Just two weeks after Story District’s Out/Spoken: Queer, Questioning, Bold & Proud, horrific events erupted in Orlando. By no coincidence, we all know, timed to coincide with LGBTQ Pride.
June 4th the 9:30 Club was packed with joy and celebration. Happy gay people (and straight people) were everywhere! Coproduced with Capital Pride, Out/Spoken is Story District’s 6th Annual Pride show in DC. Eight great storytellers shared their “true stories told through an LGBT lens”. Revealing, poignant, hilarious, powerful, and moving, I was honored to be a part of it for the very first time.
Out/Spoken is far from done. This fall it’s going on tour. Funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign, Out/Spoken is headed south. In October the show travels to Atlanta, in November to Birmingham. Yes, by design, directly on to the battleground for LGBTQ equality.
After Orlando, the tour could not be more important. Amy Saidman, SD’s Creative Executive Director, has pledged to redouble Story District’s commitment to bring LGBTQ voices to the stage.
While U&U was on hiatus, I was honored to guest blog for Out/Spoken. I interviewed and “spotlighted” the co-director, the animator, and four of the storytellers.
Let me introduce you to all six.
Mike Boyd, Story District’s Co-Director of Out/Spoken,
Jeffrey Brady, Story District’s Artist and Animator for Out/Spoken,
Jud Lewis, Poet, Teacher & Storyteller,
Ricky Harrison, Partner in Life, Law & Love,
Andrea Jones, Educator, “Perfect Liar”, and Storyteller and
Kelly Madrone, Author, Storyteller, Message Therapist & Mom
Amazing people all of them, they will share their stories where LGBTQ voices are seldom heard. There will be local storytellers too – both in Atlanta and Birmingham.
So spread the good news and God bless Out/Spoken.
Unorthodox and Unhinged 