The March in Washington - A Report

The cast of Hair closed the show down for one night in order to be able to join the October 11 March for Equality in Washington

While most of us in the Berkshires were taking part in the Out in Berkshires event Columbus Day weekend, our LGBT brothers and sisters were busy conducting a March of Washington for Equality. One of the contingents that I might have normally joined is the Broadway Impact group. Here's an update from them on how it went, and what is next.

Hello everyone!

We hope all of you who were able to get there had an amazing and inspiring time in D.C. We certainly did! It was an incredible feeling to stand shoulder to shoulder with so many of you while we marched for equality. Thanks to all of our bus sponsors there were over 1,400 people behind the Broadway Impact banner. A truly incredible sight! We hope you all got to soak up the beautiful day and noticed that there was a rainbow above us while we marched!

We have had some exciting news that the New York State Senate could finally be bringing the Marriage Equality Bill up for a vote as early as next week. The Governor has called the Senate back to work to deal with some crucial issues, and many believe the marriage bill could be included. There has been a lot of pressure on the Senate to bring this bill to the floor and this is the last chance for voting to happen before the end of the year. We hope the marriage bill will finally get its time to see the light!

We ALL need to start calling and emailing our Senators immediately. We know you all have called before, but this is the final push that could make the difference.

Please visit our website www.broadwayimpact.com and follow the simple directions on how to locate your Senator’s information and what to say when you call and write. It’s super easy and it truly is what will get this bill passed. Tell your friends and family to do the same and help spread the word. Your voice makes a difference!

Thanks so much for being with us on this journey!

-Broadway Impact

Jenny, Rory and Gavin

Pittsfield hosts first Out in the Berkshires Weekend, October 10th-12th

Timed to coincide with National Coming Out Day (Sunday, October 11), the City of Pittsfield is hosting the first ever Out in the Berkshires weekend - a multi-event celebration for the Berkshire's LBGT community.

It all happens over the long Columbus Day weekend as Berkshire County’s largest and most fascinating city plays host to its first ever area performance by the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus, a staged reading of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later by Barrington Stage Company, and Quite Queer, a live music and dance party. This weekend of gay-friendly performances coincides with the launch of a new collaborative marketing project targeted to the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender) community in Berkshire County and beyond, OutintheBerkshires.com. The events are open to all so everyone can celebrate the unique diversity of our community.

Come out for the BGMC!
Keith Haring's famous drawing.
THE BOSTON GAY MENS CHORUS

It all kicks off with the first ever Berkshire County performance by the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus (BGMC) at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Pittsfield on Saturday, October 10, at 3:30pm. The BGMC is one of New England’s largest and most successful community-based choruses, and will perform highlights from its rousing hit show, Boys Just Wanna Have Fun: Totally 80s.

Proceeds from the concert will be donated to the Gay/Straight Alliances at Pittsfield High School and Taconic High School. The Chorus is celebrated for its outstanding musicianship, creative programming and groundbreaking community outreach. Advance ticket prices are $5 for students and $10 for adults, with a 10% discount for groups of 10 or more. Tickets will be sold at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, Taconic High School, Pittsfield High School, and St. Stephen’s Parish or will be available for $15 at the door.


QUITE QUEER CONCERT AND DANCE
Saturday night, October 10, the Elk’s Club at 27 Union St. comes alive with the live-music and DJ dance-party Quite Queer, the first-ever of its kind in Pittsfield. Music starts at 6pm and features co-headlining acts MKNG FRNDZ, a self-described “boy/girl revolution” that produce brilliant blown-out synth-pop.

MKNG FRNDZ appears live.
Then there is also Jen Urban and the Box from New York City, whose album is described as everything from “raunchy garage-laced electroclash to anthemic dance-pop to sincere confessional song form.”

Jen Urban and the Box
The openers for the event are The G-Spots, an all-girl rock group from Worcester, and unique new-age disco artist Max Steele and the Party Ice from Brooklyn.

Max Steele and the Party Ice will be up from Brooklyn.
The concert will be followed by a dance-party that will continue until 1am. This is an 18+ event with a full cash-bar for 21+, and tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door and can be purchased at Rebel Sound Records, The Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, and Dottie’s Coffee Lounge. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the AIDS Foundation of Western Massachusetts.


A NEW LARAMIE PROJECT ON STAGE
On Columbus Day, Monday, October 12, Barrington Stage Company presents The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later (An Epilogue), a staged reading of the compelling and groundbreaking epilogue to the highly acclaimed play that debuted in 2000. The epilogue focuses on the long-term effect of the murder of Matthew Shepard on the town of Laramie. It explores how the town has changed and how the murder continues to reverberate in the community. The staged reading will be performed in more than 100 other theaters across the country on the same day. (Click here for Larry Murray's preview)

Barrington Stage Company has assembled a cast comprised of both professional and local acting talents. Performances will take place at 3pm and 7pm on the Main Stage and tickets are $15 for adults and $10 students. To help raise awareness in the community and fight intolerance and prejudice, a portion of the proceeds will go to the Matthew Shepard Foundation, which works to share Matthew’s dream of replacing the hate in the world with understanding, compassion, and acceptance.

Sponsorships between $25 and $99 receive a listing in the show playbill and sponsorships of more than $100 receive listing in the playbill as a "Special Benefactor", two tickets to the performance, and an invitation for two to a post-show party at Jae’s Spice directly following the 7pm performance. Visit www.barringtonstageco.org for information and tickets.

TIME FOR OUT IN THE BERKSHIRES
The debut Out in the Berkshires weekend is a part a collaborative marketing project to reach the LGBT community in Berkshire County and beyond, both visitors and residents. Outintheberkshires.com is a new resource for art, music, nightlife, and commerce for the LGBT community in the Berkshires. For more information please visit outintheberkshires.com or write outintheberkshires@gmail.com. We welcome them to our growing community.

Upcoming LGBTQ Events - Picks and Previews

September already?
September already? But, but, my tomatoes are still green! I suppose I should be grateful for those few that survived the late blight. And I saved on my air conditioner bill, but one week of sunshine does not a summer make. And I sure wouldn't want to talk with the innkeepers either, this was the summer of the Monsoon. Still, Fall is just a few weeks off, and with it lots of our favorite activities replace summer lethargy.

SEPTEMBER 2 - BSCC COMMUNITY DINNER AND PLANNING MEETING

One thing to note on your calendar is the September gathering of our Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition on Wednesday, September 2nd. Its theme is "What's Next" and rather than the usual potluck, there will be a deli-cold cut style supper starting at 7 PM at the UU Church in Pittsfield. It's open and free to all, though you should give them a call at 413-822-7268 to let you know you're coming so they have plenty of food. If you want to bring a dessert, that would be nice, too. The catered cold cut dinner is donated by Peter Marchetti. Beverages and dessert by the BSCC board. Their message is simple: Bring your suggestions, ideas, and enthusiasm to help decide where to focus our energies and resources in the coming year. There are some exciting plans in the works already, and I will be writing about them shortly. If someone from the North Adams area is going and can give me a lift, call me at 664-6108. I am without transportation that evening.

THURSDAYS - LGBT NIGHT AT MEZZE

Justin Adkins, the energetic Queer Life Coordinator for Williams College has declared Thursdays at Mezze in Williamstown to be LGBT Night at the bar from 9 PM on. Many of the crowd wear hats, so don't worry about finding each other. You can always use your gaydar too. We may not have a gay bar in the Berkshires, but this great restaurant and watering hole makes a nice locus for meeting and greeting.


QUITE QUEER DANCE PARTY AND APPLE BOB OCTOBER 10

The ever popular and incredibly busy Ryan W. has kept me in the loop regarding what looks to be one of the hottest parties of the year on October 10 of Columbus Day weekend. In fact I am busting at the seams to tell you about lots of other things on the docket, but am awaiting formal confirmation before dropping the news. But here is what I can tell you, and you can find more details on Facebook. Here's what they have posted:

Mission statement: Queer up Pittsfield and make it permanent.
Host: QQ Committee

Time to get queer here now! Featuring MKNG FRNDZ in the Berkshires. More bands to follow.

A portion of the proceeds with benefit the AIDS Foundation of Western Massachusetts.

It's time Pittsfield became alive with youth, queerness, et cetera. PROMISES OF QUEER BOBBING FOR APPLES @ EVENT! But most importantly, let's BUILD THE SCENE DO-IT-YOURSELF STYLE HOM(O)IEZ! TICKETS will be $10-12. Many ticket outlets throughout the area are being set up. Admission covers both the live music portion as well as the dance party.

Contact TIM KUSHI @ 413 464 7740 OR tim@nutcracker.com for more details!

MARRIAGE EQUALITY in VERMONT

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2009 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM in RUTLAND and
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2009 9:00 AM to 9:PM in BENNINGTON

The Unitarian-Universalist congregations of Rutland and Bennington are celebrating marriage equality. This is for couples joined in a Civil Union who would like to get married or a married couple who would like to renew your vows in the context of a celebration of marriage equality

Rev. Erica Baron, the minister of the congregation, will be available all day to perform brief, simple wedding services for couples joined in a civil union, and to perform simple vow renewal services for married couples. Members of the congregation will be providing pot-luck “receptions” at 11:30, 3:00, and 6:00. Pre registration is required. Please call Erica at 802-855-8125 to register.

If you would like to get married and do not have a civil union, you may also contact her, or in the Berkshires, the Congregational Church in Williamstown and the UU Church in Pittsfield will also happily assist you in arranging a marriage at their churches.

Auditions for Laramie Project on Saturday in Pittsfield

BSC TO HOLD LOCAL ACTOR AUDITIONS
for THE FANTASTICKS and
THE LARAMIE PROJECT: 10 YEARS LATER (AN EPILOGUE)
August 29, 2009

We can't say too much at this point, but be sure to block out Columbus Day Weekend. It's going to be a very special one for the LGBTQ community in the Berkshires. Many details are still being worked out for a first ever "Out in the Berkshires" weekend, (shhhh...more info later!) but one thing is for sure, Barrington Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and Producing Director Richard M. Parison Jr., will be presenting The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later (An Epilogue) on Monday, October 12 at 3 and 7 PM.

Towards that event, open auditions will be held (all ages, types) for those interested in taking part in the semi-staged reading. They will be held concurrently with the local auditions for its Fall 2009 season productions of The Fantasticks on Saturday, August 29 from noon-6pm at Barrington Stage, 30 Union Street, Pittsfield, MA. An audition monitor will be present.

Matthew Shephard
The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later (An Epilogue) will be directed by BSC Producing Director Richard M. Parison, Jr. The creators of the highly acclaimed play The Laramie Project, which since 2000 has been one of the most performed plays in America, will premiere a compelling and groundbreaking epilogue to the original piece. The epilogue focuses on the long-term effect of the murder of Matthew Shepard on the town of Laramie. It explores how the town has changed and how the murder continues to reverberate in the community.

Auditionees for The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later (An Epilogue) should be prepared to read a portion of text provided at the audition. Auditions will be held by appointment only by calling BSC Administrative Office at 413-997-6105.

The fence, once a horrific reminder to the Wyoming community has been torn down since the tragedy.
The staged reading of this updated work will be performed in New York at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, Barrington Stage Company, and over 100 other theaters across the country on October 12, 2009.

You may also audition for another show, The Fantasticks which will be directed by Andrew Volkoff (BSC's Underneath the Lintel, I Am My Own Wife, Fully Committed) and choreographed by Janet Watson (choreographer of current NY production). The world's longest-running musical, The Fantasticks is a captivating romantic comedy about a boy, a girl, and two fathers. Featuring memorable songs that include "Soon It's Gonna Rain," "They Were You" and the beloved hit "Try to Remember." Auditionees for The Fantasticks should prepare two contrasting songs (ballad and uptempo) and may be asked to read from the script.