EQUITY QUARTERLY SUMMER 2014 EQ ACTING OUT THE QUEER ISSUE Making things perfectly queer A few words on acting out from our guest editor I’m always puzzled when I hear about a controversy surrounding the establishment of a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) in a high school. When I was in high school 30 years ago, we already had a GSA, but back then we simply called it “The Drama Club.” I can’t really remember why I first signed up for a drama class at Scona Composite High in Edmonton, but I do recall how life changing getting on stage was. Suddenly I was taking on new identities, exploring what acting really meant and doing my best to hone my skills at it. It was there that I would make some very profound friendships, with a group of people I’m in touch with to this day, including Equity members like Jennifer Tarver, Jane Spidell, Ingrid Kottke and the late Damian Bagdan. I worked on all the school plays and passionately threw myself into acting, while gaining enough comfort and courage to tell my friends that I was gay. I’ll never forget having my first stage kiss with Spidell in a brilliant one-act called Impromptu, a play written by Tad Mosel, a man I would later learn happened to be gay. When I graduated in 1983, I won the Scona Drama Award. Thus I have always identified the theatre as a place of exploration, freedom and liberation. After some soul- searching I left the idea of being an actor and instead pursued journalism (and a good thing that turned out to be such a financially stable business). I have strived to maintain my ties to live performance, continuing to write about theatre whenever I can and see whatever shows I can. Thus it was a real honour and a thrill when the publishers of Equity Quarterly asked me to guest edit this special queer issue. We decided to focus on the unique contributions of LGBTQ members of Canada’s theatre milieu, including a look back at 35 years of Buddies in Bad Times (the oldest and biggest queer theatre in the world), Brad Fraser’s landmark play Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love, the singular talent Nina Arsenault and a survey of eclectic artists on their feelings about the state of queer theatre and performance today. So thanks to Equity for this great opportunity. Equity members are always a lot of fun to interview, because they’re all great storytellers. And this issue in particular gave me a chance to look back at fond memories while looking towards the future. — matthew Hays Matthew Hays is a Montreal-based journalist who has written extensively about queer issues for a broad range of publications, including The Globe and Mail, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Daily Beast, Vice, The Advocate, Xtra, The Toronto Star, The Gay and Lesbian Review and Maclean’s. His book, The View from Here: Conversations with Gay and Lesbian Filmmakers (Arsenal Pulp), won a 2008 Lambda Literary Award. He teaches courses in film studies at Marianopolis College and Concordia University in Montreal. Guest editor Matthew Hays interviews gay icon Joan Collins in 1999 EQUITY QUARTERLY SUMMER 2014 EQ VOLUME 8 NUMBER 1 2 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT 6 Nina Arsenault: AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR a fearless journey 4 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 8 Buddies in Bad Times 5 EQ MOVES turns 35 18 FONDLY REMEMBERED 13 Reflections on queer 20 EQ BACKSTAGE performance art 21 EQ FLASHBACK Equity members can submit letters to the editor via email at [email protected]. The deadline for Coming issue: FALL 2014 EQ submissions is Friday, September 26, 2014. EQ reserves the right to edit for length, style and content. Subscriptions are available at an annual rate of $35, including GST. EQ Equity Quarterly (ISSN 1913-2190) is a forum to discuss issues of interest to members concerning their Publications Mail Agreement No. 40038615 SUMMER 2014 – Volume 8, Number 1 craft, developments in the industry, Equity’s role in the workplace, and the important position live performance EQ is published four times a year by Canadian Actors’ Equity association. EXECUTIVE EDITOR Lynn McQueen holds in the cultural and social fabric of Canada. It is also used as an advocacy tool to educate others about National Offi ce the industry, promote live performance in Canada, and celebrate the achievements of Equity members. 44 Victoria Street, 12th Floor, Toronto, ON M5C 3C4 EDITOR Barb Farwell Tel: 416-867-9165 | Fax: 416-867-9246 | Toll-free: 1-800-387-1856 (members only) Canadian Actors’ Equity Association (Equity) is the voice of professional artists working in live [email protected] | www.caea.com GUEST EDITOR Matthew Hays performance in English Canada. We represent more than 6,000 performers, directors, choreographers, Western Offi ce DESIGN & LAYOUT Chris Simeon, fi ght directors and stage managers working in theatre, opera and dance, and support their creative efforts 736 Granville Street, Suite 510, Vancouver, BC V6Z 1G3 September Creative by seeking to improve their working conditions and opportunities by negotiating and administering Tel: 604-682-6173 | 604-682-6174 | Toll free: 1-877-682-6173 (members only) collective agreements, providing benefi t plans, information and support and acting as an advocate. woffi [email protected] Front cover: Nina Arsenault in her one-woman show The Silicone Diaries Above: The cast from the Alberta Theatre Projects 1989 production of Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love by Brad Fraser The show goes on… What a difference four months make! The last time that EQ landed in your mailbox or inbox, we were Deputy election and release forms can be automatically emailed in the final countdown toward a dues referendum. After years of back to Equity – no more mail or scanning forms. trying to wring the same level of service out of a shrinking dollar, Council has been busy on the online front, too. On the first page we turned to the membership and asked you for assistance in of the site, in the top right hand corner, there are a series of links to ensuring we had the resources we needed to do what you wanted get you in touch with us. Suggest a topic for the Council agenda; us to do, both in the short term and well into the future. find your local Councillor; read recent reports and minutes; share Just in case you missed hearing this the first five times we said compliments, comments and criticisms. All of these are readily it, thank you, thank you, thank you for voting ‘yes.’ Your decision accessible, right where you would expect to find them: front and will help ensure the current centre. We’re also exploring and future strength of your options to expand to a sec- professional association. ondary site, where you will We celebrated the trust Equity members now have drive the content. you showed us by getting Without the passage to work, and tackling some the ability to make basic of the dues referendum, of the projects that have Council was facing some gathered dust on the shelf dues payments directly serious cutbacks in its project for too long. budgets. Member communi- You have been asking for EQUITYONLINE cations, education, diversity improvements to the web- from . issues, and protection from site, so you can access the bullying, are all major topics information you need easily, And we have developed you singled out as needing and on your schedule. To do attention. Thanks to your that well requires a complete new streamlined deputy vote, we have the resources overhaul of the site, and to not just talk about them, that’s under way. Our first package forms, but to act. step is to better understand Our Council’s Diversity how you use (or don’t use) now available online only. Committee has been pre- the existing website, and paring a proposal for a mas- what you want from it in sive comprehensive out- future; we will be sending out a survey in the late summer, asking a reach program to gather key demographics info that will allow us few simple questions to help inform our site renovation. to not only plan for improvement, but also to measure success. An But improvement doesn’t have to wait until then, and we have improved approach to protection from harassment, bullying and already begun adding some of the key elements you requested. abuse is also top of the “to do” list. As complex a matter as it is in Engagers regularly call the National Office asking how to reach the typical workplace, ensuring that protection and prompt response a member. To assist us in serving you, your online member profile across hundreds of engagers at once is challenging and expensive. now offers you the ability to update and manage agent infor- There is a lot of scope for improvement on both these issues, and mation. To better administer fees made by pre-payment, and we will likely need some professional help along the way. Expect to ensure you are paid the money you are owed, we recently added see more on these topics in the remainder of the term. a GST/HST section where you can enter your registration number. We have also begun to rethink how we can use EQ maga- Equity members now have the ability to make basic dues pay- zine to provide improved communication to the membership. ments directly from EQUITYONLINE. And we have developed new Watch for new columns that bring you more in-depth informa- streamlined deputy package forms, now available online only.