Let Me Ascertain You: LGBTQ All Out! Part III

Up next is our third podcast of our series "Let Me Ascertain You: LGBTQ All Out!" dedicated to sexuality and gender. For this episode, we've got another interview from a staffer at the Rainbow Heights Club in Brooklyn, an advocacy program for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender emotional recovery and wellness. You can learn more about them at rainbowheights.org. Samira Wiley performs Danee live in New York City at the Barrow Street Theater.

Then, our next performance comes from an interview we did a couple years ago as part of our research for writer Neal Bell's play, Shadow of Himself Actors Matt Maher, Brian Sgambati and Maria Dizzia drove down to rural Pennsylvania to visit Harold and Bob in their home that has number of cages upstairs, locked cells downstairs and something of a small prison camp outside. At the time they were all empty. Matt Maher plays Harold and Brad Heberlee plays Bob.

Since we started this LGBTQ series, we did a concert of the show Times Square by Jill Sobule & Robin Eaton and Jim Lewis. It's a show about two girls who fall in love and discover themselves. To close out the podcast, we share a song for Nicky, one of the two girls at the center of the story. Nicky's a streetwise butch girl and in this song "Cigarette Burn" she's trying out a new song onstage at the Pussycat Palace in the heart of sleazy Times Square. It's sung here by the extraordinary Jill Sobule.

Interviews for this podcast were conducted by Donnetta Lavinia Grays and Matt Maher.

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Happy President's Day!

In honor of the national holiday that I am most prone to forget that celebrates the leaders of our nation, here are some quotes about leaders and leading from past Civilains' shows. Not terribly optimistic, I'm afraid... 

From (I AM) NOBODY'S LUNCH

NONAGENARIAN

Now I’m feeling unhappy about my country because I do not understand the president I have. Presidents have been inadequate. Presidents have been crooked. Presidents have been whatever… not behaving well. (Oh I can’t forgive Clinton. He should have had better taste.)  But this man is really incredible. I’m afraid… I’ll tell you that as a child of immigrant parents, who lived during McCarthy, I’m afraid to send a letter to the editor of the New York Times. I’m afraid to say something negative about Bush because someone will come down on me and I’m just too old now to handle it. And I’m very disappointed in the Democrats. I’ve always thought they were more concerned with the general population. They used to go out in the streets with papers and say, “This is not good. This is what’s really going on.”  But now … I don’t know what people care about. It’s like people have forgotten how to feel pain. And those are the type of people that don’t have dogs.

FROM SHADOW OF HIMSELF

The king learned much from his friend - 

 that his power was a gift,

and against the nature of things, to abuse it.

The people were glad.

There was peace, for a time...

But the heart of the king was not easy.

FROM PARIS COMMUNE

ACTRESS/LOUISE

Isn’t the whole point of the Commune that it’s—that it will be different? I think, sure, Louise Michel says too that the Commune will have to—it should be ready to fight to defend itself. And Louise, yeah, she’s prepared to fight and die even - but for liberation. Which I think is by definition the opposite of “authority,” right?

ACTRESS / ELISABETH

Well no.  I mean, not necessarily.  Not if the authority serves the people.  If you’re going to take over a city you’re going to need some sort of effective and decisive leadership, right?

RIGAULT

Paris, we are making a revolution!

ACTRESS / ELISABETH

Exactly.