Arts & Entertainment
Best of Gay D.C. 2016: COMMUNITY
Blade readers voted for their community favorites
Best Art Gallery
Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
1661 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Runner-up: The Phillips Collection
Renwick Gallery (Photo public domain)
Best Adult Store
Bite the Fruit
1723 Connecticut Ave., N.W.
Runner-up: Trick Box
Bite the Fruit
Best Car Dealership
BMW of Fairfax
8427 Lee Highway, Fairfax
Runner-up: Audi of Tysons
BMW of Fairfax (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best Apartment/Condo Building
Atlantic Plumbing
2112 8th St., N.W.
Runner-up: The Shay
Atlantic Plumbing (Photo courtesy Atlantic Plumbing)
Best Doctor/Medical Provider
Ray Martins, Whitman-Walker Health
Runner-up: Dr. Robyn Zeiger
Ray Martins (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best Fitness or Workout Spot
VIDA Fitness
1517 15th St., N.W.
1612 U St., N.W.
999 9th St., N.W.
(A perennial favorite in this category)
Runner-up: YMCA
VIDA Fitness (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best Gayborhood
Shaw
Runner-up: Logan Circle
Shaw (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best Hardware Store
Logan Hardware
Logan Hardware
1734 14th St., N.W.
Runner-up: Annie’s Ace Hardware
Logan Hardware (Washington Blade photo by Antwan J. Thompson)
Best Home Furnishings
Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams
1526 14th St., N.W.
Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams is featured on the 2016 Best of Gay DC cover.
Runner-up: Room & Board
Mitchell Gold, on left, and business partner Bob Williams at their Washington store for an event in 2013. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Best Home Improvement Service
The Organizing Agency
811 4th St., N.W., Suite1013
(Winner of last year’s Best LGBT-owned Business award)
Runner-up: Hourly Husbands
Organizing Agency founder Scott Roewer (Photo courtesy of the Organizing Agency)
Best Hotel
The W
515 15th St., N.W.
(Second consecutive win in this category)
Runner-up: Donovan House
The W Hotel (Photo courtesy of the W)
Best House of Worship
Empowerment Liberation Cathedral
633 Sligo Ave., Silver Spring
240-720-7605
empowermentliberationcathedral.org
(Second consecutive win in this category)
Runner-up: All Souls Unitarian
Bishop Allyson Abrams of the Empowerment Liberation Cathedral (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best Lawyer
Peter Glazer
The Glazer Law Firm
Business attorney
Runner-up: Amy Nelson
Peter Glazier (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best LGBT Social Group
Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington
Runner-up: D.C. Rawhides
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best LGBT Support Group
SMYAL
Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders
410 7th St., S.E.
(Second consecutive win in this category)
Runner-up: HIPS
SMYAL (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best LGBT Sports League
D.C. Rollergirls
Runner-up: Stonewall Kickball
Teammates on D.C. Rollergirls say the league feels like family.
Founded in 2006, D.C. Rollergirls is centered around the group’s love for roller derby. In addition to games, the team also prides itself on contributing to community service with organizations that promote female empowerment, physical fitness and awareness of issues women, children and families face in the D.C. area.
League president Dawn Sherman, also known by her team nickname Aurora Borey All-Ass, says what makes the team stand out is the diversity of its members.
“We have women from all different walks of life,” Sherman says. “We are an inclusive environment so we have cis-gender women and we are very open to LGBT women. The fact that we all come together for this crazy common sport that we love just makes it amazing.”
Women of all skill levels are welcome on the team especially beginners. JaeLee Waldschmidt, nicknamed Switch Please, says she stepped into the world of roller derby after a friend invited her to a match.
Waldschmidt admits she was clueless and outside her comfort zone.
“My friend was like, ‘You should come watch my team play.’ I was like, ‘Play what?’ ‘Roller derby,’” Waldschmidt says. “I was like, ‘What’s that?’ I watched one of their games and showed up to D.C. Armory like, ‘Where do I get in?’ and my friend was like, ‘The door. You go in through the door.’”
After attending roller derby boot camp Waldschmidt found herself competing on the team.
She encourages other women interested in trying something new to do the same. Try out sessions are open to anyone regardless of experience level. Each Sunday the team has a roller derby boot camp where anybody, with the appropriate safety gear, can learn the fundamentals of roller derby. The next try out date is Sunday, Oct. 23 at the DCRG Warehouse (5706 LaFayette Pl., Hyattsville, Md.) from 12:30-3:30 p.m. The team consists of about 40 players, including dozens of volunteers, beginner boot campers and retired derby members who still like to stay connected.
Another big part of being a D.C. Rollergirls team member is picking a nickname that suits you.
For Sherman the name was all about who she was as a person.
“I wanted to find something that kind of gave people a little glimpse into my life,” Sherman says. “My quirky sci-fi side. Kind of just being a general science geek and my physique. So my name is Aurora Borey All-Ass and that kind of encompasses all those things.”
Waldschmidt chose her name Switch Please, from the character Switch from “The Matrix.”
Feeling comfortable to share parts of themselves with their team is the best part about the league, Waldschmidt says.
“Being a trans woman, it’s kind of hard in this world trying to find a place that accepts you for who you are,” Waldschmidt says. “I mean there are pockets here and there but roller derby was like ‘Alright, cool.’ It was a really empowering opportunity to be authentic and not have to try to conform to people’s expectations of what a man or woman is, to be myself.” (Mariah Cooper)
D.C. Rollergirls (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best LGBT-Owned Business
Capital Center for Psychotherapy and Wellness
1330 U St., N.W.
Runner-up: Town, Number Nine and Trade
Gregory Jones of Capital Area (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Most LGBT-Friendly Workplace
Human Rights Campaign
1640 Rhode Island Ave., N.W.
Runner-up: Whitman-Walker Health
Human Rights Campaign (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best Non-Profit
Whitman-Walker Health
Runner-up: Capital Pride
Whitman Walker Health at the Walk to End HIV (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best Pet Business
Metro Mutts
508 H St., N.E.
Runner-up: City Dogs
Best Place to Buy Second-Hand Stuff
Miss Pixie’s Furnishings and Whatnot
1626 14th St., N.W.
Runner-up: Buffalo Exchange
Miss Pixie’s (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best Place to Take the Kids
Smithsonian’s National Zoo
3001 Connecticut Ave., N.W.
(Second consecutive win in this category)
Runner-up: Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum
(Photo courtesy of the National Zoo)
Best Rehoboth Business
Blue Moon
35 Baltimore Ave.
Rehoboth Beach, Del.
bluemoonrehoboth.com
(Also won Best Rehoboth Bar)
Runner-up: Purple Parrot
Blue Moon (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best Salon/Spa
Logan 14 Aveda Salon & Spa
1314 14th St., N.W.
(Second consecutive win in this category)
Runner-up: Salon Quency
Michael Hodges of Logan 14 Aveda (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best Reason to Go to Baltimore
National Aquarium
501 E. Pratt St., Baltimore
(Second consecutive win in this category)
National Aquarium in Baltimore (Photo public domain)
Best Theater
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
2700 F St., N.W.
(Second consecutive win in this category)
Runner-up: Arena Stage
The Kennedy Center (Photo by Steve via Wikimedia Commons)
Best Theater Production
“Kinky Boots” (Kennedy Center)
Runner-up: “La Cage Aux Folles” (Signature Theatre)
(Photo courtesy Kennedy Center)
Best Vet
CityPaws Animal Hospital
1823 14th St., N.W.
(Second consecutive win in this category)
Runner-up: Union Veterinary Clinic
City Paws (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
To see winners in other categories in the Washington Blade’s Best of Gay D.C. 2016 Awards, click here.
Celebrity News
Silky Nutmeg Ganache talks sex and dating, gender, politics, weight loss journey
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ semifinalist grew up in Bible Belt
Uncloseted Media published this interview on July 7.
By SPENCER MACNAUGHTON, ISABEL STOKES, and BELLA SAYEGH | After appearing on the 11th season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” the first season of “Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. the World,” the sixth season of “RuPaul’s All Stars” and now the 11th season of “All Stars,” Silky Nutmeg Ganache, known by many as the Reverend, is undoubtedly a legend.
Born and raised in Moss Point, Miss., Ganache bears all in this episode of “UNCLOSETED with Spencer Macnaughton.” She speaks about her relationship with gender, her 100-pound weight loss, what it’s like living as a queer person of color in a red state and why she’s calling on allies to stand up for the trans community.
Patrons enjoyed a night out at the popular LGBTQ venue Crush Dance Bar on Friday, July 3.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
Theater
‘My Favorite Sociopath’ debuts at Shepherdstown’s CATF
Gay playwright Aurin Squire’s take on D.C. journalism in the ‘90s
‘My Favorite Sociopath’
Contemporary American Theater Festival
July 10-Aug. 2
Shepherdstown, W.Va.
Catf.org
Discernment. It’s a thing some people have, explains playwright Aurin Squire, especially when you’re gay or Black in America (Squire is both).
“You instinctively know when the mob is teaming up for the best interests of the powers that be. You can feel it in the air.”
In his sharp new satire “My Favorite Sociopath,” Squire writes about life experiences but set in a different time and place: It’s the 1990s, early days of the 24-hour news cycle, and three ambitious journalism students are pursuing success in D.C.
And now, Squire’s play, along with other new works, are making their world premieres at the annual Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) at Shepherd University in historic, queer-friendly Shepherdstown, W.Va. (just a 90-minute drive from D.C.).
“All of my plays are queer in some way,” says Squire, 46. “This one touches on harmless and dangerous lies. The characters are on the spectrum sexually, and it’s interesting how all that falls out.”
And he’s given it a lot of thought.
“Already as a kid, it seemed to me that the rage against rap music and sex was coming from closeted people resisting their own urges and temptations. For me, it was interesting to see a witch hunt led by witches. Queer people can always call out a lie.”
Since September, Squire has also been working with a TV show about the tech industry set in Silicon Valley. He says, “It seems the general flow of the tech industry is that humanity and civilization is finished and it’s just about accumulating as many goods as possible before everything collapses. In fact, those who are profiting actually agree. But for those who disagree, they believe the solution is to build bigger gates, but activists believe we can stop this”
Yet, he’s learned from folks associated with the show. “Many say the quickest way to divorce yourself from any responsibility or regulations — smash and grab. Otherwise, you have to stop and think and regulate your desires for greed and power”
Squire possesses a penchant for pithy titles. He laughs, explaining the first thing he wrote as a student at Juilliard was “Obama-ology,” the comedy with contemporary message. While a lot of people liked the name, it didn’t necessarily vibe with the author. He concedes that he chooses names based on “easy to remember” and titles that won’t be easy to lose as a file.
Another is “Defacing Michael Jackson,” a coming-of-age dramedy set in rural Florida in 1984, specifically Squire’s native town Opa-locka, Miami, a fantastical place famed for its fanciful Moorish revival architecture.
Living in the shadow of exotic structures, he wasn’t particularly fazed. Squire says “It wasn’t until returning to visit after my freshman year at Northwestern University in Chicago that I realized how weird it was: When you grow up in a place, you take surroundings for granted no matter how over the top.”
Now based in New York (where for two happy years, 2017-2019, he shared digs with drag king Murry Hill), Squire returns frequently to Miami to be with family, but this summer has been filled with both work and travel.
Currently, he’s in Shepherdstown with CATF shaping up “My Favorite Sociopath.” Later this summer he will travel to South Africa for research, followed by a silent writing retreat in Santa Fe, N.M.
Much of Squire’s work reflects the Latino, African, Caribbean, African-American, and Jewish cultures he grew up around in South Florida.
When asked if today’s winds of anti-multiculturalism worry him, he replies, “No, because that’s going to pass. Most people don’t like, people are seeing the negative results of it, and the young people coming up despise it. White male gamers were tricked momentarily through the algorithms into voting against their own interests and they’re now seeing how it’s not working out for them.
“Conservatives always try to stop progress and eventually they always lose. It’s just a question of where we’ll be in the middle of the end of civilization before that happens. I’d like to hope we can turn the ship around before then.”
In addition to “My Favorite Sociopath,” CATF summer season features three other world premieres (Lisa D’Amour’s comedy “The Smoker,” “Refugee Rhapsody” by Yussef El Guindi, “Best Line Wins: A Play Inspired by the Improvised Lives of Elaine May & Mike Nichols” by Beth Kander) and “¡VOS!” by Christina Pumariega.
CATF runs from July 10-Aug. 2 in three venues on the Shepherd University campus: Frank Center, Marinoff Theater, and Studio 112.
Former Fla. gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum arrested on drug charges
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Mary’s House founder, CEO retires
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‘My Favorite Sociopath’ debuts at Shepherdstown’s CATF
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