Watermark Issue 21.23: Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center

daytona beaCh • orlando • taMPa • St. PeterSburg • SaraSota • iSSue 21.23 • noVeMber 6 - 19, 2014 • waterMarKonline.CoM

inS oUr A ide: NNUA

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MBA FIRES ORLANDO

LGBT

PRIDE DIRECTOR,

WELCOME CENTER

SuSPendS board

SCott

oPenS in ST. PETE edgeS out

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He is a compassionate, loving PAGE man who wants everybody to be 19 included in the love of God.

dePartments 6 // mail 8 // orlando news 12 // tamPa bay news

—elton John, referring to pope franCis

16 // state 19 // nation & world news 39 // Community Calendar 45 // transitions 46 // tamPa bay marKetPlaCe 47 // sPorts 48 // orlando marKetPlaCe 54 // Gallery w

PAGE

on the CoVer

PAGE The $514 million Dr.

Center for the 08 Phillips Performing Arts is set to

debut this month in Orlando, and puts a 21st century spin on the arts in the City Beautiful. Illustration by Jake Stevens

Preview

27 GiVinG her Glow:

The new Amazon Prime series Transparent delves into the story of a transgender woman sharing her journey with her ex-wife and their adult children. Judith Light talks about the project and why she decided to jump at the role of a lifetime.

watermarK issue 21.23 //noVember 6 - noVember 19, 2014

orlando news

tamPa bay news

PAGE The Metropolitan Business

PAGE Michael Smith easily wins

entertainment

Gallery w

Read it online!

sCan qr Code For

watermarKonline.Com

In addition to a Web site with daily LGBT updates, a digital version of each issue of the publication is made available on WatermarkOnline.com

08

Association fired Come Out With Pride president Mikael Audebert amid allegations of mismanagement; The Dr. Phillips Center is exponentially fabulous and LGBT friendly; Saunders, Stewart lose re-election bids.

10

his re-election to the Largo Commission; Hillsborough Commission races too close to call on election night; St. Pete’s LGBT Welcome Center finally opens its doors; St. Pete will turn red for World AIDS Day.

PAGE Jobsite Theater’s Vampire

30

Lesbians of Sodom incorporates camp and music into the Charles Busch classic.

We talk with director David Jenkins about his vision for the production, which runs at the Straz Center through the end of November.

PAGE Halloween fell on a Friday

year, meaning it 54 this turned into a weekend-

long celebration of costumes and parties. Watermark had photographers everywhere, and we’ve collected some images of our favorite, festive costumes.

eleCtion results were still rollinG in as watermarK went to Press. Visit watermarKonline.Com For the latest news! watermark Your lgbt life.

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

5

top web comments Phony Crist

C

harlie Crist continues to push his phony excuse that he left the Republican Party due to ‘racism and homophobia.’

I feel it is my duty, as a self identified, gay, libertarian Republican, to offer a rebuttal against these outrageous and false claims made by former Governor Crist, all in an attempt to gain votes, and bait and divide Floridians.

As an egotistical, career politician, Charlie Crist registered first as a Conservative ‘Ronald Reagan’ Republican who fought against gay marriage and gay adoption, then as an Independent, and now, a self-professed ‘Pro-life’ Democrat. Many of my gay Democrat friends silently find “compassionate” Crist despicably opportunistic, and untrustworthy. Many are still enraged over his refusal to debate qualified, and loyal Democrat, Sen. Nan Rich, of Weston, who has a consistent record of progressive accomplishments while serving in the State Senate.

Shane Pagano

Via WatermarkOnline.com

“Everything put forth to paint Scott and Bondi as evil villains is a complete fabrication.”

—Mimi Planas

Florida floundered under Crist

C

harlie Crist is the reason we have the [same-sex marriage] ban, excuse me if I do not come to his rescue based on a lie. I cannot imagine why anyone in the LGBT community would vote for him.

I will not now nor have I ever been a one-issue voter. Everything put forth to paint Scott and Bondi as evil villains is a complete fabrication. All because both of them are following the Constitution of Florida. I feel sad that people really believe all of this.

I want Florida to thrive, as it is doing now, not flounder like when Crist ran away from his failed policies.

Mimi Planas

Via WatermarkOnline.com

False accusation

T

he GLBT media has relied heavily on promoting false

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watermark Your lgbt life.

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

images of exaggerated racism, war on women, and systematic homicidal homophobia suffocating nearly all gays to death. The gay Republicans challenged how Florida GLBT all-whitemale editorial boards were promulgating malicious fiction to corral their voters into voting monolithically.

In 2010, a study determined that the GOP carried the most populous LGBT precincts 48-R to 47-D. Translation: the GLBT vote is not always 3-1, nor nearly as monolithic as journalists reflexively fabricate.

More than half the time the ratio is 2-1 as many GOP candidates get 35% even in losing races. In fact, Reagan, Nixon, Popa Bush and the Gingrich Revolution garnered over 40% of the GLBT vote of the day, according to CBS/ NYT exit polling.

Gays need good careers to compliment [sic] their upcoming marriages. They should be smart and vote for Rick Scott.

Matthew V. Tsien Via WatermarkOnline.com

contributors

editor’s

Steve Blanchard EDITOR

SteveB@WatermarkOnline.com

S

Desk

itting in the Watermark

newsroom on election night was exciting, sickening, disheartening and enlightening.

Once the polls closed at 7 p.m., it was an all-hands-ondeck situation with members of our editorial team monitoring different races in the different counties Watermark covers. We were streaming live television on the newsroom’s flat screen while refreshing the websites for an array of supervisors of elections offices.

It’s a process I’ve experienced many times in my career as a journalist, and one that tends to raise the excitement and stress levels to new heights each and every time.

For me, this was a disappointing election. Governor Rick Scott was somehow reelected. And the incumbent

governor was joined by his Attorney General, Pam Bondi.

Both Republicans have a laundry list of anti-LGBT actions and beliefs, and knowing that a majority of voters support their views stings. It stings because as a gay man, I have to wait just a little bit longer to be recognized as an equal in the state I choose to call home. A slim majority of my neighbors still want discrimination to exist for me and my community, simply because of who we are.

Admittedly, Charlie Crist wasn’t a strong candidate. He had burned bridges in the LGBT community by fighting against marriage equality when he was in Tallahassee as governor

before, and disenfranchised both Republicans and Democrats with his Party-Switching two-step—or three-step, if you include his short stint as an Independent.

Many LGBTs didn’t believe his reported change-of-heart when it came to his views on marriage equality. Instead, they saw it as a way to simply win votes.

I wanted to believe his stance, but admit I was more hopeful than convinced of his views.

Those who weren’t focused on LGBT issues simply saw both candidates as untrustworthy, according to a large number of polls.

In Central Florida, LGBT advocates Linda Stewart and Joe Saunders lost their bid for re-election, meaning Tallahassee will go back to being a little less friendly toward LGBTs once again.

And patients hoping for the medical assistance of medical marijuana will have to relocate to other states to get the help they so desperately need—which also translates to a big swing-and-amiss on Florida’s ability to raise tax revenue.

I recall a similar feeling of disappointment in 2008 when an amendment passed so easily here that barred same-sex couples from marrying. That measure even went even further and prevented the state from recognizing marriages performed outside of the state. In other words, if you were married to your same-sex partner in a state with marriage equality, you were single in the eyes of the law once you drove into the Sunshine State’s borders.

So what do the 2014 general election results mean for Florida and for us as an LGBT community? It means we have to fight harder and conquer a few more odds before we have full

equality in the Sunshine State.

It’s frustrating, yes. Hell, it’s even a bit depressing.

While voter turnout was better than expected, there were still too many who chose to sit at home rather than cast a vote. That means a minority, rather than a majority, decided who was going to run our government for the next two-to-four years.

But if we’ve learned anything from past elections, especially the mixed emotions that came with the election of 2008, is that we can find a way to win in the long run, no matter the setback.

Marriage equality will head

We have to fight harder and conquer a few more odds before we have full equality in the Sunshine State.

to the Supreme Court, and the dominoes continue to fall in our favor, thanks to the DOMA ruling in the summer of 2013.

Eventually, governors, regardless of party affiliation, will have to respect the law of the land, which will undoubtedly support marriage equality in all 50 states.

And that means in Florida, when we can legally marry our same-sex partners on our beaches and in our theme parks in the next year or two, it will be a Republican governor seated in Tallahassee that will have to finally admit that we won our right to equality.

That is, at least for me, a pretty big victory for our LGBT community.

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Joe Kissel

is a former resident of St. Petersburg and is a journalist, musician, filmmaker and fitness trainer. He lives in New York City. Page 14

Gregg Shapiro

is a Chicagobased freelance journalist and entertainment reporter whose work appears frequently in Watermark. Page 27

Zach Caruso

is a musician and journalist from New Jersey who now lives in St. Petersburg. He has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and an MA in writing. Page 30

Greg Burton, Scottie Campbell, Zach Caruso, Amy Dees, Kirk Hartlage, Joseph Kissel, Ken Kundis, Mary Meeks, Stephen Miller, David Moran, Gregg Shipiro, Greg Stemm, Brett Stout, Jim Walker

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7

orlando news

Key Players battle For Control oF orlando Pride Jamie Hyman

o

rlando | There’s a shakeup underway at Come Out With Pride. COWP chiefs and leaders of its parent organization, the Metropolitan Business Association, are locking horns.

At odds? Control of Orlando Pride, as key players reveal an alleged secrecy campaign, mismanaged finances and one man’s claim that a group of advisors called “The Elders” are pulling all the strings.

On the morning of Nov. 4, the MBA Board of Directors voted to suspend COWP’s entire Board of Directors and to fire its executive director of four years, Mikael Audebert.

Nayte Carrick, MBA vice president, said Audebert will also be removed from Converge, an MBA subsidiary focused on LGBT travel, where Audebert currently serves as executive director.

Carrick could not say how long the board’s suspension would last, but said it’ll Mikael Audebert be long enough to “let the dust settle.”

“We anticipate most of the board members and production team is going to stay,” he said. “The (COWP) event is not going to change significantly. But we are going to bring it back to its mission.”

According to an emailed press release from the MBA, the rationale for the suspension and dismissal is “divergence from its mission statement, failure to meet its charitable obligations, and lack of compliance with MBA oversight and directives.” The reasons are more complex, and while the Nov. 4 vote may have felt like a sudden move, political maneuvers and machinations toward these changes have been in play since this past summer.

Debbie Simmons, MBA’s founding president, is retired now, but feels protective of the organization. She said community members have been “sounding the alarm” with her that something wasn’t right at COWP. In June, the MBA formed an audit committee to look into COWP’s finances. At the time, Audebert was president of the MBA. “We didn’t find any criminal behaviors or anything like that, just very, very poor bookkeeping that extended beyond MBA and into other organizations,” said Michael Thomas, a current MBA board member who served on the audit Committee. He’s referring to Converge and the Wedding Alliance, two other organizations under the umbrella of MBA. “A lot of cross leveraging and funding between different accounts,” Thomas said. “We realized there needed to be an effort to fix that.”

He said they found other problems, such dwindling contributions to a scholarship fund and Pride Gives Back, a program that returns some of Pride’s profits to the community by awarding grants to local organizations.

Continued on Pg. 10 | uu |

8

what a view!:

The new Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts boasts a well-lit, all glass grand entry in downtown Orlando.

PHOTO By PATRICK O’CONNOR

built of Dreams Orlando’s Dr. Phillips Center opens this month after decades of planning and anticipation Scottie Campbell

o

rlando | This month, the theatrical landscape of Orlando will change thanks to the grand opening of the new Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. The $514 million complex with two (eventually three) theaters that sets regally on downtown’s main thoroughfare Orange Avenue—directly across from City Hall—is inarguably an impressive feat.

But what makes the new building different from its predecessors?

Backstage in the center’s administrative offices, in a sleek conference room with natural lighting—yes, you read that right, natural lighting backstage— Watermark sat down with Kathy Ramsberger, president of Dr. Phillips Center, and members of her staff, less than one week from the Nov. 8 grand opening. Despite having the lofty title of president, Ramsberger’s nametag simply says “Kathy” and therein is a clue to why this go at a performing arts center may become Orlando’s—if

watermark Your lgbt life.

not the country’s—most successful: accessibility. Above Kathy’s name, the nametag is emblazoned with the organization’s wavy, vibrant orange logo, below her name is their motto: Arts for Every Life.

“That business model drives the building,” said Ramsberger, referring to the slogan. “Not the other way around.”

In developing the project, the Dr. Phillips Center team looked at 37 performing arts centers around the country and found, more often than not, the approach had been to build a “monument” instead of crafting a place artists want to perform in, a place where people want to go. This made finding an architect willing to let the vision propel the project a bit of a challenge.

The challenge in creating a performing arts center for “every life” is there are so many different ideas of what it could be. Researching included thousands of surveys, community outreach, presentations at Kiwanis Clubs and neighborhood associations, and the creation of something called the Circle. A stroke of brilliance,

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

the Circle was formed from “loved leaders” from the community who then invited other leaders; this group kept communication alive with the community throughout the project.

“One of the things I’ve noticed, on all levels—employees, board members, donors, and even the Circle—gay people are involved,” said Scott Bowman, director of marketing.

Pat Norris states his primary directive when he took the role as director of human resources was to craft a staffing plan reflective of the community. Candidates for employment are vetted for three particular qualities: empathy, graciousness, and kindness.

“We all share this common link to want to be part of this once in a lifetime experience,” he said.

Set on nine acres of land the City began consolidating during Mayor Glenda Hood’s administration in the ‘90s, the building is fronted by the welcoming Seneff Arts Plaza.

Programming will occur in the plaza—a free Sheryl Crow concert on Nov. 8, for example—but it is also a place to hang out, bringing to mind big city concepts of “owning” a space complete with moveable chairs that can be arranged in any manner a citizen wishes.

Entrances to the facility function as normal doors, but can also be fully opened allowing a more expansive, inviting feel.

Ramsberger pointed out the first thing people will see when they enter says community. The Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater, referred to as

Continued on Pg. 11 | uu |

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9

orlando news

Grayson re-elected; Saunders, Stewart ousted Jamie Hyman

E

lection night was filled with victories and upsets for Central Florida’s gay and LGBT-friendly candidates.

Alan Grayson, a Democrat and long-time supporter of the LGBT community, was re-elected to his U.S. Representative post with a solid 54% of the vote, beating challenger and Republican Carol Platt.

The state house races were tougher. Both incumbents— Democrats Linda Stewart and Joe Saunders—were ousted by their challengers on Nov. 6.

Stewart earned 48% of the vote, not enough to beat Republican Mike Miller, who garnered 52%.

Saunders race came down to fewer than 700 votes.

Republican Rene “Coach P” Plascencia earned 18, 906 votes, just edging out Saunders who pulled in 18,189 votes.

“We just didn’t make it over the finish line today,” Saunders told a supportive audience during an election night event at The Abbey. “I’m equal parts totally devastated and equal parts totally relieved.”

Saunders talked about what prompted him toward politics.

“When I ran for office two years ago, I did it because I had spent 10 years going to Tallahassee and seeing conservative Republican Legislators score political points on the backs of the community that every person I love in this state is a part of, and I thought, we can’t let this keep happening,” he said. “We have to change the culture of Tallahassee.”

Two years ago, Saunders made history by becoming the first openly gay legislator sworn into the Florida legislature. (He was the second openly gay candidate voted into the legislature, beat to the punch by Democrat David Richardson, a CPA from Miami Beach, who secured his seat in the August primary elections. Saunders won his bid during the 2012 November general elections.)

It was a tough race for Saunders, as the Republican Party of Florida levied attack ads gave his opponent a big financial boost.

“We didn’t lose this race for any reason other than an incredibly ridiculous election and I’m proud of the race we ran, I’m proud of the work that we did and I’m proud of every single person here who stepped up to say we can change Tallahassee,” Saunders said.

Orange County saw another upset at the local level, as Democratic Challenger Tiffany Moore Russell earned 52% of the votes, beating incumbent Eddie Fernandez, a Republican. Moore Russell, an Orange County Commissioner, made headlines in October when she urged Orange County Commissioner Teresa Jacobs and the Board of County Commissioners to sign onto an amicus brief in support of marriage equality. The Commissioners approved the motion 5-2.

A smaller race that was hotly contested was for Orange County Soil and Water board District 4. Two openly gay candidates—Eric Rollings and Brian Fenn—faced off for that seat. Rollings came out on top, securing 53% of the votes.

Visit WatermarkOnline.com for full election results and to view a video of Saunders’ speech.

10

| uu | Orlando Pride from pg.8

Thomas said they also discovered COWP 2014 will “barely break even,” partly because it allegedly lost about $30,000 on the kickoff party.

Audebert resigned from his MBA post Oct. 8, just a few days before COWP 2014.

“Mikael thought we were ganging up on him and that prompted his resignation,” Thomas said, adding that he talked to Audebert about the poor timing, given the issues with the books. But Audebert moved forward with the resignation anyway, and his resignation was set to become official Nov. 1.

On Oct. 28, the COWP board voted to sever itself entirely from the MBA, a move Simmons calls “totally illegal.”

Audebert hinted at the split in an interview with Watermark shortly after Orlando Pride, where he was very clear that the organizations are separate entities and his resignation from the MBA would only mean more energy and focus for COWP. He said the vote to sever is in bounds.

“I don’t think any bylaw changes were done in a manner that was inappropriate or breaking rules,” Audebert said, adding that he, COWP board president Brian Smith and COWP board secretary Deb Ofsowitz are meeting with an attorney to discuss options.

COWP’s relationship with MBA isn’t the only thing those at odds disagree on. Even the story of Audebert’s firing varies wildly.

Audebert claims Simmons, along with former MBA board members Mary Meeks and Marty Chapman, approached him at COWP headquarters and told him to leave the office and not come back. If he refused, Audebert said the women threatened to reveal his past and destroy his reputation, which he said were “clearly threats of defamation.”

He said the three women are part of a group called “The Elders,” who are responsible for his firing which he deems “politically motivated.”

Audebert said his support for Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, who has a contentious relationship with the local LGBT community but did tell Watermark in August that she supports marriage equality, angered the women.

Meeks called Audebert’s version of events “ridiculous,” and both she and Simmons asserted that they do not

watermark Your lgbt life.

have the power to fire Audebert, and both were just members of a larger advisory committee.

Simmons said she and the two women did confront Audebert Nov. 4, because she’d been reading COWP board meeting minutes and was “stunned” by what she found.

“He was running a secrecy campaign,” Simmons said. “He was bullying the board members, telling them if they talked about anything in public, he would make sure they were removed from the board.”

She said the three women went to Audebert to give him the opportunity to step down quietly. Simmons said she did so because she knew if he was fired, Audebert’s alleged “sordid history” would become public.

“He probably can’t get a job here if he has a background check,” Simmon said. “He got involved with a non-

be the MBA’s signature fundraising event, and it should stay that way.

“The goal of Pride was… to be a fundraiser for MBA,” Thomas said.

Audebert said that kind of crossfundraising is “a dangerous move.”

COWP is a 501c3 and the MBA, as a chamber of commerce, is a 501c6. Audebert said the MBA “has the means to raise its own funds” and COWP profits should go to community programs and be invested in improving the event itself.

Carrick also expressed concerns that Audebert’s multiple roles in MBA subsidiary organizations muddied the waters. He said it was a good idea to create a separate COWP board, a “decision that has allowed the event to blossom,” but because Audebert occupied several roles in both COWP and MBA, “we lost that balance of checks that keeps the organization

“He was running a secrecy campaign.”

—Debbie Simmons

profit and he’s done nothing but cry and moan about not getting paid.”

Audebert claims his firing was motivated by political payback, while Simmons said his move to divorce COWP from the MBA was payback for Audebert not being paid the salary he wanted. “[Audebert] decided he would take a major fundraiser away from the MBA,” Simmons said. “He’s out of his mind. He can’t do it.”

Whether that is true is unclear.

Carrick, Simmons and Thomas all assert that COWP bylaws clearly state that the organization cannot change its own bylaws without prior approval of the MBA. However, neither the COWP nor the MBA bylaws provided to Watermark state that.

Still, Carrick feels the COWP board was not presented “all the information they needed” for the Oct. 28 vote to cut ties.

“It is my personal, firm belief that the board members of COWP only have the best intentions for the organization,” Carrick said. “It was never their intention to run off or do anything improper.”

Setting aside the bad blood and whether the vote to split was above board, at its heart, the conflict is over two relatively simple questions— what is the mission of Come Out With Pride? And what should happen to funds raised by the event?

Simmons, Thomas and Carrick are confident that COWP was created to

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

doing what it’s supposed to be doing.

We lost the oversight.”

So what about the mission of COWP? Carrick said the event was created as a civil rights demonstration, where the LGBT community would come together to celebrate diversity and community with straight allies, and COWP leadership should respect and retain those roots.

“It seems like it’s gotten away from that celebration and turned more into a party,” Carrick said. “They don’t talk as much about what that day signified and how important it is.”

Audebert has brought less traditionally LGBT-supportive corporations into COWP, including Chick-fil-A, which donated food.

Detractors view these relationships as a grab for money, a strategy to make the event more corporate which shuts out smaller supporters who have backed Central Florida’s LGBT community for years.

Despite exhaustive efforts toward damage control, Audebert said COWP has already suffered from the conflict.

“We’ve already gotten calls from sponsors who said are not coming back because of this,” he said.

Carrick, however, is confident COWP will come out of this stronger.

An emergency MBA board meeting is set for Nov. 6, where Carrick said he expects to be elected the organization’s new leader.

orlando news | uu | Dr. Phillips Center froM Pg.8

a community theater, is a 300seat black box style theater with multiple levels that can serve multiple purposes from proscenium arch productions to parties. To the left of the Pugh, rich purple carpeting leads into the Walt Disney Theater with 2,700 seats, which will primarily be used for Broadway shows. Amazingly, the goal making this large capacity intimate has been achieved.

The outside drum of the Disney Theater dominates the lobby area, itself a work of art that can be lit many different colors. Attention to place-making is throughout lobby with touches like drink rails, people can see and be seen in various spots, encouraging social interaction. A 60foot bar will insure an expeditious libation experience during intermissions, always a sticking point in theaters. Patrons may find the chic lobby experience enjoyable enough to arrive earlier.

A few floors up, the breathtaking

grand stairCase: The expansive lobby area of the Dr. Phillips Center covers multiple floors and is arranged in a way that’s encourages interactions. PHOTO By PATRICK O’CONNOR DeVos Family Room overlooks the plaza and has a wonderful view of City Hall and downtown, through massive sliding glass doors.

Bearing the name of one of state’s biggest anti-gay contributors, Rich DeVos, at first blush it is hard not to think the center’s inclusive philosophy has hit a stumbling block. Doing some background research, it helps a bit to know his

downtown view: The center’s location puts it

across from the county courthouse and alongside some of the city’s most impressive buildilngs. PHOTO By JAKE STEVENS

dollars wound up here as a quid pro quo political move to make the Amway Center a reality; it helps a lot to imagine the room will doubtless become the site of some gloriously gay events.

Throughout the building there is an admirable attention to detail.

Unlike most donor rooms which are normally tucked away, this one is in the front of the building with

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windows onto the entrance where donors can witness the arrival of patrons, proof their generosity was worthwhile. The center’s educational area includes windows looking into backstage, so students can witness the real work of the arts as they happen.

Good-naturedly, Ramsberger related an old Chinese proverb: “A good house is never finished.”

There are plans to have a rooftop beer garden, a hope to one day have an iconic fountain in the plaza, and of course there is “stage 2” of the project, a 1,700-seat acoustic theater in an area along South Street currently occupied by pieces of sod puzzled together.

Even with much work to be done, there is so much more to celebrate. Thanks to Walt Disney, Orlando has often approached things with an “if you build it, they will come” attitude. Standing in the theater named after that same man, looking up at its canopied sky ceiling that recalls Baron Munchausen dancing on air with Venus, it is easy to answer the question of whether they will come, now that it has been built, with an optimistic, resounding, “Yes!” For a full schedule of events and shows and details on grand opening celebrations at the new center, visit DrPhillipsCenter.org.

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11

tampa bay news

smith retains seat on larGo Commission Staff and Wire Report

i

t was a mixed bag of results for LGBTs in the Nov. 4 general election around Tampa Bay. But while there were some disappointing losses (the public transportation initiative Greenlight Pinellas failed by a large margin), a huge win early on came out of Largo.

Largo Commissioner Michael Smith retained his District 1 seat after easily defeating challenger Bronson ‘O’ Oudshoff with 65% of the vote. Smith is the first openly gay elected official in Largo.

“I am honored that the citizens of Largo believe in me and what I have been doing,” Smith texted Watermark after learning of his win. “I look forward to moving Largo forward and working with my other commissioners to be a city of progress.”

More good news came out of north Pinellas on election night when former Largo Mayor and LGBT ally Pat Gerard, a Democrat, won her bid to sit on the Pinellas County Commission. Gerard narrowly defeated Ed Hooper, a Republican, after capturing 51% of the vote.

Republican incumbent Rep. David Jolly received 76% of the vote, defeating Libertarian Lucas Overby in the Florida District 13 congressional race.

Jolly, R-Indian Shores, took office less than seven months ago in a special election, which was held after longtime Rep. C.W. Bill Young passed away. Overby also ran in the special election.

Overby has supported same-sex marriage since he first began his campaign. Jolly initially opposed the recognition of same-sex marriages in Florida, but softened his stance after winning the seat in March.

In a statement to the Washington Post in July, Jolly said he thinks governments should allow same-sex couples to wed.

“As a matter of my Christian faith, I believe in traditional marriage,” Jolly said. “But as a matter of Constitutional principle I believe in a form of limited government that protects personal liberty. To me, that means that the sanctity of one’s marriage should be defined by their faith and by their church, not by their state. Accordingly, I believe it is fully appropriate for a state to recognize both traditional marriage as well as same-sex marriage, and therefore I support the recent decision by a Monroe County Circuit Judge [to overturn the state ban on same-sex marriage].”

The 13th congressional district covers most of Pinellas County, and Overby expressed hope that Jolly will take his support of marriage equality back to Washington.

“If I’m not in Washington and my opponent is,” Overby said before the election, “I hope to God he fights for federal protections to support all people regardless of who they are.”

In Hillsborough County, equality advocates were

Continued on Pg. 14 | uu |

12

order’s up!: Brian

Longstreth serves as the volunteer barista at the LGBT Welcome Center’s opening day Oct. 27.

PHOTO COuRTESy LARRy BIDDLE

open for business Metro’s LGBT Welcome Center opens its doors Aaron Alper

s

t. petersburg | The Grand Central District has a new resident—and one it has been expecting for quite some time.

Larry Biddle, director of the Metro Wellness and Community Center’s LGBT Welcome Center Development, announced this week that the unique project’s doors are open for business.

The center, located at 2227 Central Ave., is a historic home that was physically relocated to the site last spring. Besides that history, the new center has a deep connection to the local LGBT community.

“It began with Brian Longstreth,” Biddle said, “who runs the Gay St. Pete House and who is a local real estate agent. He and his brother James had heard they were going to tear down the house, which is a 1922 bungalow. So Brian and James went to Lorraine Langlois, the chief executive officer of the Metro Wellness Center, and talked about moving the house next to the present Metro Wellness thrift store.”

The house was then painstakingly relocated and was refurbished with contributions from the community.

“The money was raised for all the

watermark Your lgbt life.

renovations, which included a relandscape and a new patio,” Biddle said. “One of the ways we were trying to delineate the funding for what we were trying to raise was that I took a square footage allocation of each of the rooms, including the porch and divided each of the rooms in the dollars we were trying to raise.”

Several individuals and groups, including the Historic Kenwood Neighborhood Association, purchased the rooms.

“We had 46 contributions greater

when they visit Tampa Bay. We will be working closely with Visit St. Pete/ Clearwater and we will be connected through their website.

“We also be doing some training through Metro Wellness— ‘LGBT friendly’ training which will certify establishments that go through the training. We will also be hosting poetry reading events and classes, taught by volunteers, through the center.”

Aside from all this, the LGBT Welcome Center is unusual in that there are only two others like it in the country. However, because of the connection to Metro Wellness, the house will serve as an extension for social services that cater to the LGBT community.

“The two other centers, in Miami

“It’s a visible place where homeless LGbT youth can engage and feel comfortable and safe.” —larry biddle

than $500,” Biddle said. “We are pleased so many individuals stepped up and made contributions.”

The LGBT Welcome Center is scheduled for its public opening and ribbon cutting ceremony Dec. 12.

“It’s going to be a type of coffee house, where people can sit and read, maybe enjoy a muffin or something like that,” Biddle said. “It will also be a LGBT travel center, where through our website, people will be looking at to determine places of engagement

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and Seattle, were founded by the local LGBT chamber of commerce, but we are founded by the Metro Wellness,” Biddle explained. “This is great because we will probably have LGBT homeless youth who will come to the center because it’s a visible place where they can engage and feel comfortable and safe. And because we’re connected with Metro Wellness, we will be able to connect them

Continued on Pg. 14 | uu |

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13

tampa bay news

St. Pete project to bring red awareness to World AIDS Day Joseph Kissel

S Now Open: The new LGBT Welcome Center is housed in a renovated 1920s bungalow-style home that was relocated to 2227 Central Ave. in St. Petersburg last spring.

Photo courtesy Larry Biddle

| uu | LGBT Welcome Centerfrom pg.12 with the services they need. While we aren’t going to offer housing and counseling, we will make sure they will get to other social workers and people will the skills to get them the help they need. “ Biddle pointed out the imperative need for helping the LGBT youth and how lucky they are to work so closely with Metro Wellness.

“What is so surprising is that it is estimated that, at one point in time or another, 40% of all the homeless youth in Tampa Bay are LGBT,” he said. “The need is great to be able to help these young people. We are fortunate that we are so connected with Metro Wellness. In Miami and Seattle there is no direct connection to social services, so it is more difficult for them to provide those services, although I would assume they’ve figured out how to do that. But because we are part of Metro Wellness, we can directly connect them to help.”

For more information, visit MetroTampaBay.org/LGBTWelcome-Center.

| uu | Tampa Bay Election Results from pg.12 closely monitoring the race for the County Commission District 7 seat on election night. Democrat Pat Kemp faced off against Al Higginbotham for the countywide seat. At press time, both had 50% of the vote with 99% of precincts reporting. Higginbotham led with slightly more than 3,000 votes, a number that made it too close to call a winner on election night.

Republican Victor Crist maintained his seat on the Hillsborough County Commission when he easily beat Democrat Elizabeth Belcher in the District 2 race. Crist soared to victory with 57% of the vote.

And in the race for Hillsborough County School Board District 4, notoriously anti-gay activist Terry Kemple lost to Melissa Snively, who took 54% of the vote.

Visit WatermarkOnline.com to see full Tampa Bay election results.

14

t. Petersburg | Is it art, activism or both?

It’s both on Dec. 1—World AIDS Day—when St. Pete will wake up to find Central Avenue lined with 170 trees transformed into columns of red muslin.

“I hope that when folks come and see the ribbon they’ll remember the people who’ve died, remember the struggle it took by ACT UP to get us access to medicines that are keeping people like me alive,” said artist and St. Petersburg resident Jim Buresch.

But it was pure activism in 1991 when as a student, Buresch turned the quad at West Virginia’s Marshall University into a field of tombstones for World AIDS Day. “Unlike the rest of the country, HIV infection rates in West Virginia were not stabilizing,” he said. “You need to remember this is the place Oprah Winfrey came to after the pool there had been closed because an HIV-positive man swam in it.”

Although he received threats for his display, Bursesch said, “The media accepted it very well and it had a positive impact.”

Years later in San Francisco, he constructed a three-story pink triangle to draw attention to the effects of gentrification there.

But it was Seattle where he would originally come up with he idea to Wrap It Red for World AIDS Day.

“I wanted the columns that support the monorail wrapped in red fabric,” he said. “While the idea was generally well-received, it didn’t go too well with the department of transportation. For it to get approved, it was going to be way more political than I wanted.”

Flash forward to St. Petersburg, and a kinder climate to “large, overthe-top installations with a social message”—and the guy behind it all.

“My bones were too old to be setting up and working in the wee hours and the cold weather,” Buresch said. He added that he will get help from the St. Pete Arts Alliance as well as volunteers from Bank of America’a LGBT Network.

“We’ll have 12 to 15 ambassadors guaranteed during the installation,” he said.

Buresch said it will take about three hours on the evening of Nov. 30 for the trees to be wrapped in the red muslin and laced up with red ribbons. Fifty of the trees will accommodate the addition of names, messages and small pictures to help keep the memory alive of those lost to the disease.

A candlelight vigil will take place at 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 1, at the new LGBT Welcome Center on Central Avenue.

The installation—which will encompass 16th through 31st streets—will remain up for three days. The display’s time line is based on two factors: it lessens the chance for vandalism, and it falls in

line with the City of St. Petersburg’s rules regarding the installation’s maintenance.

“There will be a balloon loop to complete the conceptual effect of someone crossing the street and seeing the ribbon,” Buresch said.

“We’ll be putting the ribbon at 22nd Street so that if someone is looking east or west they’ll see what I see in my mind.”

While the mile-long Red Ribbon will be a temporary art installation, it will produce a piece of community-created folk art as 50 sections where memorials have been left will later be laced together producing an ‘AIDS Wall of Remembrance.’

“I hope people are reminded of what they already know, and that’s after 30 years this is still an issue that affects all people,” Buresch said.

“They’ll remember we don’t have a cure yet. My idea is they will think of someone they’ve lost. The ultimate goal of mine is to evoke emotions of loss, anger, love and hope.”

Buresch encourages local residents to participate in the art installation as well by accenting homes and businesses with red ribbon and other additions.

“A red light bulb, red Christmas paper around a tree, red balloons, red film on your office windows, red streamers,” Buresch suggests.

“Whatever folks can do to light their places red is a way everyone can be a part of Rock It Red.

W. Bush, wrote a column Aug. 11 suggesting Disney had a “gay agenda” toward “impressionable children” by exposing them to “openly gay characters and couples.” The column was widely criticized, including a viewpoint column written by Jamie Hyman, Watermark’s Director of Online Media.

MacKinnon also recently published “The Secessionist States of America: The Blueprint for Creating a Traditional Values Country...Now,” which cited the

progress of LGBT rights as one of the major reasons the South should secede from the rest of the U.S. to form a new country based on “traditional values.”

Creative Loafing in Tampa reported Oct. 27 that MacKinnon was fired due to him being an “embarrassment to the paper,” but did not name any sources.

The controversial Aug. 11 column was pulled from the Tampa Tribune’s website three days after publication.

Anti-gay columnist no longer works at Tampa Tribune Staff Report

T

ampa | Tampa Tribune columnist Douglas MacKinnon has left his job at the newspaper. The Tampa Tribune’s publisher, Brian Burns, confirmed Oct. 28 that MacKinnon is leaving the paper but would not disclose the reason MacKinnon, who was a former aide to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.

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15

state news

Florida attorney General Pam bondi KeePs same-seX marriaGe on hold in Florida Jamie Hyman

t

allahassee | Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi had a deadline of midnight, Oct. 24, to respond to a request from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to lift a stay on Florida cases fighting for marriage equality.

At the last minute, Bondi responded. The motion, filed Oct. 24 in the late afternoon, states that there is “a substantial public interest in a stay,” citing the importance of “stability of law.”

“In a continuation of the effort to maintain uniformity and order throughout Florida until final resolution of the numerous challenges to the voterapproved constitutional amendment on marriage, the motion filed today asks that the Court continue the stay until the federal appeals court can review the decision,” said the attorney general’s office communications director Jenn Meale in a media release. “There is currently an appeal pending in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.”

The Oct. 24 deadline arose from Grimsley and Albu v. Scott, a case filed by the ACLU on behalf of eight married samesex couples and SAVE, a South Florida LGBT rights organization. The Pam Bondi case fights for marriage recognition for gay couples legally married out-of-state.

On Aug. 21, U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle ruled that Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. As in other Florida marriage equality cases, an appeal by Bondi meant a stay was placed on the ruling. On Oct. 6, when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear same-sex marriage appeals from five states, it opened the door for the ACLU to attempt to kill Florida’s stay on marriage.

According to the ACLU, the decision is now in Judge Hinkle’s hands. He’ll be briefed by both sides, and then Baylor Johnson, ACLU of Florida director of communications, said he expects a ruling soon.

“We expect that decision soon, and we’re certainly hopeful, based on what happened at the Supreme Court earlier this month, that the judge will lift the stay and that marriage will finally be allowed to win in Florida,” he said.

Read the full motion at WatermarkOnline.com.

16

sCott re-eleCted as GoVernor Staff and Wire Report

J

ust before 10:30 p.m. on election day, the Associated Press called a victory for Republican governor Rick Scott, who narrowly defeated Democratic challenger Charlie Crist.

Late on Tuesday night, the returns showed Scott with a slight lead over Crist—48% to 47% of votes Watermark recommended Crist, stating that while he’s not ideal, when it comes to pro-equality stances, he stands heads above Scott, who supports “traditional marriage,” and cheers on Attorney General Pam Bondi’s fruitless fight to defend the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, despite a string of decisions declaring it unconstitutional..

In all of the other statewide races, victory went to the Republican candidates.

Incumbent Bondi was re-elected.

Voters chose the Republican Attorney General over Democratic challenger George Sheldon. With over half the expected vote counted, Bondi led 55-42 percent.

The 48-year-old Bondi is a close ally of Gov. Rick Scott. She raised more than $4 million for her reelection. That dwarfed the money raised by Sheldon, a former legislator and Department of Children and Families head.

Bondi is controversial within the LGBT community for her dedication to defending the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.

Republican Jeff Atwater beat out Democrat William “Will” Rankin by 18 points, and Republican Adam Putnam is Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture, besting Democrat Thaddeus “Thad” Hamilton by 18% of the vote.

Medical marijuana in the state of Florida will not become legal this election year. Florida voters have rejected the sale and distribution of medical marijuana in the state.

Amendment 2 failed Nov. 4 when it failed to reach the necessary 60 percent to pass. With nearly 90 percent of precincts reporting, 57 percent of voters had voted yes. It requires 60 percent approval to pass.

The campaign for medical marijuana was among the most expensive ballot measures in the country, with millions spent on both sides.

Amendment 2 was supported by Democrat Charlie Crist and opposed

by Republican Rick Scott, though neither candidate has made the issue a campaign centerpiece.

Under Amendment 2, to obtain medical marijuana, patients would have to get a doctor’s certification of their condition, which in turn would qualify them for a patient ID card they could use at licensed dispensaries.

State lawmakers passed a narrow medical marijuana law earlier this year to allow low-potency strains of the drug for certain patients.

But supporters of Amendment 2 argued a broader law was necessary to make medical marijuana available to people representing a broader group of illnesses.

Opponents prevailed with warnings the amendment was too loosely worded and would result in a system where marijuana was medical in name only.

Floridians have also decided to dedicate billions of dollars to conservation efforts and let the incoming governor fill three expected vacancies on the state Supreme Court in 2019.

Amendment 1 dedicates $18

same-seX marriaGe FiGht will not Go straiGht to state suPreme Court Wire Report tallahassee | A state appeals court has refused to let Attorney General Pam Bondi take the state’s ban on gay marriage directly to the Florida Supreme Court.

watermark Your lgbt life.

The 3rd District Court of Appeals on Oct. 24 indicated in a brief sentence that it will continue to consider Bondi’s appeal against overturning Florida’s gay marriage ban.

Several Florida judges ruled this summer that Florida’s ban

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

billion in existing real estate taxes to environmental protection over the next two decades. About half the revenue would go to buy nearly 2 million acres of undeveloped land.

Florida voters have approved Amendment 1. With over half the expected vote counted, the amendment had 77 percent approval, well over the 60 percent needed to pass.

Supporters argued the measure is necessary because lawmakers in recent years dramatically reduced funding for the Florida Forever conservation program. Republican legislative leaders, however, argued against the amendment because it would force lawmakers to set aside a pot of money every year for conservation and give them less flexibility in how to spend tax dollars.

Amendment 3 is complicated, but it boiled down to whether the outgoing or incoming governor would fill three expected vacancies on the state Supreme Court.

Florida voters rejected Amendment 3. With over half the expected vote counted, the amendment had only 48 percent approval, well short of the 60 percent needed to pass.

The amendment’s failure means the governor taking office in January 2019 will appoint the three new Supreme Court justices who are retiring due to age limits the same year.

The amendment was added to the ballot by the Republican-led Legislature, which billed it as a needed clarification. Democrats and many legal commentators called it an attempted court-packing power grab.

Visit WatermarkOnline.com for more reaction to the general election results. is unconstitutional but stayed their rulings until other cases around the country were resolved, including those pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. It recently declined to hear appeals from five states that sought to keep their marriage bans in place. The American Civil Liberties Unions, as well as attorneys for couples seeking to marry, then sued to overturn the stay.

Bondi wanted the Florida Supreme Court to rule.

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watermark Your lgbt life.

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nation+world news

Apple CEO publicly acknowledges that he’s gay Wire Report

N

ew York | Apple CEO Tim Cook’s declaration that he’s ``proud to be gay’’ wasn’t exactly news in Silicon Valley, where his sexual orientation was no secret. But advocates say that given Apple’s immense reach and visibility, his coming out could help change attitudes in workplaces across America.

The 53-year-old successor to Steve Jobs made the announcement in an essay published Oct. 30 by Bloomberg Businessweek. He is the highest-profile U.S. business executive to publicly acknowledge that he’s gay.

In a country where more majorleague athletes have come out than top CEOs, business leaders said Cook’s disclosure was an important step toward easing anti-gay stigma, particularly for employees in the many states where people can still be fired for their sexual orientation.

Cook, who led Out magazine’s top 50 most powerful people for three years, said in the essay that while he never denied his sexuality, he never openly acknowledged it, either. He said he acted now in the hopes that his words could make a difference to others. ``I’ve come to realize that

my desire for personal privacy has been holding me back from doing something more important,’’ he wrote.

Cook said he considers being gay ``among the greatest gifts God has given me’’ because it has given him both a better understanding of what it means to be in the minority and ``the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you’re the CEO of Apple.’’

Besides Cook, there are no other openly gay CEOs in the Fortune 1,000, even though statistically, 3.4% of Americans identify as something other than straight, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control.

Some executives of major U.S. corporations who are openly gay at their companies declined to comment to The Associated Press.

Megan Smith, a lesbian who was a top executive at Google before recently becoming the U.S. government’s chief technology officer, predicted “people will look back at this time not only for the extraordinary technological innovations that keep coming, but also for great shifts in civil rights and inclusion of talent across our world. Tim is a big part of both of these important movements.’’

Fifty-three percent of workers in the U.S. who identify as LGBT hide that part of their identity at work,

according to a study by Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay-rights group.

Wendy Patrick, a business ethics lecturer at San Diego State University, points out that executives in the 29 U.S. states that do not protect employees from being fired based on sexual orientation may still feel hesitant to come out at work.

It remains to be seen how the news will affect Cook’s reception in conservative countries where Apple Inc. does business.

In Russia, Vitaly Milonov, a city legislator in St. Petersburg notorious for his anti-gay statements, called for a lifetime ban that would bar Tim Cook from entering Russia.

But Cook’s coming out is unlikely to affect Apple’s sales in Russia, where most people don’t mix ideology with consumption.

However, a week after Cook’s announcement, a six-foot statue of an iPhone on a university campus in St. Petersburg was taken down.

In a statement, ZEFS, which according to its website owns construction, advertising, and finance enterprises in St. Petersburg, describes Cook’s revelation “a public call to sodomy.”

Apple declined to comment on the removal of the statue, which featured former CEO Steve Jobs.

Elton John at AIDS event: Pope Francis is my hero Wire Report New York | Elton John called Pope Francis “my hero’’ for his compassion and push to accept gays in the Catholic church at his annual AIDS benefit.

John hosted the event, “An Enduring Vision: A Benefit for the Elton John AIDS Foundation,’’ Oct. 28 in New York City, which raised $3.7 million. He said Francis is pushing boundaries in the church and told the crowd: ``Make this man a saint now, okay?’’ ``Ten years ago one of the biggest obstacles in the fight against AIDS was the Catholic Church. Today we have a pope that speaks out about it,’’ said John, earning cheers from the attendees

at Cipriani’s on Wall Street.

Catholic bishops scrapped their landmark welcome to gays in October, showing deep divisions at the end of a two-week meeting sought by Francis to chart a more merciful approach to ministering to Catholic families. An earlier draft of the document offered a welcoming tone of acceptance, but that was stripped away after the bishops failed to reach consensus on a watered-down section on ministering to homosexuals. ``He is a compassionate, loving man who wants everybody to be included in the love of God,’’ John said of the pope. ``It is formidable what he is trying to do against many, many people in the church that opposes. He is courageous and he is fearless, and that’s what we

need in the world today.’’

John, who wrote an op-ed for The New York Times, also honored New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his plan to end the AIDS epidemic in his state by 2020.

Attendees included John’s husband, David Furnish, Neil Patrick Harris, Alec Baldwin, Matt Lauer and host Anderson Cooper.

A lunch date with the newsmen was part of the auction, dubbed the ``great anchor sandwich,’’ and it sold for $45,000.

John, who sat while the honorees gave speeches, said he was recovering from a knee operation that took place the previous week.

He performed a rousing set at the end of the night, singing hits like ``Tiny Dancer’’ and ``Your Song’’ while playing the piano.

watermark Your lgbt life.

in other news Philadelphia upping hate crime law after same-sex attack Philadelphia’s city council has passed a bill authorizing added penalties for gender identity and sexual orientation hate crimes that aren’t covered under state law. The administration-backed bill won unanimous approval. Mayor Michael Nutter has two weeks to sign it into law. Backers say the bill fixes a gap in state law exposed by an assault last month on a same-sex couple in Center City. Prosecutors said they couldn’t charge the slur-spewing assailants with a hate crime because sexual orientation isn’t covered in the state’s hate crime law.

New york school backs off Halloween cross-dressing ban A suburban New York high school has reversed a ban on Halloween cross-dressing after an advocacy group complained. The Journal News says Eastchester High School had issued a statement to students about appropriate Halloween attire that stated “students are not allowed to cross-dress.’’ The ban was brought to attention of Empire State Pride Agenda, which focuses on LGBT issues. It said “policing one’s gender expression has no place in schools,’’ especially on the one day students can express themselves freely.

LGBT conference to be held in West virginia Fairness West Virginia Institute plans to have a conference at the Charleston Civic and Convention Center Nov. 15. The conference features an address from Executive Director Andrew Schneider regarding the state of equality in West Virginia. Two panels will focus on relevant issues facing the LGBT community.

NTSB releases report on fatal colorado plane crash A preliminary report on a fatal plane crash near the Boulder, Colo., airport says witnesses told investigators they saw the aircraft make a steep bank to the left before it nose-dived into the ground. The National Transportation Safety Board report says the Mooney M-20E was nearly vertical when it crashed and burst into flames north of Boulder Municipal Airport on Oct. 27.

Steven Moore, executive director of the National Gay Pilots Association, was killed in the crash. The cause of the crash is still under investigation by the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Nebraska funeral protest challenge to go to trial A federal judge has cleared the way for a March trial over a challenge to the Nebraska law that limits protests and picketing at funerals. The case stems from a lawsuit filed in 2009 by members of Westboro Baptist Church that challenged Nebraska’s funeral picketing law. The original 2006 law required protesters to stand 300 feet away from a funeral service, but it has since been amended to keep protesters at least 500 feet away.

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viewpoint

Chris Rudisill

Guest column

I

A ‘Smart’ Ride for good

n 2010, I was still

relatively new to Florida. My first year in St. Petersburg was spent getting immersed in the LGBT community, enjoying the beautiful sunshine and beginning to find joy in the immense cycling opportunities throughout our area.

In doing so, I heard other riders and new friends talk about this SMART Ride event—a two-day, 165mile bike ride from Miami to Key West. Having never been to Key West before, my partner and I started to train for the 7th Annual SMART Ride, or SouthernMost AIDS Ride Twenty-ten.

During our training we learned a lot—like don’t attempt to ride 10 miles, no less 165, on a mountain bike. Second, and most importantly, we learned about this great event that benefits organizations throughout the state serving those who are living with or affected by HIV/AIDS. I didn’t finish the entire 165-mile stretch that year, but I made it as far as I could, and my partner and I would continue to ride the next three years.

We are both still involved to this day. I improved my endurance and speed each year, but the most amazing thing about the event was the “family” we created.

Today, I work for one of those agencies (Metro Wellness & Community Centers) that benefit from the event and have the opportunity to see firsthand the good that the SMART Ride can do in a community.

After riding for three years, I’ve moved to the crew side and now spend a fun, yet sometimes physically exhausting week with folks from across the state as we prepare for 500 cyclists to make their way from

Miami to Key West over two days. We’re hopeful those two days come with beautiful views and a cool breeze at their back later this month.

This year, the 11th Annual SMART Ride is off and peddling once again on Nov. 14-15. Over the course of 11 years, the event has raised over $5.3 million and is the second largest HIV/AIDS bike ride in the country.

It’s the only such event that guarantees 100% of all funds raised will go directly back to the HIV/ AIDS community.

Beneficiaries include Tampa Bay’s Metro Wellness and Community Centers; Orlando’s Miracle of Love; The Pride Center at Equality Park and Children’s Diagnostic & Treatment Center, both in Fort Lauderdale; AIDS Help in Key West; Pridelines Youth Services in Miami and FoundCare’s Comprehensive AIDS Program in Palm Beach County.

Lorraine Langlois, CEO of Metro described last year’s SMART ride as “amazing” and life-changing for so many people affected by HIV/AIDS in our area.

The 2013 SMART Ride raised a record-breaking $1,070,101, and Metro received $131,309.47 to assist those in the Tampa Bay area. The funds provided through the SMART Ride help provide assistance for food, clothing, housing, and medications for many in the area living with HIV. It is essential for providing adequate services where there are gaps in state and federal funding.

For instance, just in the past year, Metro Wellness and Community Centers have provided 650 bus passes to clients for transportation to medical appointments, served 320 meals, paid over $8,000 in medical co-pays, and provided nearly $20,000 in client gift certificates that assist with transportation,

watermark Your lgbt life.

meals and other basic living needs.

Fellow Tampa Bay rider David Simons told me that he has seen the evolution of the SMART Ride since he attended his first informational meeting on it in 2011.

“It has provided me with an outlet to not only create change in our community,

as Hawaii. Riders and crew range in age from 18 to 73 years old and come for a variety of reasons, but all find “family” in the event that does so much for those in our state.

Simons told me that the ride converted him into a passionate advocate for a disease he previously felt had little impact in his life.

journey as SMART Riders.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world, indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.”

For more information about the SMART Ride or to donate to a rider in our area, visit TheSmartRide. org. Volunteer opportunities

but has allowed me to learn more about prevention and advocacy, and has dispelled some of the fear I associated with HIV,” Simons said.

Simons is part of several riders and teams that represent the Tampa Bay area. FIve hundred riders are expected to participate in the ride this year, coming from throughout the state of Florida and as far away

As riders and crew across the area gear up for the eleventh annual SMART Ride, I remember the very first year I hopped on my bike—legs a little shaky, not really sure what to expect.

Immediately, I get pretty emotional, tears well up. I’m reminded of the Margaret Mead quote spoken each year at the event that portrays the essence of our

are also available through the individual charities participating this year.

I have the opportunity to see firsthand the good that the SMART Ride can do in a community.

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

Chris Rudisill is the Director of LGBT Community Center Services at Metro Wellness and Community Centers.

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Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

property maintenance

Arie Groen’s

viewpoint

Jamie Hyman

online mediA director

ally agenda A black herring

I

n October, two lesbians

made national headlines when they sued a sperm bank after giving birth to a mixed-race baby, a clear indicator that they had been given the wrong sperm, since they chose a white donor. Internet commenters piled on, branding the couple, Jennifer Cramblett and Amanda Zinkon, as racist. Those people are missing the point. Race is a red herring in this situation—the case is about a gay couple demanding respect for the methods LGBT people are required to use to create their families.

It’s not a shock that most people latched onto the race angle, as it was the focus of most headlines about the lawsuit and the women opted to express in the court filings their fears of raising a biracial child in their Ohio neighborhood, which is predominantly white. I can only speculate that these concerns were included to strengthen the women’s case, but I’d argue that the case didn’t need to be made any stronger.

Creating a child with science is a difficult, demeaning, wildly expensive task. It is both physically painful and emotionally distressing. I know, because I have done it.

As I type this, I’m 15 weeks pregnant with a boy conceived via in-vitro fertilization (IVF). A lot of people I talk to don’t exactly know what that is, so I’ll tell you—my husband’s sperm and my eggs were harvested and combined outside of my body, then inserted into my body after growing in a lab

for five days. Usually, more embryos are successfully fertilized than you would want to insert at once, so those little guys are frozen for a frozen embryo transfer (FET) later. FET is considered a type of IVF. There is also intrauterine insemination (IUI), where the sperm is inserted by a doctor while the woman is ovulating, and if she doesn’t ovulate regularly (like me!), she’s given loads of drugs to both force ovulation and make sure it doesn’t happen too early.

My current successful pregnancy comes after three failed rounds of IUI, a successful IVF that ended in a devastating late miscarriage, three more failed rounds of FET and another failed round of IVF. When it comes to employing science to conceive, I know what I’m talking about, and I am telling you that when couples enter into the world of infertility treatments, it is always taxing and complex.

All of the treatments have different requirements, but for all three, women must undergo near-daily doctors’ appointments with that oh-so-invasive transvaginal ultrasound, and medications that will exhaust you, bloat you, or make you wonder if you are losing your mind. Sometimes, it’s all of the above!

Then, if the pregnancy is successful, the mother endures months of progesterone shots.

Progesterone is both a life-saver that keeps the pregnancy viable and the devil’s hormone. It is stored in an oil so thick that the needle used to draw it out of the vial has to be changed before injection, because it’s too broad to penetrate skin, and then every night, that viscous fluid is laboriously forced deep into muscle.

Oh, did I mention the shots go in your butt? Well, they

watermark Your lgbt life.

do, and then they continue to cause muscle soreness afterword, so infertility treatments become both a literal and figurative pain in the ass.

This is the process of using science to create life, the exact process that many, many samesex couples are forced to

precious egg cargo and make up half of your future child’s DNA. Cramblett and Zinkon did, though. I can picture them, sitting at a kitchen table with files strewn before them, exhaustively debating the pros and cons of each donor. They made their choice, and

through because of that hopeful, rainbowthrough-the-storm-clouds possibility that science can create a miracle.

It is inexcusable that Cramblett and Zinkon’s clinic didn’t respect that process, and an argument could be made that the mistake shows

undergo because biology is biology and same-sex couples are infertile by definition.

In a way, I’m “lucky” because the fertility failures are all mine and my husband’s swimmers are just fine. So we didn’t have to go through the unimaginably pressureloaded and terrifying task of choosing from strangers’ files who will fertilize your

then they went through the treatments—it’s unclear which path they traveled, but it doesn’t matter, because they all suck.

And then their precious, wanted, beautiful child was born, and it became clear that the clinic had made an unforgiveable mistake.

Fertility treatments are a process. A terrible, agonizing process that infertile couples suffer

a breathtaking lack of respect not just for Cramblett and Zinkon, but for same-sex couples and the life they live.

That is what the lawsuit fights for—respect for the process, respect for the couples, and respect for the paths LGBTs are forced to choose if they want to create a family.

Commenters branding the couple as racist are missing the point; the case is about demanding respect.

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Our sassy bar scene is the perfect way to chill out after a day of sightseeing or work.

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Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

talking points

I wish I was

117k

$

The amount of money the National Organization for Marriage spent on ads the week before election day to support anti-gay republican Thom Tillis’ bid for Democrat Kay Hagan’s senate seat.

bisexual...

I’m tedious with my heterosexuality.

—russell brand

‘juSt jaCK’ no More

f

ormer WILL & GraCe star sean hayes, who played the title characters’ best friend Jack McFarland, is officially engaged to his longtime partner, Scott Icenogle. The two have been together for more than eight years and recently, Hayes has been sporting a ring on his wedding finger.

Hayes, who had his own show, Sean Saves the World on NBC last year, came out publicly during an interview with the Advocate in 2010. Back then he hinted that there was someone special in his life, but he didn’t elaborate. He did add, however, “That’s it. That’s all I need. It’s fantastic.”

No details yet on when the couple will officially tie the knot or who will be on the guest list. But we’re hoping there’s a Megan Mullally appearance and performance in there somewhere.

the CoSt of Moral daMage

h

ow muCh damage Can an image of two men Kissing really do to someone who opposes homosexuality? According to a court in Almaty, Kazakhstan, formerly part of the Soviet Union, about $188,000 worth. The court ordered an advertising firm to pay that sum for“moral damages” after the firm was sued for designing a poster for a gay nightclub that depicts composer Kurmangazy Sagyrbayuly kissing Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.

There is no law in Kazakhstan banning gay propaganda like in Russia, but leaders want to create such a law.

watermark Your lgbt life.

Cartoon networK featureS firSt gay CharaCterS

t

he Cartoon networK featured its first ever openly gay CharaCters in its series, Clarence, in October. But the two male characters, who are in a relationship, only kiss on the cheek rather than the lips. In the episode called “Neighborhood Grill,” the two greet each other at a restaurant with the cheek pecks. Writer Spencer Rothbell told the Huffington Post that the kiss was originally supposed to be on the lips right before one of the characters gives his partner some flowers. Cartoon Network required it to be changed. “

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we loVe dolly eVen More now

C

ountry superstar dolly parton has always voiced her support for the LGBT community. During a recent interview with Billboard, she was asked about some church groups’ objections to her LGBT fans visiting Dollywood, her Tennessee theme park. Dolly says Dollywood is “a place for entertainment, a place for all families, period. It’s for all that. But as far as the Christians, if people want to pass judgment, they’re already sinning.

The sin of judging is just as bad as any other sin they might say somebody else is committing. I try to love everybody.” We love you too, Dolly!

25

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Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

arts and entertainment

Giving Shelly her glow an interView with Judith liGht oF transParent Judith Light Jeffrey Tambor mix comedy, drama and surprise as a family helping one member transition from male to female in Amazon Prime’s Transparent .

PHOTO COuRTESy AMAZON PRIME

e

Gregg Shapiro

asily the most talKed about

new series of the fall 2014 season, Transparent (available through Amazon Prime) is, in a word, triumphant. Series creator Jill Soloway (Afternoon Delight, Six Feet Under and The United States of Tara) has created a show that transcends labels, effortlessly blurring the lines between comedy and drama. watermark Your lgbt life.

Telling the story of Mort (Jeffrey Tambor), a divorced father of three who is in the process of transitioning from male to female, from Mort to Maura, Transparent stars one of the most inspired and brilliant ensemble casts in recent memory, including Amy Landecker, Jay Duplass and Gaby Hoffman, as Maura’s adult children.

Tambor is phenomenal in this

Continued on Pg. 36 | uu |

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FRACTURED NARRATIVES a strategy to engage

(left) Dawoud Bey The Birmingham Project: Janice Kemp and Triniti Williams, 2012 (left) and Fred Stewart and Tyler Collins, 2012 (above), Archival pigment prints mounted on dibond, Courtesy of the artist and Rena Bransten Gallery (right) Goshka Macuga Anti-Collage (Julita Wojcik), 2011 Silkscreen on handprinted photograph, Courtesy of the artist and Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York

September 17, 2014 through January 4, 2015 rollins.edu/cfam

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FREE ADMISSION Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

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theater

staying creepy all fall

Jobsite’s vampire Lesbians of sodom mixes camp, comedy and music through Nov. 23

(left)

Camp Creepy:

Vampire Lesbians of Sodom stars (L-R) Zachary Hines, Jamie Jones, Spencer Meyers, J. Elijah Cho, Summer Bohnenkamp, (seated) Maggie Mularz, and Katrina Stevenson.

PHOTOS COuRTESy CRAWFORD LONG

(right)

divas:

Zachary Hines plays the Virgin and Summer Bohnenkamp is the Succubus in Jobsite’s Vampires.

PHOTOS COuRTESy CRAWFORD LONG

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t

Zach Caruso

ampa | the VamPIre LeSBIaNS OF

Sodom have come to town, and they’ll be at the Straz Center until the end of November.

In honor of the nationwide tribute to famed playwright and camp legend Charles Busch, Jobsite Theater and the Straz Center for the Performing Arts are putting on a production of a Busch favorite and one of the longest running plays in off-Broadway history—Vampire Lesbians of Sodom. It’s the story of two vampiresses, a sacrificial virgin and her maker, who first meet in ancient Sodom and spark a rivalry that lasts for nearly 2,000 years.

“Busch has always said that he never intended this one to be performed as a traditional play, that it’s more a cabaret night burlesque type thing,” says director David Jenkins.

“We have these three scenes— ancient Sodom, 1920s Hollywood, and present day Las Vegas—but there’s

not much that ties these three things together. We knew we needed to be able to get people offstage and have costume changes for the next scene, and it’s not really built into the show. So I thought, ‘Why don’t we try to put together some of these torch songs and cabaret bits between the scenes?’”

Jenkins has assembled a show that promises something for everyone—live musicians, a combination of vaudeville and cabaret mixed with modern and contemporary tunes from bands like My Chemical Romance, and a stellar cast of local favorites, including Jobsite Theater veteran Summer Bohnenkamp and Zachary Hines, of Tampa Bay’s own theater duo Coco & Homo.

“With a show like this, you need to make sure you’re putting together

watermark Your lgbt life.

go so far over the top that I needed a group that looks like they’re all to tell them to dial it down,” he says. existing within the same hyper-crazy “You have to make the big choices that reality, actors that have a fearlessness are needed for this play, giving in to about them, who aren’t afraid to take the other people you’re playing with. chances,” says Jenkins. “I did actually You have to be able call Zach specifically to keep batting the to come out for this ball back and forth. show. I’ve seen him I was looking for and Colleen [Coco] people who had that do several shows in capability.” the past, and their Jenkins also Sexxxdreams show says that once the was a hit. I really players have been appreciated what they picked, the real did not only as artists, work begins to make but that they self—david JenKins, such a demanding produced that whole direCtor show run like a thing and willed it to well-oiled machine. happen. I said to myself, “It looks so effortless, but yet it is ‘I’ve got to get this guy out to read for so incredibly difficult,” he says. “Every this project.’” ounce of the play ends up being like Jenkins explains that for a project choreography. If your feet aren’t in the like Vampire Lesbians, it takes a certain right spot, if your face isn’t making kind of performance to land the role. the right expression at the exact right “The audition was really a ‘go big or beat, things kind of fall apart. So when go home’ situation. I was instructing the audience comes in, it should look everyone that I’d rather them just

“It’s a silly camp comedy and if you can stay on the silly side of sexy, then fine.”

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

Got Mustard?

We’ve got more weiner than we can handle.

www.DareToRescue.com

effortless, even though it’s an incredibly precise and incredibly technical process. It’s fun to play with people and come up with these things and put it all together and see how you can keep topping each other and keep outdoing each other.

I say at rehearsals that if they’re [the actors] not trying to make each other crack up, they’re not trying hard enough.”

While the pieces have finally come together for Jenkins and the cast and crew, he explains that his original ideas for the play were slightly different than the final product.

“Originally, I did think about going a little raunchier, showing a bit more skin, maybe having a striptease in there, but the longer I played with those ideas the more I realized they just didn’t fit with what this play is,” explains Jenkins.

“It’s a silly camp comedy and if you can stay on the silly side of sexy, then fine. But once you cross into the harder, darker side of it, it becomes jarring because that’s not who Charles Busch is; that’s not who these characters are.

“You have to be open to a process. You spend weeks in a room with people and you set out thinking you’re going to do one thing and by the time all is said and done you realize ‘No, this is what’s right for this show,’ or ‘This is what’s

right for this group of people.’”

Now that opening night is upon the Vampire Lesbians team, Jenkins says he can take time to sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor.

“For the artist in me, the process is the most fun, but at the same time I’m an artist for a reason. We want people to support the art, so that final product is what we’re able to gift out to the public,” he says.

“They’re the ones that are gracious enough to come out and support it and buy tickets, and all that is what makes the process even possible.”

“Opening night is the end cap on the whole thing,” says Jenkins. “I’ll be there but I won’t be taking notes.

It’s like ‘Ok, get rid of the iPad and get a scotch.’ Now I’ll sit and watch the audience watch the show. I enjoy that part, seeing the audience experience the final product.”

Vampire Lesbians of Sodom is showing at the Shimberg Playhouse at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts and runs through Nov. 23. For ticket information, visit JobsiteTheater.org.

(aboVe)

musiC man: J.

Elijah Cho (with guitar) is both music director and live accompanist and is pictured with Spencer Meyers and Katrina Stevenson.

PHOTOS COuRTESy JOBSITE THEATRE

more inFormation

what: Vampire Lesbians of Sodom when: Through Nov. 23 where: Straz Center, Tampa tiCKets: JobsiteTheater.org

watermark Your lgbt life.

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

31

film

A Hader You Can Love SNL alum talks tasty men, Stefon and his license to be totally fabulous

You know, I haven’t hung out that much in gay bars, but I don’t go to bars in general. I remember going to one with writers from SNL. There was a group of us and we went to a gay bar, because two of our writers were gay. It was fine.

I had a good time. But I don’t really go out. I’m reeeeally boring. (Laughs) and yet you liVe thiS eXCiting life onSCreen. i Mean, you’Ve Maybe Made out with More Men than i haVe… and, bill, i’M aCtually gay.

(Laughs) I have my wife run up to me a lot of times and be like, “Don’t brush your teeth. Let me kiss you. This is the closest I’ll get to kissing James Franco,” or whoever it is I just made out with.

I’ve made out with Paul Rudd so many times on SNL it’s insane! you Made out with ty burrell during the Shoot for THE SKELETON TWINS.

Yeah, but it didn’t make the cut. I’m gonna tell you right now, that was actually pretty hot. It was a hot scene. what doeS Paul rudd taSte liKe?

He tastes like chicken, and James Franco tastes like cinnamon.

(aboVe)

siblings:

SNL alums Bill Hader and Kristin Wiig reunite as fraternal twins in the dramedy, The Skeleton Twins.

PHOTOS COuRTESy DuPLASS BROTHERS PRODuCTIONS

s

Chris Azzopardi

aturday night is a lot less spiCy

without Stefon, the fabulous “Weekend Update” club correspondent that turned actor Bill Hader into a comic star. But fear not. While Stefon has retired from Saturday Night Live to a “haunted diaper” in Chelsea, as Hader told me in our recent chat, the funnyman flexes his impressive dramatic chops in the limited-release film, The Skeleton Twins, playing Kristen Wiig’s twin, Milo, a struggling actor.

Aaaand, he’s gay.

During our talk, Hader discussed his “license to be totally fabulous” as Milo, his regrettable transgender-centric SNL sketch, and the savory highlights of his A-list make out roster.

waterMarK: you liP-SynCing to StarShiP’S “nothing’S gonna StoP uS now” in THE SKELETON TWINS would MaKe eVeryone on RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE So Proud.

bill hader: (Laughs) You have to get me on that show! That would just be the best.

32

how MuCh drag did you and KriSten obSerVe while training for the faMed liP-SynCing SeQuenCe?

I mean, we had to learn that song, and we had a lot of fun doing that, but we didn’t have a lot of time. There wasn’t a lot of time in the day to do it. It was definitely a quick “we gotta go; we have a lot more to shoot today” moment, so it’s cool it all came out so well.

So, what you’re Saying iS you already Knew how to SiSSy that walK.

watermark Your lgbt life.

(Laughs) I knew... I mean, I’ve gone out with enough of my gay friends to know. before THE SKELETON TWINS, how eXPerienCed were you with CroSS-dreSSing?

Well, I had done some of it at Saturday Night Live, but not in my life. Not a lot of cross dressing in my life.

I remember we did a senior sketch in high school where we made fun of a group of moms called the “Brown Bag Lunch.” They were these moms who put a lot of money into our high school, who would have these brown bag lunch things where they’d sit around and gossip about school—just a bunch of rich moms. We did a sketch at our homecoming and I played the main mom. We just recently watched that— my dad found it—and I’m essentially doing Stefon. I mean, it’s pretty crazy.

I’m in high school! It’s pretty insane.

But, I look goooood! My wife’s like, “Wow, you look great. You’re an attractive woman.” there’S a SCene in the filM where you go to a gay bar only to find yourSelf there on “dyKe night.” what’S been your reallife gay bar eXPerienCe?

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

SNL haS been CritiCized for itS Portrayal of the gay CoMMunity and SoMe of itS hoMoerotiC CheaP ShotS. did you eVer turn down a SKit or were you eVer heSitant to do a SKetCh beCauSe it Might offend the gay CoMMunity? aS a CoMedian, how ConSCiouS are you of aVoiding StereotyPeS whether ON SNL or in THE SKELETON TWINS?

In Skeleton Twins, I honestly didn’t think about it. The thing I liked about the script was that Milo being gay wasn’t his problem. That wasn’t the big issue in his life. He had a lot of other issues, and he just happens to be gay, which I thought was really great.

A journalist from another gay magazine said something that I liked— that I didn’t try to iron out his gayness.

He’s flamboyant, but he’s drawn from people I know, people I’m friends with, people Craig (Johnson, the director) knows. I mean, that dyke night scene was me basically just mimicking Craig.

(Laughs) When Craig went (to me), “You know, you sit down”—and I could tell it was something that had probably happened to him before—“and you look around and it’s fucking dyke night! You kind of go, ‘Where’s the boys at?’”

So that is me impersonating Craig.

As far as SNL is concerned, Stefon was the same thing. His joke isn’t that he’s gay—the joke is that he’s just Continued on Pg. 34 | uu |

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watermark Your lgbt life.

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

33

not stefon: Despite gaining a gay following for his SNL character ‘Stefon,’ Bill Hader, left, playing a gay, struggling actor in The Skeleton Twins, doesn’t get many gay roles pitched to him.

| uu | Bill Hader froM Pg.32

really bad at his life. And that he’s on a lot of drugs. I don’t know if I ever said no to anything, but I know the transgender community got really mad at a sketch I was in about estrogen—EstroMaxxx, about a pill—which made total sense. But it happens, and the show takes responsibility for it. We have a ton of gay people who work on the show.

in retroSPeCt, would you haVe PaSSed on that SKit had you Known it would offend the tranSgender CoMMunity?

Yeah. I mean, I think the writers wouldn’t have written it. I don’t think anyone wrote it to hurt anybody’s feelings, but once that happened it was like, “Oh yeah. Point taken. Sorry.” aCtorS who taKe lgbt roleS often Say you Can’t really Play gay, but you’re effortleSS aS Milo. what’S the triCK? aS a Straight Man, how do you tranSCend SeXuality for a role?

34

SF_HolidayAd_Wtrmrk_38PgVert.indd 1

I didn’t think about it that way, to be completely honest.

You just kind of do it and you find a part of you that’s this Venn diagram, where you overlay with the character.

So, my relationship with Ty Burrell’s character: I just thought of high school romance, that’s what I thought of—a girl I dated in high school and how that made me feel.

And it’s also just kind of hanging out with Ty. He’s a

really funny, nice guy. Things like that—actual feelings of like, “What a great guy, he’s so nice”—play into it. You have to be very open. He’s giving you something and you have to give back, and you just play off each other.

But I trusted Craig. I was just like, “I’m gonna try a bunch of stuff,” and Craig would tell me if it was too much.

that I’ve been sent. It’s interesting. During the Q&A, after the first screening of the movie at Sundance, someone asked us about (the similarities between) Stefon and Milo and I went, “Oh, yeah!” Craig, who is gay, took the question because I didn’t know how to answer it. The only thing those two guys have in common is that

Usually his note was, “You can go a little further with it. You don’t have to be so subtle.”

they’re gay, which is a good way of answering it.

“Paul rudd tastes like chicken, and James Franco tastes like cinnamon.” —bill hader

and if a gay Man iS giVing you PerMiSSion to go gayer, you Know you Can.

Yeah, exactly. He’s like, “I think you can be a little bitchy to (Kristen) now. Be a little flippant. I think he would be sassy with Kristen right here.” I remember when I was in drag and he was like, “You have complete license to be totally fabulous,” because (I was playing him) the opposite. I would try to sometimes play him in a way that was too subtle, and Craig was like, “Don’t worry about people saying it’s gonna be stereotypical—these are my friends.” beCauSe of your role aS Stefon on SNL, how often are you PitChed gay roleS?

Actually, not that much, to be honest. Let me think.

This might be the only one

11/3/14 12:28 PM watermark Your lgbt life. Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

would Stefon and Milo be friendS?

Craig says no, and I think he has a better idea than I do.

Craig was like, “Oh my god, no.” I think Stefon would freak Milo out.

i thinK Stefon would freaK a lot of PeoPle out.

Yeah, you would be missing for a couple of weeks if you went out with him. You’d have friends, parents, people pleading on the news, “Where’s our son?” where iS Stefon theSe dayS?

He’s on the corner of 23rd and 9th some place.

Somewhere in Chelsea hanging out inside a haunted diaper.

more inFormation

what: The Skeleton Twins starring: Bill Hader, kristin Wiig

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Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

35

SuPPortiVe and wonderful relationShiP with the lgbt CoMMunity. waS that another reaSon you wanted to beCoMe inVolVed with thiS ProjeCt?

| uu | Transparent froM Pg.27

role of a lifetime. Equally riveting is Judith Light, a familiar face to TV viewers from her years in soap operas, sitcoms and primetime dramas, as Maura’s ex-wife Shelly. Shelly, remarried to Ed (Lawrence Pressman), a man with Alzheimer’s, remains a strong presence in the lives of her dysfunctionally delightful family, and has a way of drawing the viewer’s attention every time she appears on-screen.

That’s to the credit of Light, who has undergone what can best be described as her own physical transformation to portray Shelly. We spoke with Light about the show, her character and her longtime support of the LGBT community.

WATERMARK: WHAT WAS IT ABOUT THE CHARACTER OF SHELLY PFEFFERMAN THAT ATTRACTED YOU TO PLAYING HER IN TRANSPARENT?

judith light: I think she’s one

of the most fascinating characters that I’ve ever gotten a chance to play. She’s written magnificently.

She’s created brilliantly by Jill Soloway. I was going to get to be with my longtime friend Jeffrey Tambor. We were going to get to do this together.

I knew about Amy Landecker and Jay Duplass and Gaby Hoffman’s work. I just knew it was going to be an incredible experience. It wasn’t just the character. It was all of those other things. Plus the fact that Amazon Prime had picked it up and they were so supportive. It was really a slam dunk for me. I desperately wanted to play this part.

I’M REALLY GLAD YOU MENTIONED JILL. WERE YOU A FAN OF HER WORK, INCLUDING SIX FEET UNDER AND THE UNITED STATES OF TARA, BEFORE COMING TO WORK ON TRANSPARENT?

Oh my, yes! Don’t forget the movie Afternoon Delight! She won best director at Sundance in 2013 for that movie.

the firSt tiMe you aPPeared on SCreen aS Shelly, i waS blown away by what i would deSCribe aS the PhySiCal tranSforMation that had taKen PlaCe. More than juSt SlaPPing on a grey wig and a Pair of glaSSeS, your entire body waS inVolVed in

36

finding a name: Amy Landecker, left, plays the adult child of Maura, who transitions from Mort, played by Jeffrey Tambor, in Transparent. PHOTO COuRTESy AMAZON PRIME

beCoMing the CharaCter. Can you PleaSe Say SoMething about the ProCeSS you went through to beCoMe Shelly?

First of all, you are probably one of the few who have noticed that.

I want to say thank you so much for that. I really appreciate it.

When you take on a character and

did a lot of more experiential and connection with the other people work on it and she just began to come through as we worked in that process, in that way, doing Joan Scheckel’s work.

Also, Jill was always guiding me. She did that with everybody.

Something was happening and I

connection. But there is also this kind of…when someone chooses to become so incredibly authentic and courageous, what does this family do with that?

(These) people are incredibly expressive. But they are also, in their own very interesting ways, they are very scared of what

don’t even know how to define it.

Thank you for noticing!

happens when Maura throws this curveball to the family. Being a Jewish family, they deal with it in very particular ways.

It’s the transgender community that is educating the world about gender —Judith light identity and gender fluidity.

they move into your body, it’s not always the easiest thing and not everybody notices it. So I’m very grateful to you for that.

I actually don’t know how to answer that question.

It’s funny, Jill and I were talking about this. She asked me, “What happens to you?” I do a lot of homework on a role and Jill and I have talked a lot about this. All of us on the team worked with this woman named Joan Scheckel, who worked with us on the emotional connections we all had as a family which is why it feels so much like family when you watch the show.

Something happened to me in that process where I felt her come through me. I didn’t do a lot of intellectual work on it; I

what are the ChallengeS and rewardS of Playing a jewiSh Mother?

The humor. Oh, my God! I had someone text me the other night who said they had just watched the second episode.

[Quoting a line about a carryout] “Who changed the standing order?” [laughs].

Don’t you know that that mother knows how much everything weighs? It doesn’t get any better than that. You have to have brilliant writers to get that. The joy of that is so special. This is a basis of where this family comes from. There is so much love and support and

watermark Your lgbt life.

aS you Mentioned, the huMor MaKeS SoMething So diffiCult MuCh eaSier to eXPerienCe and to bear.

Exactly! Also, because there’s so much heart, and there’s so much heart and humor in the Jewish community, you see the physicality we have with each other. We’re not afraid to grab each other, hug each other, kiss each other, touch each other. I think you see this heart connection.

SPeaKing of ConneCtionS, you haVe a longStanding

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

Very, very much. When Jill and I had this 45 minute Skype call, we talked about the show, we talked about my longtime connection with Jeffrey and how much we liked each other’s work. But the real conversation about our LGBTQ activism was so important to why I wanted to do this. I’ve been on Broadway for the last four years and I’ve not been in California.

I’ve been choosing my television projects very judiciously and carefully. I said to my longtime manager of 34 years that this would bring me back to California. This is the one because Jill was talking about it.

Before every rehearsal and every reading, we would talk about how grateful we are to get to be able to show this kind of story and how grateful we felt to Amazon Prime for being willing to do this story—their level of support.

This has the opportunity to change the culture in exponential ways. To start removing the levels we have in the world in very powerful ways, in dramatic, humorous, deeply connected, fabulous ways. We talk about how the gay community has educated the world and shown the world about sexuality.

It’s the transgender community that is educating the world about gender identity and gender fluidity. It’s something we don’t talk about and as a society we don’t know about.

I’ve been on the board of the Point Foundation, which gives scholarships to LGBTQ youth who are marginalized because of their sexuality, and we have a very high percentage of trans youth who we give scholarships to. They have educated us about this very issue.

This is going to be something that will take us into the next arena. I think it’s the next step in understanding ourselves as human beings and ridding the world of bigotry.

more inFormation

what: Transparent who: Judith Light, Jeffrey Tambor, Amy Landecker, Jay Duplass and Gaby Hoffman where: Amazon Prime— Amazon.com

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watermark Your lgbt life.

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

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NOVEMBER 25 AT 8PM TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Tickets available by calling the Hard Rock Live Box Office at +1-407-351-5483 HARDROCKLIVE.COM • Artist & Showtimes Subject to Change No Cameras, No Backpacks, No Videos

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watermark Your lgbt life.

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

eventplanner event planner

arts+entertainment

Community Calendar

orlando

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The Best of Enemies, Nov. 6-16, Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Orlando. 407-447-1700; OrlandoShakes.org

Lipschtick!

8 pm, nov. 6 & 9; 2 p.m. nov. 9 blu room theater, flamingo resort

The Muppet Movie (1979), Nov. 6, Central Park Main Stage, Winter Park. 407-629-0054; Enzian.org

Join David “Scarbie” Mitchell at the new Blu Room Theatre at the Flamingo Resort for a night of impersonation and characters Nov. 6, 8 and 9. Mitchell, who resides in Sarasota with his partner, has performed the show in Provincetown and around the country.

He evolves through seven characters and 11 costume changes—all without leaving the stage. Get more info at GypsyProductions.org and buy tickets by calling 727-321-5000.

Driving Miss Daisy, Nov. 7-23, Osceola Center for the Arts, Kissimmee. 407-846-6257; Ocfta.com Interpol, Nov. 7, House of Blues, Orlando. 407-934-2583; HouseOfBlues.com/Orlando Classic Albums Live: The Beatles’ “Help”, Nov. 7, Hard Rock Live, Orlando.

407-351-5483; HardRock.com/ live/locations/Orlando

Patti Labelle 7 p.m., nov. 16 the mahaffey theater

Kip Moore: CMT on Tour 2014, Nov. 8, House of Blues, Orlando. 407-934-2583; HouseOfBlues.com/Orlando A Tired Old Whore, Nov. 8-22, Footlight Theater at Parliament House, Orlando. Wanzie.com Veterans Day Parade, Nov. 8, Downtown Orlando.

407-246-2782; CityOfOrlando.net Movember Beer Fest, Nov. 8, Stardust Lounge, Orlando. 321-229-2379; CityOfOrlando.net Fresh Beat Band, Nov. 8, Hard Rock Live, Orlando.

407-351-5483; HardRock.com/ live/locations/Orlando Central Florida Vocal Arts presents “Life of the Party”, Nov. 7-8, Moonlight Players, Clermont. 352-243-5875; MoonlightPlayers.com Primus and The Chocolate Factory, Nov. 9, Hard Rock Live, Orlando. 407-351-5483; HardRock.com/live/locations/ Orlando Sevendust, Nov. 9, House of Blues, Orlando. 407-934-2583; HouseOfBlues.com/Orlando Matisyahu-Built to Survive Tour, Nov. 11, House of Blues, Orlando. 407-934-2583; HouseOfBlues.com/Orlando Mayday Parade, Nov. 14, House of Blues, Orlando. 407-934-2583; HouseOfBlues.com/Orlando

she’s baaaCK!: Orlando Fringe Festival hit A Tired Old Whore, starring Doug Ba’aser, is back, and this time it’s playing at the Footlight Theater at the Parliament House from Nov. 8-22.

Get tickets at Wanzie.com.

Isn’t it Romantic? A Tribute to Rodgers & Hart, Nov. 14-23, Winter Park Playhouse, Winter Park. 407-645-0145; WinterParkPlayhouse.com I & YOU, Nov. 14-Dec. 14, Mad Cow Theatre, Orlando. 407-297-8788; MadCowTheatre.com R&B Love Fest, Nov. 15, CFE Arena, Orlando. 407-823-3070; CfeArena.com James Taylor, Nov. 18, Amway Center, Orlando. 407-440-7000; AmwayCenter.com.

Mike Birbiglia, Nov. 18, Hard Rock Live, Orlando.

407-351-5483; HardRock.com/ live/locations/Orlando

taMPa bay Into the Woods, Nov.69, FreeFall Theatre, St. Petersburg. 727-498-5205; FreeFallTheatre.com.

Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, Nov. 6-23, Shimberg Playhouse, Straz Center, Tampa.

813-228-7827; StrazCenter.org Gaby Moreno, Nov. 7, Straz Center, Tampa. 813-228-7827; StrazCenter.org The Ben Folds Experience -The Florida Orchestra, Nov. 7, Straz Center, Tampa. 813-228-7827; StrazCenter.org Ron White, Nov. 8, Straz Center, Tampa. 813-228-7827; StrazCenter.org Margo Rey, Nov. 8, Straz Center, Tampa. 813-228-7827; StrazCenter.org Phillip Phillips, Nov. 11, The Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg. 727-893-7832; TheMahaffey.com Emmylou Harris, Nov. 12, Straz Center, Tampa. 813-228-7827; StrazCenter.org

She’s a legendary vocalist, a Grammy-winning powerhouse whose list of classics includes “Lady Marmalade,” “On My Own,” “You Are My Friend” and “New Attitude,” among many others. With a career that’s been in high gear for over four decades, Patti LaBelle made her musical mark with girl-group harmonies (with the Bluebells) and razor-sharp, New Orleansstyle funk (with LaBelle). As a solo artist, she is an unparalleled, chart-topping interpreter of soul and gospel ballads and inspirational, up-tempo anthems. Tickets start at $59.50.

orlando

Halestorm, Nov. 14, The Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg. 727-893-7832; TheMahaffey.com

SaraSota Little Shop of Horrors, through Nov. 16, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, Sarasota.

941-366-1505; WBTTSRQ.org

Phillip Phillips 8 p.m., nov. 14 hard roCK live orlando

Platinum-selling singer-songwriter Phillip Phillips is coming to Orlando for his North American headline tour. The comprehensive tour comes after Phillips’ “Behind the Light” was released to critical acclaim. Tickets start at $35.

The Full Monty, through Nov. 30, Venice Theatre, Venice. 941-488-1115; VeniceStage.com South Pacific, Nov. 11-Dec. 28, Asolo Rep Theatre, Sarasota.

941-351-8000; AsoloRep.org Phillip Phillips, Nov. 12, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota. 941-953-3368; VanWezel.com God of Carnage, Nov. 13-30, Venice Theatre, Venice. 941-488-1115, VeniceStage.com.

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Wanda sykes 7 p.m., nov. 16 van wenZel performing arts hall Out comedian Wanda Sykes has been called “one of the funniest stand-up comics” by her peers and ranks among Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Funniest People in America. Her smart-witted stand up has sent her career in many different areas. Tickets start at $62.

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

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watermark Your lgbt life.

F R AX E L

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

ShotonSite

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tamPa bay 1- bear gathering: Members of the Tampa Bay Bears gather at Quench Lounge for Watermark Wednesday on Oct. 22. PHOTO

By PAuL KINCHEN OF TINKERFLuFF.COM

2- prinCess Crossing: (L-R) Stephanie Stuart, Beverly Baltimore and Alexis De La Mer brought the Happiest Place on Earth to Quench Lounge with a Disney Princess-themed show on Nov. 1. PHOTO By STEVE BLANCHARD 3- buZZing in ybor: This beekeeper brought his own bee to Bradley’s on 7th in Ybor City during Halloween weekend. PHOTO

2

By PAuL KINCHEN OF TINKERFLuFF.COM

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4- laugh therapy: Miss Coco Peru poses for the paparazzi after her one-woman show benefitting the SMART Ride at the Metro Wellness and Community Center in St. Petersburg Oct. 24. PHOTO By AARON ALPER 5- Creeped out!: Christopher Moffett, as Twisty the Clown, creepily celebrates his first-place win for best costume at Sawmill Campground on Halloween weekend. PHOTO By PAuL KINCHEN OF TINKERFLuFF.COM 6- no sleeping beauty: A Maleficent stops

by G.Bar’s Latin Night on Oct 24 to check out the festivities, which included schmoozing with the women of SheBar. PHOTO COuRTESy CARRIE WEST 7- pushing for rail: Nick Janovsky campaigns for Yes on Greenlight Pinellas initiative with another volunteer on election day in St. Petersburg. PHOTO COuRTESy NICK JANOVSKy

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8- holy sexy!: A sexy batman makes an appearance at Bradley’s on 7th during the bar’s Halloween festivities. PHOTO COuRTESy CARRIE WEST

oVerheard donate to tiGlFF and win

e

ven with the 25th annual tampa international gay and lesbian film festival just recently placed in the history books, the organization is already looking ahead. And by doing so, it needs the help of the community to raise $25,000. TIGLFF needs financial support to continue growing and accommodating the changes in visual media, and has a plan to encourage that giving spirit even though the festival is done for 2014.

It is asking 1,000 people to donate $25 through a link on TIGLFF.com, and then enter to win one of three prizes—a pair of tickets to Disney World, a commissioned portrait of

your pet, or a copy of The Pharaoh of Filth by Robert Phelps, signed by director John Waters.

Gay world series CominG to tamPa?

w

ell, it’s way too early to say for sure, but there is interest in bringing the Gay Softball World Series to Tampa Bay in the not-too-distant future. Organizers of the Suncoast Softball League met this week to discuss the dynamics of bringing the national tournament to Tampa Bay. Details are scarce, and the GSWS certainly wouldn’t come to us next year since it’s already scheduled for Aug. 17-22, 2015, in

Columbus, Ohio. But the league has discussed the pursuit of the longrunning series for nearly a year now.

Things like the economic impact of the series has helped other cities embrace the tournament. With Tampa Bay’s welcoming cities, we’re hopeful this could become a reality!

GiVe ‘em a breaK, tamPa

a

CCording to tampa pride president Carrie west, he and the board of the new organization have met with the city of Tampa to ask for a break on the bill to hold Tampa Pride in Ybor City in March 2015. The city initially said that in order to hold Tampa Pride, the organization must

watermark Your lgbt life.

pay $70,000—up front!—by the beginning of February. West said that he is hopeful that the city will see the benefits of hosting an LGBT Pride event in March, especially after presenting stats and figures showing the impact such an event can have on a city. No word yet as to if the city will help with alleviate some of the bills, so fundraising is still key. Visit TampaPride.org to donate.

the Cowboys/ CowGirls are CominG

i

t’ll be boots, buCKles, stetson hats and Chaps on the stage in the flamingo blu room nov. 8 as the Florida/Georgia Gay Rodeo Association holds its Mr./Ms./

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

Miss/MsTer FGRA competition.

The royalty competition puts participants in several categories, including personal interview, public presentation, horsemanship, western wear and entertainment.

The four divisions, in case you are wondering, are for men, women, drag queens and drag kings. The title holders will have the responsibility of promoting the sport of rodeo while being an advocate for charitable organizations and causes. Contestants don’t have to be members of the LGBT community to participate. Boots, Buckles, Crowns and Sashes begins at noon on Saturday, Nov. 8. Get details at FGRA.org or visit Facebook.com/ FGRARodeo.

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Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

ShotonSite 1

2

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orlando 1- pulling out the stops: Charlie Crist (right) is joined by (L-R) former President Bill Clinton and Chairman of Charlie Crist for Florida Bob Poe for a photo during a campaign rally Oct. 26 in Tampa.

PHOTO COuRTESy OF BOB POE’S FACEBOOK

2- whorish: Doug Ba’asar promotes his show, Tired Old Whore dressed as the title character on Halloween at the Parliament House. PHOTO By DANNy GARCIA 3- sCream Queen: Ariana Grande visits Halloween Horror Nights 24 at Universal Studios in Orlando just days before Halloween. PHOTO COuRTESy uNIVERSAL

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4- sinful pleasure: Watermark winner yashaira Gomes (center) is surrounded by the cast from the production 7 Deadly Sins. Emotions Dance Co. presented the piece at The Venue, along with other local artists adding a touch of all the different kinds of arts to this experience. PHOTO By JuLEZ TuRTLE 5- raising awareness: Mayor Buddy Dyer (center) is surrounded by students from Carver Middle School City’s After-School All-Stars Program to launch the Stand Up Orlando campaign Oct. 23. PHOTO COuRTESy CITy OF ORLANDO 6- united: Rev. Cynthia Alice Anderson (left) and Commissioner Patty Sheehan (right) show off the proclamation from the City of Orlando to celebrate Christ Church Unity 75th Anniversary Day. PHOTO COuRTESy OF PATTy SHEEHAN’S FACEBOOK

7- enJoying the windy City: Local realtor David Dorman (right) and his partner Scott Penyak (left) enjoy their vacation in Chicago as they took in the view of the Windy City. PHOTO COuRTESy DAVID DORMAN

5

6

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8- best dresssed: Staff members at Watermark show off their Halloween costumes outside of the office on Oct. 31. PHOTO By JAKE STEVENS

oVerheard burninG susPiCions

t

here are lots of rumors surrounding a fire that started behind Savoy over the Halloween weekend. But one thing is for certain, no one was hurt and police are working on identifying a suspect. According to a post on the Savoy Facebook page, someone lit a fire on nearby train tracks and also doused the exterior ledges of windows near the entrance of the bar with flammable liquid. But that accelerant was never set aflame. So far, Orlando Police haven’t said if it was a hate crime. Video footage of the suspect has been turned over to OPD and eyewitnesses have shared their account of the fire.

Savoy was quick to thank the OPD and Orlando Fire Department for their quick response. And to put fans of the club at ease, Savoy plans to add more security cameras and better lighting in the back of the property.

eyeinG iVanhoe

r

eal estate inverlad development llC, a developer in town, has Ivanhoe Village, which is known as an arts district for many locals, in its sites for a new local project. The area is also home to the Orlando International Fringe Festival offices. LGBT-owned businesses, like the Venue and D Squared Productions and LGBT ally-owned

bars like The Thirsty Topher are also located there. The project is called The Yard, and it will be a mixed-use space allowing for commercial use and residential living but the plan is to keep the aesthetic of the established artists in the neighborhood. According to the project’s conceptual artwork online, the new development will be between Virginia and Lake Formosa, enveloping Alden Road.

Douglas White of D Squared said he welcomed progress but hopes the developers plan on working with the current businesses and will strive to keep the artists.

As of right now, the current businesses haven’t been told how long they have to move or to renegotiate leases for the new

watermark Your lgbt life.

spaces. We were told discussions are set to start as early as next week.

biG suPPort For small business

t

he mba has asKed members and supporters in the Community to pledge to Shop Small. Small Business Saturday will be on Nov. 29, and the MBA encourages businesses to offer deals over the weekend to get local consumers through their doors.

First observed in November 2010, it has since been held on the first Saturday after Thanksgiving with reminding consumers to support their locally-owned businesses.

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

If you have a small business and would like to participate, the MBA is asks for emails to be sent to info@MBAOrlando.com.

GiVinG FaCe

t

eam maC CosmetiCs orlando has teamed up with the parliament house resort for the 6th Annual World AIDS Day Fundraiser to benefit the Hope & Help Center. This event is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 30, the day before World AIDS Day, and promises an evening of fashion, artistry and over the top performances. Details will be released on the Parliament House website soon.

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A night under the stars atop the Palm Avenue Parking Garage.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2014 5:00PM-7:30PM 1262 N PALM AVE, SARASOTA, FLORIDA

Please join us for this wonderful event with live music, delicious hors d’oeuvres, open bars, and an exciting program including a “State of the State Address” by our Chief Executive Officer, Nadine Smith. We will also be honoring our 2014 Voice for Equality Award winner, Barbara Zdravecky.

Tickets: $125 in advance $150 at the door • Cocktail attire please.

For more information or to RSVP visit EQFL.org/SuncoastCelebration or call 407-376-4801.

100% of the proceeds directly benefit EQFL’s important work. *Please note that no physical tickets will be issued, names of attendees will be held at the door.

PRESENTED BY

Huisking Fund of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County Tamara Nabergall, U.S. Trust

Equality Florida is the largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community.

PO BOX 20786, TAMPA, FL 33622-0786 A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR THE EQUALITY FLORIDA INSTITUTE MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE WITHIN FLORIDA (1.800.435.7352). REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. REGISTRATION #CH7992.

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watermark Your lgbt life.

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

4.5 x 4.95 trim

transitions

Community Announcements

Hot ’n horny hookups.

Non-Stop

Hookups

Celebration of love: (L-R) Brian Jones and Jon Garcia of Orlando celebrated their 21st anniversary together on Nov. 4.

Get up to 10 days unlimited access.

Join now for FREE. Accessible:

beautiful musiC:

DJ Scott Robert celebrates his one-year anniversary as the resident DJ at The Parliament House this month.

all about family:

Engineer Kim Pierce and Senior Pastor at Joy MCC Terri Pierce celebrated their summer Hawaii wedding with family and friends on Oct. 18 in Charleston, S.C.

lifetime of love:

Sarasota residents and activists Bart Coyle and Jim Jablonski celebrate 45 amazing years together—and their first as legal spouses—on Nov. 15.

ConGratulations

loCal birthdays

What’s Happening publishers Peter Aguas-Garcia and Frank Aguas-Garcia celebrate 22 years together on Nov. 17.

Tampa signing interpreter Steve Hammond, St. Pete Bears founder Grahame Harte, former TIGLFF programming director Kelly Fry, Equality Florida’s Michael Farmer, Women In Film & Television Florida President Robin Wright, TIGLFF supporter Timothy Thomas, Pinellas Park massage Therapist John Waldorf (Nov. 6); Orlando Gay Chorus founding member and GLBL bowler Robb Noll, Park Avenue salon owner Gary Lambert (Nov. 10); Margate, Fla. video gamer Scott Keener, former Tampa resident and book author/activist Steven Reigns, Tampa leatherbear Brooks Davis, (Nov. 11); top zebra Chad Cason (Nov. 12); St. Petersburg ASAP star Jonathan Aller, Sarasota opera singer Ron Rispoli, Tampa networking guru Vincent Papaleo, Orlando performer Miss Aiysia Black, DJ Joanie Stanco (Nov. 13); handsome Orlando bear-bartender and animal lover Christopher Torge, Ritz Ybor Marketing Director Okie Tilo, paper bag mushroom artist Doug Rhodehamel, Tampa-based but world-renowned flutist Joseph Rose, Disney application developer Dan Peters (Nov. 14); Sarasota activist and GAIN member Bart Coyle, Tampa-based Serious Satellite’s Out Q news freelancer Mike Wells (Nov. 15); The Closing Agent main man, Orlando Youth Alliance supporter, and godfather of the Orlando International Fringe Festival, Barry Miller (Nov. 16); Ray Sickles, AKA Sarasota diva Angelique Monet (Nov. 17); Lithia equestrian expert James Meeks, Orlando Gay Chorus tenor and sky hostess Todd Michael Hayes (Nov. 18).

Orlando’s Nick Massoni and Mark Pierpont celebrate the anniversary of their commitment ceremony on Nov. 20.

After almost a dozen years as partners, Warren Spencer and Richard Watkins of New Smyrna Beachside celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary on Oct. 23.

Are you making a Transition? Having a birthday or anniversary? Did you get a new job or promotion?

See your news in Watermark! Send your Transition to Editor@WatermarkOnline.com or go to WatermarkOnline.com/Submit-a-Transition - it’s that easy!

watermark Your lgbt life.

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

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tampa

bay

M a r k etplace

accountant

lawn care

Arie Groen’s

property maintenance Commercial and Residential Licensed specializing in:

counselor

DESIGN YOUR OWN LIFE

installation of sod Ornamentals Trimming Elevating Palms Trees Mulch Irrigation pressure washing s e r v i c i n g

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Dan Fiorini 2060 Tyrone Blvd N • St. Pete (727)344-1000 Crossroads Center next to Ross

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religious

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Venice

Laws do not make families.

Love makes families, and your family is welcome here.

-Rev. Khleber Van Zandt Worship Service and Youth Religious Education Sundays 10:30 a.m.

Minister: Rev. Khleber Van Zandt

A LGBT Welcoming Congregation 1971 Pinebrook Rd. Venice, FL 34292

internet

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Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

www.uucov.org 941-485-2105

web site

sports

Tigers outfielder doubles down on anti-marriage equality stance Staff Report

J

onesboro, Ark. | It’s no surprise that Detroit Tigers outfielder Torii Hunter, a soonto-be-free agent, opposes samesex marriage. He said as much in 2012, when he was asked by the Los Angeles Times about possibly having a homosexual teammate.

“For me, as a Christian ... I will be uncomfortable because, in all my teachings and all my learning, biblically, it’s not right, “ he said then. “It will be difficult and uncomfortable.”

Hunter made his feelings on the matter further known in this election season, recording a radio spot for Arkansas gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, who is facing Democrat Mike Ross.

Here’s the text, read by Hunter: “This is Pine Bluff native and Major League Baseball player

Making a message: Detroit’s Torii Hunter, pictured on the field in June, has endorsed an anti-gay Arkansas gubernatorial candidate, and says the Republican’s opposition to same-sex marriage is a reason for his support.

Torii Hunter. I’m asking you to vote for my friend Asa Hutchinson for governor. Dr. King said that men should be judged by the content of their character. Today, we too often prejudge political

candidates by their party label.

I’m asking you to consider Asa for his actions.

“As a lawyer, Asa fought for more majority African-American districts in the state’s legislature.

Asa is committed to the principles we hold dear, like a strong faith in God, equal justice for all and keeping marriage between one man and one woman. Asa wants all children to have access to computer science, to expand charter schools and bring more jobs and small businesses into our communities. Asa won’t take your vote for granted. Let’s make real change in our community by casting party labels aside and voting our convictions. Vote Asa Hutchinson for governor. He’s someone we can count on.”

While African-Americans generally oppose same-sex marriage in higher numbers than other races do across the country, in Arkansas that’s not true. A 2013 poll found that 38% of Arkansans overall supported marriage equality, but 47% of African-American Arkansans did. The legality of same-sex marriage in Arkansas is currently

in limbo, with a circuit court judge ruling Arkansas’s ban unconstitutional, but the state Supreme Court staying it.

In his end-of-the-season news conference Oct. 14, general manager Dave Dombrowski called Hunter one of the Tigers’ key free agents but did not commit to bringing him back.

“He’s done a lot of good things for us and he’s a superb person, but we haven’t made that final decision,” he said.

Hunter hit .286 with 17 home runs and 83 RBIs while largely filling the No. 2 spot in the Tigers’ lineup.

While Hunter’s beliefs aren’t surprising, the fact that he aired them again is. In 2012, after he was criticized for his views, he told The Detroit News he would keep his opinions to himself in the future.

“I will never talk about politics, race or anything like that ever again with nobody,” Hunter told the newspaper. “That’s not part of baseball, so I’m not going to talk about it. That’s crazy.”

DECEMBER 6 , 2014 watermark Your lgbt life.

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

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o r L A N D o

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o r L A N D o

attorney

M A r k E T P L A C E

ChiroPraCtor

CounSelor

DR. JARED SILBERSTEIN Chiropractic Physician

MORRIS & HANCOCK, P.A.

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Please join us for our patient appreciation day May 29,2014 10 AM - 6 PM

Adoption, Family Law, Immigration Law & Estate Planning specifically directed for LGBT people.

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Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

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Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

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• Free Business Workshops • Business Discounts • Online Membership Directory…and much more!

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For in-depth LGBT businesses listings

Joy Metropolitan Community Church Reverend Terri Steed, Senior Pastor Wednesday Evening Spiritual Transformation Classes 7:00 P.M. Sunday Morning Worship 9:00 A.M. and 10:45 A.M. 2351 South Ferncreek Ave. | Orlando, FL 32806 Office: 407.894.1081

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Call 407-481-2243 for More inforMation

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

51

Rock it RED!St. Pete presents...

Wor l dAI DSDay

Everyone is welcome as the promises we made to never forget shall continue to be kept

Sunday Morning, Nov. 30

th

through Monday Evening, Dec. 1st For more information or make a donation please visit www.StPeteArtsAlliance.org

52

a 1.25 mile long conceptual red ribbon that you are encouraged to write names of warriors lost to AIDS on and/or a personal message of hope – to be made later into the 'Saint Petersburg Wall of Remembrance and Hope'. an awareness campaign asking you to rock the color and light the night sky RED – wrap a tree red, put up red film on your office windows or red holiday lights. Red light bulbs on your porch works and wear it too; be creative, just rock it RED! a candlelight ceremony at 6:30 on 12.1.14 to remember those we've lost and be a beacon of hope for our common future – to be held @ the LGBT Welcome Center, 2227 Central Ave.

watermark Your lgbt life.

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

watermark Your lgbt life.

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

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photography

Bradley’s On 7th, Tampa

The streets of Ybor, Tampa

Liquid Lounge, Tampa

Parliament House, Orlando

Parliament House, Orlando

galleryw Go see more photos at

watermarkonline.com

54

h

alloween has long been Considered tHe big holiday for the LGBT community, and 2014 was no exception. Parties and bars celebrated All Hallows Eve throughout the month, and we collected some of our favorite shots of our community’s creative costumes—from the creepy to the hilarious—in Tampa Bay and Central Florida.

watermark Your lgbt life.

House Party at Casa de Adair, Orlando

Halloween Debauchery friday, oCtober 31, 2014

Photography by Danny Garcia, Carrie West, and Paul Kinchen

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

watermark Your lgbt life.

Nov emb er 6 - Nov emb er 19, 2014 // Issue 21. 2 3

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Discover Orlando’s new destination for the most exciting food, art and fine goods. The Village at Artegon Marketplace is a community of 165 artisanal shops and stores offering one of a kind quality craftmanship. For a totally unique shopping and dining experience visit Artegon today.

5250 INTERNATIONAL DRIVE, ORLANDO, FL . 407 351 7718 . ARTEGONMARKETPLACE.COM FOR LEASING OPPORTUNITIES PLEASE CONTACT STEVE SLESS 443 742 6454