “Leyla and Majnun” will be filmed for distribution. (Thank goodness, after a couple of decades, “L’Allegro” has finally been released!) In the meantime, if you get a chance to see this amazing work, or to hear the Silk Road Ensemble, don’t miss it. Life, love, and culture are complex, and the combination of Yo-Yo Ma and Mark Morris – first seen in “Falling Down Stairs” – shows both artists at their manifold best. It’s not the easy delight of “The Hard Nut” or the heart-wringing tragedy of “V,” but it’s a road to something new – a silk road to the seriousness and the beauties of another culture.

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88 KEYS - 315 2nd Ave. S. - 839-1300 BALTIC ROOM - 1207 Pine St. - 625-4444 THE BOTTLENECK LOUNGE 2328 E. Madison St. - 323-1098 C.C. ATTLE’S BAR & GRILLE 1701 E. Olive Way - 726-0565

THE CANTERBURY - 534 15th Ave. E. - 322-3130 CHANGES IN WALLINGFORD 2103 N. 45th - 545-8363 THE CRESCENT - 1413 E. Olive Way - 720-8188 THE CUFF COMPLEX 1533 13th Ave. - 323-1525 DIESEL BAR - 1413 14th Ave. - 322-1080 GLO’S - 1621 E. Olive Way - 324-2577 GNOCCHI BAR - 1542 12th Ave - 328-4285 HOT MAMA’S PIZZA - 700 E. Pine St. - 322-6444 JAZZ ALLEY - 2033 6th Ave. E. - 441-9729 JULIA’S - 300 Broadway Ave. E. - 860-1818 KREMWERK - 1809 Minor Ave. #10 - 682-2935 MAE’S CAFE 6412 Phinney Ave. N. - 782-1222 MADISON PUB - 1315 E. Madison - 325-6537 NEIGHBOURS - 1509 Broadway - 324-5358 OUT WEST - 5401California Ave. SW THE PINE BOX - 1600 Melrose Ave - 588-0375 POCO WINE ROOM 1408 E. Pine St. - 322-9463

GLSEN ONYX LEATHER • SEAMEC • STOUT • PURR

• POCO WINE ROOM

• THE CUFF COMPLEX • GNOCCHI BAR

• UNICORN • POST OPTIONS •WILDROSE • HOT HOUSE

E. PINE ST.

ON

E.

PONY - 1221 E. Madison St. - 324-2854 PURR - 1518 11th Ave. - 325-3112 R PLACE - 619 E. Pine - 322-8828 RE-BAR - 1114 Howell at Boren - 233-9873 SEATTLE EAGLE - 314 E. Pike - 621-7591 SHORTY’S 2222 2nd Ave - 441-5449 SPINNAKER BAY BREWING 5718 Rainier Ave S - 725-BEER(2337) STOUT -1530 11th Ave - 397-3825 TOULOUSE PETIT 601 Queen Anne Ave N - 432-9069 UNICORN - 1118 E Pike - 325-6492 WILDROSE - 1021 E. Pike - 324-9210 ZIPPY’S GIANT BURGERS 5633 Airport Way S - 466-5954 9614 14th Ave SW - 763-1347

RETAIL SHOPS

CASTLE SUPERSTORE #17 1017 E. Pike St - 204-0126 DOGHOUSE LEATHERS 1312 E. Pike St. - 257-0231 EMERSON SALON - 909 E. Pike St. - 323-7437 NEW YORK EXCHANGE 231 Broadway Ave E - 726-7978 ONYX LEATHER - 1605 12th Ave. #8 - 328-1965 PANACHE - 225 Broadway E. - 726-3300 RUCKUS 1465 E Republican St. - 257-4805 STAN’S ADULT SUPERSTORE 9630 16th Ave. SW - 762-3299 TOYS IN BABELAND - 707 E. Pike St. - 328-2914 UNDER U 4 MEN 709 Broadway Ave. E. - 324-6446 WILD AT HEART 1111 NW Leary Way - 782-5538 YOUR CHOICE VIDEO 9811 16TH AVE SW - 768-0711

LOVER’S 193 Telegraph Road - (360) 752-1862 RUMORS CABARET 1119 Railroad - (306) 671-1849

EVERETT

BAR MYX - 1212 California St. - 425-610-4071 LOVER’S - 112 SE Everett - (425) 353-3607 LOVER’S - 3402 Broadway - (425) 252-8754

KENT

LOVER’S 25801 104th Ave. S.E. - (253) 852-1720 THE FANTASY SHOP 604 Central Ave. S. - (253) 850-8428 NASHVILLE’S SPORTS BAR (Drag Shows) 114 - Railroad Ave. N. - (253) 852 - 0909

October 14, 2016

IS AD

ST.

M

• DOGHOUSE LEATHERS

E. PIKE ST. • CHOP SUEY • MADISON PUB • DIESEL BAR • PONY

BELLINGHAM

Visit us online www.sgn.org

• THE GASLIGHT INN

E. OLIVE ST.

E. UNION ST.

SEATTLE

• RUCKUS

E. UNION ST.

LA CONNER

THE HERON INN & WATERGRASS DAY SPA 117 Maple Ave. - (877) 883-8899 info@theheron.com

OLYMPIA

DARBY’S CAFE 211 5th Ave. S.E. - (360) 357-6229 LOVER’S 3959 Martin Way E. Suite D - (360) 456-7300 JAKES - 311 4th Ave. E. - (360) 956-3247 URBAN ONION 116 Legion Way - (360) 943-9242

PORT ANGELES MAPLE ROSE INN 112 Reservoir Rd - (800) 570-2007

SPOKANE

ANDY’S 1401 W. 1st Ave. - (509) 747 - 0304 IRV’S (Drag Shows) 415 W. Sprague Ave. - (509) 624 - 4450 NYNE BAR AND BISTRO 232 W. Sprague Ave. - (509) 474 -1621 SPOTLIGHT LOUNGE 321 W. Sprague Ave. - (509) 624 - 0722

TACOMA

CASTLE SUPERSTORE 6015 Tacoma Mall Blvd. - (253) 471-0391 CLUB SILVERSTONE 739½ St. Helens Ave. - (253) 404-0273 THE FANTASY SHOP 2301 6th Ave. - (253) 272-6640 LOVER’S 7002 Tacoma Mall Blvd., #F - (253) 475-2271 THE MIX - 635 St. Helens Ave. - (253) 383-4327 RAINBOW CENTER 2215 Pacific Ave. - (253) 383-2318 SHAKABRAH JAVA CAFE 2618 6th Ave. - (253) 572-2787 TANDEM FOR GEAR, CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES 3019 6th Ave, Ste. B - (253) 301-3026

TUKWILA

LOVER’S 530 Southcenter Blvd. - (206) 248-5085

WENATCHEE

THE CELLAR CAFE 240 N. Mission St. - (509) 662-1722

Seattle Gay News 21

Meetings Events Activities

FOR A CALENDAR LISTING: Send details to: SGN, Attn: Community Calendar, 1707 23rd Ave., Seattle, WA 98122. SGN phone: 324-4297. E-mail: sgn2@sgn. org. INCLUDE: Date, time, location, contact phone # for publication (if possible), brief description of event & sponsoring organization. DEADLINE: Tuesday 5pm.

ACCESSIBILITY: Is your event accessible to LGBTQ people with disabilities? See Jean’s List webpage www. scn.org/activism/calendar/disabilities.html for Marla Nonken’s disabilities accommodations lists.

NOTE: Phone numbers accompanying listings are within area code (206) & locations of meetings/ events are in Seattle unless otherwise noted.

community calendar

SATURDAY - October 15

Twist Queer Film Festival (10/13-10/23). For a list of films & venues visit www.twistfilmfest.org “Tiny: Streetwise Revisited” Photo Exhibit (9/1511/3). Central Library, 1000 4th Ave. 30 years worth of images bring the viewer along with Erin “Tiny” Blackwell on her journey from a homeless teenager on the streets of Seattle to a mother of 10 children. Tiny grows up in difficult circumstances & uses her intelligence & stamina to create a life for herself & her family. www.spl.org Seattle Frontrunners Fun Run. 9am. Greenlake (outside Evans Pool). Every Saturday. GLBT running & walking club sponsors weekly runs, monthly potlucks, track & field activity, annual Run With Pride. 448-8518. www.seattlefrontrunners.org.

Yoga With Andrew Conner. 9:30-11am. Amor Spiritual Center, 2528 Beacon Ave, Suite B. Meets every Saturday. A love offering is suggested but no one will be turned away.

Get OUT There Service Project for LGBTQ Youth.

10am-2pm. Genessee Park, 4316 S Genessee St. In honor of LGBT History Month, local non-profits OUT There Adventures & EarthCorp are teaming up to organize an LGBTQ & allies youth service project connecting youth to nature at Genessee Park. 608-772-2883, outthereadventures.org Crystal Meth Anonymous. 10:30am. Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church, 1729 Harvard Ave. Also meets Mon @ 6:30pm, Thurs @ 6:30pm, Sun @ 6:30pm. More info: crystalmeth.org.

Lambert House Queer Rec. 1pm. 1818 15th Ave. 3rd Saturday each month. Outdoor & indoor adventures for youth ages 22 & under. www.lamberthouse.org Seattle Prime Timers Monthly Potluck. 2pm. Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church, 1729 Harvard Ave. Enter via the north parking lot where there is FREE parking. There is a $4 per person door fee to help pay for the cost of the room. Please bring a dish to serve 8 or more. www. seattleprimetimers.org Oasis Youth Center in Tacoma - For Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Questioning Youth, Ages 14-25. 6pm-12 midnight. Call for location & details. Every Saturday. (253) 671-2838. www.oasisyouth center.org.

(Also meets Thursdays & Fridays 4-10pm.)

Rainbow Duplicate Bridge. 6pm. Bus-accessible Central Area location. Every Saturday. Games also on Tuesdays & Thursdays. $4 fee includes coffee & snacks.

For more information visit www.rainbowbridgeclub.org or email rainbowbridgeclub@gmail.com

SUNDAY - October 16

For information on GLBT-friendly religious/spiritual organizations in the Greater Seattle area, call or email Rick at the SGN office: 206-324-4297; sgn2@ sgn.org.

Twist Queer Film Festival (10/13-10/23). For a list of films & venues visit www.twistfilmfest.org “Tiny: Streetwise Revisited” Photo Exhibit (9/1511/3). Central Library, 1000 4th Ave. 30 years worth of images bring the viewer along with Erin “Tiny” Blackwell on her journey from a homeless teenager on the streets of Seattle to a mother of 10 children. Tiny grows up in difficult circumstances & uses her intelligence & stamina to create a life for herself & her family. www.spl.org Gay Men’s Bowling in Lynnwood. 9:30am. Brunswick Majestics Lane, Lynnwood. 9:30am Every Sunday.

Spectators welcome. Join us for lunch afterwards!

Sponsored by the Snohomish County Gay Men’s Task Force. For info email John at johndmarsh@mac.com; www.gaysnohomish.org “Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals:1933-1945” (Wednesdays & Sundays 9/11-10/31). 10am-4pm.

Holocaust Center for Humanity, 2045 2nd Ave. $10 suggested donation. Reservations required. HolocaustCenterSeattle.org or 206-582-3000.

Ethyl Forever Car Club, Pacific NW Region Lambda Car Club Monthly Tire Kick/Social. 10:30am. Randy’s Restaurant, 10016 E Marginal Way S (south of the Museum of Flight). Meets the 3rd Sunday each month.

Open to all LGBTQ persons & friends who have an interest in the automobile, not just collector or performance vehicles. ethylforever@hotmail.com Seattle Sunday Bowling. 10:30am. West Seattle Bowl, 4505 39th Ave SW (at SW Oregon St). Open bowl every Sunday for the GLBT community & friends. You don’t have to worry about how you bowl! $6.50 + $3 shoe rental. (425) 785-4729.

Meditation for GBT Men. 11am-1pm. Cal Anderson House, 400 Broadway. Suitable for beginning & experienced meditators. Sponsored by Dharma Buddies.

Contact Forrest Rode, 920-6117, Mike Chin (509) 990-0007, or Doug Allison, doug.l.allison@gmail.com.

22 Seattle Gay News

October 15 thru October 23 PFLAG/Bremerton Monthly Meeting. 7pm. St Paul’s Episcopal Church, 700 Callahan Dr, Bremerton. Meets 3rd Monday each month. PFLAG/Puget Sound: 3257724.

PFLAG/Everett Monthly Meeting. 7pm. First Congregational Church of Everett, 2624 Rockefeller Ave, Everett. Meets 3rd Monday each month. PFLAG/Puget Sound: 325-7724.

Trans Youth Group. 7-8:30pm. Lambert House, 1818 15th Ave. Every Monday. A chance for youth to talk with others about their experiences & concerns related to identifying as Transgender. www.lamberthouse.org Lambert House Art Night. 7:30-9:30pm. 1818 15th Ave. Every Monday. Bring your ideas & let’s have some fun.

322-2515, www.lamberthouse.org Washington Gender Alliance Support Group Meeting in Shoreline. 7:30pm. Center for Human Services, 17018 15th Ave NE, Shoreline. Meets every Monday. For information email info@washingtongender alliance.com Queers, Crackpots & Fallen Women AA. 8-9pm.

SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Every Monday. Open women only AA group. 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org.

TUESDAY - October 18

www.dharmabuddies.org. (Women may wish to contact our sister meditation group at www.LotusSisters.org.)

Just for Today. 12-1:30pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Every Sunday. Drop-in 12-step (Narcotics Anonymous) group open to anyone in recovery. 3222437; www.sasgcc.org Paths to Recovery Al-Anon Family Group. 12-1:30pm.

Seattle University Student Center, 901 12th Ave, Room 122. Every Sunday. LGBTQ supported. The Al-Anon Family Groups are a fellowship of relatives & friends of alcoholics who share their experience, strength & hope in order to solve their common problems. We believe alcoholism is a family illness & that changed attitudes can aid recovery. Greater Seattle AIS 24-hour number 625-0000; www.seattle-al-anon.org Rain City Soccer Club - Ripple Effect. Sunday afternoon. Location varies. Ripple Effect soccer team plays an almost weekly recreational scrimmage game for LGBTQ players in Seattle. Perfect for individuals looking for more relaxed play, who are just getting back into soccer, just learning the game and/or want to supplement their competitive play with a recreational team. To sign up visit www.raincitysoccer.org Orca Swim Team Workout. Sun: Afternoon; Mon/Weds/ Fri: Evenings. Seattle University, Connolly Athletic Center, 14th Ave & E Cherry St. Every Sun, Mon, Wed & Fri. Pre-registration required. Orca Swim Team workouts are for both competitive & recreational swimmers. www. orcaswimteam.org Seattle Poly Potluck & Discussion Group. 5-8pm.

Center for Sex Positive Culture (Main Space), 602 15th Ave W. Meets 3rd Sunday each month. For people interested in polyamorous, open, and ethically nonmonogamous relationships. $5 donation; please bring a potluck dish. This event is open to the public.

Shame to Grace Sunday SAA. 6-7:30pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Every Sunday. SAA is a fellowship of men & women who share their experience, strength & hope with each other so they may overcome their sexual addiction & help others recover from sexual addiction or dependency. Seattle SAA helpline 237-8828, SAA International Service Organization 1-800-477-8191.

SASG 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org Crystal Meth Anonymous. 6:30pm. Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church, 1729 Harvard Ave. Also meets Mon @ 6:30pm, Thurs @ 6:30pm, Sat @ 10:30am. More info: crystalmeth.org.

Pride League Bowling. 6:30pm. West Seattle Bowl, 4505 39th Ave SW. Every Sunday (except during the summer). Regular league bowling. Jeff, 932-3731.

October 14, 2016

Noche Latina - Latino Night. 10pm. Neighbours, 1509 Broadway. Every Sunday.

MONDAY - October 17

Twist Queer Film Festival (10/13-10/23). For a list of films & venues visit www.twistfilmfest.org “Tiny: Streetwise Revisited” Photo Exhibit (9/1511/3). Central Library, 1000 4th Ave. 30 years worth of images bring the viewer along with Erin “Tiny” Blackwell on her journey from a homeless teenager on the streets of Seattle to a mother of 10 children. Tiny grows up in difficult circumstances & uses her intelligence & stamina to create a life for herself & her family. www.spl.org SOBER - On Meds. 1-2pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Every Monday. 12-step group open to anyone in recovery & living on a medicine regimen. 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org Strength Over Speed. 2-3:30pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. FREE drop-in support group (not a 12 step) for Gay & Bi men who desire recovery from meth. For information visit www.strengthoverspeed.org. SASG 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org Women’s HIV+ Support Group in Tacoma. 2-3:30pm.

Pierce County AIDS Foundation, 3520 S Pine St, Tacoma - 3 blocks east of Tacoma Mall. Meets 3rd Monday each month. (253) 383-2565.

Seattle Women’s Commission Meeting. 5:30-8pm.

Municipal Bldg, 600 4th Ave Rm 221. Meets 3rd Monday each month (except December). SWC is a 20-member volunteer advisory board that advises the Mayor, City Council, & all City of Seattle departments on matters concerning women & women’s rights. Meetings open to the public. 684-4537.

Crystal Meth Anonymous. 6:30pm. Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church, 1729 Harvard Ave. Also meets Thurs @ 6:30pm, Sat @ 10:30am, Sun @ 6:30pm. More info: crystalmeth.org.

Freely Speaking Toastmasters. 7pm. FredLind Manor, 1802 17th Ave. Every Monday (except holidays & the last Mondays in August & December). Seattle’s only LGBT speaking club. www.FreelySpeaking.org Lotus Sisters South End/Columbia City Meditation & Dharma Discussion. 7-8:30pm. Meets 3rd Monday each month. Call 206-725-3608 or 434-5521 for details and location; www.LotusSisters.org. (Not wheelchair accessible.)

Orca Swim Team Workout. Evening. Seattle University, Connolly Athletic Center, 14th Ave & E Cherry St. (See Sunday listing.)

Twist Queer Film Festival (10/13-10/23). For a list of films & venues visit www.twistfilmfest.org “Tiny: Streetwise Revisited” Photo Exhibit (9/1511/3). Central Library, 1000 4th Ave. 30 years worth of images bring the viewer along with Erin “Tiny” Blackwell on her journey from a homeless teenager on the streets of Seattle to a mother of 10 children. Tiny grows up in difficult circumstances & uses her intelligence & stamina to create a life for herself & her family. www.spl.org Safe Schools Coalition Monthly Meeting. 3-5pm.

Planned Parenthood, 2001 E Madison. Meets 3rd Tuesday most months (schedule varies in summer). A Public-Private Partnership in Support of LGBT youth.

All are welcome at meetings; lots of volunteer opportunities are discussed. 632-0662 ext 49; CRISIS LINE: 1-877-SAFE-SAFE; www.safeschoolscoalition.org.

Amor Open Meditation. 5-6pm. Amor Spiritual Center, 2528 Beacon Ave, Suite B. Meets every Tuesday.

LGBTQ Questioning & Allied Youth Drop-in Group in Renton. 6-8pm. Renton Area Youth Services (RAYS), 1025 S 3rd St, Renton. Meets every Tuesday. Confidential. Snacks provided. Bring friends or come alone - anyone 12-18 is welcome. Questions? Call Sarah Hardin, 425-271-5600 ext 155, or email sarahh@rays.org Strength Over Speed. 6-7:30pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. FREE drop-in support group (not a 12 step) for Gay & Bi men who desire recovery from meth. For information visit www.strengthoverspeed.org. SASG 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org Diverse Harmony. 6:30-9pm. Seattle First Baptist Church, 1111 Harvard Ave. Every Tuesday. Diverse Harmony is the nation’s first Gay/Straight Alliance Youth Chorus. Youths ages 13-22 are welcome regardless of sexual orientation. www.diverseharmony.org Queer Young Females Group - For Female-Identified Youth, Ages 22 & Under. 6:30-7:30pm. Lambert House, 1818 15th Ave. Every Tuesday. Topics range from family issues to school happenings to like/lust/love relationships. All Queer females welcome. Come discuss how smart. strong Queer women live their lives. 322-2515, www. lamberthouse.org Tuesday Night Sex Addicts Anonymous (GLBTQI).

7-8:30pm. All Pilgrims Christian Church, 500 Broadway E (enter at 509 10th Ave E; buzz in, Dickson room). Every Tuesday. SAA is a fellowship of men & women whose primary purpose is to stop addictive sexual behavior & help others recover from sexual addiction. Seattle SAA helpline 237-8828. SAA International Service Organization 1-800-477-8191.

Over 40’s Group - For Lesbian Women 40 & Older.

7-8:30pm. University Congregational Church, 4515 16th Ave NE, Pilgrim Room. Every Tuesday. Open group for Lesbian women, 40 & older, in every stage of coming out or being out. Lots of social activities in addition to Tuesday meetings. 545-3521.

Rainbow Duplicate Bridge. 7pm. Bus-accessible Central Area location. Every Tuesday. (See Saturday listing at 6pm.)

Different Drummers. 7:15-8:30pm. Every Tuesday.

Hand drumming classes for Gay men. Learn traditional African & Afro-Caribbean rhythms & basic hand drumming techniques. Drums are provided. For info & location call Dennis at 363-4500 or www.outdrum.com What About Me? 7:30-9pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Every Tuesday. Drop-in social, support & discussion group for Gay & Bi men of all ages. 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org Spiritual Empowerment. 7:30-9pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. A group for all LGBT & friends of any spiritual belief to explore how spiritual practice can enrich their life. 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org Washington Gender Alliance Open Support Meeting in Bellingham. 7:30-9pm. St James Presbyterian Church, 910 14th St., Bellingham. Every Tuesday. (360) 445-2411; www.washingtongenderalliance.com. (See Wednesday listing at 7:30pm for details.)

Seattle Otters Water Polo Team. 8-9:30pm. Medgar Evers Pool, 500 23rd Ave E (at E Cherry St). Every Tuesday & Thursday. GLBT & GLBT-friendly co-ed water polo team is open to all who want to play. Beginners & experienced players welcome. Otter Hotline 414-8797. www.otterpolo.com.

Celebrating 41 Years!

Seattle Poetry Slam. Doors 8pm, Show 8:30pm. Rebar, 1114 Howell St. Every Tuesday. A spoken word poetry event that features a weekly open mic, feature poet, and slam (poetry competition). Come out and express yourself. LGBTQ- & QTPOC-friendly; all genders welcome. $5. 21+. seattlepoetryslam.org

WEDNESDAY - October 19

Twist Queer Film Festival (10/13-10/23). For a list of films & venues visit www.twistfilmfest.org “Tiny: Streetwise Revisited” Photo Exhibit (9/1511/3). Central Library, 1000 4th Ave. 30 years worth of images bring the viewer along with Erin “Tiny” Blackwell on her journey from a homeless teenager on the streets of Seattle to a mother of 10 children. Tiny grows up in difficult circumstances & uses her intelligence & stamina to create a life for herself & her family. www.spl.org Mature Friends Morning Exercise/Health & Fitness Get-Together. 10am. Ballard Odd Fellows Hall Bldg, 1706 NW Market St. Every Wednesday. An hour of health-related activities, a walk around Greenlake & lunch at a local restaurant. www.maturefriends.org True Colors: Connecting LGBTQ Teens in Shoreline.

4-5pm. Every Wednesday. Discussing your important issues, building a supportive community. For information, location & to REGISTER call Lindsay Bagley 362-7282 x 8018 or email lbagley@chs-nw.org GLOBE (GLBTQ Loving Ourselves, Becoming Empowered): A Support Group & HIV/STD Prevention for Youth (14-20) in Everett. 6-8pm. CCA Building, 3331 Broadway - Bottom Floor, Everett. Every Wednesday.

Sponsored by PFLAG Everett chapter. David/Brenda, (425) 263-2908. globeleaders@hotmail.com The Rowing Team Peer Recovery Group. 6-7:30pm.

All Pilgrims Church, 500 Broadway E. Meets every Wednesday. This peer recovery group provides a safe & supportive faith community to share your recovery journey with, God answers our prayers & sends us a boat.

Sometimes rowing furiously for yourself & sometimes for others. All are welcome.

Seattle Gay & Lesbian Book Club. 6-7:30pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Every Wednesday. Discuss the best LGBT novels with other book-lovers in a safe, comfortable conversation. Come once or come every week. Check our website for this month’s book. http:// faculty.washington.edu/swittet/SGLBookClub/ SASG 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org Lotus Sisters Meditation & Dharma Discussion North. 6:15-8pm. Ravenna Bryant neighborhood. Meets every Wednesday. Call 525-7295 for location. www.

LotusSisters.org.

Seattle Frontrunners Fun Run. 6:30pm. Volunteer Park (in front of Black Sun across for museum). Every Wednesday. (See Saturday at 9am.)

Ingersoll All-Trans Drop-In Support Group. 7-9pm.

Seattle Counseling Services, 1216 Pine St, Suite 300.

All Transgender, Gender Variant, Gender Queer, Gender Questioning, allies, family & friends are welcome. This is a drop in group to get & give support, social interaction & information for the whole Gender community. www. ingersollcenter.org Seattle Movie Bears Movie Night. Check website for details. Every Wednesday night. Gay & Bi men enjoy a movie at a local theater with opportunity to socialize before & after movies. More info: http://groups.yahoo.com/ group/seattlemoviebears; or e-mail: seattlemoviebearssubscribe@yahoogroups.com Family Affair - Cabaret Served Up Family-Style. 7pm doors; 7:30pm show. Rendezvous/Jewel Box Theater, 2322 2nd Ave. Every 3rd Wednesday. Performers from all disciplines gather to share their stories and feelings about family. Presented on stage by storytellers, writers, dancers, musicians and visual artists who share their sick, hilarious, and ultimately relatable familial skeletons.

Hosted by Jennifer Jasper. Tickets: $10 cash at the door.

Must be 21 + over. www.therendezvous.rocks/ HIV/AIDS Newly Diagnosed or Newly Dealing. 7:309pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave, Suite 200. Meets 1st & 3rd Wednesday each month. Ongoing support group for anyone who is HIV+. 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org Mature Friends Weekly Bridge Group. 7:30pm. Call for location. Every Wednesday. All levels welcome. MF is a social organization for Gay men & women, 40 years & over. www.maturefriends.org Orca Swim Team Workout. Evening. Seattle University, Connolly Athletic Center, 14th Ave & E Cherry St. (See Sunday listing.)

Washington Gender Alliance Open Support Meeting in Everett. 7:30-9pm. Everett United Church of Christ, 2624 Rockefeller Ave, Everett. Every Wednesday.

Trained peer facilitators lead a structured support meeting helping people deal with issues of gender identity & expression. All adults are welcomed, including those who are questioning, allies, or identify as FTM, MTF, Transgender, Queer, or Intersex, among others. (360) 445-2411; www.washingtongenderalliance.com.

Border Riders Motorcycle Club Meet & Greet. 8-9pm.

The Cuff Complex, 1533 13th Ave (at E Pine St). Meets the Wednesday before the 3rd Saturday each month.

BRMC provides a social & educational fraternity for individuals interested in recreational motorcycle touring. www.borderriders.com Victor Janusz Band With Nora Michaels. 8pm.

Highway 99 Blues Club, 1414 Alaskan Way. RESERVATIONS strongly recommended: 382-2171. Tickets $7. highwayninetynine.com

community calendar

Debauchery. Doors 7:30pm, Show 8pm. Neighbours Nightclub, 1509 Broadway. Queers stripping for Queers in a hot, anti-oppressive space, raising money for organizations that serve the Queer community. The show features stripteases, lots of audience interaction & even birthday lapdances on stage! Be sure to bring plenty of dollar bills - a portion of the proceeds goes to non-profits providing health & social services within the Queer community. Tickets: $10 in advance; $15 at the door. www.lilydivine.com Seattle Otters Water Polo Team. 8-9:30pm. Medgar Evers Pool, 500 23rd Ave E (at E Cherry St). Every Tuesday & Thursday. (See Tuesday listing at 8pm.)

FRIDAY - October 21

Twist Queer Film Festival (10/13-10/23). For a list of films & venues visit www.twistfilmfest.org “Tiny: Streetwise Revisited” Photo Exhibit (9/1511/3). Central Library, 1000 4th Ave. 30 years worth of images bring the viewer along with Erin “Tiny” Blackwell on her journey from a homeless teenager on the streets of Seattle to a mother of 10 children. Tiny grows up in difficult circumstances & uses her intelligence & stamina to create a life for herself & her family. www.spl.org AA Ageless in Recovery. 12noon-1pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Meets every Friday. A drop in AA group for older & wiser people 55+. www.sasgcc.org Re-Parenting Ourselves. 12noon-1pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Meets every Friday. A peer support group for adult children of any addiction. www. sasgcc.org SLAA Road to Recovery. 12noon-1:30pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Meets every Friday. Ongoing 12 step group for sex & love addicts. www.sasgcc.org Oasis Youth Center in Tacoma - For Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Questioning Youth, Ages 14-25. 4-10pm. Call for location & details. Every Friday.

(253) 671-2838, www.oasisyouthcenter.org (Also Thursdays 4-10pm & Saturdays 6pm-12 midnight.)

Strength Over Speed. 6-7:30pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. FREE drop-in support group (not a 12-step) for Gay & Bi men who desire recovery from meth. www.strengthoverspeed.org. SASG 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org All-Star Women Jam. 7pm. Spinnaker Bay Brewing, 5718 Rainier Ave S (at S Orcas St). Featuring All-Star women artists - 1st Friday feature; 3rd Friday jam. Great food trucks & great beer. spinnakerbaybrewing.com, bluestodo.com Lambert House Queer Movie Night. 7-9:30pm. Lambert House, 1818 15th Ave. Every Friday. Lambert House is a nationally-recognized activities & resource center for GLBT & questioning youth, ages 14-22. 322-2515, www.lamberthouse.org Low Income Housing Institute Annual Gala & Auction. Wine, hors d’oeuvres & silent auction 5:30pm; Dinner program & live auction 7pm. Four Seasons Hotel Seattle, 99 Union St. Our target is to raise $325,000 for LIHI’s Supportive Services Program, Urban Rest Stops & Tiny House Villages. Tickets $125. www.lihi.org Rain Country Dance Night. 7-11pm, lessons at 7:15pm.

The Cuff, 1533 13th Ave. An evening of country-western dancing for the LGBTQ community. FREE. www.raincountrydance.org. of Seattle to a mother of 10 children. Tiny grows up in health equity work & to introduce the new strategic direcdifficult circumstances & uses her intelligence & stamina tive. RSVP by Tuesday, October 18. www.pocaan.org Orca Swim Team Workout. Evening. Seattle University, Connolly Athletic Center, 14th Ave & E Cherry St. (See to create a life for herself & her family. www.spl.org Seattle Commission for Sexual Minorities. 6:30Sunday listing.)

Drop-In Help With Veterans Services. 11:30am- 8:30pm. Municipal Bldg, 600 4th Ave, Room 221. Meets 3:30pm. Central Library, 1000 4th Ave. A veteran spe- 3rd Thursday each month. SCSM is made up of 15 LGBT Friday Night Al-Anon Family Group. 7:45pm. cialist from Supportive Services for Veteran Families volunteer members who work to ensure that the City Seattle Counseling Service, Rainbow Room, 1216 will be available to connect people who have been in of Seattle fairly & equitably addresses sexual minority Pine St at Melrose Ave. Every Friday. The Al-Anon Family Groups are a fellowship of relatives & friends of the military & are experiencing homelessness or living concerns. Meetings open to the public. 684-4514. on very low incomes with services to help them find & Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation - Con- alcoholics who share their experience, strength & hope in order to solve their common problems. We believe keep housing. www.spl.org templative Service. 6:30pm. 7141 California Ave SW. alcoholism is a family illness & that changed attitudes 935-0418, office@wsuu.org, www.wsuu.org Alcoholics Anonymous “Safe & Sober Group.” can aid recovery. Greater Seattle AIS 24-hour number 12noon-1pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Open Boys’ Group - For Male-Identified Youth, Ages 14- 625-0000; www.seattle-al-anon.org 22. 7-8:30pm. Lambert House, 1818 15th Ave. Every meeting of AA. 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org.

GaYme Night 4 the LGBT Community. 8pm-1am.

BABES Women’s Support Group/Lunch Meeting. Thursday. Youth take the opportunity to talk about issues SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Meets the 3rd & that relate to their everyday lives, with the facilitation of a 12 noon-2pm. Call for location. Every Thursday. The 4th Friday of every month. Board games, cards & fun.

BABES Network is a peer led agency; a sisterhood of male volunteer. 322-2515 ext 16. www.lamberthouse.org www.sasgcc.org women facing HIV together. 720-5566 or 888-292-1912; GLBT Legal Clinic. 7-9pm. Meets the 3rd Thursday each month. Volunteer attorneys provide FREE 30-minwww.babesnetwork.org.

SATURDAY - October 22 Seattle LGBTQ Employees for Equality (SEqual). ute consultations. For information and to schedule an (See previous Saturday for ongoing activities.)

12noon. Seattle Municipal Tower, 700 5th Ave, Room appointment, call 235-7235. Clinic volunteers return calls Twist Queer Film Festival (10/13-10/23). For a list of on Tuesdays between 12noon-3pm.

For information, visit 4070. Meets the 3rd Thursday of every month. Open films & venues visit www.twistfilmfest.org www.q-law.org/legalclinic to the public.

“Tiny: Streetwise Revisited” Photo Exhibit (9/15PFLAG Bellevue/Eastside Monthly Meeting.

7-9pm.

Oasis Youth Center in Tacoma - For Gay, Lesbian, 11/3). Central Library, 1000 4th Ave. 30 years worth of Bisexual, Transgender & Questioning Youth, Ages First United Methodist Church, 1934 108th Ave NE, images bring the viewer along with Erin “Tiny” Blackwell Bellevue.

Meets 3rd Thursday each month. http://com14-25. 4-10pm. Call for location & details. Every Thurson her journey from a homeless teenager on the streets munity.pflag.org/PFLAGBellevue.

Contact us at info@ day. (253) 671-2838, www.oasisyouthcenter.org (Also of Seattle to a mother of 10 children. Tiny grows up in bellevue-pflag.org or 425-483-6642.

Fridays 4-10pm & Saturdays 6pm-12 midnight.) difficult circumstances & uses her intelligence & stamina Q Hour. 4:30-5:30pm. Orion Center, 1828 Yale Ave. 1st Rainbow Duplicate Bridge. 7pm. Bus-accessible to create a life for herself & her family. www.spl.org Central Area location.

Every Thursday.

(See Saturday & 3rd Thursday each month. A group for LGBTQ youth Camp Ten Trees Annual Meeting. 10am. MLK FAME 13-21 & their allies. Sponsored by Youthcare. FREE. listing at 6pm.)

Buddhism & Recovery. 7:30-9pm. SASG, 115 15th Community Center, 3201 E Republican St. Features 622-5555 x 212. reports from Camp Director & Executive Director plus Shifting Gears. 6-7:30pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Ave E, Suite 201. Every Thursday. A meditation/recovery Q&A. www.camptentrees.org group.

322-2437; www.sasgcc.org Suite 201. Every Thursday. Drop-in support group (non 12-step) for anyone of any orientation or gender Gay Fathers Association of Seattle. 7:30-9pm. Group SUNDAY - October 23 who desires recovery from drugs or alcohol. 322-2437; Health, 201 16th Ave E, Central Bldg, Lower Atrium.

(See previous Sunday for ongoing activities.)

Every Thursday. Support meetings for Gay fathers & www.sasgcc.org Twist Queer Film Festival (10/13-10/23). For a list of Gay men who are currently or previously married.

Safe, B-GLAD (Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Trans & Questioning Adolescent Drop-In Group). 6:30-8pm. Call for anonymous, non-judgmental environment. www.gfas. films & venues visit www.twistfilmfest.org location. Every Thursday. Sponsored by Youth Eastside org or our message board at http://groups.yahoo.com/ “Tiny: Streetwise Revisited” Photo Exhibit (9/1511/3). Central Library, 1000 4th Ave. 30 years worth of Services, which offers many programs for GLBT youth. groups/gayfathersseattle (425) 747-4937.

Gay Male Sexuality & Relationships. 7:30-9pm. images bring the viewer along with Erin “Tiny” Blackwell Crystal Meth Anonymous. 6:30pm. Capitol Hill Pres- SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Every Thursday. A on her journey from a homeless teenager on the streets byterian Church, 1729 Harvard Ave. Also meets Mon discussion group that is strictly focused on sexual top- of Seattle to a mother of 10 children. Tiny grows up in THURSDAY - October 20 @ 6:30pm, Sat @ 10:30am, Sun @ 6:30pm. More info: ics and relationship issues related to being a Gay male. difficult circumstances & uses her intelligence & stamina to create a life for herself & her family. www.spl.org Twist Queer Film Festival (10/13-10/23). For a list of crystalmeth.org.

322-2437; www.sasgcc.org films & venues visit www.twistfilmfest.org No Safeword Writers Group. 1pm. Meets 4th Sunday Amor Chorale Rehearsal.

8-9pm.

Amor Spiritual CenPOCAAN Wine & Cheese Soiree. 6:30pm. Northwest “Tiny: Streetwise Revisited” Photo Exhibit (9/15- African American Museum, 2300 S Massachusetts St. ter, 2528 Beacon Ave, Suite B. Meets every Thursday. each month. NSWG exists to provide mutual support 11/3). Central Library, 1000 4th Ave. 30 years worth of Features local wine from Chateau Ste Michelle paired Calling all sopranos, altos, tenors & basses. The Amor for members’ efforts. Support is in the form of critique images bring the viewer along with Erin “Tiny” Blackwell with delectable cheeses, fruits & hors d’oeuvres. This is Spiritual Center currently has openings for singers in & commentary on each other’s work, information about publishing opportunities, & discussion of issues facing on her journey from a homeless teenager on the streets an event to highlight POCAAN’s current social justice & its Chorale group.

Visit us online www.sgn.org

October 14, 2016

Seattle Gay News 23

writers. For info & location, NSWG@sexpositive culture. org; www.nosafewordwritersgroup.org (Also meets 2nd Tuesday, 7pm.)

Seattle Prime Timers Rap Group. 1:30pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Subject: What would it take for you to feel valued? Metro routes 8, 10, 12, 49 & 60.

COMMUNITY RESOURCES

Allyship - an organization of LGBTQ individuals fighting for economic and social justice. www.LGBTQ Allyship. org, allyship@yahoo.com, 279-8169.

American Veterans for Equal Rights - www.aver.us BiNet Seattle is a mixed gender, social group for Bisexuals, their partners & other Bi-friendly folks - www. binetseattle.org.

Capitol Hill Alano Club - www.chacseattle.org Central Washington University GALA Hotline: (509) 963-1994.

DIFFA/Seattle (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS). 763-8885; www.diffaseattle.org DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & SEXUAL ASSAULT: Crisis Clinic, 461-3222 (24 hour line); King County Sexual Assault Resource Center (KCSARC) - 24-hour crisis line for information, support, & medical & legal assistance: 1-888-99-VOICE; Northwest Network - support & advocacy for Bisexual, Trans, Lesbian & Gay Survivors of Abuse & Dating Violence, 568-7777 (voice), 517-9670 (tty), www.nwnetwork.org; Pierce County Domestic Violence Helpline: Teresa, (253) 798-4166; Seattle Counseling Service for Sexual Minorities - offers on-going support groups for men: 323-1768; Seattle Police Dept Domestic Violence Unit, 684-0330; State Wide Domestic Violence Hot Line, 1-800-562-6025.

In an emergency call 911. Report domestic violence and sexual assault.

Equal Rights Washington - 324-2570; www.equal rightswashington.org Freely Speaking Toastmasters - www.freely speaking.org Gay City promotes wellness in LGBTQ communities by providing health services, connecting people to resources, fostering arts, and building community. Gay City Health Project’s Wellness Center provides anonymous & confidential HIV/STD testing. 517 E Pike St. More info or to schedule an appointment, 860-6969. www.gaycity.org Gay & Lesbian National Hotline (GLNH): 1-888-THEGLNH (1-888-843-4564). Non-profit, peer-counseling, information & local resources telephone hotline for GLBT people across the country.

GLSEN/WA - Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network - 330-2099; www.glsenwa.org Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA) - 3639188; www.thegsba.org HIV/AIDS Program, Seattle/King County Dept of Public Health, provides confidential/anonymous information about & testing for HIV/AIDS. 205-7837.

Imperial Sovereign Court of Seattle & the Olympic & Rainier Empire - www.facebook.com/ISCSORE; www. imperialcourtofseattle.com Lambert House - 322-2515; www.lamberthouse.org LGBT Library - 517 E Pike St. Open Mon-Fri 2-8pm; Sat 2-5pm.

LGBT MS Connection - 250-5002; LGBTMS Connection@gmail.com. Support group for LGBT persons with MS and their partners and their caregivers.

Lifelong AIDS Alliance - 328-8979, www.lifelongaids alliance.org MEN: Gay City: 860-6969, www.gaycity.org; Knights of Mantra: 329-0886, www.jetchapterkofm.com; Mature Friends: Gay men & women 40 & over, www.mature friends.org; Northwest Bears: www.nwbears.com; The Olympians: www.TheOlympians.net; POZSeattle: www.pozseattle.org; Q-Squared: www.qsquared.org; Rain City Jacks: www.raincityjacks.org; Seattle Gay Couples: www. seattlegaycouples.org; Seattle Men in Leather: www.seattlemeninleather. org; Seattle Prime Timers: Gay & Bi men 40 & over, www.seattle primetimers.org.

MUSIC: Diverse Harmony: www.diverseharmony.org; Rainbow City Band: 1-866-841-9139 ext 2126; rainbowcityband@onebox.com; www.rainbowcity band.com; Seattle Men’s Chorus and Seattle Women’s Chorus: 388-1408, 323-0750. www.flyinghouse. org.

Northwest Lesbian & Gay History Museum Project - gayhistnw@aol.com Northwest Rainbow Alliance for the Deaf - www. nwrad.org Out & Equal Workplace Advocates/Seattle Regional Affiliate supports the work of LGBT employees and the growing number of ERGs (Employee Resource Groups) making a difference within local companies. www.outandequal.org/affiliates/seattle PARENTHOOD: Families Like Ours provides a gateway for LGBT families interested in adoption: 441-7602, www.familieslikeours. org; Family Works offers support, information & activities for LGBT families: 694-6727, www.familyworksseattle. org; Gay Fathers’ Association of Seattle offers support groups & social activities: www.gfas. org; Proud & Loud Families - Northwest, www.meetup.com/proud-and-loud-families-northwest, plfnorthwest@aol.com; Queer Parent Networking Dinners: 568-7777, info@nwnetwork.org; Rainbow Families of Puget Sound: www.rainbowfamiliesps.org PFLAG is the national organization for parents, families, allies, and LGBTQ people united for equality with chapters in Seattle, Bellevue/Eastside, the Puget Sound region and across Washington state. PFLAG Seattle: 206-325-7724, info@pflagseattle.org, and www.pflag seattle.org; PFLAG Bellevue/Eastside: 425-4836642, info@bellevue-pflag.org, http://community.pflag. org/PFLAGBellevue; PFLAG Pacific Northwest: www.pnwpflag.org; PFLAG Washington state: www. pflagwsc.org.

24 Seattle Gay News

community calendar More than you think

NOW OPEN Sustainablecapitolhill.org/tool-library PEOPLE OF COLOR: AARTH (African American Reach & Teach Health Ministry), 850-2070, www. aarth.org; Asian/Pacific Islander Queer Network Program at API Chaya, 467-9976; Center for MultiCultural Health, 461-6910, www.multi-culturalhealth.org; Entre Hermanos, GLBT Latinos/as, 322-7700, www. entrehermanos.org; Ile LaiLai, 781-3565, iya@ilelailai. org; Men of All Colors & Cultures Together (MACCT), 923-8313, macctseattle@yahoo. com, www.macctsea.org; Nubian Pride Productions, nubianpride@ gmail.com; People of Color Against AIDS Network (POCAAN) offers rapid HIV testing, M-F, 10am-5pm, 322-7061, www.pocaan.org and on Facebook; Seattle Two Spirit, SeattleTwoSpirit@ hotmail.com; Sistah 2 Sistah, LBT women of African descent, 322-7061, 2558951; Sistah Sinema, www.sistahsinema.com, info@ sistahsinema.com; Trikone-Northwest, GLBT South Asians, (425) 985-4376, www.trikonenw.org; Two-Spirit Honor Project, 1-866-685-0164; U.T.O.P.I.A. Seattle.

Pride Foundation - 323-3318; www.pridefoundation. org Project NEON is a program of Seattle Counseling Service providing FREE information & services to Gay & Bi men to reduce health risks associated with methamphetamine use. 323-1768. www.crystalneon.org Public Health-Seattle & King County Online Comprehensive Health Information for Sexual Minorities: www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/personal/ glbt.aspx Q Law: The GLBT Bar Association of WA - 682-6711; www.q-law.org; Q Law GLBT Legal Clinic - 235-7235.

Resource & Referral Line can connect you to LGBTfriendly resources throughout Puget Sound and beyond.

Call 323-LGBT Mon-Fri 2-8pm; Sat 2-5pm. At other times leave voice mail and your call will be returned. Or visit www.gaycity.org to view list of resources online or through Facebook.

Safe Schools Coalition - www.safeschoolscoalition. org; 451-SAFE (451-7233).

SEAMEC interviews, researches & rates candidates for public office on issues of concern to the LGBT community. 905-9941, www.seamec.org Seattle Area Support Groups & Community Center (SASG) is a non-profit organization that builds community and cultivates powerful, healthy lives by providing emotional support and personal development services to those affected by HIV/AIDS, the Queer communities, and those who love them. 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org Seattle LGBT Commission - 684-4503.

October 14, 2016

Seattle Counseling Service for Sexual Minorities is a community mental health service for GLBT persons & their families. 323-1768.

Seattle Out & Proud - 206-322-9561; www.seattlepride.org Seattle Police Department Sexual Minorities Community Advisory Council: kim.bogucki@seattle.gov Seattle PrideFest - www.seattlepridefest.org Servicemembers Legal Defense Network - (202) 328-3244; www.sldn.org SHIFT: A Peer Recovery Network - www.shift recovery.org Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, The Abbey of St. Joan - 860-3666; www.theabbey.org Snohomish Health District HIV/AIDS Program provides free confidential/anonymous HIV counseling & testing 9am-5pm Monday-Friday, until 7pm Tuesdays.

(425) 339-5298.

Social Outreach Seattle (SOSea) - www.facebook. com/socialoutreachseattle SPORTS & RECREATION: Bent Car Guys: www. bentcarguys.org; Border Riders Motorcycle Club: www.borderriders.com; Bottom Dwellers Scuba Club: www.bottomdwellers.org; Capitol Hill Cyclers: join their Facebook group or email capitolhillcycling@ groups.facebook.com or jordan.l.simonson@gmail.com; Cascade Flyers: www.cascadeflyers.org; Different Spokes Bicycling Club: www.differentspokes.org; Emerald City Mudhen Rugby: www.mudhenrugby. com; Emerald City Softball Association: www.emerald citysoftball.org, www.eteamz.com/womensecsa; Ethyl Forever Car Club: ethylforever@hotmail.com; Olympic Yacht Club: www.oycnw.org; OutVentures: outdoor education & recreation activities, www.outventures.org; Pacific Northwest Gay Rodeo Association: www.pacificnwgra.org; Puddletown Squares: www.puddletownsquares.org; Rain City Soccer: www.raincitysoccer.org; Rain Country Dance Association: a country-western dance organization catering to the LGBTQ community but open to all, www.raincountrydance.org; Sea Dawgs: LGBT ice hockey - SkateSeaDawgs@gmail.com and on Facebook; Seattle Frontrunners: www.seattlefront runners.org; Seattle Gay Basketball Association: www. seattlegaybasketballassociation.com; Seattle Orca Swim Team: www.orcaswimteam.org; Seattle Otters Water Polo: www.otterpolo.com; Seattle Quake Rugby: www.quakerugby.com; Seattle Tennis Alliance: www. seattletennisalliance.org; Seattle Unified Bowling Association (SUBA): magee98106@aol.com, www.

teamseattle.org/bowling.htm, www.theprideleague.com, Century 21 League; Seattle Volleyball Club: www.seattlevolleyballclub.com; Ski Buddies: www. skibuddies. org; Team Seattle Gay Sports Network is an umbrella organization for a wide range of local GLBT sports activities, 367-4064, www.teamseattle.org (see website for comprehensive list of sports clubs); Triangle Recreation Camp at Bender Creek: recreational camping for GLBT folks. Must be 21; ID required. trc@camptrc.org, www. camptrc.org, 1122 E Pike St #1069, Seattle 98122-3934.

Strength Over Speed - www.strengthoverspeed.org Tacoma/Pierce County - Rainbow Center, 2215 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, a resource center for the LGBTIQA community of Pierce County, (253) 383-2318, www. rainbowcntr.org TRANSGENDER: Emerald City Social Club: (425) 827-9494; Gender Alliance of the South Sound: www.

SouthSoundGender.com; Gender Diversity: www. genderdiversity.org; Gender Justice League: www. genderjusticeleague.org; Gender Odyssey: www.genderodyssey.com; Hermanos Trans Latino & ForeignBorn Support Group: 322-7700; Ingersoll Gender Center: 329-6651, www.ingersollcenter.org; The New BoyZ Club: www.olympiaftmgroup.webs.com; Olympia Trans Discussion Group: www.facebook.com/pages/ Olympia-Trans-Discussion-Group/262449878114; Washington Gender Alliance: (360) 445-2411, www. washington genderalliance.com WOMEN: Aging Lesbians in South Seattle (ALISS): Fai, 722-0729, alissquestions@gmail.com; BABES: support groups for HIV+ women. 720-5566, 1-888-2921912; Festival of the Babes: www.festivalofthebabes. com; Lesbians Over 40: 722-0729; Mature Friends: Gay men & women 40 & over, www.maturefriends.org; Older Lesbians Organizing for Change/WA State Chapter: gloria@oloc.org, mary@oloc.org, www.oloc. org; Pacific Northwest Lesbian Archives: www. pnwlesbianarchives.org; RainshadowWomen: RainshadowWomen@aol.com; Seattle Girls of Leather: www.sgol.org; Tacoma Lesbian Concern (TLC): www. tacomalesbianconcern.org; Women of West Seattle (WOWS): a fun, member-driven social group for Lesbians, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/womenofwestseattle; YWCA Women’s Health Outreach: providing low or no-cost mammograms for income eligible 40+ LBTQ individuals. Follow us at http://lbtqhealth-ywca.blogspot. com, twitter.com/ingridWHO or email lbthealth@ywcaworks.org, 461-4493.

YOUTH: B-GLAD (Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Trans & Questioning Adolescent Drop-In Group): Youth Eastside Services offers many programs for GLBT youth, including B-GLAD, (425) 747-4937; Diverse Harmony: www.diverseharmony. org; GLSEN/Washington State (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) & Washington State GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) Network: GLSEN works to create safe schools for LGBT students. WA GSA Network supports youth-led GSA’s to fight harassment & homophobia in Washington state schools. 330-2099; www.glsenwa. org; www.wagsa. org. GLOBE (GLBTQ Loving Ourselves, Becoming Empowered): a support group & HIV/STD prevention program for GLBTQ youth, 14-20, in Everett, (425) 263-2908, www.globeyouth.org; It Gets Better Project: www.itgetsbetter.org; Lambert House: an activities & resource center for LGBT youth, 14-22, in Seattle, 3222515, www.lamberthouse.org; Lifelong HEYO (Health Education Youth Outreach): for LGBTQ youth, ages 16-24: 957-1665; www.llaa.org/HEYO; www.Matthews Place.com; The Mockingbird Society: 323-KIDS (5437), www.mockingbirdsociety.org; Oasis Youth Center: for GLBTQ youth, ages 14-25, in Tacoma, (253) 671-2838, www.oasisyouthcen ter.org; Parents, Family & Friends of Lesbians & Gays (PFLAG)/Puget Sound: 325-7724, www.seattle-pflag.org; Peace for the Streets by Kids from the Streets (PSKS): 7268500; www.psks.org; Pizza Klatch: weekly lunchtime support groups for LGBTQ youth in Thurston County, www.pizzaklatch.org; Prism: for LGBTQ youth, 14-21, in Puyallup - Cherise.Alexander@ multicare.org; www. facebook.com/PuyallupPrism; Proud Out Wonderful (POW!): for LGBTQ youth, 13-21, in South King County, 206-326-9112, www.facebook.com/proudoutwonderful; Q Youth Resources: in Kitsap County - 360-698-3335; www.kchaf.org; Renton Area Youth Services (RAYS): LGBTQ, questioning and allied youth drop-in group, ages 12-18 - Sarah Hardin, 425-271-5600, ext 155; sarahh@rays.org; Safe Schools Coalition: www. safeschoolscoalition.org; 451-SAFE (451-7233) (nonemergency), 1-877-SAFE-SAFE (1-877-723-3723) (crisis line); Seattle Young People’s Project (Queer Youth Resource Board): 860-9606, www.sypp.org; Street Youth Ministries (SYM): 524-7301 ext 111; www.streetyouthministries.org; Teen Link: 461-4922, 1-888-431-TEEN; The Trevor Project: 866-4-U-Trevor; www.thetrevorproject.org; True Colors - Connecting LGBTQ Teens: in Shoreline, 362-7282 x 8018, lbagley@chs-nw.org; Vista Youth Center: for LGBTQ, questioning and allied youth, ages 14-21, in Kennewick, 509-396-5198, www.vistayouthcenter.org; YouthCare/ Isis Program (Transitional Living Home for LGBTQ Young Adults, 18-22): 522-8412; YouthCare/Orion Center: 622-5555; Youth in Focus: 723-1479; www. youthinfocus.org; Youth Suicide Prevention Program (OUTLoud-GLBTQ): 297-5922, ext 116, 1-800-273TALK, www.yspp.org

Celebrating 41 Years!

22 FOR SALE

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

10 HOUSEMATES 11 FOR RENT 12 HOUSING WANTED 13 HOUSING FOR SALE 14 HELP WANTED CLUB Z

accepting applications for day time janitor. Send application request to info@thezclub.com with “EMPLOYMENT APPLICATION” in the subject line or stop by the club to pick one up. 1117 Pike St - 206-622-9958. 41/2

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36 ESCORTS

19 HOME SERVICES

FUCK-E-MON GO

23 yo, 5’8”, 165, 7.5cc. Versatile, Blk/Mix, Bodywork * Fantasies * Toys & Oils * Eager to Please. 702-2814095. In/Out Calls. 41/3

TIDY’S LANDSCAPING, LAWN CARE, HAULING, HANDYMAN & TRASH REMOVAL SERVICES

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37 BODYWORK

We are just a couple of guys with a good back along with some tools. We do not believe in charging through the roof prices. Free estimates. Serving Seattle and surrounding areas. 206-354-8949. 37/3

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20 HEALTH & WELL-BEING

ENERGY/BODYWORK

Therapeutic massage. 29 years experience. Relaxation, major/minor injuries, chronic muscle pain. Small Queen Anne home office/studio. Massage table or massage chair. Convenient parking. (I’m a Gay-friendly straight male graphic artist, web author.) First session 50% off = $45/1.5 hours (travel extra). By appointment only. References available. Chris Pringer, Reiki Master, 206-286-0899. If you get a voice message mentioning “extension #,” please hang up and call back again.

Brochure, testimonials, etc. via chalicebridge.com/ BMI-Brochure.html. 44/21

DADDY BEAR

21 LICENSED MASSAGE - NON-SEXUAL

EXCEPTIONAL BODYWORK

Given by highly trained LMP. I specialize in injury treatment, acute, chronic, and repetitive stress motion.

I have a studio on CapHill, and one just north of the UW. Insurance accepted. Matt Shafer, LMP, 206-2357766. 45/12

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– RELAXATION and DEEP TISSUE massage on Capitol Hill. Last minute appointments welcome until 9pm.

Jeff, LMP, 206-650-0542. www.broadwaymassage. com. 41/3

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Magic touch bodywork.

12noon-8pm.

206-328-5828. 16/6

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– EROTICALLY CHARGED nude full body rubdown from playful top, stimulating the senses. Get seduced. Incalls in Renton area. Scott, 206-355-4469. 39/

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GREAT MASSAGE given by highly-trained, clean-cut, handsome guy. I have two private studios, one on CapHill, and one just north of the UW. Call/text Matt, 206-235-7766. In/out calls. 45/12

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38 MEN

RAIN CITY JACKS

RCJ is Seattle’s private club hosting hundreds of group jack-off events since 2005. Hot, friendly, and genuine male bonding for men 18+ only. Email or visit our web site for information. info@raincityjacks.org; www. raincityjacks.org. 27/12

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–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– FREE & ANONYMOUS HIV & STD COUNSELING/TESTING Walk-In or by Appt GAY CITY HEALTH PROJECT 517 E. Pike St. MON-FRI: 3pm-8pm SAT: 12:30pm-5pm More Info & to Schedule Appt 206-860-6969 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Visit us online www.sgn.org

October 14, 2016

Seattle Gay News 25

26 Seattle Gay News

October 14, 2016

Celebrating 41 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

October 14, 2016

Seattle Gay News 27

28 Seattle Gay News

October 14, 2016

Celebrating 41 Years!