Queer Soup Family Recipes

How goes blogging?

2011-11-14T21:03:00.003-05:00

Hey, does it seem like a clue when it's hard enough to think of a subject for a blog that some among us might be having a hard time writing a play?

Anyway, I'm on the clocking; it's ticking down. I have about 15 minutes to say something intriguing before I head out to the cell phone lot at Logan and negotiate my way to Terminal B.

If there's a clock ticking, then there must be some dramatic tension...

Tick
Tick

The best I can come up with is near misses. Today, a guy driving an oversized pick-up in Harvard Square almost clocked me in the head with his sideview mirror. I guess there wasn't enough road for my bike and his truck. Last week, a driver in a white suburban (I didn't check the plates for a state) almost drove into me head-on as he led out of his side street into me. I was directly in front of him, foolishly waving my hand out at his hood as though upon impact, I would just make a leap to his windshield wiper and beg for no concussions.

I'm not an adrenalin-junkie per se, but this whole daylight savings time is really running havoc with my bike commute. If possible, I think drivers are even less attentive - even when it is reasonably well-lit outside. I know I'm well-lit: got the flourescent jacket, the flashing high-beam, the battering red tail light.

I get home and my hands hurt for about an hour after gripping onto my handlebars so tightly. But the problem is, I won't give up on the bike commute so easily.

If I could put this energy to work on my script, I'd be cool.

Instead I find myself writing narrative fiction. Closing shop on my writers' group. Buying magazines about running and wondering what a fartlek is. Oh, and praising Nutella.

It's a tangled web when attempting to escape creativity.

I'll take the car to the airport. It's just ridiculous to think I could carry Kim's bike on my back the entire way!

Superdaze

2011-10-30T21:56:00.002-04:00

In about six hours we'll be heading out for the airport. I should probably be sleeping right now. But the problem with early morning flights are early morning departures and the night before said early departures.

I wonder if I've got all my ducks in a row. My tix. My ID. Everything packed that I actually need? Will the cat be OK? (He looks at his feeder with great comfort.) Did I remember to pack my toothbrush?

Now Kim's checking the levels of cat food and waiting to use her computer (mine has decided to die this weekend, a weird rampant event that seems to be traveling about in our circles... if you are reading this post, save your work now!).

"Yellow" floats around in the ether about me. I carry yellow legal pads to keep me inspired and urge me to write, and when I go to put the words down, they stutter stump and stall their way out. Pulling teeth. Pulled together phrases. Pulled together glimpses of scenes waiting to happen.

Scenes about town seem to call to me. I was biking home one evening, and a young man buzzed by on his bike - yellow tires. It is now just a matter of making the time. How hard could that be? Turn the oven to 350. Let it pre-heat. Beat two eggs with white flour, a dash of salt and let something rise, and in thirty minutes, create an afternoon?

When I was fourteen, I wanted one thing for Christmas. It was a desperate wish: a typewriter. I didn't care if it was old or new or what-have-you, just to have that reassuring ability to create formal words on paper. When Christmas morning came and went, and there was no typewriter for me, it was the worst Christmas ever. I'm pretty sure my disappointment was palpable. It was like being told I would no longer be allowed to dream. My parents took me to Houston that weekend to the mega-office-supply store - Office Max - which was a new-fangled invention of consumerism at that time. We left with a typewriter, and I immediately got to work. My parents breathed a sigh of relief.

Now, my computer is lifeless. Literally. It doesn't light or bell or whistle. It doesn't hum or crank or even bother to spin pointlessly in a holding pattern. And for some reason, this has become my excuse to hesitate.

Oh that and time. But I'm working on a recipe for that.

My Mind's humming

2011-10-18T18:29:00.002-04:00

After some mulling, some wringing of the fingers, I pushed my chair in and reread the scenes that were part of our reading event Queer Soup Quick Pick. My contribution was a piece called Street. It followed a family of homeless lgbt youth.

This piece is close to my heart as I work with lgbt youth, and I know some have experienced homelessness. And I believe sincerely that we adults need to work with youth to come up with a solution.

As I reread my scenes, and even managed to bang on the keys working on a new scene, I know this piece carries great responsibility to do it right. So I by no means will be sitting at the keys alone under dim light creating this story. I will need to collaborate. That is at the center of queer soup age, and this piece all the more so.

More to come.

Week 1? Success or fail? Another entry by Jess

2011-10-14T19:55:00.002-04:00

All right, so it's pouring out. I've been watching episode after episode of "Lie to Me" via Instant Watch, the candicopia of Netflix, and it's been a week since last we Soupers met.

An eventful week, I'll have you know, but not one chock-full of writing, and we're two weeks away from the deadline for the first draft.

Hm. I've written half of a ten minute play which is completely off-topic. Mal and I went off and ran the Tufts 10K on Monday in the steaming heat. I had a very nice lunch with fellow playwright Ginger, to talk about her queer take on Cyrano, and somebody keeps making noise that one day I might move to Copenhagen. Oh, that would be me.

But I shouldn't be writing about that. I should be writing about "Yellow." Instead, I'm entertaining my ten minute entry for the Boston Theater Marathon... due, oh, four weeks from about now.

When I stopped by Mal's place before the 10K, I was impressed to learn that she keeps a word count to keep her on task for each time she sits down to write. I wonder if I could impose such a rule on myself. 500 words? 1000? 612?

13.5?

The challenge continues, and I should be off, reminding my fellow Soupers that they too committed to a post-a-week on our lil' blog here. 250 words? :-)

As I spent my morning hour, running a bit up the bike path, I found that while I run now, my mind tends to wander. This morning, it wandered so far off the path that when I came back to myself, I had to get my bearings. I was on the same bike path that I always run, but where on it? I suddenly envied those barefoot runners. When talking to one of them, I asked him what risks he felt he took with stepping on something sharp like broken glass. He told me that when he runs barefoot he is exceptionally vigilant about his foot placement. "You watch where your feet go all the time," he said and added, "it's the squishy gross stuff you don't always see."

It occurred to me that if I were to start running barefoot that I might not "vacate the premises" so to speak. On the bright side, I realized that in less than a year I have come so far in my running that I now no longer spend the entire run thinking, "oh god, when is this going to end?"

Tomorrow, we're off to run the Harvest Run 5K in Wompatuck State Park. Good times! We'll dine with Mal's wonderful folks afterwards. Where - no doubt - they will forgive our sweatiness. They are just that way.

And I will run a 5K and probably wonder, "oh yeah, about 'yellow' - when am I going to write that?"

Some time before 10/28.

Someone's bound to have her way. And it's usually the character I put in the corner.

Mellow Yellow - entry by Jess

2011-10-07T21:11:00.002-04:00

So about two weeks ago, maybe a little more now, we presented three very different pieces to one very brilliant audience at the Boston Playwrights' Theatre. We called it the Queer Soup Quick Pick, and during the evening, we asked our audiences to score each play immediately after it was presented. It was a funky experiment, and at the end of the evening, the votes were tabulated, and the results were far from anticipated: a dead heat for all three at a common score of 23.

Some interesting notes I got on my piece "Yellow" from the audience that night:

"Very confusing, but I oddly want to know what happens."

"This is gonna give me nightmares, but in a good way. More! MORE!"

"Weird but very intriguing. Whatever is happening here I want to know more."

Ok, so fine, I'll give you more. Fine, you asked for it.

Tonight, Kim, Mal and I finally met to re-group and de-brief and give ourselves permission to do more. And that's exactly what we're going to do. Rather than write one play, we're going to write three. And the next challenge: I've got to finish Act 1 by October 28th.

Of this year.

So back to the Yellow Drawing Board. Let's see where Tabitha takes me. Probably somewhere exotic like... Saskatchewan.

We All Will Be Received -The Next Phase!

2010-05-04T15:01:00.002-04:00

Whoa! Our premiere at the Boston Center for the Arts in March was a huge Dolly Parton wig of success and we were so proud and delighted to have so many folks attend. And because so many of you after seeing the performance told us that We All Will Be Received needs to be out in the world - we listened and are working on a schedule to tour it starting this fall, 2010! So more info is coming soon, but if you or you know a community group, or college or university, or high school group, who would be interested in having us come and perform, please let us know! queersoup@gmail.com! And thank you to all you came out and saw the show! Big big applause!

tech week!

2010-03-05T08:46:00.002-05:00

Where did the time go?!!!?

We are just days away from loading into the theatre and finally putting all the pieces of this together. I am spending the morning 'cuing' my script with the video cues and putting the final touches on my Dolly Parton 'presentation.' ahem. You can't wait to see it... I know you can't.

I wanted to share this little treasure, one of the many inspirations for our show. Our message is about acceptance and openness around issues of gender... we believe so strongly that the way anyone chooses to express their gender is a personal choice and should be respected... whether that choice is different from the 'mainstream' culture, or an exaggeration of it.

Don't ever judge. anyone. ever.

See you next week? How about Thursday's 'preview' at 7:30 (you can pay what you can!) Or Friday at 8? Come to the OPENING and party with us afterwards!

character building

2010-02-06T08:19:00.004-05:00

It’s blocked! Holy cow. 2 weeks into rehearsals and the play has taken shape on the stage. Now we know where to sit, stand and move, and where all the performances will happen. Now we start working on what it’s all about.

Kim Hoff is our assistant director, she’s been a huge help to me, first in making a transition back to stage directing from film, (can you say... different?!!) and second by using her unerring comic instinct to tell us what works and what doesn’t. She has also been preparing warmups for us, helping us spend the first 20 minutes or so every night stretching out the physical kinks and letting go of the mental ones.... making sure we are ready to forget everything outside of this room and this work, and are in tune with each other. She’s asked for extra time today to do some character work. Just hearing her say that gave me a little bit of a chill.

Writing for yourself is hard. 3 years of soul searching and hard questions... but playing yourself! To step back, suddenly, and think of yourself as a character... to an audience that knows nothing about you except what you are about to reveal.... are you layered? grounded? motivated? exposed? scared? shattered?

triumphant?

Yes. and determined. Stay tuned...

read thru

2010-01-26T11:26:00.002-05:00

It’s done! And it’s funny!

Last night was our first read through... well maybe I should say our last read through. We’ve had 3 since our workshop production last February, and the script has changed for the better after each one. But last night we agreed, we have finally weaved all of our stories into a balanced journey that takes you somewhere. With message and meaning.

And next up... movement. Wednesday we start bringing it to life with blocking rehearsals. I personally couldn’t be more ready. 3 years of reading and writing? Enough.

Let’s move!

last push

2010-01-15T17:36:00.009-05:00

2 weeks until rehearsals start. and we are so ready.

Well, almost ready. The script needs one last re-write and the video needs to be finished and the rehearsal plan needs to be finalized.

yeah, so not exactly ready.

but so excited.

3 years we're been working on this show. And here we are 2 months away from opening night? already? finally? Time is a funny and fluid thing, isn't it?

And aren't we? Fluid is a great word to describe both the state of our show and the message within it. Our show is a hybrid, part documentary film and part play. It's also part performance art. And it's about how we discover, determine and decide our relationship to gender. To our icons and ourselves.

About our journey with it. Where it comes from and where it goes to.

And it's time to get it up on it's feet. and into those heels.

Dear god.

We All Will Be Received - Free, Sunday, February 8th!

2009-01-23T16:32:00.002-05:00

Workshop Production/Reading!

2009-01-17T10:54:00.003-05:00

Hey there y'all! It's been a while, but we're back! Kathy, Mal and Renee have been hard at work writing and working on Queer Soup's latest show and we're thrilled to announce that a FREE public reading/workshop of it will be presented in less than a month!

What: We All Will Be Received

a staged reading/workshop production

When: 7pm Sunday, February 8th

Where: Boston Playwrights' Theater

949 Commonwealth Avenue

Boston

Why: Because you want to see what we've come up with from our road trip to Tennessee last year! Because we want your feedback and thoughts!

More will be posted soon about the event so keep your eyes posted!

Writings - Drag King Barbie

2008-06-04T13:13:00.003-04:00

It's been a month and we've missed you! We're not embarking an a different sort of journey - that of creation. Each week one of us provides a prompt and then we free write. We hope to use these writings to create our performance piece, wherever that takes us. But, we want to share some of our musings along the way. Sometimes we'll post an entire piece, other times just snippets of them. We'll also do our best to provide the prompt, so that you can see where our minds journey! And heck, if you feel inspired to write something that inspired you in the comments, we'd be honored.

Without further ado - I bring you our first prompt... (please note that this image and the 'intellectual property' of the image belong to P. Jeannechild - thank you!) The writing below consists of snippets of each of our individual pieces.

1. I never had a barbie. of any kind. my father refused to allow them in the house. didn’t want his daughters growing up with that image... that kind of role model. I took this very seriously. I was not permitted to play with them. there was something dirty... something low about them that my daddy disapproved of. something I was not supposed to be. something I’ve always been afraid of being.

the most common comment I ever hear about barbies from my friends is that they cut their hair. gave ‘em all butchie do’s and then made them have sex with each other. very few were affected in the way those feminists in the 70s said they would be. they turned those dolls into icons of a completely different sort.

2. If only there had been a drag king Barbie poking out behind the plastic on the shelves at Child World. Or even a GI Jane with combat boots and helmet hair. There was only the opposite camps. Pink and pretty Barbie and Army Green and rugged GI Joe. Pick a side, stay there, make sure it’s the right one. Don’t deviate. Yes sir, ma’am. Good thing I had an older brother who liked GI Joes. I lucked out. And I saved my parents a fortune in ¾” stilettos and dream home accessories.

3. I really like Barbies. Please don't take away my Dyke Card. And I'd like to hold onto my Drag King Membership and Butch of the month subscription.

Barbie had no need to wear underwear! She had long, luscious locks. She had pointy, ridiculously arched feet. She was perfect. Except when she wasn't. I needed boy dolls to enact my lavish soap opera dream life. So I cut Barbie's hair. I tried for it to be stylish and coiffed, I put Dep in it, I brushed it back. It invariably looked like Dorothy Hammil on crack. That wasn't hot. So I cut it super short, super, super short so that the individual pegs of hair were visible. She got to wear Ken's clothes with a gumband around the waist to hold the pants up. And then she got to visit other Barbies.

day 9 philly to boston - homeward bound

2008-05-03T12:26:00.007-04:00

9 days, 207 hours, 3012 miles, 11 states, 7 different beds, one helluva trip

We write to you today from the coziness of our own homes, after a night of sleep in our own beds and dang does it feel nice to be home. But before we rest, we had to get home. Our final day was really the perfect way to end this trip.

We woke up and had a lovely morning at Gail and Penny's in Philly. Gail had to leave for the day (happy birthday!), and we spent the morning learning about Penny's female iconography collection. Everywhere you turn in the house there are dolls, images, commentary on what it "means" to be female. Statues, barbies, figurines, photos, record covers, you name it - she had it. It was great for us to hear about her joy in collecting and her subversive vision for all of the images and things. She displays them in cheeky installations which are just delightful, sardonic and beautiful. We discovered a classic Barbie dream house, a Wonder Woman doll and a Drag King Barbie - and then had some fun! We played with the dolls in their home and found that with an adult sense of humor, playing with Barbies is actually pretty fun! Before leaving, Penny sent gave us toy care packages that we weren't able to open until we had left. Once we did open them, they were just the perfect thing for each of us. Thank you.

We did a whirlwind driving tour of Philly with Renee showing us Penn's campus, her alma mater. We even drove past Hollenback Center, the place where Renee was in Navy ROTC and where she was "on trial" and ultimately discharged from the military because of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy. After that we needed some greasy goodness so we headed to Pat's, King of Steaks and had such good greasy cheesesteak goodness. (Including the traditional 'wiz wit' which is a cheez whiz covered steak. Yes, that sounds disgusting but it's so, so good.) With the grease lining our bellies, it was time to head home.

With Kathy playing DJ, the road home was filled with song, laughter, planning and reflection. It's been a whirlwind trip and one that we think will settle in our bones in the days and weeks to come. We've met some amazing people, seen some inspiring sites and kicked up a lot of stuff. We really learned so much more about ourselves because of the people and places we visited. It's cheesy, yes, but true.

We'll be continuing to update the blog in the next few days/weeks with videos, reflections, photos and more. As we start to shape the show, we'll also be sharing thoughts on the blog. Our plan is to have a workshop production ready for early fall and then a full show shortly thereafter.

Thank you for taking this trip with us, for your support and your feedback. We can not wait to take this experience and to continue to make our art. It may not include 3000 miles, but it's a going to be a journey like no other.

day 8 pigeon forge to philly - city of sisterly love

2008-05-02T10:15:00.005-04:00

We stayed at the Days Inn in Salem, Virginia. A bit of a crusty sheen on the bathroom floor, but we slept for a few hours before rising to a hearty breakfast with a somewhat surly waitress at Sarah Ann's breakfast nook. Not the best food we have eaten, but consuming a corn dog the day before, it sufficed as food.

We each took a turn at the wheel, until Renee took us to our home for the night - and a place both Renee and myself have a warm chamber in our hearts - Philadelphia. For me, it was where my best college pal Lee lives, with her Mom, in a beautiful little home in downtown Philly, in fact in the gayborhood. How appropriate is that? The city streets were decorated with rainbow banners (how'd they know we were coming?) for the Equality Forum, a big lgbt event that takes over the city. Lee grew up here, and when we were in college I'd come to visit, spending fun days at Hepburn's (the now defunct Lesbian bar) and consuming cheesesteaks 'til my gums bled.

I hadn't see Lee in over three years, since my wedding, and it had been far too long. Lee was my

freshman roommate, and the first one of my friends to come out to me. And she is the friend that knows my queer history the longest, because she knew it even before I could make my queer stand on my own. Well her, and Cagney and Lacey. And we have found a home in our friendship, and no matter where we are, or how long it's been since we have talked to one another, as soon as we reunite, we fall into a familiar dykealicious step of our own vivacious out loud unique splash in the world without apology. And I am so grateful for her, for the fact she can remind me parts of myself and where I've been that I have forgotten. (Too many late night quarters games will do that to a impressionable freshman mind). And she has been a gender warrior far longer than me, giving me permission to uncover all that was too hard yet for me to get my gameboi on.

As we have travelled into unfamiliar territory all this week, and felt moments of being uncomfortable, as well as understanding who gets more punchy late at night after a day in the car and far too much sweet tea, it was a wonderful gift to come back around to family that grounds me and reminds me of where I've been and who I am, at the core.

and now.... over to Renee

I have to ditto what Mal said - it feels really good to get this moment of grounding and true home at the end of what has been a whirlwind adventure. After visiting w/Lee, we drove to the suburbs to see my "lesbian moms" - Gail and Penny. In college, they took me under their wing when I was figuring stuff out and gave me one of the biggest gifts - an example. Here was this amazing couple, flawed but loving, raising a little girl together. Last night, the home was filled with laughter and family and good conversation. It was amazing to see their daughter grown up and to interact with her that way.

We had a great sit down interview with Gail, talking a bit about what I was like back in the day and why I became a part of the fold. We also talked a ton about the pioneering career that Gail has had - she was one of the first female sports writers in the country and was the first female sports writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Not only that, she was one of the very first out journalists. I had known these facts for years, they're not something she hides, but I had never heard the struggles or the reason why persevering like that had been so important to her.

As I type right now, Kathy and Penny are wandering the house examining Penny's vast female iconography collection. It's like Barbie threw up! (But we love it!) I can't wait to hear the juicy vittles.

When I'm in this house, I'm both grateful and humbled. We've talked a lot on this trip about breaking barriers and about role models. I can't think of a more fitting place to wrap up our journey than here.

And now dear readers, we get some cheesesteak and we hit the open road one last time.

Nashville to Memphis (day 4)

2008-05-01T20:40:00.001-04:00

day 7 - Dollywood or bust

2008-04-30T23:52:00.010-04:00

we almost didn’t come.

I thought it might be cheesy. it was definitely expensive. and it’s closed on tuesdays, which was the day we wanted to come. we had a meeting about a month ago and decided not to. it just didn’t seem necessary. but by the end of the meeting something made me change my mind.
I’m so glad. but I don’t know why.

there wasn’t a specific moment. no one thing I can hang it on. my traveling companions are throwing out suggestions from the front seat. I’ll spare you. you’ll thank me. but it was easy. it was sunny. it was very clean. and we laughed. all day.

we started by running through a kiddie water fountain to the great bemusement of some of the staff standing around. we ended eating corn dogs and funnel cakes which have seriously complicated our drive this evening. in between we rode some of the best roller coasters I’ve ever been on (which is saying a lot) and saw one of the strangest stage/movie shows I have ever seen. which included being sprayed with water. twice.

and we somehow managed to break into the only restaurant in the park that was closed to the public. I’m still not sure how it happened, but after searching the ‘country fair’ section of the park for 20 minutes we finally found the barbecue pavilion, and burst in triumphantly to find ourselves the highlight of someone’s power point presentation. I think it was some kind of security training. safe to say they hadn’t reached the slide on how to deal with hungry and confused lesbians.

there was a museum about dolly which was slightly unsatisfying and left us wanting more information. we were all disturbed to find that the souvenir shops not only didn’t carry her autobiography, but no books at all except cookbooks. especially surprising since dolly is such an advocate for getting kids to read. and we spent a fair amount of time watching the bald eagles, admiring the beautiful aviary but wondering about the symbol of our freedom begin trapped in any kind of cage.

the title track of dolly’s latest disc is about being judged by your looks and misunderstood. walking through her theme park I couldn’t help smiling at how appropriate she should be added to the soundtrack of our journey. our journey with gender, with identity, with class and with food. she’s taught us something.

that doesn’t mean I recommend you eat the whole funnel cake just because you can.

day 6 memphis/nashville/pigeon forge - got a lot of livin'

2008-04-30T00:50:00.011-04:00

Wowza! Today we said goodbye to Elvis, tried to say hello to MLK, revisited some old friends and rolled into neonworld.

Today was one of our only "unstructured" days on the trip and it allowed us to just take it as it came to us. We began the day with another thrilling hotel continental breakfast. And if anyone can overnight us some decent coffee, we'd be much obliged. We then said goodbye to the Heartbreak Hotel and to Graceland and joined the time honored tradition of signing the wall. At first, we were hesitant, being law abiding citizens, this whole defacing of property, on video, in broad daylight - well, it just seemed wrong. But we had a sharpie so there was no turning back. We signed and we're glad we did. It was more touching that we had anticipated to see this anonymous outpouring of emotion. We signed and rolled on to the sweet tunes of "Always on my Mind."

We then went into Memphis to see Beale St. and the Civil Rights Museum. Beale St. during the day just didn't cut it so we wondered a bit and then set down 2nd street towards the museum. We had heard that it was one of the most underappreciated museums in the country and we can understand why - there was very little signage and it was off the beaten path. Unfortunately, due to some oddly worded hours, we were unable to actually see the museum as it was closed. But, we were able to walk the grounds and to pay our respects to the place where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated 40 years ago. The Lorraine Hotel was saved for destruction and the actual balcony where he fell is still there. It was intense and emotional in a way that caught us off guard. We had expected to be moved by the museum but I think we were surprised how much we gained just from being there. (This is Renee here. I got really choked up at this one. And even do right now. I was just so angry that this unifier, this man of inspiration and hope and dreams and promise was taken so carelessly. The simple indicator of his death, combined with the bright blue sky and incredible company was just a really poignant moment. If nothing else, I am most grateful for that moment, it lit something in me that had been dormant for a long time. Thanks for indulging, I just didn't want to speak for all... and now back to our regulary scheduled program.)

We then decided that Memphis was done with us and we were done with Memphis. We boarded Dolly and headed to Pigeon Forge, which conveniently brought us through Nashville. We decided a brief jaunt was necessary and we had a lovely time down by the River, picked up some belt buckles, hats and appropriately cheezy postcards! We had damn fine fried chicken with our new buds - Josh and Elizabeth - and then hit the road once more stuffed to the gills!

We had a good ole drive to Pigeon Forge - singing Dolly, wearing funny hats and playing our favorite theater game - hodgy podgy. It's certainly day 6 as the jokes just keep getting worse (think firecrackers and bodily functions. yes, a joke of that caliber had us crying with laughter. Punchy? You could say so.). We rolled into Dolly country around 11pm and were a little flabbergasted with the utter scale of it all. Neon everywhere, LCD billboards, Christian Theaters, Upside houses and more! Our hotel room had a Bible out and open to Ecclesiastes and for 3 northerners who aren't necessarily avid church goers, it caught us a bit off guard. But the people are sweet and the hot tub was hot, so for now, Dollywood - you're just what we needed.

some interviews

2008-04-29T00:34:00.001-04:00

from Louisville:

from Nashville:

day 5 graceland - always on my mind

2008-04-29T00:10:00.009-04:00

This was the day, my friends, thank you very much.

We awoke to the call of bananas and peanut butter at the Heartbreak Hotel continental breakfast.

Following the footpath to the ticket area of Graceland, we passed under the warm winged shadow of the Lisa Marie (Elvis' private jet), and into the land of the mighty jumpsuited One - The Patron Saint of The Drag King.

It was a beautiful day - full of jungle room promise. And we were ready - all audio tour earphoned up and cued at the ready. Show me to the gates, oh mighty shuttle bus. The tour of the Elvis' home - a whirlwind of shagged rug brilliance that I am still digesting. They kept us moving so fast, I barely had time to focus the camera. But it was stunning, and homey, and downright Elvis. We shuffled along, with the voice of Lisa Marie cascading through our ears, describing how every time Elvis walked into a room, his energy had already arrived the day before, or maybe it was his cologne.

Walking through the hall of gold records required dark sunglasses and a case of awe. And we're not talking Awe Light. But all throughout the tour, I carried a sense of sadness, because we all knew the ending. And my audio guide quietly and respectfully eased us into the later years, and out into the meditation garden, where Elvis has been meditating since '77. Fresh flowers arrive every day. Good thing his fans haven't caught on to the trend towards Edible Arrangements.

The rest of the tour took us back across the street to the compound, where we refilled our cup and our souvenir collection, as well as took in Elvis' passion for things that go fast, motorcycles, Cadillacs, and money. Lots of money. He died at 42 with two planes, at least ten motorcycles, and twice as many automobiles. I'm still walking the streets of Memphis, and am only on my third car. I have something to strive for.

But we all had a yearning to see Sincerely Elvis - his collection of jumpsuits. And we were not disappointed. The man had jumpsuits. Many many many jumpsuits. Oh and the belt buckles. We cannot forget about the buckles. You really can't - they are larger than a banana cream pie on steroids. Probably weigh more than Las Vegas.

The only disappointing part was that each exhibit had its own gift shop - only with slightly different variations on the same things. And I don't know how many different kinds of Elvis lip balm are necessary in life.

But as someone who has wanted to go to Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley, the King, and a human being that has always been inspired a big hunk o' my grounded outsider 50's bad boi "If I Can Dream" inner soul - then it was a damn good day to be a king.

We ended our day by spending some time with a wonderfully generous group offering support to the Trans community of Memphis. It felt good to be amongst their warm company, be a part of a good discussion and we are grateful for their invitation to join them at their meeting, and for the hearty helping of coconut cake. Elvis would have agreed.

Tomorrow, we explore more of Memphis, the Civil Rights Museum is at the top of the list, and then head out with our feet ten feet off of Beale.

(for those of you who may not know - today's post was put up by Mal, aka Malvis. And this little note is from Renee - more than the gold records or the grommetted bedazzled jumpsuit goodness, the highlight of the tour was Mal's face. And the fun with glasses. We also weren't allowed to film at Graceland, so you'll just have to wait for a live recreation. It'll be worth it. Trust us.)

day 4 nashville to memphis - maxed out

2008-04-28T03:33:00.006-04:00

Dear readers, it's day 4 on our trip and we have to admit we're feeling the miles. It's hard, trying to balance the joy of a road trip and discovering new towns with the task of working and being present and really, really doing what we came down here to do. The conversations we have are amazing but they are also exhausting and we love to cram as much in as we can that we're sometimes forgetting to stop. We know y'all know what we mean. But that's not to say that we would change one minute of it. Even the struggles are ways of growing and learning.
The day started lazy and lovely as we lounged in East Nashville with E. & J. We had a fabu breakfast, complete with beignet make-up. It might not make sense in this moment, but trust us - it will.

With the Tennessee rain came our departure for Memphis. About an hour into our trip we came to a standstill traffic jam for the next hour. In a way it was nice, it gave us time to talk about our childhoods, which was a real treat.

And inch we did, but an hour later we came upon the reason for our woes - a tractor trailer literally ripped in half and it's cargo was strewn all over the street. At first, we were sure it was diapers but know - it was maxi-pads. An interstate littered with maxi-pads, like snow. And to top it all off - they were Carefree. As we motored on, we found time to talk about what was on our minds and while it was hard, it was good. Communication in a journey like this is what it's all about.

We finally rolled into Memphis around 7pm to check into the Heartbreak Hotel. Of course, we had to drive past the gates of Graceland first (and yes, Laird, we listened to Paul Simon's "Graceland" and it didn't seem cheezy at all!) It's so surreal that here is this universal beacon of fame, and truly holy place for many, in the middle of run-down storefronts and strip malls. And yet, there's still this energy that one can't really explain. And the hotel - good golly, wait til we post photos.
We headed on down to Beale street for some grub and finally got ourselves some fried chicken and ribs! We then rushed back to the hotel to get into drag for our guest number at the local club - Backstreet. It was fascinating to be in another town's social center. It was in this very residential neighborhood and yet completely hidden and non-descript - if it weren't for the neon lights, we would have never found it behind the truck depot. Never. We went on around 1:30 (yes, a.m.) and were received beautifully and wonderously. It was challening to navigate receiving tips doing the number we did, but we did our best. Unfortunately, the sound kept coming in and out and being that drag is, well, lip-synching and not miming per se.... let's just say it was a challenge. It made us thankful for the amazing venues and performers we have...

It's not close to the 3a.m. and we must go to sleep because the King demands our attention tomorrow. Here's to the journey...

day 3 louisville to nashville - music city marathon

2008-04-27T02:58:00.007-04:00

We motored into Nashville, Tennessee this morning and thank goodness we gained an hour because what a day we had! Let's go with the highlights because, seriously, this is a blog and not a novel...

1. We arrived at Elizabeth and Josh's adorable bungalow in East Nashville, right outside of four points. Elizabeth is the sister of Becca, one of our adored Queer Soupers, and we have to say that Elizabeth and Josh are now honorary soupers! After a lunch, we had some time to sit and breathe a bit. It was great to be in a neighborhood and just walk around. The leaves here are just so green, in a way that seems almost fake, but no - green they are!

2. We met with a great group of guys on the other side of Nashville and chatted all about the community here, the differences they see between being up North and being in Nashville, and we also chatted a bit about Dolly Parton and the wonders of the Dixie Stampede (which we're hoping to hit later in the trip!)

2.5 We went to the Parthenon. Seriously, like 100 years ago the city built an exact replica of the Parthenon (but without the crumbly parts) and it's on this amazing green and we were there, along with every prom couple in the county. Kathy put Renee and Mal in their place, feeling inspired by the great philosophical gymnasts of ancient Greece and then we ran to avoid the crazy tall man behind us. Seriously - crazy. Just look.

3. We met up with Aunt B. (of Tiny Cat Pants fame, as well as the playwright of last summer's "Honey, I'm So Lonesome, I Don't Know What to Do") and two of her friends - Stephanie & Tracy - and had an incredible conversation about being gay in rural Tennessee. But it was so much more than that - it was about truth and family and bucking stereotypes. They felt like family and we sure as heck hope we'll be seeing more than them in the future! (Photos and more from our meeting will be up soon...)

4. And then we went Honky Tonkin. Hell yeah. Josh and Elizabeth took us out and we squeezed into the back of a shotgun style bar and listened to some bluegrass and country.

You'd think we would be done. But no. Not only are we staying at the cutest house ever, but we are mere steps from the Lipstick Lounge - the lesbian bar in town! There was karaoke (which is unlike karaoke anywhere else in the world - it is the American Idol of karaoke, record contracts were signed next to the beer nuts. Truly.) And then, finally we went to bed.

So yeah - it's been quite the day - one could even call it a marathon. We're finding more and more that what we thought would be so different and a little foreign is really just the same in a lot of ways - that we are all struggling to be seen and heard and doing whatever bit we can to speak our truth and change the world, be it big like the Parthenon or more intimate, just one person at a time. (Thank you Tracy.)

So goodnight sweet blogger readers. We sleep and tomorrow - Memphis.

it's all wrong...

2008-04-26T08:46:00.003-04:00

In Pittsburgh

2008-04-26T00:40:00.000-04:00

day 2 pittsburgh to louisville - the children are our future

2008-04-26T00:02:00.005-04:00

We're writing to you tonight from the Chariot Hotel, just outside of Louisville, Kentucky. There's a lovely pool, but there's no water so... that cannonball really did a doozy! And there are some super incredible plaster of paris horses that may not be running the derby this year but someday their time will come! (The Derby is in just a week, so the streets are lined with bleachers. We just thought they were awaiting our arrival...)

We started the day with a lovely breakfast at Renee's parents house - there was bacon, there were blueberry muffins made with love by her stepdad and there were puppies. Oh my, were there puppies.

Then we jumped into Dolly (that's the big orange element for those of you reading these out of order...) and off to Louisville we went. 7 hours later and many a dead insect, we arrived in Louisville!
We had a lovely meal including a tortilla bowl the size of Mal's head and Renee sampled the region's first, well, healthy meal - a Hot Brown. What is a hot brown you ask? Toast with turkey smothered in a cheesy goodness sauce with bacon and parmesan on top. Yes. Yes indeed.

Finally, we got to the actual point of today's drive - we met with the local Louisville GLBT Youth group. They were easy to find - in a big ole Lutheran church. The group was great and we have to give a special shout out to Erika for coordinating our visit. This group gets together every Friday night and have been around for 18 years! We got to chat to a bunch of the youth and they were super friendly and open and all around amazing. Some of them were kind enough to be on camera to share their experiences of being queer in Kentucky. One youth, we'll call him K - had the sweetest disposition ever. He told us about hating ties, always wanting them off and about trying on his mom's gowns when she wasn't home. And drag - he loves drag and actually loves high heels! (Hey, we don't have to understand it.) When we asked him about what it means to be queer and be in the Bible belt - he told us that his pastor actually told him that it wasn't true that God didn't judge people - but that he did! K didn't let this sway him, to him, God isn't judging but is looking down at us and is just angry because we keep screwin' it up.

We met with so many great 'kids' (we use that term lovingly) and will posting some of our interviews later, including a great one with the most soft spoken but quietly fierce Alex and with these jokesters (James and Tyler) who are making waves, in the best possible way, at U. of Louisville - challenging gender roles and forging their path. They left us with one of the best quotes of the night, which I'm paraphrasing here - "don't forget about us, we're fighting the same fight."

That we are.

Thank you Louisville.

Tomorrow - more muffins and Nashville!

a little less conversation...

2008-04-25T18:40:00.001-04:00

day 1 - boston to pittsburgh

2008-04-24T23:09:00.008-04:00

10 hours on the asphalt. 3 turkey sandwiches. 2 great tunage mixes. 1 big boxy car (which has been lovingly renamed 'Dolly' because she's a bit top heavy!)

And it only took 8 minutes for Renee to have to mediate between Kathy and Mal. It was an unfortunate bagel misunderstanding.

Today we loaded up the car and hit the road on the first leg of our trip. The sun was glorious and the music was blaring and spirits were high while we were heavily caffeinated. We discovered that Kathy can edit and digitize video on the road and that an orange Element means certain death to all insects.

We ended our day on the road at Renee's parents house in Sarver, Pennsylvania where we were greeted by her Mom, Step-Dad and sister. After some pie, we sat down and perused photos of the wee redheaded Renee and discovered that as a child, she had a severe dislike for bowel movements but loved to play with imaginary people - which explains that directing thing. We also heard all about the rebellious youth of her mother who chopped off all of her hair at age 8 to look like Elvis!

Tomorrow - we hit the road at 10 am for a 7 hour drive to Louisville where we'll meet with some area youth. Watch out bugs - here we come!

day 0

2008-04-23T21:14:00.002-04:00

to kick off our trip... we went to visit Mal's parents... and learned a few things...

T minus 13 hours

2008-04-23T17:39:00.012-04:00

We're about to hit the road. Hardcore.

In 13 hours, the big orange box will be packed with 3 wonderers/wanderers, some suitcases, some cameras and a heck of a lot of cookies. And some Elvis tunes. We're heading to Graceland, via Pittsburgh, Louisville, Nashville and then we keep on going to Dollywood, Phill

y and finally home. We're meeting some great folks on the way and we'll be sure to eat every last pulled pork sandwich put in our way.

We've already started our journey... On Saturday we had the pleasure of teaching some RISD students what it takes to be a drag king/ genderbender on stage and sometimes off. Their energy, questions and complete openness astounded us and made us hungry for the road.

And last night, we had the pleasure of meeting with Mal's parents, eating some damn good chicken marsala and learning tidbits of Mal's childhood including an unfortunate mystery involving a Yucca plant.

Stay tuned to this page as we post updates on our journey including some pics and video along the way. We'd say it's going to be a bumpy ride - but we brought pillows with us to avoid that situation!