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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 5, 2003)
36 5.2003 DIVERSIONS ................... ▼...................... Mark Steering and Elizabeth Lavenue consider Rimumtic M ythtakes Dec. 13 and 14 by Lisa B ye-b ye , Fairchild I hate to see a grow n man so desperate Isn't Humble Diva an oxym oron? he biggest bummer about queer artist I leyd Fontenot’s art show at Disjecta Gallery is that the space is only open when the nice, little venue at 116 N.E. Russell St. is hosting some performance. Well, you can get in by appointment (503-335-6979), but who does that? There’s good news, though. Heyd (pro nounced “hide” ) is coming to town from his stomping grounds in Austin, Texas, to close out his exhibit of paintings, Blood Sugar of the laimh, from 4 to 10 p.m. L\*c. 14. It’s going to he a heck of a party, and you’re invited. Judging by my conversation with Heyd and seeing the work, you want to go. ina Turner once asked, "What’s love got to do with it?*’ and that’s what you’ll find out in the wacky, moving and ultimately fun musi cal cabaret show Romantic Mythtukes by the Humble Divas, a duo made up of two deans of Portland musical theater: Mark Steering, a Radi cal Faerie, and Elizabeth Lavenue, a pregnant dyke. (Both .in- also professional voice teachers.) Lisa: You live in Austin, but your name sounds a little European. Where are you from? Heyd: Someplace almost as fascinating as Europe...Louisiana. Tire surname is French.... My friend Eileen says it’s Cajun for “fun"! L: What’s your educational and creative background? H: I have a BFA in graphic design—pre computer age—so I think that’s where my hand- craftedness comes from. 1 also went to film Heyd Fontenot’s Blood Sugar of the Lamb ends schixil. I've been painting and drawing my in a glorious closing party Dec. 14 whole life. It’s just something I’ve always, always I done.... I was and remain a real ixldity to my family who are all fanners— my dad and Kith The show lamptxms popular music’s ridicu lous myths aK>ut romance and love and brothers and my grandfather and his father before him. No kidding, .ill farmers. explores the very knotty issues queer people face in creating relationships: monogamy, turkey basters, ctxlependency, shame and who L: The title of the show is a little creepy. gets to play with my sex toys, to name a few. What does it mean exactly? (I learing Lavenues “Lonely as a Top" alone is H: Well, 1 don’t want to tell you EXACTLY. worth the price of admission.) Where would the mystery he? OK, it’s sort of a play on “Rkxxl of the lamb, take away the sins of Romantic M ythtakes shows 7 p.m. Dec. 1 3 at Grand House, ¡704 S.E. 22nd Ave. and 7 p.m. the world, have mercy on us.” It’s a phrase used in Catholic Masses. So even thought I’m no longer a Dec. 14 at Artichoke Music Backgate Stage, 31 30 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd. Tickets are $5-$l 5 practicing Catholic, I’ve said that at least a hun dred thousand times, and all of this Catholic hixi- sliding scale from 503-234-1140 or periwin- kle@pcez.com. ha gets in and never leaves. L: The images of your people are playful, but they all have such serious Itxiks on their faces. H: Sometimes I have more specific ideas about how I’ll use...a character, a pose— and sometimes I just want to see...what they decide to do.... I’m not sure what's going on tor them .. .1 imagine they’re thinking, “I hope he doesn’t notice that my tits are different sizes" or something like that. Things that wouldn’t matter to me at all. L: There is also a theme of floating, of let ting go, yet there’s apprehension, too. Are they having a hard time being free? H: You are fucking right on. I’m not blowing smoke, but 1 teel like ytxj totally get the vibe of it. L: Heyd, you’re clearly a man of great per ception and instinct. I’m going to put you in my next column. Anything else you want the people to know? H : I have a desperate need for them to come see the work. j n Youth Resource Center (SM YRC) begins at anccs, such as World AIDS Day 7:30 p.m. with a raffle— prizes include custom in Salem and a Parents, Families harnesses and Pussy Pucker Pots—and the and Friends of Lesbians and I movie starts at 8. Gays fund-raiser in Eugene. Jesus was penned by queer Boston musi Tickets for Winter Song are $10 cian Faith Soloway, who also stars, along from Jackson’s B*x>ks in Salem, with Catie Curtis, Jennifer Kimball (as Mary) from In Other Words in Port and Merle Perkins (as G od). The, oh, slightly land and at the dtxir. mcxlernized tale of the “virgin" birth is a song-and-dance extravaganza that pokes pleasant tun at both folk singers and dykes. (Soloway, being both, know's of what she mmediately after Just 1 preaches.) Tickets cost $8 and can lx* purchased at In Out ran a write-up of Other Words. Holocene’s queer night Fairchild, the club decided to call it quits. Well, sort of. They’ll still have dance parties Friday nights, but the name and the specialty DJs flown in from around the world w ill not be Members of the Portland Gay Men’s on the ticket. Chorus have decided the holidays aren’t "It just wasn’t coming together,” says Charlie stressful enough and so are embarking on Hodge, one-third club owner. " T ie real chal their first-ever tri-county tour with their new lenge for Fairchild being a queer night is that it’s production, Home for the Holidays! really hard to break people’s habit of going down “ It’s time for the chorus to produce in to Stark Street, especially on the east side." Hixlge wants to encourage queers to contin neighKirluxxIs that haven’t had the chorus but ue coming on Friday nights and to the many that we know have an audience there," says other queer events going on at 1 lolixene, executive director Tony Stroll. “The biggest concern is to try to get the audience to the 1001 S.E. Morrison St., which includes the right concert location on the right night, not 1 \ 'C . 14 ladies soiree Tart and a l\'c . 19 I)K PDX drag king show. to mention the chorus members. Three con certs, three locations in three counties; we have officially lost our minds.” So listen up or you’ll miss a program that includes some of the best work the group has presented through the years as well as a new line of sendups of a few' people who’ve recently graced the headlines. The chorus performs at 8 p.m. Dec. 12 at Marylhurst University’s St. Anne’s Chapel, | 17600 Pacific 1 lighway. Then at 8 p.m. Dec. 13 at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1624 N.E. Hancock St. T ie n at 2 p.m. Dec. 14 at Cedar Hills United Church of Christ, 11695 S.W. Park Way. Tickets for all shows are $l2-$25 from 503-226-2588 or www.pdxgmc.org. Now that you’ve got that straight, try this on for size: The group will actually kick off this tour with a sneak preview performance 4 p.m. Dec. 7 at Chinixik Winds Gaming and C on Girl meets girl, girl meets God, God gets down: vention Center in Lincoln City as a benefit tor See Jesus Has Two Mommies Dec. 10 at Coastal AIDS Network. Tickets are $12 from Hollywood Theatre I 888-244-6665.* And PGM C will host a party from 6 to 9 p.m. Dec. 9 at HoKi’s, 120 N.W. Third Ave., tor the release of its new CD , Holiday Sereruule, a collection of its favorite 18 selections. It you can’t make it, you can buy the disc beginning or one night only, Hollywixxl Theatre, 4122 N.E. Sandy Blvd., will show Jesu s Dec. 7 at Gai-Pied, Music Millennium, Pow Has Two Mommies, the hit Boston schlock ell san d Borders. J H opera transferred to video for queer enjoyment all over the country. ! Compiled hy L isa B rahshaw , T imothy T ie Dec. 10 benefit for the Sexual Minority K rause atul B art C hurch Singing the season onfluence: The Willamette Valley Mixed G A L A Chorus, hits all the right notes with Winter Sung, a seasonal concert at 8 p.m. Dec. 6 at Salem’s Unitarian Church, 5 0 9 0 ( enter St. N.E., and 4 p.m Dec. 7 at Portland’s Unity Church, 4525 S.E. Stark St. Chris Sprtxil, the chorus’ hoard chair woman, says the concerts are composed of a variety of music “that remind us of the beauty of winter, the hope of bright days ahead and the joy of the holiday season." Winter Song marks the fourth season of the queer chorus, which has grown from 12 singers in 2000 to more than 40 today, representing a range of experience and backgrounds. Some travel from as far as Newport and Battle Ground, Wash., though most members live in Albany, Corvallis, Portland and Salem. Confluence presents three concerts each season and offers several outreach pertorm- S PGMC at a home fo r the h o lid a ys near yo u There's som ething about M ary Confluence: The Willamette Valley Mixed G A L A Chorus performs another beautiful holiday concert Dec. 6 and 7
