Arts & Entertainment
Rainbow Families debuts 2nd virtual conference, ‘Forward Together’
Two-day digital event features Rep. Mondaire Jones, Indigo Girls
Prospective parents, families and kids — no matter your household makeup, Rainbow Families has you covered at its second annual virtual LGBTQ+ Family Conference this weekend.
This year’s conference, “Forward, Together…,” will offer a variety of resources, workshops and special guests like the Indigo Girls and Congressman Mondaire Jones, who is this year’s “Hero of the Year” and keynote speaker. Rainbow Families is one of the nation’s few non-profit organizations educating and empowering LGBTQ families, parents, and prospective parents.
“The theme of ‘Forward, Together…’ represented hope, to honor where we’ve been and what we’ve been through,” said Darren Paul-Vance, executive director of Rainbow Families. “And yet we still went through this year-plus, solid as a community, strong and motivated to make change.”
The conference will operate under a “come and go” model, Paul-Vance said, and will include events for kids and a silent auction. Attendees can select which programs suit their needs to avoid sitting in front of a screen all weekend, he said.
The cost of admission is reduced to $44 for two participants due to donations to the organization and the lack of in-person accommodations like meals and daycare. If families cannot afford the price, participants can email [email protected] to get the fee waived, Paul-Vance said.
“The economic hardship is by no means over for a vast majority of people,” he said. “All they have to do is reach out to us in confidence.”
Despite the event being virtual for the second year in a row, the incoming Rainbow Families board president and current Vice President Liz Dean said she’s excited to bring the digital conference to communities across the United States, especially where LGBTQ health care is not accessible.
“We’re offering our workshops and giving an overview of different elements of creating or starting or growing a family that you might not have access to in different parts of the country or the world,” she said.
Coming from an LGBTQ family himself, Paul-Vance knows first-hand the importance of resources and programming for LGBTQ families.
“We continuously hear from people how significant and powerful having these opportunities to be in safe spaces,” he said.
Rainbow Families began the Hero of the Year recognition three years ago to recognize revolutionary work in the LGBTQ community. Past honorees include local LGBTQ family law attorney, Michele Zavos; and Ellen Kahn, the senior director of programs and partnerships at the Human Rights Campaign.
Since beginning his tenure in January, Rep. Jones has introduced legislation aimed at supporting at-risk LGBTQ youth and reintroduced the Universal Child Care and Early Learning Act, which would establish a network of federally supported, locally administered child care options.
Jones said he’s honored to receive the award at this year’s LGBTQ Family Conference.
“Every LGBTQ+ family deserves the right to grow, and Rainbow Families works tirelessly to ensure that LGBTQ parents receive the support they need by offering educational programs, support groups, and so much more,” Jones wrote in an emailed statement to the Blade. “While we’ve made great strides toward true equality, our work is far from over. I’m so grateful to have partners like Rainbow Families in the fight to affirm justice for all LGBTQ+ people and families.”
The first Black and gay congressman along with fellow Democrat Ritchie Torres, Paul-Vance said Jones’s “existence at the table is revolutionary.”
“For many, he gives representation and voice to those who’ve had none,” Paul-Vance said. “He is radical. We’ve coined radicalism as a bad thing, but where would we be without radical leaders — especially queer ones.”
The Rainbow Families LGBTQ+ Family conference is set to feature 25 live workshop discussions on Saturday and a digital expo, school fair and kids programs on Sunday.
Tara Cheston, the LGBTQ and sexual health program specialist for D.C. Public Schools, will host the workshop, “Collaborating for Change: Finding, Accessing, and Advocating for LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Schools” at the school fair Sunday at 2 p.m.
Cheston will give her insider perspective to parents and caregivers on how to more effectively advocate for children in school and share what resources are available. She said she’s looking forward to collaborating with Rainbow Families, a frequent partner at DCPS resource fairs.
“It’s an opportunity for us to collaborate and create more of that intentional focus on parent caregiver outreach, so that folks feel supported and know where to go for information and resources,” Cheston said.
Dr. Jessica Fish, an assistant professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland, will present a workshop, “Parenting Strategies to Support our LGBTQ+ Youth” on Saturday at 3:40 p.m.
In the workshop, Fish will provide tips for parents to have honest, educational and caring conversations with their LGBTQ kids about growing up and making positive choices in the outside world.
Laura Jones, a therapist in the District, will host the workshop, “Reviewing & Renewing Our Ideas of ‘Health'” and will address issues like body image and diet culture at 2:20 p.m. on Saturday.
In her practice, Jones specializes in eating disorders and gender identity and works in expanding treatment to better support marginalized identities. Jones discovered Rainbow families a few years ago and wanted to give back to the organization by presenting a workshop, she said.
“My wife and I are in the middle of family planning, and we’ve hit multiple obstacles,” Jones said. “It’s nice to know that we’re not alone.”
Sara Mindel, also a therapist in the area, will lead the workshop, “The In’s and Out’s of YELLING (for all ages!)” at 2:20 p.m. on Saturday. Mindel served on the Rainbow Families board of directors previously, as well.
“Living in the pandemic has created a pressurized system for so many folks,” Mindel said. “I’m hoping to spend the workshop time talking about what it means to even lower or lessen our relationship with yelling, and what it means to find different strategies, other than yelling so we can be effective and communicating boundaries.”
Rainbow Families delayed the conference in May 2020 like many other organizations at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic to shift events to digital platforms. That effort in development last year helped the team develop this year’s programs, Paul-Vance said.
“There is a great deal that’s different about the scheduling because of doing it virtually, and that does take a great deal of careful attention,” he said.
Paul-Vance took on the role of executive director in December 2017 after undergoing an organ transplant due to kidney failure. This was “life-changing,” he said, and decided he wanted to turn his passion for LGBTQ rights and issues into a job after working in the entertainment travel industry.
Taking on the role of executive director “was the best decision, professionally, that I’ve made,” he said.
Rainbow Families also offers year-round programs like support groups, programs for kids and families and “Maybe Baby,” a multi-week course for prospective LGBTQ+ parents that educates on topics like adoption and assisted reproduction, financial and legal issues and how to build a support network.
To learn more about the Rainbow Families LGBTQ+ Family Conference, visit rainbowfamilies.org.
Darren Paul-Vance (left), Alex Paul (middle), John Paul (right). (Photo courtesy of Darren Paul-Vance)
Theater
‘Jonah’ an undeniably compelling but unusual memory play
Studio production draws on scenes from the past, present, and from imagination
‘Jonah’
Through April 19
Studio Theatre
1504 14th St., N.W.
$55-$95 (discounts available)
Studiotheatre.org
Written by Rachel Bonds, “Jonah” is an undeniably compelling but unusual memory play with scenes pulled from the past, some present, and others seemingly imagined. Despite its title, the play is about Ana, a complicated young woman processing past trauma from the fragile safety of her usually quiet bedroom.
Studio Theatre’s subtly powerful production (through April 19) is finely realized. Director Taylor Reynolds smartly helms an especially strong cast and an inspired design team.
As Ana, out actor Ismenia Mendes radiates a quiet magnetism. She nails the intelligent woman with a hard exterior that sometimes melts away to reveal a warm curiosity and sense of humor despite a history of loss.
When we first meet Ana, she’s a scholarship student at a boarding school where she’s very much on the radar of Jonah, a sensitive day student (charmingly played by Rohan Maletira). Initially reluctant to know him, Ana soon breaks the ice by playfully lifting her shirt and flashing him. It’s a budding romance oozing with inexperience. And just like that, there’s a blast of white light and woosh, Jonah’s gone. Literally sucked out of an upstage door.
Clearly romanticized, the scenes between Ana and Jonah are a perfect memory captured in time that surely must be too good to be entirely true.
“Jonah,” a well-made nonlinear work, is pleasing to follow. Each of Bond’s scenes end with a promise that more will be revealed. And over its almost two hours, Ana’s story deftly unfolds in some satisfying ways, ultimately piecing together like a puzzle.
Next, Ana is a college writing student. She’s alone in her dorm room when volatile stepbrother Danny (Quinn M. Johnson) visits the campus. Growing up in Detroit, Danny was Ana’s protector taking the brunt of her stepfather’s abuse after the untimely death Ana’s mother. Now, he’s sort of a clinging nuisance; nonetheless, they maintain a trauma rooted relationship.
And finally, 40ish and still guarded, Ana is a published writer. While working in her bedroom at a rural writer’s retreat, she’s joined by a nerdy stranger, Steven (Louis Reyes McWilliams). At first annoyed by this fellow writer’s presence, Ana is ultimately won over by his dogged devotion, sincerity, and kind words. What’s more, he’s not unacquainted with abuse, and he’s willing to delve into discussions of intimacy. Again, is it too good to be true?
Chronology be damned, these three male characters come and go, dismissed and recalled. It’s through them that Ana’s emotional journey is reflected. They pursue, but she allows them into her life in different ways for different reasons.
Bonds, whose plays have been produced at Studio in the past (world premiere of “The Wolfe Twins” and “Curve of Departure”), and Reynolds who scored a huge success directing Studio’s production of “Fat Ham” in 2023, are well matched. Reynolds’s successful intimate staging and obvious respect for the script’s serious themes without losing its lighter moments are testimony to that.
Essential to the play is Ana’s bedroom created by set designer Sibyl Wickersheimer. It’s a traditional kind of bedroom, all wooden furniture with a neat and tidy kind of farmhouse feel to it. There are two large window frames with views of darkness. It could be anywhere. The only personal items are writing devices and maybe the lived-in bedding, but other than that, not a lot indicates home.
Movies
The Oscar-losing performance that’s too good to miss
‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You’ now streaming
Now that Oscar season is officially over, most movie lovers are ready to move on and start looking ahead to the upcoming crop of films for the standouts that might be contenders for the 2026 awards race.
Even so, 2025 was a year with a particularly excellent slate of releases: Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” and Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another,” which became rivals for the Best Picture slot as well as for total number of wins for the year, along with acclaimed odds-on favorites like “Hamnet,” with its showcase performance by Best Actress winner Jessie Buckley, and “Weapons,” with its instantly iconic turn by Best Supporting Actress Amy Madigan.
But while these high-profile titles may have garnered the most attention (and viewership), there were plenty of lesser-seen contenders that, for many audiences, might have slipped under the radar. So while we wait for the arrival of this summer’s hopeful blockbusters and the “prestige” cinema that tends to come in the last quarter of the year, it’s worth taking a look back at some of the movies that may have come up short in the quest for Oscar gold, but that nevertheless deserve a place on any film buff’s “must-see” list; one of the most essential among them is “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” which earned a Best Actress Oscar nod for Rose Byrne. A festival hit that premiered at Sundance and went on to win international honors – for both Byrne and filmmaker Jane Bronstein – from other film festivals and critics’ organizations (including the Dorian Awards, presented by GALECA, the queer critics association), it only received a brief theatrical release in October of last year, so it’s one of those Academy Award contenders that most people who weren’t voters on the “FYC” screener list for the Oscars had limited opportunity to see. Now, it’s streaming on HBO Max.
Written and directed by Bronstein, it’s not the kind of film that will ever be a “popular” success. Surreal, tense, disorienting, and loaded with trigger-point subject matter that evokes the divisive emotional biases inherent in its premise, it’s an unsettling experience at best, and more likely to be an alienating one for any viewer who comes to it unprepared.
Byrne stars as Linda, a psychotherapist who juggles a busy practice with the demands of being mother to a child with severe health issues; her daughter (Delaney Quinn) suffers from a pediatric feeding disorder and must take her nutrition through a tube, requiring constant supervision and ongoing medical therapy – and she’s not polite about it, either. Seemingly using her condition as an excuse to be coddled, the child is uncooperative with her treatment plan and makes excessive demands on her mother’s attention, and the girl’s father (Christian Slater) – who spends weeks away as captain of a cruise ship – expects Linda to manage the situation on the home front while offering little more than criticism and recriminations over the phone.
Things are made even more stressful when the ceiling collapses in their apartment, requiring mother and child to move to a seedy beachside motel. Understandably overwhelmed, Linda turns increasingly toward escape, mostly through avoidance and alcohol; she finds her own inner conflicts reflected by her clients – particularly a new mother (Danielle Macdonald) struggling with extreme postpartum anxiety – and her therapy sessions with a colleague (Conan O’Brien, in a brilliantly effective piece of against-type casting) threaten to cross ethical and professional boundaries. Growing ever more isolated, she eventually finds a thread of potential connection in the motel’s sympathetic superintendent (A$AP Rocky) – but with her own mental state growing ever more muddled and her daughter’s health challenges on the verge of becoming a lifelong burden, she finds herself drawn toward an unthinkable solution to her dilemma.
With its cryptic title – which sounds like the punchline to a macabre joke and evokes expectations of “body horror” creepiness – and its dreamlike, disjointed approach, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” feels like a dark comedic thriller from the outset, but few viewers are likely to get many laughs from it. Too raw to be campy and too cold to invite our compassion, it’s a film that dwells in an uncomfortable zone where we are too mortified to be moved and too appalled to look away. Though it’s technically a drama, Bronstein presents it as a horror story, of sorts, driven by psychological rather than supernatural forces, and builds it on an uneasy structure that teases us with expectations of “body horror” grotesquerie while forcing us to identify with a character whose lack of (presumably) universal parental instinct feels transgressive in a way that is somehow even more disquieting than the gore and mutilation we imagine might be coming at any moment of the film.
And we do imagine it, even expect it to come, which is as much to do with the near-oppressive claustrophobia that results from Bronstein’s use of near-constant close-ups as it does with the hint of impending violence that pervades the psychological tension. It’s not just that our frame of vision is kept tight and limited; her tactic keeps us uncertain of what’s going on outside the edges, creating a near-constant sense of something unseen lurking just beyond our view. Yet it also helps to put us into Linda’s state of mind; for almost the entire film, we never see the face of her daughter – nor do we ever know the child’s name – and her husband is just a strident voice on the other end of a phone call, and the effect places us squarely into her dissociated, depressed, and desperate existence.
Anchoring it all, of course, is Byrne’s remarkable performance. Vivid, vulnerable, and painfully real, it’s the centerpiece of the film, the part that emerges as greater than the whole; and while Oscar may have passed her over, she delivers a star turn for the ages and gives profound voice to a dark side of feminine experience that is rarely allowed to be aired.
That, of course, is the key to Bronstein’s seeming purpose; inspired by her own struggles with postpartum depression, her film feels like both a confession and an exorcism, a parable in which the expectations of unconditional motherly love fall into question, and the burden placed on a woman to subjugate her own existence in service of a child – and a seemingly ungrateful one, at that – becomes a powerful exploration of feminist themes. It’s an exploration that might go too far, for some, but it expresses a truth that those of us who are not mothers (and many of us who are) might be loath to acknowledge.
Uncomfortable though it may be, Bronstein’s movie draws us in and persuades our emotional investment despite its difficult and unlikable characters, thanks to her star player and her layered, puzzle-like screenplay, which captures Linda’s scattered psyche and warped perceptions with an approach that creates structure through fragments, clues and suggestions; and while it may not land quite as squarely, in the end, as we might hope, its bold and transgressive style – coupled with the career-topping performance at its center – are more than enough reason to catch this Oscar “also-ran” before putting this year’s award season behind you once and for all.
Friday, March 27
Center Aging Monthly Luncheon With Yoga will be at 12 p.m. at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. Email Mac at [email protected] if you require ASL interpreter assistance, have any dietary restrictions, or questions about this event.
Go Gay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Happy Hour” at 7 p.m. at Dupont Italian Kitchen. This is a chance to relax, make new friends, and enjoy happy hour specials at this classic retro venue. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
Trans and Genderqueer Game Night will be at 7 p.m. at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. This is a relaxing, laid-back evening of games and fun. All are welcome and there’ll be card and board games on hand. Feel free to bring your own games to share. For more details, visit the DC Center’s website.
Trans Discussion Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This event is intended to provide an 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].
Saturday, March 28
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.
The DC Center for the LGBT Community will host “Sunday Supper on Saturday” at 2 p.m. It’s more than just an event; it’s an opportunity to step away from the busyness of life and invest in something meaningful, and enjoy delicious food, genuine laughter, and conversations that spark connection and inspiration. For more details, visit the Center’s website.
Black Lesbian Support Group will be at 1 p.m. on Zoom. This is a peer-led support group devoted to the joys and challenges of being a Black Lesbian. For more details, email [email protected].
Monday, March 30
“Center Aging: Monday Coffee Klatch” 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 choice. For more information, contact Adam ([email protected]).
“Tea Time! A Local DC Drag Comedy Show” will be at 3 p.m. at Spark Social. This is a live drag comedy show where drag legends TrevHER & Tiara Missou Sidora host spill all the tea in the DMV. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
Tuesday, March 31
Visibili-TEA Party will be at 6 p.m. at Restoration Station. Guests are encouraged to come sip, celebrate, and shine together. This event is a Trans Day of Visibility celebration and a special collaboration between Auntie’s Home and Damien Ministries. This is a boozy tea party with intention and the dress code reflects the vibe. More details are available on Eventbrite.
Wednesday, March 1
Job Club will be at 6 p.m. on Zoom upon request. 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 thedccenter.org/careers.
Thursday, April 2
The DC Center’s Fresh Produce Program will be held all day at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. People will be informed on Wednesday at 5 p.m. if they are picked to receive a produce box. No proof of residency or income is required. For more information, email [email protected] or call 202-682-2245.
Virtual Yoga Class will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This free weekly class is a combination of yoga, breathwork and meditation that allows LGBTQ+ community members to continue their healing journey with somatic and mindfulness practices. For more details, visit the DC Center’s website.
‘Jonah’ an undeniably compelling but unusual memory play
The Oscar-losing performance that’s too good to miss
Trump tells Fox News he won the ‘gay vote’ — but polls tell a different story
Anti-trans visa ruling echoes Nazi regime destroying trans documents
Japanese Supreme Court to consider marriage equality
D.C. goes gaga for Gaga
Menaka Guruswamy celebrated as India’s first openly LGBTQ MP
HRC to host National Rainbow Seder
Gay priest credited with boosting church support for LGBTQ Catholics
