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.”
Out & About
Tyler Clementi Foundation to host fundraiser in Rehoboth
Special remarks to be given by Jane Clementi, Rep. McBride
To kick off National Coming Out Month, the Tyler Clementi Foundation will host a fundraiser on Thursday, Oct. 1 at 6 p.m. at CAMP Rehoboth in Delaware.
The event will feature special remarks by Jane Clementi and Rep. Sarah McBride. If you are unable to attend, please consider making a donation to support the work of the Tyler Clementi Foundation to end online and offline bullying and harassment in schools, workplaces, and faith communities.
For more details, visit the Tyler Clementi Foundation’s Facebook page.
Friday, September 25
Go Gay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Community Happy Hour” at 7 p.m. at DIK Bar. 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 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, September 26
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.
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].
Sunday, September 27
“Nellie’s DC Drag Brunch” will be at 12 p.m. at Nellie’s Sports Bar. Come get served like a queen by a queen. Join Sapphire Blue, Deja Diamond and their team of amazing drag performers for the most fun you’ll have all weekend. Tickets cost $58.51 and are available on Eventbrite.
Monday, September 28
“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]).
Queer Book Club will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. The Queer Book Club meets on the fourth Monday of the month to discuss queer books by queer authors. This month’s reading is “Happy Iceland” by Anne Marie Wells. For more details, visit the DC Center for the LGBTQ+ Community’s website.
Tuesday, September 29
The DC Center for the LGBTQ+ Community will host “Center Aging: Painting Class” at 1 p.m. This is a free watercolor painting workshop that will be held in the community room and led by Laya Monarez. All supplies and light snacks will be provided. This workshop involves paint, so please dress accordingly. Email Mac at [email protected] for more details.
Wednesday, September 30
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 www.thedccenter.org/careers.
Thursday, October 1
The DC Center for the LGBTQ+ Community’s Fresh Produce Program will be held all day at the Center. People will be informed on Wednesday at 5:00 pm 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.
API Queer Support Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a support group for the Asian and Pacific Islander queer community. The support group is co-sponsored by APIQS (Asian Pacific Islander Queer Society DC) and AQUA (Asian Queers United for Action). For more details, email [email protected].
Television
‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ star Celia Rose Gooding breaks down that finale time travel twist
Season 4 finale gives actress ultimate showcase as a performer
At long last, Celia Rose Gooding can talk about the “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” Season 4 finale. And it’s a finale that belongs almost exclusively to her.
In the finale episode, now available to stream on Paramount+, communications officer Nyota Uhura (Gooding) comes face-to-face with an older version of herself.
In order to save Scotty (Martin Quinn), Uhura must uncover a mystery and confront the leader she was always destined to be.
It’s one step closer to “Strange New Worlds” closing the gap between “The Original Series,” where fans were first introduced to Uhura through Nichelle Nichols’s iconic performance back in 1966.
“We see them confront each other and love each other in a way that can only breed more self-acceptance, self-understanding and self-actualization, which is what fans have been hungry for this whole time,” Gooding says of Uhura’s interaction between past and future self.
Gooding spoke with the Washington Blade to break down the emotional final episode, why she was hesitant to pay homage to Nichols’s beehive hairdo, and her hopes for the future of Black and queer representation on “Star Trek” amid the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger. This interview has been edited and condensed.
I know you’ve already finished filming the upcoming fifth and final season, so first of all, congratulations! This finale is such an exciting showcase for you. Can you break down this time travel twist and how you approached playing these two different versions of Uhura?
So much of what this episode meant to me was about honoring everything Uhura means — not just to me, but to Trekkies across the world, to people who’ve seen themselves in Uhura, and most importantly to Nichelle Nichols. I didn’t get the opportunity to meet her, although I’m desperate to have had that. But I think there’s something really special and unique about being able to have a conversation with a version of yourself that you no longer recognize in the past, and also a version of yourself that you do not recognize in the future. So much of the conversation between the two Uhuras in the beginning is filled with tension; they’re not super fond of each other just because they are so different. There’s so much growth and separation between their two mentalities. Given the stakes of the episode, “Strange New Worlds” is hearing things and is called on in a way that she does not understand. And so much of Uhura’s job, as a communications officer, is to understand — especially the things that she’s hearing, the conversations that are going on. When she is detached from that understanding, she’s left floating in this really uncomfortable space. The first thing that she can reach out and grab onto is something that should not be happening; she should not be able to speak to a version of herself that exists in the future. It breaks so many directives; she is breaking a lot of rules about time travel and temporal anomalies.
And then on the flip side, we have “TOS [The Original Series]” Uhura, who gets back on this mission, and something has gone terribly wrong. That tenacity, that perseverance, that reminiscent characteristic between both of these Uhuras is that they’re not going to give up. I love that in Uhura’s mind, if something doesn’t make sense to her, it’s because something is wrong. And not because she is incapable of understanding what’s happening; it’s that something has happened and it must be corrected. I love the confidence that we see in “TOS” Uhura of talking to her friends and crewmates and being like, “You aren’t listening to me. You need to listen to me!”
What was the most challenging part of playing these two parts?
The time jump between the two of them. Originally, it was three years, but now in the edit it’s just one. And playing “Strange New Worlds” Uhura, who knows all of this time has passed but doesn’t know what’s in it that makes her future self so unrecognizable — at first, I was trying really hard to make sense of that tension, trying to establish something. I kept coming up against the obstacle of, “How can I make this make sense?” Even when we only had 16 hours until shooting, I was down to the wire. I had conversations with director Chris Fisher, and he really implored me to not focus so hard on trying to make it make sense; the moment it makes sense is the moment we don’t have a story anymore. So much of the tension and conflict is that we don’t understand how this has happened; these two characters have to make it make sense together, and they do, because they always do! But it was a real challenge as an actor to live in that liminal, unknown, uncharted space and let that discomfort be the fuel for the engine that is the story. Even as I talk about it now, I fear that I’m not making any sense!
Finally, I think fans of Uhura have been so hungry for her to just inch closer and closer and close that gap, and I think while [the Season 4 finale] doesn’t completely close that gap all the way, we see them confront each other and love each other in a way that can only breed more self-acceptance, self-understanding, and self-actualization, which is what fans have been hungry for this whole time.
And you get to pay homage to Nichelle Nichols with that iconic beehive hairdo.
Story-wise, it was important for us to give the audience a way to immediately recognize who was talking because they’re both me, with my face. And it wasn’t just my hair that established the timeline change — it was the lighting, color grading, and everyone else’s different looks and costume changes. But the conversation around that iconic beehive- at first, I was a little resistant. I’m not gonna lie to you. I didn’t love the idea of recreating this iconic hairstyle because I have such admiration for Nichelle Nichols. God, I owe her so much for this era of my career. It is all thanks to her and what she has done, and so it felt like blasphemy, sacrilege. I was like, “I don’t know if this is right, guys; I think some things are just meant to be precious.” And then I saw it on camera, and I was like, “You know what? Maybe there’s a reason why they’re the showrunner, and maybe I should just do my part and let everybody else do their part.” It’s so recognizable, iconic, and immediately present.
I’m just filled with pride. I’ve been holding on to this episode for so long. I’ve been dying to talk about this episode because we shot it a year and four months ago, in June 2025. And I’m just really excited for fans to see it. It was a labor of love. It is an ode to Nichelle, but it’s also an ode to the version of Celia that said yes to playing Uhura because she had no idea what she was fucking in for. She had no idea, and just as Uhura held her hands and said, “You’re doing great,” I just want to hug that version of myself who was so hard on themselves, the same way the “Strange New Worlds” Uhura is, and just tell her to exhale and be like, “Baby, you got it. The hard part is behind you now. You get to just show up, do your job, and learn the lessons day-by-day.
As we’re celebrating “Star Trek”’s 60th anniversary this year, it’s been a moment to recognize the show’s diversity and inclusion. There are, naturally, some fears about what the future of the show will look like considering where the industry is going amid the Paramount merger. As a queer person, how do you feel about the potential for the show to continue embracing diversity and perspective?
I know my publicist is holding her breath right now! I am really excited to be surprised about the future of “Trek” because right now, realistically, there is no “Trek” in production. We have another season of “Starfleet Academy” to release, and another season of “Strange New Worlds” to release, and then it gets quiet for live-action “Star Trek.” I know there’s a Nickelodeon show coming; there’s a lot of animated “Trek” happening, but when it comes to Gene Roddenberry’s vision, I don’t know what the future holds. The unknown can mean so many different things, and I am really excited about what I’ve been able to donate to this franchise. I’m so excited about what it means as a dark-skinned, Black queer individual to exist in Trek, to have my vessel that Uhura lives on in, and what it means for me and my community.
I can’t imagine that “Strange New Worlds” is going to be the last of “Trek.” I hope that is not the case because “Trek” has done so much for how people think about the future and how people embrace the future. There is so much positivity and diversity embraced in “Trek,” and the world is only going to get more diverse, despite what the powers that be want you to believe. We’re not going back, and I am excited for “Star Trek” to continue to be at the forefront of the stories that are told about how we do not go back, about how we move forward and embrace each other and embrace the unknown, embrace the diversity of opinion and experience. I’m just really excited to be surprised. I want to wake up one day and be like, “I could never have imagined this for ‘Trek’!”
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