OutCharlotte 98 offers yet
another intriguing line-up
CHARLOTTE—A traditional Jewish les
bian wedding, an African-American LGBT
performance ensemble, musical visions of bell
bottoms and platform shoes, an ad-libbing
comic princess and a “premiere” dance event
are coming to OutCharlotte 98, Charlottes
fourth annual cultural festival celebrating the
diverse contributions of the lesbian, gay, bi
sexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
Festival Steering Committee co-chairs Joe '
O’Connor and Shelly Schoenfeld have been
working with a team of 10 members since the
beginning of the year.
“Early on, the concept of‘family’ as a theme
for the festival took hold,” said O’Connor.
“With so much happening in the greater
Charlotte community,” Schoenfeld added, “we
find ourselves more determined than ever be
fore to show others who we are. The LGBT
community is uniting and bonding — a stron
ger sense of family is evolving as we share our
commonalities.”
Twenty events will be held over five days,
October 7-11, at various venues around Char
lotte. “If people are interested in learning who
‘gay people’ are, the festival is the perfect op
portunity to meet us,” said Dan Kitsch,
CHARLOTTE
1998
OutCharlotte executive director. “Come dine
with us, come learn with us or come laugh with
us.” The festival’s purpose is to foster aware
ness and appreciation of LGBT culture through
arts-related, educational and historical pro
grams. ''
A solo artist from San Francisco, Sara Felder,
and Chicago’s A Real Read, an African-Ameri
can, LGBT performance ensemble, will join
OutCharlotte as artists-in-residence for the
1998 Festival.
Since legalization of same-sex marriage is
such a national hot topic, OutCharlotte will
bring the debate home with performances of
Sara Felder’s June Bride. The title describes a
traditional Jewish lesbian wedding — only with
a little more juggling! The show takes us from
an awkward first date to the culmination of the
wedding ceremony—the shattering of the glass
under the wedding canopy. In between, we meet
the reluctant parents, the blissful brides and the
ageless spirit of the Jewish tradition. The show
features juggling, sharp knives, colorful scarves,
a rhyming poem, a crystal ball, and (hopefully)
a strait jacket escape!
A Real Read is a collection of artists who
bring to the stage original works of poetry and
prose, giving a voice to an often overlooked
community. Artistic Director Byron Stewart
describes the ensemble this way: “In a society
that often misreads as well as misrepresents who
we are, the voices of our people are seldom
heard. We are silenced by the dominant cul
ture simply for being black and silenced by our
own community simply for being gay. Through
poetry, prose, music and vignettes, we hope to
testify to the distinctive experiences of a mi
nority within a minority, with the goal that
other communities find something they can
relate to as well.” A Real Read will perform two
shows at OutCharlotte 98: The Best of A Real
Read and Gomin Straight At Cha, their newest
work, a series of humorous and thought-pro
voking pieces on the emotions and conflicts
straight people experience in dealing with the
sexual orientation or gender identity of people
they care about.
Also scheduled is comedian Michele Balan,
a born and bred Brooklyn native who writes
her own routines. Manhattan subway ads, taxi
drivers, bagels and Miami are all fair game to
this self-proclaimed “neurotic Jew.” When she’s
single (“not single — between ex’s”), she’s sure
to turn her raucous humor on dating angst.
She’s been appearing in Provincetown the last
few summers and Provincetown magazine
tagged her a “cute, funny, high-energy, quick
Q-Notes T September 19, 1998 T PAGE 15
witted, ad-libbing comic princess.”
Musical visions of bell bottoms, disco
theques, platform shoes, 8-track tapes and The
Brady Bunch will fill the theater as the Atlanta
Feminist Women’s Chorus presents “We are
Family — A Celebration of the Music of the
’70s” as part of the Festival Closing Ceremony.
The concert features the great disco hits, love
songs and TV themes that made the ’70s what
they were! The Adanta Feminist Women’s Cho
rus (AFWC) is an 80-member, community-
based group and is under the direction of Rob
ert Glor. Their appearance at OutCharlotte will
be co-hosted by One Voice, Charlotte’s Gay,
Lesbian and Gay Affirmative Chorus.
It will be a night of Hollywood fantasy at
“Tinseltown: The Dance!” OutCharlotte’s an
nual fundraising dance will be held at the his
toric Carolina Theatre in Uptown Charlotte.
The red carpet will be rolled out for stars and
star-gazers alike, so come see and be seen at this
“premiere” event. The dance celebrates the
Golden Age of Hollywood, the 1930s-50s.
There will be a costume contest for those
dressed like a true star of that era. Clark, Bette,
Bogart — come as your favorite or come as the
star that you know you are. The music will be
’90s and hot, pro
vided by Charlotte
1 DJ Randall Warren
' ■ of 300 Stonewall.
sS3 Two films will be
shown as part of the
festival: It’s in the Wa
ter, Kelli Herd’s sexy
feel-good comedy
masquerading as a
Steel Magnolias-stylt
potboiler. The set
ting is conservative Azalea Springs where un
derneath classy wealth, big hair and country
clubs lies a hotbed of sexual frustration. The
film was voted Audience Favorite at the Laguna
Beach, Copenhagen and Washington, DC gay
and lesbian film festivals.
Alive & Kicking, a lively romance between
unlikely lovers, stars Jason Flemyng and ac
claimed Tony-nominee Antony Sher. The mis
matched pair stumble along the rocky path of
commitment in a sometimes poignant, often
hilarious, always believable portrayal of a gay
courtship in the new “Swinging London.” The
film received the Audience Award at the Lon
don International Film Festival.
The 1998 OutCharlotte art exhibition’s
theme is family within the LGBT community.
OutCharlotte solicited photographs from the
community that illustrate the various examples
of traditional and non-traditional families
within our community. In addition, three lo
cal photographers will be adding their photo
interpretations to the exhibit: Jason Kinney,
Kelly J. Owen and Kim L’Amoreaux. The ex
hibit is curated by Bill Schinsky and will be
displayed at the Blue Pony Gallery from Octo
ber 2-31.
The festival will also provide 15 free work
shops and hold the OutCharlotte Marketplace
at the Great Aunt Stella Center on Elizabeth
Avenue on Saturday, October 10. Mobile
Health Outreach will give free mammograms
that day and free child care will be available.
On Sunday, October 11, the Don King Com
munity Service Awards will be presented at the
Closing Ceremony. There will be a potluck din
ner, a tea dance, a fun run/walk, social events
and a reading of Fixing Things, a new one-act
play by Steve Willis.
A complete festival schedule is now avail
able. Tickets go on sale September 23 at White
Rabbit Books & Things, 834 Central Ave.,
Charlotte. Tickets range in price from $5.00-
$15.00 with many events offered for free. A
Festival Pass, available for only $58.00, allows
admission to all events along with additional
special benefits.
This year’s host hotel is the Four .Points
Hotel, 201 S. McDowell Street. For reserva
tions, call (704) 372-7550 or 1-800-762-1995.
For OutCharlotte’s line-up “at-a-glance,” see
their ad on page 2 of this issue. To receive a
festival schedule, order tickets, make a dona
tion, volunteer or get a vendor application, write
OutCharlotte 98 at PO Box 32062, Charlotte,
NC 28232-2062; call (704) 563-2699; or visit
their web site at www.outcharlotte.org. T
Savinas At Three Great locations
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704 / 541-5309
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