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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2011)
OREGON S LGBTO NEWSMAGAZINE ------------ I APRIL 15. 2011 t hearts • icon and the show fostered a relationship between the theater and Atlanta’s gay community. Today is a “different m om ent” in the arc o f the community as a whole, he says. W hereas 15 or 20 years ago he knew virtu ally no gay parents, today many LGBTQ_ individuals are raising children. W hen mar riage equality champion Evan Wolfson be gan advocating for gay marriage in the 1990s, Coleman says his reaction was, “It’s a pipe dream, [will] never happen in my life time.” Now, he notes, things feel different. In making the video, Coleman looked back decades to bring up emotions and recall a time o f his life to which he does not return often. He spent so much time trying to over come the pain, shame and difficulties of being gay that purposely conjuring those experi ences was unsettling, he says: “It’s something I don’t do everyday, and it’s something I haven’t done in a long while.” Unlike Elliot, Coleman is not an explo sive person, but he admits to understanding a lot about the character. In recent years, Coleman has addressed his own experiences with anger and hurt. W hen the Gerding Theater at the Armory opened in 2006, it was a huge success for PCS. He thought, “T should be elated, I should be thrilled,’” he says, “and in some ways I was.” But Coleman also felt angry— and he didn’t know why. Now he believes that reach ing that goal opened up space for him to real ize painful elements of his past he had smoothed over with his accomplishments. 2 9 Elliot (Chris Coleman) and Dorian (Matthew Boston) wrestle for power while Grace (Sarah Stevens) ponders the depths of the Lazara Quartet's dysfunction in PCS's production of Opus. “Then you realize,‘Oh, I’ve been carrying that anger around all my life,”’ he explains, adding that, in recent years, efforts to excavate and heal past experiences have been productive. In addition to engaging with their char acters psychologically, the actors in Opus had a skill to learn. They must mime their instruments convincingly— no small task, Coleman notes. W hen he first heard a dis sonant, rhythmically jarring Bela Bartók piece the group would be performing, he remembers thinking, ‘“How am I ever going to be able to count that, let alone bow?’” Cast members worked with coaches to learn how to authentically embody the mu sicians. “Anytime you’re playing a role or a new play, you’re really learning a whole new world,” Coleman says. His lengthy break from acting caused him to wonder: “T m 12 years older than the last time I was on stage ... Does my brain still work? Do the muscles still work?”’ he continues. Anxieties aside, Coleman is most looking forward to putting the play in front o f a live audience and “hearing the humor,” he says. “The audience teaches you so much about how the story is unfolding.” B E R T H O C 6 , CPA Mortgage Broker • Retired Air f o r « F in an cial S e r v ic e s A DivWon of Ptnnocte Copilo! Mortgage Carp. *5 aasc www-BHFinoncial.net t*rt Hw»*» t«B HM I Senta its ID» fl^ieikttto*Hnfra«eRBi«ii^ H azeLD eN at Hazelden F ind Listing freedom from the disease o f addiction a n d a whole new start on life. Opus runs through May 8, Tues.-Sun., 7:30p.m., Sat.-Sun. matinees at 2 p.m., Thurs. matinee at noon; Gerding Iheater at the Armory, 128 N W UthAve.; $18-$58, 503-445-3700orpcs.org. — ► LGBT-sensitive addiction treatment KNOW Residential primary care and extended care programs YOUR STATUS Culturally relevant groups and intormation Safe, welcoming, respectful environment Free & confidential HIV rapid tests for gay & bisexual men In-network provider for most insurance companies Oregon City Clinic af 1425 Beavercreek Road Oregon City 97045 Hazelden’s Springbrook campus Call 503-655-8471 for an appointment Tuesdays 3:30 - 6:30 Newberg, Oregon www.man2manpdx.us _ i« s liim s f © 2011 Ha/elden Foundation 3241-3 hazelden.org/springbrook 866 650-2045 -
