Gay Ally Actor Hal Sparks Speaks OUT

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with Actor Hal Sparks, star of Disney XD’s top-rated TV series LAB RATS and the groundbreaking series QUEER AS FOLK. Sparks appears as a regular guest and fill-in host on the national STEPHANIE MILLER RADIO SHOW, providing three hours of commentary and humor on Wednesday mornings. We talked to Hal about the new season of LAB RATS and his spin on our LGBT issues.

When asked what his personal commitment is to LGBT civil rights, Sparks stated, “In my life growing-up in Kentucky I use to hang out with four running buddies as a kid, six, ten and eleven years old. Two of them would later come out and so fifty percent of my friends as a kid were gay. So in the long run I guess the short answer is people will ask you why you care about gay rights or why you care about LGBT issues and my question would be, why wouldn’t you? If you are for freedom and equal rights which we hear a lot of talk about these days, then you have to include the LGBTQ community in that. And if you’re not willing to put your time where your mouth is then I don’t know quite what you mean by commitment in your life. I think the AIDS Crisis was a shock to the community. It required sort of a new level of commitment to all of these issues. And I think the primary one was lack of hospital visitation rights, which is probably the crux of my involvement early on working with Marianne Williamson and AIDS Project Los Angeles and Project Angel Food. And once you get past the life and death of it you know you get to the life of it.”

Sparks is politically active not only in his cutting-edge stand-up and weekly Saturday radio show THE HAL SPARKS RADIO SHOW being picked up by Sirus XM this fall but as the celebrity spokesperson for major equality and civil rights movements, including the NOH8 Campaign and AIDS Walk. Hal appears in top shape with two sold-out tours: Stephanie Miller’s Sexy Liberal Comedy Tour which boasts the country's #1 album on the Billboard comedy charts and SRO dates with his leading rock band, ZERO 1. All new LAB RATS episodes air through the summer on Thursday nights at 7:30P on Disney XD and the cast returns to tape the new fall season in August. Sparks resides in Los Angeles and is a proud new father to son, Camden.
For More Info: halsparks.com

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Gay Club Favorite Pop Star Emii Speaks OUT

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with Sultry Pop Songstress Emii. Recently her remix of her hit song STILETTOS has grabbed the attention of “MTV Buzzworthy” landing itself on their ultimate Friday night "getting-ready playlists.” STILETTOS is the follow up to Emii's Snoop Dogg collaborated smash hit MR ROMEO. STILETTOS has all the right ingredients for a fabulous hot dance floor sensation. Emii is a gay club favorite including performing at the number one US gay nightclub KRAVE in Las Vegas. We talked to Emii about her music and her spin on our LGBT issues.

When asked what her personal commitment is to LGBT civil rights as a heterosexual woman who has performed in gay clubs and with her songs appearing on the gay network LOGO, Emii stated, “Actually I would correct you a little bit there. If we have to put a label on my sexuality as it stands I honestly believe I would be more accurately define it as pansexual. It is entirely irrelevant to me what gender someone is. For me personally falling in love is purely dependent on the quality and personality of the individual so I’m open to falling for the right person for me, whatever that may be. But regardless, I believe it is our fundamental right as human beings to love who we love. I think it is a crime against humanity to chastise people for their personal decision when those decisions have no ill-effect on society.”

Emii has been taking the world by storm with her infectious music and her rocking style. Her controversial video for STILETTOS can be found on Viacom’s LOGO on demand channel amongst club favorites Lady Gaga and Beyonce. No stranger to the stage, Emii has performed all over the world, singing at the hottest spots in Miami, New York and Los Angeles and touring Beirut, Lebanon on the NJR Music Tour. With her eyes on the prize, Emii is focused on breaking boundaries, inspiring others and sharing her musical prowess with the world.
For More Info: emii.net

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Provincetown Int’l Film Festival June 13-17

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with Andrew Peterson, Director of Programming for the Provincetown International Film Festival that takes place in Provincetown, Massachusetts June 13th through June 17th. This year there will be over sixty films presented at the 14th annual PIFF. The Opening Night Film will be the East Coast premiere of BACHELORETTE, directed by Leslye Headland and starring Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher, and Lizzy Caplan. The Festival will close with FAIRHAVEN, directed by Tom O’Brien and starring O’Brien, Chris Messina and Rich Sommer. The Friday Spotlight Film is GAYBY, directed by Jonathan Lisecki and the Saturday Spotlight Selection is VITO, directed by Jeffrey Schwarz. The 2012 Filmmaker on the Edge Award sponsored by the Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation will be awarded to Iconic Producer/Director Roger Corman. PIT AND THE PENDULUM, THE TRIP and THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS are just a few of his cult-classics and will be presented by director John Waters. Actor Parker Posey, PRICE CHECK, PARTY GIRL, BEST IN SHOW will receive the Excellence In Acting Award. The Faith Hubley Career Achievement Award sponsored by the MALLRD Foundation will be given to documentary director Kirby Dick, THE INVISIBLE WAR, THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED and OUTRAGE. We talked to Andrew about the Provincetown International Film Festival and issues facing our LGBT community.

When asked what his personal commitment is to LGBT civil rights Peterson stated, “Part of it at the Festival is showing films and having conversations and trying to inspire people and remind people of their roots and recharge that sense of community that I think is increasingly hard to have. I think that festivals are rare that do that. I don’t even know if people go to see movies much anymore in their own cities other than blockbusters. It use to be when a gay film opened in the nineties the theater would be packed in Minneapolis where I live. Now I think a lot of people experience things at home and I think there’s such a power of seeing things together and having conversations and talking to the creators and particularly documentaries. These filmmakers are so steeped in their subject and have so much knowledge to impart and advance the dialogue and give a positive message.”

The Provincetown Film Society, Inc. (PFS) is the year-round organization and home of the 14 year old Provincetown International Film Festival and the Whaler's Wharf Cinema. PFS is dedicated to showcasing new achievements in independent film and honoring the work of acclaimed and emerging directors, producers and actors. This is achieved through its 5-day Festival in June as well as its year-round theater operation, the Whaler's Wharf Cinema. PFS is equally devoted to expanding the audience for independent film and to serving the Provincetown and Outer Cape community by filling the void for annual film programming and reflecting the community's rich diversity in selected films and honorees. An integral part of PFS's mission is to contribute to the economic and creative vitality of America's oldest art colony. This is the sixth year we’ll be covering the festival for OUTTAKE VOICES™.
For More Info & Tix: ptownfilmfest.org

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Gay Activist Robin Schwartz Speaks OUT

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with Robin Schwartz, one of the founders and the Executive Director of the Aqua Foundation for Women based in Miami, Florida. The mission of the Aqua Foundation for Women is to serve as the funding catalyst for lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women. Their annual grant program awards organizations in a variety of areas including wellness, youth empowerment, therapeutic counseling, cultural enrichment, equality and more. AFW has targeted the unique health needs of LBT women by providing funding to the Pride Center to create an online directory of healthcare professionals who have passed a vetting process to determine that they treat LBT women with the respect they deserve. This initiative encourages LBT women to seek medical attention with greater frequency, comfort and ultimately save lives. We talked to Robin about Aqua Foundation for Women and issues facing our LGBT community.

When asked what her inspiration was for forming Aqua Foundation for Women, Schwartz stated, “Well, back in 2004 there was a group of us who felt that there were lots of pretty good organizations out there but they were mostly run by men and supported by men and therefore a lot of the work was for things that men thought were important. We agree with all that but we felt if there was an organization run by women and supported by women that we would be able to focus on some of the needs that were specific to women. So each year we put out grant programs for all different organizations to apply. This past year we gave funding to a university down here to do a study on transgender women’s health and there’s practically no statistics on that issue. We also gave money to PFLAG and other different youth groups in town. We also support a conference for the last few years called OUTlet which is put on by one of our local organizations and is really powerful. Not only do we give them funding but I also participate in panels. That one is centered around helping young women get job skills.”

In May the annual Aqua Girl® event is held in South Beach which features something for every LBT woman with an array of pool & dance parties, comedy shows, film screenings, cocktail receptions and fitness workshops with the proceeds going to Aqua Foundation for Women. What began as a one-night breast cancer benefit in 1999 has grown into the largest charity women’s week in the country, having raised more than $1.8 million dollars for Aqua Foundation for Women. Aqua Girl® has been attended by thousands of women, all with the focus of having a good time for a great cause.
For More Info: aquafoundation.org

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Pride: 40 Years of Protest & Celebration

 

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with Orlando Del Valle who serves on the Board of Directors of The History Project. Del Valle’s photos are part of a significant art exhibit “Pride: 40 Years of Protest & Celebration” that The History Project is presenting in collaboration with the Boston Center for Adult Education and runs through June 30th at the BCAE. The History Project was established in 1980 by a group of historians, activists and archivists. The organization is the only group focused exclusively on preserving the history of Boston’s LGBT community and on making that history accessible to future generations. We talked to Orlando about the exhibit, The History Project and issues facing our LGBT community.

Massachusetts is celebrating its 8th anniversary of legalizing gay marriage. When asked what his reaction was to President Obama finally coming out in support of marriage equality Del Valle stated, “Everyone wants what they want when they want it, which is the kind of sensibility that we have today. I’m thrilled that he has and I know that he wanted to do it. I understand that people say, ‘Well it’s about time and that you’re too late’ but the reality is that Massachusetts is not the rest of the country and not the rest of the world. What he does and how he does it has to be really controlled and resonate so he will be re-elected. Otherwise we’ll have a country that will be ruled by essentially corporate interests which is all about money and not about anything else. And the first ones to go will be people of color, gay and lesbian and transgender people, I mean that kind of thing. So I’m, happy that he did it and I think it was very brave of him.”

Drawn from The History Project’s archive, “Pride: 40 Years of Protest & Celebration” traces the development of Pride in Boston from a sparsely attended protest against the War in Vietnam to a massive celebration that draws hundreds of thousands of participants in June. The pieces displayed in the exhibition showcase the immense cultural and political changes that have affected New England’s LGBTQ communities over the decades. Along with Del Valle’s photos are black and white portraits by photographer Joel Benjamin and artifacts including banners, buttons and t-shirts. The exhibit reflects the rich diversity of our LGBTQ community and the role of Pride in creating a safe space for self-expression. The exhibition is free and open to the public during the BCAE’s normal business hours, Monday through Friday from 9:00P to 5:00P and on select weekends at 122 Arlington Street, Boston, Massachusetts.
For More Info: TheHistoryProject.org

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Dr. Pang Helps Gay Couples Have Babies

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with Dr. Samuel Pang the Medical Director of the Reproductive Science Center of New England. A pioneer in helping lesbians and gay men become parents, RSC has been serving clients throughout the United States and Europe. Gay couples can become parents by the same assisted reproductive technologies that enable infertile heterosexual couples to have babies and the good news is that it is possible to have your own biological child. Dr. Pang and his husband have two sons through IVF with donor eggs and gestational surrogacy. We talked to Dr. Pang about these procedures and issues facing our LGBT community.

When asked how he became involved with reproductive services for gay and lesbian couples Dr. Pang stated, “I joined the practice in 1993 as the Associate Medical Director and in 1997 I was appointed to be the Medical Director of the Third Party Reproduction team which specializes in treating people who need either an egg donor or a gestational surrogate or both, to become parents. Now in 1997, all of the patients who required egg donation or surrogacy were heterosexual but in 1998 we were first approached by a male couple who sought to become parents through egg donation and gestational surrogacy. At that time no other fertility clinic in the area would agree to provide them with assisted reproduction services but we welcomed them immediately. Over the next five years we went on to help this couple have a total of three children through egg donation and gestational surrogacy. And in the past fifteen years, we have gone on to help many other male couples become parents through egg donation and gestational surrogacy. With a few rare exceptions, virtually all male couples who have gone through this process have been successful and some have even returned to have a second or third baby. Now getting back to the reproductive services for lesbians we have always provided donor insemination services for lesbians since our practice opened our doors in 1988. In the mid to late 1990’s I treated a few lesbian couples in which one of them wanted to conceive but was unable to do so because of ovarian failure so her partner would provide eggs for her to conceive with through a process that mimics egg donation. While most lesbians continue to use alternative insemination with donor sperm to have children, recently, some have opted to do what I have come to refer to as reciprocal IVF where one partner provides the eggs which are inseminated with donor sperm, and the other partner gestates the pregnancy. Now this is an interesting concept because these lesbian couples are not doing it because of medical necessity but electively by choice. Because this was a new concept which didn’t have a name, I coined the term “reciprocal IVF” to describe this elective IVF process. Reciprocal IVF allows both women in the relationship to be part of the process of having their child or children together.”

RSC is holding an LGBT Open House on June 13th. This is an opportunity to learn more about the assisted reproductive services provided for gay and lesbian couples in addition to fertility preservation consultations and services for transgender persons. Open House includes a facility tour and Q&A time with Dr. Pang. This event is free but registration is required. To RSVP….
For More Info: gayivf.com

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Director Jeffrey Schwarz Revives Vito Russo

 

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with Jeffrey Schwarz, Producer / Director of the new must-see HBO documentary VITO. Vito Russo was a founding member of three pivotal gay rights groups starting with the Gay Activists Alliance in the early 1970s. Russo was also a key voice in the creation of both Act Up the AIDS activist group credited with revolutionizing the federal approval process for new drugs and the influential media watchdog the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The Vito Russo Award is named in his memory at the GLAAD Media Awards each year and is presented to an openly gay or lesbian member of the media community for their outstanding contribution in combating homophobia. Russo also wrote the groundbreaking book The Celluloid Closet in 1981 that was later turned into the documentary of the same name that brought attention to how our LGBT community had been censored and depicted in unacceptable cruel stereotypes since the beginning of film. Vito Russo died way too early of AIDS in 1990 at the age 44.

When asked what his commitment is to LGBT civil rights, Schwarz stated, “Well Vito was inspiring to me because his main issue was visibility and being out and showing the world who we are. I think the number one thing that you can do for the gay and lesbian civil rights struggle is to be out because if you’re out they can’t stereotype you and they can’t defame you and that’s always been his issue. Whether it was visibility during the gay liberation movement, encouraging people to come out to their families, to their coworkers and his struggle was also to show gay and lesbian lives on the screen, to make our lives visible in movies, in television and in the media in general… So I think his whole life was about visibility and for me I think that is the number one issue. I think as time goes on history is definitely going to be on our side because as more and more people are out people will know who we are. I mean it’s hard to discriminate against someone who’s standing right next to you and saying this is a gay person, this is a lesbian standing right next to you.”

VITO is an important documentary that everyone in the LGBT and the heterosexual community should see. It’s currently playing the film festival circuit and will premiere on HBO in July of 2012.
For More Info: vitorussomovie.com

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Gay Filmmakers Take On LGBT Issues Part 2

In the conclusion of our exclusive audio montages, Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson, Host of OUTTAKE VOICES™, talks with five filmmakers about their films scheduled at the Boston LGBT Film Festival that runs through May 13th. We also had the opportunity to talk to the filmmakers about crucial issues facing our LGBT community.

The New England Premiere of MEN TO KISS directed by Robert Hasfogel, in German with English subtitles, is a great comedy about the chaotic relationship of the unequal couple of Ernst and Tobias. The film shot in Berlin is about the opposite attraction of a respectable banker Ernst and his unconventional partner Tobias. The sudden appearance of Uta, Ernst’s eccentric school friend, fundamentally changes their relationship. Uta does not approve of Tobias and tries to break them up. MEN TO KISS charmingly proves that homosexuality can play another role in gay movies and replaces common clichés with authentic everyday stories. The film will be presented May 10th at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts at 8:30P. The film’s star Frank Christian Marx will be present for a Q & A following the film.

JOBRIATH AD, directed by Kieran Turner is about the first openly gay rock star that arrived on the glam-rock scene in the 1970’s. This fascinating documentary spotlights his life, music and groundbreaking influence. Jobriath stated at the time, “I am the true fairy of rock”. His brief but fascinating career as an openly gay performer, sometimes called ‘the American Bowie’ is uncovered by this enthralling documentary. Adored by MORRISSEY and THE PET SHOP BOYS this is a celebration of a singer-songwriter whose legacy will now be rediscovered. The Director Kieran Turner will be present for the screening and a Q & A following the film at the Brattle Theatre on Friday, May 11th at 9P.

GIRLTRASH: All Night Long (A Work in Progress) is directed by Alexander Kondracke but unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances the film will not be shown during the Boston LGBT Film Festival. However we had such a delightful chat with Producer Lisa Thrasher we decided to keep her audio interview in our montage. Hopefully the film will be rescheduled in the near future.

UNFIT: Ward vs Ward is a documentary by Katie Carmichael and Edwin Scharlau. The film raises the question of who is more fit to raise a child: a convicted killer or a lesbian? In 1995 a judge in Pensacola, Florida declared the father, a convicted killer, was more fit. This is the story of that case and its aftermath. The documentary will be presented at Brattle Theatre on May 13th at 4:30P. Katie Carmichael and Edwin Scharlau will be present for a Q & A following the film.

The 28th Annual Boston LGBT Film Festival concludes with NAKED AS WE CAME directed by Richard LeMay. Shot entirely in Massachusetts and starring a stunning ensemble cast including Ryan Vigilant of Gossip Girl and Karmine Alers, (Mimi in Rent). NAKED AS WE CAME is a story about letting go of the past and recreating family relationships. Director Richard LeMay and actors will be present for the screening on Sunday, May 13th at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston at 7:30P.
For More Info & Tix: Bostonlgbtfilmfest.org
Listen to Gay Filmmakers Take On LGBT Issues Part 1

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Gay Filmmakers Take On LGBT Issues

Update: LGBT Filmmakers Part #2
In the first installment of our exclusive audio montages Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson, Host of OUTTAKE VOICES™, talks with three filmmakers about their films appearing at the Boston LGBT Film Festival that runs May 3rd through May 13th. We also had the opportunity to talk to the filmmakers about crucial issues facing our LGBT community.

LOVE FREE OR DIE is the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Winner of U.S. Documentary Special Jury Prize for An Agent of Change. The film follows Bishop Gene Robinson who came under fire in 2003 when he became the first openly gay man to be elected to the Episcopal Church in New Hampshire. Since then he has battled for LGBT people from small town churches in New Hampshire to Washington’s Lincoln Memorial to London’s Lambeth Palace, as he calls for all to stand for equality, inspiring bishops, priests and ordinary folk to come out from the shadows and change history. LOVE FREE OR DIE will be presented at the Brattle Theatre, Cambridge, Massachusetts on Monday, May 7th at 7P. We talked to Bishop Robinson and Director Macky Alston about the film and their commitment to LGBT equality.

When asked what is his personal commitment to LGBT civil rights, Bishop Robinson, stated, “For me the impetus for this is both religious and secular. That is to say, I came out in 1986 when I was 39 years old and I was a priest of the church and it was clear to me that religious institutions; Judaism, Islam, Christianity, were really responsible for 95% of the discrimination that we experience. Even non-religious people in the culture use religious reasoning to argue against us and keep us from our full civil rights. I felt that I had a foot in both communities, the religious community and the LGBT community of which I was so proud to be a part. I felt a special calling to try to reconcile these two groups and to get the church to see how it had been oppressing for two thousand years and to see what I could do in my own small way to change that; to both change the church so that it became not just tolerate but embracing it and celebratory of us. To say to the LGBT community, ‘You know the church has not served you well in the past, in fact it has been abusive of you, but there are Christians and Jews and Muslims who will welcome you and help you answer your own spiritual needs and the religious institution you left years ago because you were treated so badly might be the place for you now.”

With over forty feature-length films there are also a number of LGBT dramas, comedies and musicals telling our stories. From Director Wendy Jo Carlton, (HANNAH FREE) comes JAMIE AND JESSIE ARE NOT TOGETHER. We talked to Wendy Jo about her romantic musical comedy that tells the story of two queer girls whose codependent, loyal friendship is fraught with erotic tension based on Wendy Jo’s own experiences of loving the wrong women. JAMIE AND JESSIE ARE NOT TOGETHER will be presented Saturday, May 5th at 6P at the Brattle Theatre, Cambridge, MA and she will be available for a Q & A following her film.

We also talked to Brendan Fay about his documentary TAKING A CHANCE ON GOD that will be shown at the Museum of Fine Art in Boston, MA on Sunday May 6th at 2P. Fay tells Jesuit priest John McNeill’s inspiring story of faith, love and perseverance in the face of oppression and rejection. McNeill is the Co-founder of the LGBT Catholic group Dignity New York. On Monday May 7th at the Brattle Theatre following LOVE FREE OR DIE there will be an important Religion Panel Discussion with Bishop Gene Robinson, Director Macky Alston, Director Brendan Fay, TAKING A CHANCE ON GOD, Rev. Patrick S. Cheng, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at the Episcopal Divinity School, and Alex Kapitan, the Congregational Justice Administrator for the Unitarian Universalist Association to discuss the role sexual identity and religion play in our community.
For More Info & Tix: Bostonlgbtfilmfest.org

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