Articles in Arts
Alan Cumming, actor (LGBT History Month)
Alan Cumming is an award-winning film, television and stage actor. He has appeared in more than 100 films and television series, as well as major theatrical productions in London and on Broadway. Bent Alaska presents his story as part of our celebration of LGBT History Month 2011, with thanks to the Equality Forum.
Alan Cumming
“We need to do everything we can to counteract hatred and shame and we need to be strong in this fight.”
Alan Cumming (born January 27, 1965) is an award-winning film, television and stage actor. He has appeared in more than 100 films and television series, as well as major theatrical productions in London and on Broadway.
Cumming grew up on the east coast of Scotland, the son of a forester and a secretary. As a teenager, he began appearing in high school plays and local theater productions. In 1982, he enrolled at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, where he received a B.A. in dramatic studies.
After graduation, Cumming worked in Scottish theater and television before moving to London. In 1985, he married fellow acting student Hilary Lyon. The couple divorced eight years later.
In London, Cumming performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. He received two Olivier Awards, including Best Actor in a Musical for playing the Emcee in “Cabaret.” In 1998, he reprised this role on Broadway, receiving a Tony Award and a New York Drama Critics award for his performance.
Cumming’s many film credits include “Golden Eye,” “Emma,” “Eyes Wide Shut,” “Nicholas Nickleby,” “X2,” and “Burlesque.” On television, he has appeared on “Frasier,” “The L Word,” “Sex and the City,” Logo’s “Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World,” and on the hit series “The Good Wife” as conniving campaign manager Eli Gold.
In 1998, Entertainment Weekly named Cumming one of the 100 Most Creative People in the World. In 2008, he received the Trevor Hero Award from The Trevor Project for being “a true role model for gay and questioning youth through his spectacular and highly successful career.”
Cumming and his longtime partner, Grant Shaffer, entered into a civil partnership at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, London. Cumming and Shaffer live in New York City.
Alan Cumming as the Emcee and the cast of the Broadway revival of “Cabaret” peformed “Wilkommen” at the Tony Awards in 1998. Watch:
For more about Alan Cumming, visit his website, LGBT History Month page, or Wikipedia article.
Photo credit: Alan Cumming during the 2011 New York Fashion Week, 11 Feb 2011. Photo by Christopher Macsurak (cropped from original); used in accordance with Creative Commons licensing.
Aaron Copland, composer (LGBT History Month)
Aaron Copland was a world-renowned composer, teacher, writer and conductor. He was a key figure in forming the early 20th century American style of music and composition. Bent Alaska presents his story as part of our celebration of LGBT History Month 2011, with thanks to the Equality Forum.
Aaron Copland
“To stop the flow of music would be like the stopping of time itself, incredible and inconceivable.”
Aaron Copland (born November 14, 1900, died December 2, 1990) was a world-renowned composer, teacher, writer and conductor. He was a key figure in forming the early 20th century American style of music and composition.
The youngest of five children, Copland was born in Brooklyn to Eastern European Jewish immigrants. Encouraged by his mother, he became interested in music. His older sister taught him to play the piano. At 16, Copland began lessons with composer Rubin Goldmark, who introduced him to the American style of music.
After graduating high school, Copland played and composed works for dance bands. Inspired by modern European music, he moved to France and attended the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau. There he studied under Nadia Boulanger, who was his muse throughout his time in France.
Copland’s compositions are famous for rejection of the neo-Romantic form and his creation of a unique American style. He composed a wide variety of music, including piano and orchestral arrangements, ballets, and Hollywood film scores. His compositions for film include “Of Mice and Men” (1939), “Our Town” (1940) and “The Heiress” (1949), which won him an Academy Award for best score. His score for Martha Graham’s ballet “Appalachian Spring” (1944) earned him a Pulitzer Prize.
During the communist witch hunts of the 1950s, Copland was brought before Congress and questioned about whether he was affiliated with the Communist party. Although he was cleared of charges, Hollywood blacklisted him. His composition “A Lincoln Portrait” was withdrawn as part of the inaugural concert for President Eisenhower.
Copland dedicated the remainder of his life to composing, conducting and teaching. He had a major influence on the style of the next generation of American composers. His protégé, Leonard Bernstein, is considered the best conductor of Copland’s work.
Copland died in North Tarrytown, New York (now known as Sleepy Hollow). His estate established the Aaron Copland Fund for Composers, which annually bestows over $500,000 in grants.
“Fanfare for the Common Man” is one of Copland’s most famous works, written in 1942 for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under conductor Eugene Goossens. Here is is performed by the New York Philharmonic. Listen:
For more about Aaron Copland, visit his website, LGBT History Month page, or Wikipedia article.
Photo credit: Aaron Copland. Library of Congress.
Juneau Pride Chorus presents gay & lesbian film festival for National Coming Out Day
Juneau Pride Chorus — “a chorus of mothers, daughters, sisters, lovers and grandmothers bonded by love of singing and desire to celebrate diversity” — will celebrate National Coming Out Day this coming Tuesday, October 11, with a festival of gay and lesbian short films from some of the country’s top film festivals. The Pride Chorus will sing at intermission.
Admission is free, but donations are not only welcomed but encouraged: Pride Chorus is raising funds in hopes of going, for its first time ever, to the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses (GALA) International Chorus Festival, which will be held in Denver in July 2012. GALA’s festival happens only once every four years.
National Coming Out Day (NCOD) is an internationally observed civil awareness day observed by members of the LGBTQA communities on October 11 every year (or October 12 in the United Kingdom). Its date was chosen in commemoration of the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, held on October 11, 1987. National Coming Out Day is also an important for another reason, the Juneau Empire reports: the Juneau Pride Chorus held its very first rehearsal on National Coming Out Day in 1997.
The Juneau Empire continues,
Pride Chorus lays claim to the title of Juneau’s only year-round chorus, not counting church choirs. It rehearses every Tuesday from 5:30–7 p.m. at Resurrection Lutheran Church, open to the (female) public—to listen or to sing.
In fact, Pride Chorus prides itself, no pun intended, on its unrestrictive admission policy, which does not limit membership by audition, voice part or even sexual orientation.
“You don’t have to be LGBT to be a member of Pride Chorus, just supportive of our causes,” [Pride Chorus director Leslie] Wood said, who estimates that a third of the women in the chorus are lesbian, a third bisexual and a third, allies.
“You don’t have to be able to sing, either, but it helps.”
Juneau Pride Chorus holds an annual concert in April and also performs annually at Alaska Folk Festival and sometimes for World AIDS Day.
If you’re in Juneau, make time next Tuesday evening for some terrific films and terrific music. As one of Bent Alaska’s friends — a Pride Chorus member — wrote on our Facebook wall yesterday, “Come hear us sing — it will be a blast!” And don’t forget to chip in to help the Pride Chorus on its way to GALA 2012!
- Date/time: Tuesday, October 11, 6:30 to 9:30 PM
- Location: Gold Town Nickelodeon Theater, 171 Shattuck Way, Juneau, AK (see map)
- Cost of admission: Admission is free; donations accepted and encouraged: this is a fundraiser for Juneau Pride Chorus.
- Further info: see Facebook events page
Rita Mae Brown, author (LGBT History Month)
An author and screenwriter, Rita Mae Brown is best known for her semi-autobiographical lesbian-themed novel, Rubyfruit Jungle. She is a groundbreaking activist for lesbian and civil rights.. Bent Alaska presents her story as part of our celebration of LGBT History Month 2011, with thanks to the Equality Forum.
Rita Mae Brown
“Don’t ask to live in tranquil times. Literature doesn’t grow there.”
An author and screenwriter, Rita Mae Brown (born November 28, 1944) is best known for her semi-autobiographical lesbian-themed novel, Rubyfruit Jungle
An only child, Brown was adopted and raised in York, Pennsylvania. At age 11, her family moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Brown’s interest in political activism began with the black civil rights movement. In 1964, after losing her scholarship at the University of Florida due to her involvement in a rally, Brown was forced to drop out of school. She hitchhiked to New York where she lived in an abandoned car before enrolling at New York University (NYU).
At NYU, Brown cofounded the Student Homophile League. In 1968, she joined the National Organization of Women (NOW). She worked there until a schism over whether or not to support lesbian issues caused her to resign in February 1970. She says she was “kicked out” for raising the gay issue. Betty Friedan is largely blamed for Brown’s expulsion from NOW. Years later, Friedan publicly apologized and admitted her actions were wrong.
After severing ties with NOW, Brown became a member of Lavender Menace, an informal group of radical lesbian feminists formed to protest the exclusion of lesbians and lesbian issues from the feminist movement at the Second Congress to Unite Women in New York City on May 1, 1970. Brown was also a member of the Redstockings, a radical feminist group. She helped form the lesbian feminist newspaper Furies Collective. Thereafter, she earned a Ph.D. in political science from the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive think tank in Washington, D.C.
In addition to more than 50 books
Brown lives on a farm outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. She is a Master of Fox Hounds and advocates for animal rescue.
In December 2009, Rita Mae Brown sat down with Emmy-winning interviewer Ernie Manouse (InnerVIEWS) for a wide-ranging discussion on her memories of the Civil Rights Movement, the qualities that go into being a good writer, and her often rocky relationship with the National Organization for Women. Watch:
For more about Rita Mae Brown, visit her website, LGBT History Month page, Wikipedia article, or 2008 interview in Time Magazine.
Photo credit: Rita Mae Brown at Carroll Community College, Westminster, Maryland, 12 Nov 2005. Photo by Bryan Costin (bcostin on Flickr); used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
Alison Bechdel, cartoonist (LGBT History Month 2011)
Alison Bechdel is a celebrated cartoonist and author of the long-running comic strip, Dykes to Watch Out For. Her groundbreaking graphic memoir, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, was awarded the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book. Bent Alaska presents her story as part of our celebration of LGBT History Month 2011, with thanks to the Equality Forum.
Alison Bechdel
“The [comic] strip is about all kinds of things, not just gay and lesbian issues—births, deaths and everything in-between happen to everyone.”
Alison Bechdel (b. September 10, 1960) is a celebrated cartoonist and author of the long-running comic strip, Dykes to Watch Out For. Her groundbreaking graphic memoir, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, was awarded the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book.
A native of central Pennsylvania, Bechdel and her siblings grew up in a small town. Her parents both taught at the local high school and her father, the subject of her first memoir, was the town’s mortician. Bechdel attended Oberlin College, where she graduated with a B.A. in 1981.
Dykes to Watch Out For was published in 1983 and became a syndicated comic strip in 1985. With her signature subtle wit, Bechdel took on the complex and often stereotyped world of lesbian relationships through her comic alter ego, Mo. The strip has become a cult classic.
Bechdel resides outside of Burlington, Vermont.
Alison Bechdel was interviewed by MiND TV about her bestselling graphic memoir Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
For more about Alison Bechdel, visit the Dykes to Watch Out For website, the Alison Bechdel page on Amazon.com
Photo credit: Alison Bechdel came to Brussels to promote her new autobiographical book Fun Home. She signed her book in the comic store Brüselm 29 Oct 2006. Photo by Tineke on Flickr; used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
John Ashbery, poet (LGBT History Month 2011)
John Ashbery is one of the most successful 20th century poets. He has won almost every major American literary award, including the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for poetry. Bent Alaska presents his story as part of our celebration of LGBT History Month 2011, with thanks to the Equality Forum.
John Ashbery
“My poetry is disjunct, but then so is life.”
John Ashbery (b. July 28, 1927) is one of the most successful 20th century poets. He has won almost every major American literary award, including the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for poetry.
Ashbery graduated from Harvard University, where he studied English and served on the editorial board of the Harvard Advocate. He received his master’s degree from Columbia University. After graduating, Ashbery spent three years in publishing before moving to Paris on a Fulbright scholarship.
Returning to the U.S. in 1957, Ashbery attended graduate classes at New York University. Thereafter, he returned to Paris, where he supported himself as an editor. He eventually moved back to the U.S. to become the executive editor of ARTNews magazine.
Ashbery’s success began with frequent publication of his poems in magazines such as Furioso and Poetry New York. While in France, his book Some Trees won the Yale Younger Poet’s Prize. He has won many awards, including the Bollingen Prize and the McArthur Foundation’s “Genius Award.”
His Pulitzer Prize-winning poem “Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror,” which also won the National Book Award and the National Critics Circle Award, is unique for its triple prize status. The poem pulls together his favored themes: creating poetry and the influence of visual arts on his work.
Ashbery’s career has been marked by controversy. Response to his poetry ranges from praise for his brilliant expressionism and use of language to condemnation for his work’s nonsensical and elusive nature.
A prolific writer, he has published over 20 books of poetry
Here he is reading his poem “”Interesting People of Newfoundland” from Notes from the Air: Selected Later Poems
For more about John Ashbery, visit his LGBT History Month page or Wikipedia article.
Photo credit: Poet John Ashbery at the 2010 Brooklyn Book Festival’s gala for the presentation of Best of Brooklyn, Inc’s BoBI Award, 12 September 2010. Photo by David Shankbone, via Wikimedia Commons.
LGBT books well-represented during Banned Books Week
Banned Books Week is an annual celebration of the freedom to read, while simultaneously pointing out the dangers of censorship by spotlighting books challenged and often actually banned from libraries in the U.S. As usual, books challenged for LGBT content or themes are well-represented.
The Daily Show covers the repeal of DADT
“A Few Gay Men”: Jon Stewart and Jason Jones of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show report on the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.
Out North hosts Season Revealing Party Thursday
Artists at work. Visual art for sale. Performances to see. Tickets, wine, goodies and services to bid on.
Support Out North’s programming, outreach and education programs by joining us for our Season Revealing Party and Auction.
There will be comedy (in the theater). There will be sorrow (when you low-bid that set of kd lang tickets or Talkeetna Air Taxi seats). And there will be beer.
You can also donate online by going to www.outnorth.org, and clicking the “donate” button on the calendar page. Just enter $35 or more in the amount field and write “Revealing Party” in the text field provided.
(PS: If you want to donate objects, services, tickets, vacation opportunities, etc., to the auction, contact development@outnorth.org.)
Out North, a nonprofit multidisciplinary art house that produces and presents art that challenges and inspires; that nurtures creative space where people of all cultures, generations, circumstances and abilities can gather and learn; that champions artists whose work pushes traditional boundaries of aesthetics and content.
- Date/time: Thursday, September 8, from 5:30 to 8:30 PM
- Location: Out North Contemporary Art House, 3800 Debarr Road, Anchorage (see map)
- Cost of admission: The admission price of $35 includes food and beverages, entertainment and art explorations, bidding on good stuff, and seeing art forms of all kinds in the making and on exhibit. Tickets at the door or in advance by stopping by or calling Out North at 279-8099.
- Further info: See the Facebook event page.
Paula Poundstone: America is maturing on gay marriage
NPR is taping “Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me” live in Fairbanks on August 11 with panelists Paula Poundstone, Tom Bodett, and Adam Felber (sorry, it’s sold out.) Poundstone is also touring her own standup comedy show, although she’s not performing it in Alaska (darn!) OUTTAKE VOICES interviewed her after a recent show and asked about her tour, the NPR series and LGBT issues.
When asked what her personal commitment is to LGBT civil rights, Poundstone stated, “I think that I am an advocate of civil rights for all, I don’t know if it’s limited to one particular group. I am thrilled to death to see America maturing in the gay marriage arena. Although frankly, I’m not clear why anyone wants to be married, but OK.
I always thought that people’s argument against gay marriage has always been that it would somehow destroy the sanctity of marriage and I’m kind of a mind that whoever was in charge of the sanctity to begin with had kind of fallen asleep at the helm.
I think it is exciting to live in a time when things are changing. I’m really excited when my daughter who’s in high school tells me ‘you know so and so is gay.’ I just marvel. Not because her friend is gay but that it’s casual information.
It’s just when I was growing up, in high school, I was the class of ’77, of course there were many gays among my class, no one would ever have said so. Ever. So I think it’s thrilling and I try to emphasize that to my kids how lucky they are to be alive in a time when people can more or less be who they are.”
Paula is headed to Alaska to record the NPR hit weekly news quiz show, “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me”. Poundstone states “To have access to the NPR audience is pretty darn fun. They’re smart. They’re well informed. Not that I fall into either of those categories, by the way; less and less so as I grow older, in fact.” She adds that her appearances on NPR actually improve her stand-up act and vice versa.
Listen to the full interview on OUTTAKE VOICES. (There’s much more to it, the gay questions are at the end.)
To the lucky Fairbanks people who got tickets to the live taping – enjoy the show!
