In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with Bridget McManus about her new romantic web series “Maybelle” that premiers on tellofilms.com on Sunday December 13th. The story is about Maybelle Garris (Bridget McManus) who must learn to live for herself as a gay woman in the South and address the fact that she is still in love with her best friend from high school, Della Cain-Cumbee played by Frances Nichols. Maybelle quit school 20 years ago to take care of her ailing mother Ida, focusing all of her attention at home, detached from her first and only love Della. When her mother passes away Maybelle is left to reflect on her stunted life. Della married her college beau JW Cumbee but has always held a flame for Maybelle. In this original web series set in rural Virginia, Maybelle discovers herself for the first time and fights for the woman she loves. Bridget wrote and stars in “Maybelle” directed by Christin Baker. We talked to Bridget about her inspiration for this fabulous six episode series and her spin on our LGBT issues.
When asked what her personal commitment is to LGBT civil rights McManus stated, “I think being out is one of the most important things that an LGBTQ person can do for civil rights. Obviously not everybody has the ability or feels safe enough to be out in their life and I’m not directing this at them because I think everyone should come out in their own time whenever they feel safe and supported. But I think the more you’re out the more people realize, wait a minute there’s nothing wrong with people who are different. My mind is always blown when people find out that I’m gay and find out I’m married. They almost switch their tone how they talk to me like their voice goes into a falsetto, why that’s nice you’re married to a woman like its kind of an alien thing. Being out is so important because the more visibility we have the more we let people know we are here and not going anywhere. I’m a stand up comic and I’ve done work all over the world. I was a correspondent for the 8th International Gay Games in Cologne, Germany. I hosted the 40th anniversary at Stonewall in New York. So I think doing as many gay events and representing and being visible is such an important thing to change the world.”
Bridget McManus is a television host, screenwriter and award-winning comedian. She hosted two television shows for the Logo Network “Bridget McManus Presents: That Time of The Month” and the award-winning comedy talk show “Brunch with Bridget”. McManus is one of the few female warm-up comedians in television. She was the warm-up comedian and the host's sidekick on CBS’s “The Queen Latifah Show” for two seasons as well as the warm-up comic for NBC’s “Last Comic Standing”, CBS’s “The Jeff Probst Show”, Fox’s “The Boris & Nicole Show”, ABC’s “Family Fortune”, HLN’s “Heads Up!”, ABC's “The FABLife” and CBS’s “Friends With Benefits”. “Maybelle” which debuts on December 13th will be the 4th scripted project Bridget has worked on with tello films known as the lesbian Netflix that leads the industry in developing new strategies for alternative distribution for not only lesbian-themed content but for all women in film.
For More Info: tellofilms.com
1 comment:
Bridget's eagerness and positivism really excited me. She is so lesbian-centric that when she speaks, she made me feel like anything is possible for everyone. Great interview.
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