Gay is the new Black

Originally, I wasn’t going to throw my hat in the ring over the Gay Marriage issue.  But then I saw this online reaction to a review of my current show and it pushed me over the edge.  Remember, I’m doing a show called Altar Boyz, about a Christian boy band, which explores such egregious themes as acceptance, tolerance, and (god forbid!) faith.

Posted by a guy named Andy from Minneapolis:

Coming from a group of theater people that want gay marriage acknowledged by the church, not to mention the entire world, as a legal union…does this at all surprise you?

This is the garbage the Clean Arts Bills will continue to spew out.

First, I object to the premise that all “theater people” think alike.  Not to mention the fact that in his usage, “theater people” sounds a bit pejorative, which makes me want to kick him in the teef.  Secondly, I don’t think the Gay Marriage issue has anything to do with any specific denominations’ or churches’ acknowledgment.  My understanding of the issue is that proponents of Gay Marriage are simply asking the government to ensure that homosexuals are legally given the same rights that are afforded to us breeders.

[Let's also keep in mind that this appears as a comment on a musical theater comedy, that makes no reference to gay marriage.  The comment also cites "the Clean Arts Bills."  I can only assume he means the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Act, which ensures that Clean Water, Wildlife habitats, Parks and Trails and yes, Cultural Heritage get funding.  The Cultural Heritage component gets 1/5 of the funding.  Funding that hasn't even been generated yet, so I'm sure once it is generated, there will be plenty more of this garbage spewed out.]

Ok… so as it stands, Marriage is not currently a right.  It is a privilege that is given to those of us who identify as heterosexuals.  The argument is that marriage is described in the bible as a union between a man and a woman, but I can’t seem to find the chapter and verse on that… any takers?

Someone explain this to me like I’m a 4 year old:

A couple years ago, Britney Spears got married around new years, and stayed married for about 50-something hours.  How does that affect the sanctity of my parent’s marriage?  My possible future marriage?

How does gay marriage jeopardize a “sacred institution” that is so obviously sacred that over half of those who enter into this institution choose to end it in divorce?

My point is, as Jesus says, why do we notice the speck in another’s eye when I can’t see the plank in our own?  Worry about yourself.  My catholicism is MY catholicism.  Matt 7 says “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.”  Luke 6:37 echoes that by saying, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.”

All this coming from a man who, less than 100 years go, could not legally marry a American woman simply because I am a distant descendant of the Malay race.  So yes, marriage has been “redefined” over the last 100 years.

As I’m writing this, facebook comes through once again with this little ditty from Keith Olbermann of MSNBC.  After watching this, I really have nothing else to say:

Another Reason Why Theater is Better Than Film

Now that my show is open, I finally have some free time to actually sit down and watch a movie.  While I appreciate the chance to shift into neutral and recharge the batteries, I wouldn’t say that I’d characterize my time with cinematic adventures as “vegging out.”  I’m an active movie watcher.  I wanna get involved.  I wanna get right up in there and help Daniel-san Crane Technique little Johnny in the face.  Right in the mouth.  I wanna be the one saying to Allie, “I wrote you every day for a year.  It wasn’t over for me… It’s still not over for me!” as the music swells.  I wanna be tired by the time the credits roll.  I blame The Neverending Story.

OK… summer’s over.  No more shitty CG-driven “blockbusters.”  Give me good writing and complex characters.  This week, netflix has bestowed these two things unto me in the form of what inadvertently became a mini film festival focusing on renowned playwrights as writer/directors.  Redbelt, by David Mamet and In Bruges, by Martin McDonagh.

If I could, I would only see movies written and directed by well known theater playwrights.  The characters are fuller and more challenging for the actors, which amount to an opportunity to show their chops or a glaring example of the lack of real talent in the Hollywood Uppercrust.  The characters, oozing real humanity through their pores, are also placed in situations that you feel could be happening just around the corner.  Everything feels realer, more human, and yet extraordinary.  Maybe that’s because most movies are either trying to flex an FX muscle or trying so hard to be artsy that they end up choosing style over substance.

These two are simple, no bells and whistles, just real people making choices, taking us from point A to point B.  That’s what makes them great.  YOU HEAR THAT, HOLLYWOOD?  DO YA?

So if you get a chance, drop either of these in your netflix queue or stop by the video store and see if they’re there.  They might, topically, not be your cup of tea but the storytelling is better than I’ve seen in a long time.

Stay Classy, America!

On election night, my castmates and I went out on our dinner break to the local Applebees near the theater in Chanhassen.  One of the guys in the cast, who lives in Chan, warned us not to talk too loudly about anything liberal.  “This is a Red county,” was the warning.  We brushed it off thinking that it wouldn’t come to fisticuffs if someone nearby disagreed with our politics.  No big deal.

I should preface the following with the fact that at our table, there were your typical musical theater fare… if you know what I’m sayin’.  wink wink, nudge nudge.  OK… gay guys at our table.  GAYS!  I’m talking loud-and-proud, sounds like a bag of snakes, gay at first glance, GAYS!  well, not all of us.  2 of us were reppin’ the breeders, and I was the only brownie–with a pierced lip, so I’m sure that clued the patronage that I wasn’t from ’round those parts.

As we were leaving:

Condescending woman (in a snooty, jr-high-cool-girl tone): “Who did you vote for?”

she shot a raised-eyebrow, smirky, knowing glance at her tablemates.

“Are you kidding?”

“Obama”
“Obama”
“Obama”
“Obama”
“Obama”
“Obama”

“Why?  Who’d you vote for?”

CW: “McCain”

I detected a little wiggle of her neck when she answered.  Then another raised-eyebrow “I told you so” look back at her buddies.

It didn’t bother me so much that she asked… but really?  You’re gonna ask a stranger who they voted for on election day?  Would you also like to know what size underwear I buy?  Kinda tacky and invasive, that’s all.

And the kicker:

Really?  You’re gonna boo the mention of President Elect Obama and VP Elect Biden?  Hm.. Interesting.

Obama supporters, what do you have to say about Sen. McCain?

There’s a saying in one of my favorite movies, The Karate Kid, that I think underlines my point:  “There is no bad student, only bad teacher.”  One of the reasons I voted for Obama was because any good leader should inspire a sense of hope.  Sure, you can win elections by pointing at the bad guys and telling people that it’s their fault for your lot in life and that I’m the one who can protect you from them.  But that only inspires fear of those who disagree with you or have a different world view than you do.  And, as we now know, you can lose elections that way too.

I’m proud to have supported a candidate who demands that Americans are classier than even we might choose to be sometimes.  A leader that holds us to a higher standard and inspires greatness in us.  Someone who believes that pluralism is at the basis of E Pluribus Unum, and welcomes the debate that comes with having differing views.  That’s what makes us strong as a people.  Having that debate and being classy enough to take the high road and respectfully disagree with one another, that’s what makes us Americans.  We don’t live in a society where you’re shot dead in the street if you disagree with the government.  Our government is designed to give everyone an equal voice whether or not we agree.  In fact, it’s our responsibility to use that voice, especially when we disagree with what our government is doing.  Democracy is active.  You have to take part in it for it to work.  You need to love this country for what it stands for: Freedom and Democracy.  And that means that we will disagree, but at the end of the day can’t we at least remain respectful of one another?

When I think of how pitiful it is that people have been wading around in so much negative, closed-minded bullshit that they can’t even demonstrate a mild desire for unity under one flag, it just makes me sad.  In times like these when almost everybody is struggling, what we need is more kindness toward each other rather than disdain.  Otherwise we’re nothing more than crabs in a barrel, just pulling each other down.

Since this election cycle can be summed up in three words, “Yes We Can!”  Here’s three more:

Stay Classy, America.

In the immortal words of George Michael…

I don’t consider myself a highly religious person per se, but I have always had a strong sense of faith.  All that “everything works out for the best” kinda thinking, or even the age old “everything happens for a reason.”  I’m working on a show right now that’s all about faith.  Not so much about faith in the religious sense, although that’s there too, but more pointedly about having faith in the people in your inner circle.

Anyone who has been around me the last few weeks has undoubtedly heard me say, “I’m really broke right now.”  Not a particularly uncommon phrase in the world of an actor, but this is the longest streak that I’ve been relegated to gas station hot dogs and mysteriously old canned or dried food from my pantry.  I haven’t seen a busy day at the BGSC all summer (which is when it’s supposed to be busy), I was supposed to teach a handful of classes that ended up getting canceled.  Ok, so we all know that the economy is floating around in the septic tank, so I shouldn’t need to underline my point.  I had to borrow money from my parents to cover my rent for next month because I don’t get paid at the theater until 2 days after my rent is due.  And lemme just say that I HATE borrowing money from my parents.  Not only did they do more than raise an eyebrow at the prospect of me becoming an actor (read: poor), but I just feel that I haven’t exhibited the best discipline when it comes to my bank account lately.

Add that to the stress of learning a 90 minute show–all the songs and dances–in under 2 weeks (I’m sure that the theater is not immune to the current economy either), and trying to find a job where I’m not having to deal with people who have to decide between paying their own bills and leaving me a decent tip.

My faith has taken a significant beat-down.

Well, after almost 2 weeks, the director said that this show is “blessed” and we’re in good shape to go into tech (despite my being horribly insecure about my dancing and singing in the show), I got an email about a potential job teaching a residency in schools that should last the rest of the school year, and when I got home today a check was waiting for me in my mailbox.  That’s right keeds.  Not a bill, a check.

I did a photoshoot for a local company’s sales catalog back in August and thought that somehow, in the flurry of activity and trying to keep my head above water, I had gotten paid for the shoot already.  Going through my paystubs for my own record keeping, I didn’t find the stub for this job and figured I’d lost it.  Well, that’s the check that just came in today’s mail.

So today, I exhale.  I’m not out of the woods yet… although, my parents are definitely getting their check back.  But not only am I relieved, I am disappointed in my lack of faith, these last few weeks, that everything will turn out well.  I’ve been thinking about the book of Job in the bible, where God gives permission to Satan to test Job’s faith.  And Satan puts the major hurt on Job.  I’m talkin’ killed his kids, covered him with boils kinda hurt.  Throughout that book, Job exhibits extraordinary faith and acceptance of his situation.  So Job was a better man than me.  I doubt I’ll ever have storytellers telling my epic tale, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t something to shoot for.

Wham might have had unfortunate costume choices in their videos, but that George Michael knew what he was talking about.