January 21.2005 ’ jUSt OUt31
I
a 3 p.m. matinee Jan. 30. Tickets are $15 from
503-234-0973; Thursdays are $5-$ 15 sliding scale.
—Timothy Krause
Crap smear
There’s one thing that members of the Port
land comedy troupe The Tragedies must never
forget: You have to be willing to make yourself
look like a fool.
Tom Jackson and Annie Vergnetti, the two
openly gay performers in the eight-person
troupe, shared this trade secret a few weeks
before rhe opening of their latest creation,
Craptacular! Craptacular!
Directed by Brian Linss, the show consists
of more than a dozen sketches that abound in
political incorrectness. “If we offend someone
and get them to think, that’s a gixxJ thing,”
says Vergnetti.
Just how did the company land on such a,
hmmm, colorful name for their show? “We
went through a whole list of names. 1 just want
ed to call it Crap,” Jackson says with a laugh.
The name sure ain’t eloquent, but at least it
cuts straight to the chase. The Tragedies have
no illusions that they’re serving up a dignified
evening of comedy. They just dish out silly and
raunchy fun, pure and simple. In one sketch,
Boy Scouts make out with each other and talk
about sex. In a spoof of the 007 films, an elder
ly James Bond battles his nemesis, Blofeld, in a
nursing home.
Jackson, who is originally from the South,
moved to Portland in 2003 and founded The
Tragedies the same year. It took a while to put
a cast together, though, and the troupe did not
make its debut until last April at Conan’s Pub.
Jackson and Vergnetti note that it was espe
cially difficult to attract female performers to
sketch comedy. “Women are brought up to be
proper,” says Vergnetti, a songwriter who took
up sketch comedy to broaden her performance
repertoire. Men, she suspects, have an easier
time cutting loose because they’re not raised
with so many restrictions.
When asked about her queer influences,
Vergnetti cited musician Melissa Ferrick and
comedian Ellen DeGeneres. Jackson bemoaned
the scarcity of out male performers, but he did
applaud the show Queer as Folk for its realistic
portrayal of gay life.
Apart from performing on stage, The
Tragedies have recorded a CD of audio sketch
es called Sound Financial Investment. The troupe
hopes to travel to Chicago, Seattle and other
cities for sketch competitions.
Craptacular! Craptacular! plays 10:30 p.m.
W estover H eights
CLINIC
From left, Victorian explorers Julianna Jaffe, Wade McCollum and Lindsay Lucas travel on a
serendipitous safari across space and time to the 1950s in On the Verge
Jan. 28 and 29 and Feb. 4 and 5 at Backdtxtr
Theatre, 4319 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd. Tickets
are $8 from 503-984-4549.
—Stephen Blair
Matchmaker throws party
for older lesbians
Where have all the old dykes gone?
If you’ve ever asked that question, now
there’s an answer, at least for one night. They’ll
be at the first Hot Flash Dance Party Jan. 29 at
Embers, 110 N.W. Broadway. From 4 to
8:30 p.m., lesbians 36 and older will fill the club,
hanging out and dancing. Admission is $7.
You won’t be turned away at the door if
you’re younger than 36, but the outing is pur
posefully geared toward older women. Hot
Flash organizer and matchmaking maven
Pauline Miriam expects that most partygoers
will be between their late 30s and mid 40s.
“You have to recognize that there is no
social venue for older lesbians in Portland,” says
Miriam, who also runs Cruise Control PDX, a
dating service for lesbians. “There are potlucks
and organizations, but if you want to go out for
the evening, there are no bars to go to.”
Hot Flash is not a singles party, though the
idea was shaped by the requests of Cruise Con
trol attendees. Both singles and couples are
welcome at the event.
Still, there is sure to be some cruising going
on. Single women will even have the option of
wearing a sticker signaling their availability.
' Miriam might be wearing a sticker herself.
After all, she founded Cruise Control out of
necessity. When she divorced at age 50, she
found that there was no place for her to go to
meet other lesbians. Miriam hopes Hot Flash will
help create such a social network by bringing
together lesbians of similar age and experience.
The No. 1 goal of the night is simply to
have a gtxxl time. “It will be like going to the
bar when you’re in your 20s, except now you’ll
be older,” says Miriam.
Even the music will be the same, featuring
hits from the ’70s and ’80s. “It’ll be the kind of
stuff we danced to,” says Miriam, offering Glo
ria Gaynor’s “1 Will Survive” as an example.
“It’s not going to be techno music.”
Miriam hopes to see 300 lesbians at the
party, dancing and talking and generally enjoy
ing themselves. If this first night is a success,
she will work to make Hot Flash an ongoing
event.
So if you’d like to see that happen, make an
appearance at Embers and add to rhe head
count. Or should that be fxxtty count?
—Rebecca Ragain
Serving the community for 22 years
2330 NW Flanders
Suite 207
503-226-6678
ft;
Visit us online at:
www.reyreece.com
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or schedule your appointment
503-256-3700
1-800-283-0592
REY REECE DEALERSHIPS
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www.reyreece.com
Gus Van Sant joins
film and video board
Gov. Ted Kulongoski announced Dec. 1 5
the appointment of film director Gus Van Sant
to the hoard of the Oregon Film and Video
Office. The five-member board oversees the
activities of the semi-independent state agency
charged with building the film, video and mul
timedia industry in Oregon.
“Gus needs no introduction—his films speak
for themselves and to the great talent he will
bring to the Oregon Film and Video Board,”
Kulongoski said. “1 am pleased Gus has accept
ed this appointment and kxik forward to work
ing with him and rhe other hoard members as
we kxik to the future of the growing film indus
try in Oregon—one that both helps our com
munities economically and encourages the cul
tural diversity we strive to achieve as a state.”
—Sarah Dou^her jH
The Tragedies have two queer members. Tom Jackson (second from top left) and Annie Vergnetti
(second from bottom left)
Offering general internal
medicine and excelling
in sexual health care
‘IT’S ALL IN YOUR HEAD’
TRAIN YOUR BRAIN.
CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
have to date lost
22 lbs and am off Zoloft.
All thanks to you.
You are a goddess."
7
-Don Clarkson. Mayor (Mosier, OR)
and Personal Coach
If you are struggling with
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