Arts & Entertainment
Ronan Farrow to be honored at Women in Entertainment gala
The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday announced that Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Ronan Farrow will receive the Equity in Entertainment Award at its annual Women in Entertainment breakfast gala.
The honor recognizes an individual who has worked against gender-based discrimination and toward greater inclusion of women and people of color in the entertainment industry. It will be presented by former Fox News anchor, whistleblower and journalist Gretchen Carlson.
Farrow broke the first allegations of rape and sexual assault against Harvey Weinstein in The New Yorker, and is the author of the newly-released New York Times best-seller, āCatch and Kill: Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators.ā The book chronicles how he followed a trail of clues from the Weinstein story to others about the systems that protect powerful men in Hollywood, Washington and beyond.
THR editorial director Matthew Belloni said in a statement, āAs journalists, we have a social responsibility to report the facts and unearth the truths. Ronan Farrow was, and is, instrumental to the current state of the entertainment industry. He, alongside the brave women that shared their stories, served as catalysts that will forever change all industries. Weāre humbled to honor him with the Equity in Entertainment Award for his industry-shaking work uncovering abuse against women in entertainment.ā
Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actor and producer Kerry Washington will present previously announced honoree Reese Witherspoon with the prestigious Sherry Lansing Leadership Award. Additionally, EGOT titleholder John Legend will join Charlize Theron to present $1.5 million in university scholarships to high-school seniors from under-served communities in South and East Los Angeles, all of whom have taken part in THRās acclaimed Women in Entertainment Mentorship Program.
The Women in Entertainment breakfast gala, attended by 600 of the leading women in entertainment, will take place on Wednesday, December 11, 2019. Carlson, Farrow, Legend, Theron, Washington and Witherspoon will be joined by guest editor, Olivia Wilde and keynote speaker, Stacey Abrams.
Team DC, the umbrella organization for LGBTQ-friendly sports teams and leagues in the D.C. area, held its annual Night of Champions Awards Gala on Saturday, April 20 at the Hilton National Mall. The organization gave out scholarships to area LGBTQ student athletes as well as awards to the Different Drummers, Kelly Laczko of Duplex Diner, Stacy Smith of the Edmund Burke School, Bryan Frank of Triout, JC Adams of DCG Basketball and the DC Gay Flag Football League.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The 2024 National Cannabis Festival was held at the Fields at RFK Stadium on April 19-20.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Covering the @NatlCannaFest at RFK Stadium for @WashBlade . Stop by the LGBTQ+ booth and pick up a paper if you are here. pic.twitter.com/is7hnsaPns
— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) April 20, 2024
Theater
āAmm(i)goneā explores family, queerness, and faith
A āfully autobiographicalā work from out artist Adil Mansoor
āAmm(i)goneā
Thorough May 12
Woolly Mammoth Theatre
641 D St., N.W.Ā
$60-$70
Woollymammoth.net
āFully and utterly autobiographical.ā Thatās how Adil Mansoor describes āAmm(i)gone,ā his one-man work currently playing at Woolly Mammoth Theatre.
Both created and performed by out artist Mansoor, itās his story about inviting his Pakistani mother to translate Sophoclesās Greek tragedy āAntigoneā into Urdu. Throughout the journey, thereās an exploration of family, queerness, and faith,as well as references to teachings from the Quran, and audio conversations with his Muslim mother.
Mansoor, 38, grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and is now based in Pittsburgh where heās a busy theater maker. Heās also the founding member of Pittsburghās Hatch Arts Collective and the former artistic director of Dreams of Hope, an LGBTQ youth arts organization.
WASHINGTON BLADE: What spurred you to create āAmm(i)goneā?
ADIL MANSOOR: I was reading a translation of āAntigoneā a few years back and found myself emotionally overwhelmed. A Theban princess buries her brother knowing it will cost her, her own life. Itās about a person for whom all aspirations are in the afterlife. And what does that do to the living when all of your hopes and dreams have to be reserved for the afterlife?
I found grant funding to pay my mom to do the translation. I wanted to engage in learning. I wanted to share theater but especially this ancient tragedy. My mother appreciated the characters were struggling between loving one another and their beliefs.
BLADE: Are you more director than actor?
MANSOOR: Iām primarily a director with an MFA in directing from Carnegie Mellon. I wrote, directed, and performed in this show, and had been working on it for four years. Iāve done different versions including Zoom. Woollyās is a new production with the same team whoāve been involved since the beginning.
I love solo performance. Iāve produced and now teach solo performance and believe in its power. And I definitely lean toward āperformanceā and I havenāt āactedā since I was in college. I feel good on stage. I was a tour guide and do a lot of public speaking. I enjoy the attention.
BLADE: Describe your mom.
MANSOOR: My mom is a wonderfully devout Muslim, single mother, social worker who discovered my queerness on Google. And she prays for me.
She and I are similar, the way we look at things, the way we laugh. But different too. And those are among the questions I ask in this show. Our relationship is both beautiful and complicated.
BLADE: So, you werenāt exactly hiding your sexuality?
MANSOOR: In my mid-20s, I took time to talk with friends about our being queer with relation to our careers. My sexuality is essential to the work. As the artistic director at Dreams of Hope, part of the work was to model what it means to be public. If Iām in a room with queer and trans teenagers, part of what Iām doing is modeling queer adulthood. The way they see me in the world is part of what Iām putting out there. And I want that to be expansive and full.
So much of my work involves fundraising and being a face in schools. Being out is about making safe space for queer young folks.
BLADE: Have you encountered much Islamophobia?
MANSOOR: When 9/11 happened, I was a sophomore in high school, so yes. I faced a lot then and now. Iāve been egged on the street in the last four months. I see it in the classroom. It shows up in all sorts of ways.
BLADE: What prompted you to lead your creative life in Pittsburgh?
MANSOOR: Iāve been here for 14 years. I breathe with ease in Pittsburgh. The hills and the valleys and the rust of the city do something to me. Itās beautiful, itā affordable, and there is support for local artists. Thereās a lot of opportunity.
Still, the plan was to move to New York in September of 2020 but that was cancelled. Then the pandemic showed me that I could live in Pittsburgh and still have a nationally viable career.
BLADE: What are you trying to achieve with āAmm(i)goneā?
MANSOOR: What Iām sharing in the show is so very specific but I hear people from other backgrounds say I totally see my mom in that. My partner is Catholic and we share so much in relation to this.
I hope the work is embracing the fullness of queerness and how means so many things. And I hope the show makes audiences want to call their parents or squeeze their partners.