Established in 1991, All Out Arts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit devoted to bringing together the diverse artistic, organizational, political and financial resources of the LGBTQ community in order to fight intolerance. All Out Arts fulfills its mission by supporting arts organizations within the community through fiscal sponsorship, events, contests, collaborations, networking events for emerging artists, and by sponsoring productions, concerts and exhibitions of visual arts. We confront homophobia through the humanizing influence of the arts, and the Fresh Fruit Festival is the primary expression of the All Out Arts mission.
The Fresh Fruit Festival is presented by All Out Arts to celebrate the LGBTQ community’s unique perspective, creativity & diversity, and to build links between the LGBTQ artistic communities, be they local or international.
I have known Otto, the playwright and director for a more than a few years. Before the pandemic I auditioned for him and his wife for a few plays, with nothing quite coming to fruition. Otto asked me to audition for this role in late January, and luckily enough I was a good fit.
The process of bringing the play together has been enjoyable and satisfying for many reasons. I thought the writing was fresh, new and challenging. Also, I found the characters to be substantial.
Otto allowed for enough space during the rehearsal process to flesh out characters and choices, constantly working towards something without feeling stressed about time.
The character I'm playing is a take-off on the former shock-jock television host Morton Downey Jr. During the late 80s, Downey's show was infamously controversial, covering a host of hot button cultural issues that pitted the guests and audiences against each other in confrontational ways. Downey was a loud-mouth opinionated ring master that antagonized viewers, sensationalized topics and garnered high ratings.
Part of Downey's appeal to a broader mostly suburban audience was not only his willingness to say things that his supporters felt unable to say, but also in their projection of him as the last of the tough guys who were standing up for the way things used to be. The show reveled in identity politics.
We can see Downey's legacy across the media and political spectrum.
Eventually, Downey's show and celebrity burned out, but he set the precedence for less incendiary, but just as exaggerated copy cat television shows, such as Jerry Springer, Sally Jesse Raphael, and Maury Povich. Also, Downey's fiery and angry legacy as an avatar for white rage can be seen in the careers of Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck, among others.
Although mostly set in Manhattan in the 1980s, the themes that are covered in this play are as topical today as they have ever been. As a society, we like to convince ourselves that progress has been inevitable. In many ways, after decades of struggle, rights and improvements have been gained. However, the darker aspects of our society such as bigotry, ignorance, fear, hatred of others, hatred of the unknown, prejudice, injustice and enmity, are no longer lurking in coded language and dismissive asides. The attempts to negate other humans and force people into a pre-packaged world view is now a part of our daily news and media consumption.
The process of getting this show running has been incredibly positive. I have been reminded about many of the reasons I love doing downtown Off-Broadway theater. We've been rehearsing at the Theater for the New City, in the East Village. Over the years, I have performed and rehearsed at TNC several times and I have always considered the venue a connection to my roots.
The cast and crew have been incredibly supportive and encouraging. The work and performances are challenging and true. I have always thought that theater in the city away from the mainstream allows for a lot of space to do something different and original. The material is allowed to be a lot more challenging, avant-garde, non-traditional and gritty. Black box, low budget theater relies heavily on story, imagination and performance to connect to the audience.
Plus, I feel like the process has really forced me to listen, challenge myself and ultimately grow.
As we've come out of the pandemic, this has been a great way to get back to the stage, reconnect with other performers and get my sea-legs back underneath me. At times, I felt like a car that's been kept in the garage untouched for a few years. I needed the extra rehearsal time to get the engine going again. After so much change and heartache during the last few years, I'm grateful to have the opportunity to get back to doing what I love.
I hope that you have a chance to come see the work. Otherwise, keep your fingers crossed for an opportunity to perform the show again in a longer run soon.
One of my cast mates, Terry Lee King, had a wonderful article written about him in one of the Northern New Jersey newspapers. It's a really nice piece and I'm happy to share it with you here:
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