Arts & Entertainment
Starting the conversation
Whitman-Walker plans series of LGBT-specific health meetings
Whitman-Walker's June Crenshaw and Don Blanchon at a previous event. (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Whitman-Walker Health is planning a series of LGBT-specific town hall-style events this year called Community Conversations. The first, slated for Thursday at the Clinic’s Elizabeth Taylor Center (1701 14th Street, NW), is dubbed “New Year, New Start: Substance Abuse.”
“Throughout our history, Whitman-Walker has worked to meet the unique health care needs of the LGBT community,” Don Blanchon, the Clinic’s executive director, said in a statement. “One of our goals … is to empower participants with the knowledge and resources to improve not only their health but the health of the family, friends and loved ones around them.”
Chip Lewis, the Clinic’s deputy director of communications, says the series was Blanchon’s idea and that he wanted “a mechanism to build this dialogue between Whitman-Walker and the community.” Chris Dyer, an LGBT liaison in former Mayor Adrian Fenty’s administration, suggested the format.
Lewis says the staff hopes the series is a two-way street.
“It’s an opportunity to start a dialogue with the community about health issues it faces,” he says. “It can help us present the LGBT health issues that we service but we also want to hear from them and find out what they’re seeing and hearing about. It’s an opportunity for a dialogue for Whitman-Walker and the larger LGBT community as a whole.”
Thursday’s panelists are treatment advocate Jimmy Garza, addictions counselor Christina Oseth and nightlife impresario Ed Bailey. Moderator Josh Reilly is manager of addiction treatment programs for Whitman-Walker. The discussion starts at 7 p.m. It’s free and open to the pubic and those interested in attending will be directed to the meeting room from the front lobby.
Nine conversations are planned. A Feb. 23 discussion on “healthier hookups” will also be at the Elizabeth Taylor Center. On March 29, “Why Safe Sex Matters” will be held at the True Reformer Building and on April 30, “Aging and the LGBT Community” will be at the D.C. Center. Dates and locations are still being set for the remaining installments. Topics slated include “Women’s Health,” “Take Pride in Your Health,” “HIV Testing,” “I’m a Survivor: Living Long Term With HIV” and “Transgender Health.” Go to whitman-walker.org for more information. The Blade will also run details as they are announced.
Lewis says things are going well for the Clinic overall and he expects that it will soon be announced that 2011 was another successful year. It’s now operating “in the black” (there was a half-million-dollar surplus in 2010 Lewis says) after finishing 2007 and 2008 millions in the hole. The numbers for 2009 found the Clinic running a $750,000 deficit. Revenue sources have changed and Medicare, Medicaid and pharmacy sales have provided a more stable source of revenue, he says.
But misconceptions abound about the Clinic, Lewis says. A broadening of services has “de-gayed” the Clinic, some critics have claimed, but Lewis says a higher percentage of those seeking services today self-identity as LGBT than a few years ago (it’s about half, he says).
“You can come here for mental health, support groups, primary care, gynecological care — there was a sense for a long time that this was just where you went if you were facing HIV and AIDS and that’s never really been the case,” Lewis says. “[These Conversations] are another opportunity for us to get across to people that we offer a lot of health services.”
The Community Conversations are expected to last between one and two hours depending on the number of questions and comments.
Theater
‘Acting their asses off’ in ‘Exception to the Rule’
Studio production takes place during after-school detention
‘Exception to the Rule’
Through Sunday, October 27
Studio Theatre
1501 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.
$40-$95
Studiotheatre.org
After-school detention is a bore, but it’s especially tiresome on the last day of classes before a holiday.
In Dave Harris’s provocative new play “Exception to the Rule” (now at Studio Theatre) that’s just the case.
It’s Friday, and the usual suspects are reporting to room 111 for detention before enjoying the long MLK weekend. First on the scene are blaring “bad girl” Mikayla (Khalia Muhammad) and nerdy stoner Tommy (Stephen Taylor Jr.), followed by mercurial player Dayrin (Jacques Jean-Mary), kind Dasani (Shana Lee Hill), and unreadable Abdul (Khouri St.Surin).
The familiar is jaw-droppingly altered by the entrance of “College Bound Erika” (Sabrina Lynne Sawyer), a detention first timer whose bookworm presence elicits jokes from the others: What happened? You fail a test?
Dasani (who’s teased for being named for designer water) dubs Erika “Sweet Pea” and welcomes her to the rule-breaking fold. Together the regulars explain how detention works: The moderator, Mr. Bernie, shows up, signs their slips, and then they go. But today the teacher is tardy.
As they wait, the kids pass the time laughing, trash talking, flirting, and yelling. When not bouncing around the classroom, Dayrin is grooming his hair, while Dasani endlessly reapplies blush and lip gloss. At one point two boys almost come to blows, nearly repeating the cafeteria brawl that landed them in detention in the first place.
It’s loud. It’s confrontational. And it’s funny.
Erika is naively perplexed: “I thought detention was quiet. A place where everyone remembers the mistakes that got them here and then learns how to not make the same mistakes again.”
For room 111, the only connection to the outside world is an increasingly glitchy and creepy intercom system. Announcements (bus passes, the school’s dismal ranking, the impending weekend lockdown, etc.) are spoken by the unseen but unmistakably stentorian-voiced Craig Wallace.
Dave Harris first conceived “Exception to the Rule” in 2014 during his junior year at Yale University. In the program notes, the Black playwright describes “Exception to the Rule” as “a single set / six actors on a stage, just acting their asses off.” It’s true, and they do it well.
Miranda Haymon is reprising their role as director (they finely helmed the play’s 2022 off-Broadway debut at Roundabout Theatre Company in New York). Haymon orchestrates a natural feel to movement in the classroom, and without entirely stilling the action on stage (makeup applying, scribbling, etc.), the out director gives each member of the terrific cast their revelatory moment. In a busy room, we learn that Tommy’s goofiness belies trauma, that Mikayla is admirably resourceful, and most startling, why Erika, the school’s top student, is in detention.
Mr. Bernie is clearly a no-show. And despite his absence, the regulars are bizarrely loath to leave the confines of 111 for fear of catching yet another detention. Of course, it’s emblematic of something bigger. Still, things happen within the room.
While initially treated as a sort of mascot, awkwardly quiet Erika becomes rather direct in her questions and observations. Suddenly, she’s rather stiffly doling out unsolicited advice.
It’s as if an entirely new person has been thrown into the mix.
Not all of her guidance goes unheeded. Take fighting for instance. At Erika’s suggestion, St.Surin’s Abdul refrains from kicking Dayrin’s ass. (Just feet from the audience gathered for a recent matinee in Studio’s intimate Mead Theatre, Abdul’s frustration resulting from anger while yearning for a world of principled order is palpable as evidenced when a single tear rolled down the actor’s right cheek)
Set designer Tony Cisek renders a no-frills classroom with cinder block walls, a high and horizontal row of frosted fixed windows that become eerily prison like when overhead fluorescent lighting is threateningly dimmed.
Still, no matter how dark, beyond the classroom door, a light remains aglow, encouraging the kids to ponder an exit plan.
The Washington Commanders are proud to welcome the LGBTQ community for the fourth annual “Pride Night Out!” on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 1 p.m. at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md.
This will be a matchup against the Cleveland Browns. The Pregame Pride Party Pass and Club level game ticket includes premier party location and club level ticket all-you-can-eat buffet, beer and wine, an exclusive Commanders Pride T-shirt, pregame entertainment and a postgame photo on the field.
More ticket options are available and $5 of every ticket goes back to Team DC. For more information visit the Commanders’ website.
Friday, October 4
“Center Aging Friday Tea Time” will be at 2 p.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ+ adults. Guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of choice. For more details, email [email protected].
Go Gay DC will host “First Friday LGBTQ+ Community Social” at 7 p.m. at The Commentary. This event is ideal for making new friends, professional networking, idea-sharing, and community building. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
Saturday, October 5
Go Gay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Community Brunch” at 11 a.m. at Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant. This fun weekly event brings the DMV area LGBTQ+ community, including allies, together for delicious food and conversation. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
LGBTQ+ People of Color Support Group will be at 1:00p.m. on Zoom. This peer support group is an outlet for LGBTQ People of Color to come together and talk about anything affecting them in a space that strives to be safe and judgment free. For more details, visit thedccenter.org/poc or facebook.com/centerpoc.
Sunday, October 6
Go Gay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Community Dinner” at 6:30 p.m. at Federico Ristorante Italiano Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant. Guests are encouraged to come enjoy an evening of Italian-style dining and conversation with other LGBTQ folk. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
AfroCode DC will be at 4 p.m. at Decades DC. This event will be an experience of non-stop music, dancing, and good vibes and a crossover of genres and a fusion of cultures. Tickets cost $40 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
Monday, October 7
Center Aging: Monday Coffee & Conversation will be at 10 a.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ adults. Guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of their choice. For more details, email [email protected].
Tuesday, October 8
Pride on the Patio Events will host “LGBTQ Social Mixer” at 5:30 p.m. at Showroom. Dress is casual, fancy, or comfortable. Guests are encouraged to bring their most authentic self to chat, laugh, and get a little crazy. Admission is free and more details are on Eventbrite.
Coming Out Discussion Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a peer-facilitated discussion group. It is a safe space to share experiences about coming out and discuss topics as it relates to doing so. For more details, visit the group’s Facebook page.
Trans Support Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This group is intended to provide emotionally and physically safe space for trans* people and those who may be questioning their gender identity/expression to join together in community and learn from one another. For more details, email [email protected].
Wednesday, October 9
Job Club will be at 6 p.m. on Zoom. This is a weekly job support program to help job entrants and seekers, including the long-term unemployed, improve self-confidence, motivation, resilience and productivity for effective job searches and networking — allowing participants to move away from being merely “applicants” toward being “candidates.” For more information, email [email protected] or visit www.thedccenter.org/careers.
Thursday, October 10
Virtual Yoga with Charles M. will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a free weekly class focusing on yoga, breathwork, and meditation. For more details, visit the DC Center for the LGBT Community’s website.
South Asian LGBTQ+ Support Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. KHUSHDC provides a safe, confidential space for South Asian LGBTQ community members to come together and share experiences. This peer support group is an outlet for South Asian-identified LGBTQ individuals to come and talk about anything affecting them. For more details, email [email protected].
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