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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 19, 2005)
32 OMt » august 12.2QÛ5 World Beat Soul THEATER Rock Womens Jazz Gospel Country Bluegrass Musicals Big Band Reggae and more... Oldies Folk Cajun New Age Soundtracks Lounge Comedy Spoken Word EAST PORTLAND • 32nd & E Burnside St. • 231-8926 • MILLENNIUM NW PORTLAND • 23rd & NW Johnson • 248-0163 somewhere in the world, someone just won a toaster! come out, come out wherever you are. Arthouse * Foreign ★ Cult Classics ★ Gay & Lesbian Documentaries * Asian Cult if The Latest Chart Busters ALL RENTALS-5DAYS 2310 N Lombard 11136 NW Lovejoy I 1990 SE Ladd 503-289-8408 503-796-2825 503-231-1181 I 7522 N Lombard i 503-247-3433 2640 NE Alberta 503-288-4067 ▼ He made it after all Don. Horn reflects on Triangle Productions by F loyd S klaver hen you think of Don Hom, you probably don’t think of Mary Tyler Mixire. Yet, the two of them share the same birthday, the same sunny disposition and the same determination ceed. And both accelerated their success when they formed their own production companies. Fifteen years ago, Horn founded Triangle Pnxluctions, one of the oldest gay-identified theater companies on the West Coast. Although a number of local theaters have closed since then, Triangle persevered, finish ing its current season with smash reviews and sold-out performances of The Rocky Horror Show starring Wade McCollum. But, inevitably, change occurs, and Hom is scaling back. The 50-year-old plans to divide his time between a house in Greece and Portland, where he’ll still produce one choice play per year. Just Out recently chatted with the ex actor and impresario. W Floyd Sklaver: What was the impetus behind Triangle? Don Hom: I wrote a play and tixik it to all the theaters in town...and they all said it’s not the show for us. So I thought, “Why can’t 1 do it myself?” on the tickets, then they would sell them. FS: What are you most proud of? DH: I ’m from a family who hates me. So to for suc me to go from nobody liking the fat, chub by kid to being successful is amazing. I’ve always said if I can do it, anybtxly can do their dream...I don’t regret anything I’ve done. I remember my dad sitting on the porch and saying, “If I could just do it over again.” And 1 remember thinking 1 don’t ever want to be that way. FS: Where did you find the time and the energy to work two full-time jobs? DH: That’s just me. Don’t ask me how. I realize I want to slow down, but 1 don’t know if I can. I love the energy of the theater. 1 love the laughter, 1 love the tears. It’s not the applause so much as know ing people appreci ate what they’ve seen. FS: What’s with the bare feet? FS: What show was it? DH: I grew up^ DH: After the Rain, and it [in Bums] with was a huge hit. It deals Don Horn is scaling back to producing one pair of shoes. with.. .the AIDS epidemic but one choice play per year. My papa always also the surviving people left said if you want behind. [It’s] about a young man whose lover those shoes to last you’ll take them off when died. In the last scene, the parents of the you come home. It’s just me...l also want peo deceased come and start taking his things. ple to feel like you don’t have to be rich to 1 didn’t know that the director, Jerry Leith, was come to the theater. You can be comfortable going through the same thing. His lover died, and be who you are. and his parents came and said, “We want the chandelier, we want the couch.” And he said, FS: What’s the future of gay theater “We bought that together,” and they said nationally and in Portland? tough. They literally brought a U-Haul trailer DH: Five or 10 years ago, the audience was and-emptied the house. hugely gay on...Broadway. Angels in America. Love! Valour! Oompassion! You had the voice of FS: How many shows did you produce? gay people. But Tony Kushner and others DH: Over 150. You know, [our logo! is not aren’t writing for the theater now. They’ve the gay triangle, but it’s the trinity. It faces gone mainstream and are writing for movies or upward, and there’s a hand coming down. I’ve television. [So] there isn’t a big voice right now always felt that the hand of G<xl guided me for gay people in the theater. Paul Rudnick through this. We did Bent when Measure 9 hasn’t written anything since Jeffrey. Terrence happened, and the parallels were so amazing. McNally did Full Monty, which had a gay There are times when I did something that just character, but that was no Love! Valour! happened at the right time that I needed to do (Compassion? it. FS: What do you wish you could have FS: What was your biggest challenge? done that you didn’t? DH: Bein^called “the gay theater,” because DH: I wish I could have convinced the then I couldn’t get straight people to come. community to help us buy the Theater Theatre Then when I started doing straight shows...the building to make it a gay and lesbian center...I gays complained. I couldn’t win. begged and begged and begged, and no one would listen. I said I’d manage the building for FS: What’s the most controversial thing free, the theater would stay here, there’s plenty you did? of room for offices upstairs. But influential peo DH: We did Vampires Lesbians of Sodom ple said not on the east side. It’s funny, 1 want back in 1991. Fastixx and Fred Meyer’s would ed to do theater because of my passion, but n’t sell our tickets at their stores because of the what I really at the end wanted to do was have title.... It’s a silly little show, but they wouldn’t a gay and lesbian center. This was just 2 1/2 sell it. When they finally agreed to print VLOS years ago.
