Arts & Entertainment
Able Cain
Forum managing director enjoys ‘behind-the-scenes’ efforts
Julia Harman Cain says contemporary theater doesn’t have to be didactic. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Julia Harman Cain vividly remembers her first encounter with Forum Theatre. Not long after moving to D.C. in 2007, she attended a performance of the Round House Silver Spring resident company’s production of Stephen Adly Guirgis’ “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot.”
“It was a really, really strong production,” she says. “I spent the last 10 minutes of the play crying. And I was seated in the front row — it was a little awkward.” Cain left the theater determined to get to the know Forum much better.
By the following season, Cain was working as associate producer on the company’s production of “Angels in America,” gay playwright Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning opus about AIDS. And in 2010, Cain (who is gay) was named Forum’s managing director.
As managing director, Cain says, she’s a “behind-the-scenes person.”
She explains: “My job is to help make sure that everything is in place to make the season go. That includes marketing, fundraising and finance. I’m responsible for front of house, which includes everything you experience when you walk in the door. And operations. I call the repairman when the copier breaks.”
Forum founder and Artistic Director Michael Dove says “There’s very little that Julia and I do that isn’t collaboration. It’s much more a Venn diagram with a lot of overlap than two sides of an organization. But beyond her title as managing director, what may surprise people most is that I trust her artistic eye as much as any collaborator. She would make an amazing critic or dramaturg and keenly understands story. In fact, she has even brought several plays to me that we have produced in the past few years.”
While Cain concedes being gay doesn’t have a lot of impact on the daily mechanics of her position, she does view the arts through an LGBT filter. In fact, she has a little method she uses to rate the complexity of LGBT characters in films and plays. Based on the Bechdel litmus test (named for cartoonist Alison Bechdel creator of “Dykes to Watch Out For”) which rates the complexity of female characters on screen, Cain’s gay version asks: Is there an identifiable LGBT character? And does he or she talk with other characters about something other than their sexuality?
“Theater in D.C. scores very well when it comes to plays with layered LGBT characters,” she says. “And Forum in particular has an excellent track record for producing plays with LGBT central characters.”
Growing up in Needham, Mass., (a suburb of Boston), Cain, 27, made her theatrical debut in first grade as a super hero in a 10-minute skit about recycling. She went on to do school shows and community theater. As a Princeton undergrad, she majored in comparative literature and participated in extracurricular theater, mostly behind the scenes. (Cain loves stage managing, but reportedly makes “a really bad costume designer.”)
After graduating, rather than follow her theater-focused friends to New York, Cain moved to D.C. and began a season-long internship at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company where she also worked as an assistant to the company’s artistic director Howard Shalwitz. “Woolly was my introduction to professional theater,” she says. “Being around Howard taught me so much. Over 30 years, he has created a successful company and made a recognizable brand. Although their shows might sometimes be way out and not well known, Woolly’s audiences are willing to take that dive with them.”
“Forum is a big small company and I like that,” says Cain, who lives with her girlfriend in Takoma Park. “Because we’re not too big, it allows us to take risks and not deal with a lot of red tape. At Forum, we like to do shows that are conversation starters, to do plays that deal with social, political and spiritual themes, that are engaged with contemporary life. Most political theater has a reputation for being overly didactic. It doesn’t have to be that way.”
A couple of examples supporting Crain’s claim include Forum’s season opener Kara Lee Corthron’s “Holly Down in Heaven,” the story of a pregnant, born-again Christian teen who seeks solace from her eclectic talking doll collection; and Forum’s upcoming production “9 Circles” by playwright Bill Cain (no relation to Julia) to be staged by Jennifer Nelson. It’s a play based on real events about an American soldier who kills a family while serving in Iraq.
“I’ve always wanted Forum to be a service organization that spoke to a diverse community and to be a gathering place for ideas, discussion, and discourse. Julia brought the ideas and tools to start that process,” Dove says. “Julia transformed Forum from a rag tag group who put on plays into a functioning organization that better serves a community and grows responsibly.”
Books
‘Dogs of Venice’ looks at love lost and rediscovered
A solo holiday trip to Italy takes unexpected turn
‘The Dogs of Venice’
By Steven Crowley
c.2025, G.P. Putnam & Sons
$20/65 pages
One person.
Two, 12, 20, you can still feel alone in a crowded room if it’s a place you don’t want to be. People say, though, that that’s no way to do the holidays; you’re supposed to Make Merry, even when your heart’s not in it. You’re supposed to feel happy, no matter what – even when, as in “The Dogs of Venice” by Steven Rowley, the Christmas tinsel seems tarnished.
Right up until the plane door closed, Paul held hope that Darren would decide to come on the vacation they’d planned for and saved for, for months.
Alas, Darren was a no-show, which was not really a surprise. Three weeks before the departure, he’d announced that their marriage wasn’t working for him anymore, and that he wanted a divorce. Paul had said he was going on the vacation anyhow. Why waste a perfectly good flight, or an already-booked B&B? He was going to Venice.
Darren just rolled his eyes.
Was that a metaphor for their entire marriage? Darren had always accused Paul of wanting too much. He indicated now that he felt stifled. Still, Darren’s unhappiness hit Paul broadside and so there was Paul, alone in a romantic Italian city, fighting with an espresso machine in a loft owned by someone who looked like a frozen-food spokeswoman.
He couldn’t speak or understand Italian very well. He didn’t know his way around, and he got lost often. But he felt anchored by a dog.
The dog – he liked to call it his dog – was a random stray, like so many others wandering around Venice unleashed, but this dog’s confidence and insouciant manner inspired Paul. If a dog could be like that, well, why couldn’t he?
He knew he wasn’t unlovable but solo holidays stunk and he hated his situation. Maybe the dog had a lesson to teach him: could you live a wonderful life without someone to watch out for, pet, and care for you?
Pick up “The Dogs of Venice,” and you might think to yourself that it won’t take long to read. At under 100 pages, you’d be right – which just gives you time to turn around and read it again. Because you’ll want to.
In the same way that you poke your tongue at a sore tooth, author Steven Rowley makes you want to remember what it’s like to be the victim of a dead romance. You can do it here safely because you simply know that Paul is too nice for it to last too long. No spoilers, though, except to say that this novel is about love – gone, resurrected, misdirected – and it unfolds in exactly the way you hope it will. All in a neat evening’s worth of reading. Perfect.
One thing to note: the Christmas setting is incidental and could just as well be any season, which means that this book is timely, no matter when you want it. So grab “The Dogs of Venice,” enjoy it twice with your book group, with your love, or read it alone.
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a&e features
Local, last-minute holiday gift ideas
Celebrate the season while supporting area businesses
The DowntownDC Holiday Market is bustling. Union Station is decked out with its annual Christmas tree. Washingtonians have wrapped their houses and apartment balconies with festive lights and holiday decorations. The holiday season is here. And with stockings to fill and empty space under the tree, Washington’s local shops and artists have plenty to offer.
Show your LGBTQ and D.C. pride with the Washington Blade’s annual holiday gift guide.
To embrace the holiday buzz: The Blanco Nwèl cocktail from Alchy Cocktails. This Caribbean eggnog is one of Alchy Cocktail’s seasonal holiday cocktails. The flavor profile is similar to coquito, a traditional Puerto Rican Christmas drink with a coconut base. As a queer and Caribbean-owned business, Alchy Cocktails has been based out of Washington since 2021. Blanco Nwèl is available in both cocktail ($24) and mocktail ($12) online and at a variety of holiday markets, including the Tingey Plaza Holiday Market, the Flea Market at Eastern Market, Union Station’s Main Hall Holiday Market, and more. ($24)
A spicy bite: Gordy’s Cajun Okra from Salt and Sundry. These spicy, tangy pickles pull on Southern Cajun-style flavors, packing a punch with paprika, cayenne, and more. Gordy’s is an LGBTQ-owned and Washington-based brand, making this gift an opportunity to support a local LGBTQ business straight from the jar. This pantry staple is available on Salt & Sundry’s website and at its locations in Union Market, Logan Circle, and its Georgetown holiday pop-up store. ($14)
To celebrate Washington pride: The DC Landmark Tote Bag from The Neighborgoods. Native Washingtonians, visitors, friends and family alike will find something to love about this Washington-themed tote bag. Food trucks, the 9:30 Club, the Metro logo and pandas from the National Zoo are just some of the city’s landmarks depicted across the tote in a red, white, and blue color palette. The tote is a part of the DC Landmarks collection, which donates 10 percent of its sales to the American Civil Liberties Union. The Neighborgoods itself is a local, woman-owned business built out of a passion for screen-printing in 2013. The 100 percent cotton canvas tote is for sale online or at the DowntownDC Holiday Market. ($22)
To give friends and family their flowers: The Flowers Bandana from All Very Goods. This 100 percent cotton bandana was designed in Washington and hand printed in India. Its uniqueness comes in being covered with the faces of Black women, representing a “love letter to all women but especially Black women,” according to All Very Goods. The Black woman-owned and operated business, based out of Northwest Washington, has a mission to celebrate diversity and representation through its products. The bandana intends to give Black women their “flowers.” The Flowers bandana is available for purchase online. ($24)
To unlock culinary creativity: The Curious Chef Gift Collection from Each Peach Market. This customizable collection of kitchen oddities — ranging from tinned fish to chili oil — is a quirky gift for the most inventive chefs. The collection is available in a Standard Santa, Extra Goodies and Super Holiday Size for up to $165. The Washington-based market, founded in 2013, permits customers to make the collection special by specifying what unique ingredients are packaged, including products made by local or LGBTQ brands. Each Peach Market offers assembly and pick up in-person at its Mount Pleasant shop and also offers local delivery and nationwide shipping via its website. ($85)
To give a touch of sweetness: The DC Landmark Chocolate Covered Oreo Holiday Cookies from Capital Candy Jar. Wrapped in a festive red bow, this box of nine cookies embraces love for Washington and the holiday season in one. Among the dark and milk chocolate covered cookies are images of the U.S. Capitol, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial and festive hollies. The treat, packaged in a Hill East facility just a few blocks from the Capitol, is available for purchase online and at the DowntownDC Holiday Market. ($23.95)
To celebrate queer gaming: Thirsty Sword Lesbians from Labyrinth Games & Puzzles. This roleplaying game embraces lesbian culture by unlocking a world of swords, romance, and battle. Ideal for group settings, the book presents a system of world building and character identities that are best brought to life by creative minds. Labyrinth, which has been a local Washington business for more than 15 years, celebrates non-digital fun through games and puzzles that connect the community. This gift is offered online and at Labyrinth’s Capitol Hill location. ($29.99)
To make a bold statement: The “Resist” T-shirt from Propper Topper. This locally screen-printed black tee features the Washington flag designed within a raised fist, symbolizing both Washington pride, and political resistance. The shirt is made exclusively by Propper Topper, a local Washington business that evolved from a hat shop to a gift store since opening in 1990. The tri-blend unisex shirt is available both for pickup at Propper Topper’s Cathedral Heights location and shipping via the online site. ($32)
To keep it c(g)lassy: The Glass Ball earrings from Blue Moon Aquarius. Gifting can rarely go wrong when it comes to a new pair of earrings. The unique statement earrings — made of polymer clay, glass, and 18k gold plating over surgical steel — are hand cut, sanded and assembled in Washington, meaning each set is unique. Blue Moon Aquarius, a local brand, is known for its small batch jewelry and home decor designed with clay materials. Available in oxblood, hunter green, lavender, and bluestone color palettes, these earrings are available for purchase on Blue Moon Aquarius’ website and at the DowntownDC Holiday Market. ($48)
To elevate a holiday tea or charcuterie party: The Honey Flight: Tea Lover’s Selection from BannerBee. This local honey company presents the ideal gift to make cozying up with a cup of tea slightly more special. The Honey Flight contains three types of raw wildflower honey infused with fair trade Ugandan vanilla bean, chai spices, and locally sourced lemon thyme herb. The gift is also an opportunity to uplift a family company based in the Mid-Atlantic that offers all-natural, sustainable products. The flight is available online, at the DowntownDC Holiday Market or at the Arlington Courthouse and Dupont Farmers’ Markets. ($36)
For Baltimore shoppers: If you’re in Charm City, don’t miss Balston Mercantile, opened by a gay couple in June. Their gorgeous shop in the Hampden neighborhood offers an array of unique, upscale finds, from barware and artwork to cookbooks and home decor and more. (849 W. 36th St.)
Impulse Group DC held “10’s Across the Board: A Celebration of 10 Years” at Bravo Bravo (1001 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) on Sunday, Dec. 14. Impulse Group DC is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) and affinity group of AIDS Healthcare Foundation dedicated “to engaging, supporting, and connecting gay men” through culturally relevant health and advocacy work.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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