Lesbian Rights Pioneer Del Martin Dies
San Francisco - Just two months after achieving a life-long dream, the legal marriage to her partner of 55 years, lesbian rights pioneer Del Martin - whose trailblazing activism spanned more than a half century - died August 27 at a local hospice. Martin was 87 and had been admitted to the hospital two weeks earlier with a broken arm.
  Martin began her crusade for lesbian equality in 1955 by co-founding the a lesbian social-turned-political organization Daughters of Bilitis. The organization started a newsletter, called The Ladder, which grew into a magazine focused on lesbian politics and culture for nearly two decades prior to Stonewall.
  Martin and her life partner Phyllis Lyon, were legally wed June 16 by  San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. Theirs was among the first same-sex nuptials in California.  The couple had been plaintiffs in the lawsuit that got the state ban on same-sex marriage lifted.
  “Ever since I met Del 55 years ago, I could never imagine a day would come when she wouldn’t be by my side,” Lyon, 83, said in a statement released following Martin’s passing. “I am so lucky to have known her, loved her and been her partner in all things.
  “I also never imagined there would be a day that we would actually be able to get married,” Lyon wrote. “I am devastated, but I take some solace in knowing we were able to enjoy the ultimate rite of love and commitment before she passed.”
  1972 In 1972 Martin co-founded with Lyon the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club, the first gay political club in the United States. Martin also helped spearhead a successful campaign to get the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from its roster of mental illnesses in 1973.
  Martin’s activist reach also had extended into the feminist movement when she became the first open lesbian to serve on the board of directors of the National Organization for Women.
  In 1995, Senator Dianne Feinstein named her as a delegate to the White House Conference on Aging, where she and Lyon, focused attention on the needs of aging gays and lesbians.
  Though she always went by Del, Martin’s given name was Dorothy. She was born in San Francisco in 1921. Her first marriage, at age 19, was brief but produced a daughter, Kendra Mon. She also is survived by two grandchildren.

World & National News:

QNU Bi-Weekly Update
Here are the gay stories you may have missed from around the nation and around the world since the last print issue of Quest. You can catch up on all the latest every day online on the QNU: Quest News Update page at” www.quest-online.com.
Poll Shows California Voters Oppose Gay Marriage Ban: 54% of likely California voters oppose the state’s upcoming ballot initiative to ban gay marriage, according to an August 27 Public Policy Institute of California poll. Only 40% of those surveyed support the prohibition of same-sex marriage, which was approved earlier this year by the California Supreme Court.
  The result suggest an increase in opposition to the ballot measure. A July Field poll found that 51% of likely California voters opposed ending gay marriage, while 42% said they supported it.
  Despite opposition to the ban, voters in the Public Policy Institute poll are evenly split on gay marriage in general, at 47% for and against, a continuation of a three-year pattern.
Study Shows Gay Civil Unions Last Longer: Five years after Vermont approved gay civil unions, a study indicates legalized same-sex couples may be longer-lasting than those without legal status. The study, published in Developmental Psychology, said same-sex couples not in civil unions were more likely to have ended their relationship than same-sex couples in civil unions or heterosexual married couples in the study. The study was a follow-up by researchers from the University of Washington and San Diego State University 0f a 2002 project that was conducted among slightly over 200 same-sex couples who entered into Vermont unions and about 100 gay and lesbian couples who elected not to legally formalize their relationships.
  “Legal couple status may support a relationship,” researcher Robert-Jay Green said in a statement announcing the findings.
Surprise! Log Cabin Republicans Endorse McCain-Palin Ticket: The Log Cabin Republicans (LCR), who refused to endorse George W. Bush for reelection in 2004, announced their endorsement of Senator John McCain for President of the United States on September 2.  LCR’s board of directors voted 12-2 to endorse both McCain and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for Vice President. 
  “On the most important issue that LGBT Americans faced in the last decade - the federal marriage amendment - Senator John McCain stood with us.  Now we stand with him,” LCR President Patrick Sammon said. Sammon avoided mentioning McCain’s previous support of gay marriage bans at the state level and his public endorsement of similar measures coming this November in California, Florida and the senator’s home state of Arizona.
  The LCR statement completely ignored the selection of Palin as Vice-President. The first-term Alaska governor offered a fiery reading a speech written by veteran Bush White House writer Matthew Scully the same day as the LCR endorsement. She also is a fervent evangelical Christian who signed her friends’ high school yearbooks with Bible verses, slashed $1.1 million from the most recent state budget for services for unwed teenage mothers prior to learning her own daughter Bristol was pregnant, and is on record giving “God’s reasons” for the war in Iraq. Palin’s home church also is currently promoting an upcoming “ex-gay” therapy conference in Anchorage.

State News:

“Rocky Horror” Lives In The Fox Cities September 11-20
Appleton - Long a favorite of midnight movie-goers, the live version of Richard O’Brien’s “The Rocky Horror Show” is coming to the Kimberly-Clark Theater in the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in downtown Appleton September 11-20.
  Born in England and raised in New Zealand, writer, actor, and television star Richard Timothy Smith created the theatrical musical The Rocky Horror Show under the stage name Richard O’Brien in 1973.  He also starred in its 1975 film adaptation, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” as the character Riff Raff. Though most are familiar with the cult film’s showing, typically peppered by audience shout-backs, costumed attendees and props ranging from rice and pieces of toast to water pistols and newspaper umbrellas, the theatrical version of “Rocky Horror” has been in nearly non-stop production around the world as well, with over 20 cast and soundtrack albums released in a dozen languages.
  Set in an environment that blurs the real world with the supernatural, “Rocky Horror” features a straight-laced young couple stranded overnight at a mysterious castle. Exposed to a parade of humans and aliens who are overtly comfortable in their own hypersexuality, the two let their hair down in an adventure they never could have imagined.
  The Apple Jams production is directed by Craig Hawkinson, who also plays Rocky, a being that Dr. Frank-N-Furter creates for his own seductive purposes. 6’3” tall Joshua Cobbs will don 5-inch heels to strut the stage as the “sweet transvestite” doctor.
  Apple Jams is supplying goodie bags with printed suggestions for talk-back lines props, such as noisemakers and glow sticks, that theatergoers will be able to pull out at certain key points.
  Tickets for the 8 PM performances are $25 each and available at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center. Tickets are also available for purchase online at:www.foxcitiespac.com. More information is also available at the Apple Jams MySpace page at: www.rockyatthepac.com.
 
Boulevard’s “Constant Wife” Opens September 17
Milwaukee - The Boulevard Ensemble continues its 23rd season by staging acclaimed author Somerset Maugham’s comic cocktail of a comedy “The Constant Wife” September 17-October 5, 2008) at the Boulevard Theatre, located at 2252 South Kinnickinnic Ave. here.
  Artistic Director Mark Bucher is directing this Milwaukee premiere with a “straight-up” style that serves up Maugham’s heady comedy of the classic love triangle of a wife torn between husband and lover in a “neat” staging that results in 100 proof pure enjoyment.
  Just as every marriage enjoys a wedding “rehearsal,” Boulevard’s approach to this sparkling 1927 matrimonial romp is to strip away clunky scenery and dusty costumes in favor of rehearsal furniture and evening dress. Bucher’s production sets the action in a rehearsal hall of a large repertory theatre during a understudy rehearsal by the rep company’s interns.
  The talented Boulevard cast play both the interns and Maugham’s characters and skillfully create a swank New York city apartment out of several rehearsal chairs while the door-slamming action is handled by the production stage manager who calls out the various entrances and exits of the large cast. This “straight-up” style and imaginative approach allows Maugham’s intoxicating wit and sparkling characterizations to bubble forth with a crisp clarity that is both engaging and entertaining.
  The cast showcases some of Milwaukee’s most creative theatrical talent, including Maureen Dornemann in the title role of “Constance,” who must choose between her philandering husband (“John,” played by Michael Chobanoff) and her long-lost love of many years ago (“Bernard,” played by Jaime Jastrab).
  Complicating Maugham’s marital machinations are Constance’s mother (“Mrs. Culver,” played by Christine Horgen) and sister (“Martha,” played by Jamie Ansley), who both are unduly interested in discovering whether Constance understands the depths of John’s wandering eye. The object of John’s roving affection is Constance’s best friend (“Marie-Louise,” played by Katie Merriman, who is married to the older and very suspicious “Mortimer” (played by Bill DeLind).
  Rounding out the cast are Constance’s best friend “Barbara” (played by Enid Barnes) and Constance’s maid “Mrs. Bentley” (played by Jane Wood). The production is stage-managed by Paul Madden.
  Following a sneak preview performance on September 16, “The Constant Wife” will run for the following three weekends with 8 PM performances on Fridays and Saturdays and Sunday Matinees at 2:30 PM. Individual tickets are $20 each. Season ticket packages also remain available.
  Visit the Boulevard Theatre website at: www.boulevardtheatre.com for more information on this production or other shows in Boulevard’s 23rd season. Patrons interested in securing tickets early for this “sure-to-sell-out” delightful comedy may do so by calling the Ensemble’s 24-hour ticket line @ 414.744.5757.
 
“Alphabet Troupe” Cabaret Opens September 19
Milwaukee - “Alphabet Troupe – abcdefghijk LGBTQIA rstuvwxyz,” an original cabaret piece written and directed by Marge Rock  especially for the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center, will open September 19 for a three performance run.
  According to Rock, who currently lives in the Ozarks, the variety show is called “The Alphabet Troupe” largely because of the many letters used to define elements of the gay community.  “Seeing as we wanted no one to be left out, we became the Alphabet Troupe,” she said. “This is a Variety Show. We have a marvelous emcee, Maryann Gorski (aka Flash), who will lead us off.”
  Rock noted that show is loosely based on “coming out” stories that are mixed with songs and just enough comedy to keep the whole thing rolling. “This show is for everyone: families and friends,  gay and non-gay,” she said. “It’s a poignant show as we also pay tribute to those who are no longer with us. It’s  funny, loving and joyful - performed by seven amazingly talented people.”
  Troupe’s cast of six is an assemblage of diverse artist activists representing some, if not most, of the letters. Diane Bloom, M. Flash Gorski, Sandy Lewis, Penny McCanles, Kevin Rock, and Roger Uscilla  all have extensive Milwaukee theater credentials.
  “We’re performing at the Gay Arts Center because it is a perfect venue for who we are,” blood said. “The intimate setting allows us to get to know the audience and for them to get to know us. It is an inviting, open and accepting locale for all of us.”
Performances are Friday and Saturday, September 19-20 at 7:30 PM and Sunday, September 21 2 PM. The show is a fund raiser for the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center with Tickets $10 at the door. Doors will open 30 minutes before each performance. Refreshments will also be available.
  The Milwaukee Gay Arts Center is located at 703 South 2nd Street in Milwaukee ‘s Walker ‘s Point, one block north of National Avenue . Call 414-383-3727 for more information.
  The Milwaukee Gay Arts Center is the proud recipient of funding through the Challenge Party, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Johnson and Pabst LGBT Humanity Fund and the Washington Heights Rainbow Association.
 
“Lake Effect Snow” Due September 23 At Outwords
Milwaukee - Outwords Books will host a publication party for novelist, C.P. Rowlands, to celebrate the release of her first novel, “Lake Effect Snow,” an e-book release from Bold Strokes Books.
  “We are always pleased to welcome authors for author appearances but we are especially pleased since C.P. Rowlands has been long been involved with the Lesbian Reading Group based here at Outwords Books, Gifts & Coffee,” owner Carl Szatmary told Quest. “Although “Lake Effect Snow” is officially an “e-book” release, Bold Strokes Books is marking this book launch by making available to us some very special print copies.”
  “Lake Effect Snow” is a thrilling novel of international intrigue that finds renowned news correspondent Annie T. Booker at a real crossroads. Annie has covered Iraq for over three years when a friend and colleague is killed, and Annie is herself injured in Baghdad. Exhausted, she returns stateside to recover.
  Annie, however, doesn’t find life at home quite the sanctuary it had always been. Not only is Annie’s name on an Iraqi hit list, but her partner of ten years has left, she is betrayed by a friend, and her TV network wants the FBI in her life full time. When the danger escalates, senior FBI agent Sarah Moore is assigned to her case. Annie and Sarah struggle to stay one step ahead of danger as Annie’s life increasingly becomes the war zone she had long reported on.
  C.P. Rowlands has recently been accepted in the Bold Strokes Books New Development Forum, a small online mentoring group for new and emerging authors of lesbian fiction and romance for craft and manuscript development. Following the acceptance of “Lake Effect Snow,” C.P. Rowlands has submitted two further manuscripts to Bold Strokes Books. Since 2003, Bold Strokes Books, which boasts the bestselling author Radclyffe, has emerged at the largest publisher of Lesbian fiction, romance, mysteries and erotica.
  Born and raised in the Midwest, C.P. Rowlands attended college in Iowa and lived in the southwest and on the west coast before returning to Wisconsin. In addition to being a writer, C.P. Rowlands is also an artist and has spent many years working in radio, sales, and various other jobs. She has two children, two grandchild, a partner of nineteen years, and a cat.
  C.P. Rowlands will read and sign copies of “Lake Effect Snow” at 7 PM on Tuesday September 23rd, 2008 at Outwords Books, Gifts & Coffee, located at 2710 N. Murray Ave. in Milwaukee.  This is a free event and all are welcome.  For further information, please call at 414-963-9089 or visit the bookstore’s website at: www.outwordsbooks.com.

Soulstice Theatre To Stage “Laramie Project” On
10th Anniversary Of Matthew Shepard Tragedy
Bay View - In October 1998, gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard was kidnapped, severely beaten and left to die, tied to a fence on the outskirts of Laramie. Scant weeks after the tragedy, playwright Moisés Kaufman and members of New York’s Tectonic Theater Project journeyed to Laramie to interview people in the town torn apart by the crime.
  Soulstice Theatre’s production of “The Laramie Project,” directed by Mark E. Schuster and Jeffrey S. Berens, will offer the audience an intimate look inside the small community without the media circus that surrounded the events.  The play draws on hundreds of interviews conducted by the theatre company with inhabitants of the town, company members’ own journal entries and published news reports.  These resulted in a series of short vignettes, or “moments,” which allow the audience to peer into a community reluctantly thrust upon the world’s stage.
  Schuster characterizes “The Laramie Project” as a breathtaking theatrical collage that explores the depths to which humanity can sink and heights of compassion of which we are capable, and feels that the two directors have constructed a deeply moving theatrical experience.  “Jeffrey and I were both so excited about “The Laramie Project” that we decided to collaborate and incorporate both our points of view into this challenging and very rewarding show,” he said
  Schuster feels his own life story has drawn him to the play, which has been performed around the world.  “Being an out and proud gay man in the Midwest is an easier lot in life than being one in cowboy country,” he said.  “I definitely feel a kinship toward Matthew - the awkward outsider who was willing to be true to himself and live an honest life.  I’ve encountered hate on both a large and small scale, and I’m excited to do anything I can do to combat it on any level.”
  Soulstice Theatre seemed to be a perfect fit to present the groundbreaking tale Schuster believes.  “Soulstice’s mission is to create meaningful theatre that challenges, inspires and entertains,” he noted. “‘The Laramie Project’ will challenge the audience to re-examine their ideas about sexual orientation.  It will inspire them to overcome a base fear of people who are different from themselves ask why some people hate so strongly.”
  Finally, the show entertains while teaching and enlightening,” Schuster concluded.  “Many of these characters are amusing and often funny!”
  Founded in 2001, Soulstice Theatre is a  non-profit corporation which exists to create meaningful theatre that challenges, inspires and entertains.  The group is proud to donate a portion of box office receipts to a community group whose mission matches the meaning of its current production.  For “The Laramie Project” production, this means a donation to The Matthew Shepard Foundation, whose mission is to replace hate with understanding, compassion, and acceptance.
  What should audiences expect from the show?  “A unique, unusual and emotionally charged evening at the theatre,” Schuster promised.  “Our cast of eleven plays more than eighty different characters, and just watching them take on the characteristics of the inhabitants of this small town is fascinating!” 
  The experienced ensemble features Michael Endter, Doug Giffin, Christopher Darnieder, Brian Richards, Joel Marinan, Jordan Gwiazdowski, Mara McGhee, Katrina Greguska, Allison Roth, Jennifer Jaworski and Ellen Sommers.
  Following an October 2  “Pay What You Can” preview, “The Laramie Project” will be performed October 2-5, 10 and 11 with all show times at 7:30 PM.    Performances will be held at the Soulstice Lab Theatre, located on the 4th floor of the Marian Center for Non-Profits, 3195 South Superior Street in Bay View.
  Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students and seniors.  Seating is general admission and limited to sixty seats per performance. For tickets and information, visit the theatre’s website at: www.soulsticetheatre.org or call 414-431-3187.

Feature: Jennie McNulty Walks Funny
Mixing Fitness and Fun With The Avid Athlete & Comic
Interview by Mike Fitzpatrick
Judging by the many hours of stand-up now available on both mainstream and gay TV channels from the likes of Sapphic superstars Kate Clinton, Suzanne Westenhoefer, Vicki Shaw and dozens of lesser lesbian laughers, the comedy planet currently seems overrun with droll dykes.  However, up and coming comic Jennie McNulty stands out from the pack. Or perhaps I should say walks out.
  In addition to being hilariously humorous, McNulty is an avid athlete who tries to tickle her fans’ fitness faculties as well as their funny bones. Jennie currently hosts “Walking Funny With...,” a weekly podcast vlog on AfterEllen.com where she gets her guests out of the studio and onto the streets where she interviews them during a power walk. Fans of LOGO may also have caught her energetic half-hour gig “One Night Stand-Up” that repeats regular on the cable channel.
  After spending the summer bringing down the house at the Vixen Nightclub in Provincetown, Jennie recently embarked on a club tour that will bring her to the Pi night club in Minneapolis on September 26 and an all-ages comedy show benefiting the University of Minnesota-Duluth GLBT Fund from 8-10 PM at J.T.s Bar & Grill in Superior on September 27.
  Quest caught up with Jennie August 29 to talk about her comedy, her football fetish and more.

Quest: Let’s start out by talking about your vlog, which to folks who are not technologically savvy probably sounds like something dirty, like “show me your vlog.”

McNulty: I know! (Comedian) Amy Boyd said it sounds like something from Transylvania - “I vant to see your vlog!”

Quest: Vlog means it is a video web log, and you’ve been doing it for about 11 weeks?

McNulty: We have aired eleven episodes so far, so it’s about three months... We’re going to be switching. They used to air on Wednesdays, and they’re going to be switching them to Mondays.

Quest: And it’s called “Walking Funny With...”

McNulty: Yeah, my concept is that it’s a walking talk show. So instead of having a guest on and just sitting and chatting at a desk, I take a walk with them and encourage the viewer to download it and walk along with us or  just get out there and get moving. I’m not health nut by any means but I really like exercise. I always have. It makes such a big change in your life - I know it has for me.

Quest: How has it changed your life?

McNulty: I don’t think I would be a stand-up comedian today had I not played sports as a young girl. It’s very important to me. I try to get other people excited about doing it because we have become a completely sedentary society. Nobody does anything! We microwave our food and we’re mad if it takes longer than a minute. We use remote controls. We sit at our computers all day. And we’re not built for that.
  You feel so much better when you get up and move around. I encourage people to find something they like and do it. Most people associate exercise with their horrible gym class and its not about that! It can be dancing, it can be - you know - anything you want it to be. For me its walking.

Quest: But you can just watch your vlog on AfterEllen.com. And computer geeks stereotypically are very sedentary folks.

McNulty: But even if you just stand up at your desk and walk a couple of steps back and then a couple of steps up while you’re watching this, you at least moving around. Even if you are a computer geek and if you want to be a computer geek way into your 90’s, you’re gonna have to get out there and move!
  I was never really huge, but I was probably around 30 or 40 pounds more than I weigh now when I got out of college. You know I play football and I started eating for my workouts. I started timing my meals so I would be in better condition to play.

Quest: Well let’s talk a little about the California Quake. I mean like “wow” - women’s tackle football. What’s that experience like?

McNulty: That experience has been just incredibly fun! Amazingly fun! You know I’ve been a football fan my entire life. I was at Long Beach pride about six years, seven years ago. They had a booth there for this women’s tackle football team.
  I had played rugby in college because I thought that was about as close as I could ever get to playing football. When I saw that I thought: “Well, I’ll just go there for the tryouts and have a fun day just throwing the ball around.” And I ended up making the team.
  I have played every team sport you can imagine and its always a very homogeneous group of women. But this (football) - well the age spread is from about 19 to 50, the backgrounds are incredibly diverse - college students, teachers, housewives and every job in between.

Quest: How many teams are in the IWFL (Independent Women’s Football League)?

McNulty: There are 41 teams and there are several different leagues, actually.

Quest: I tried to catch your LOGO special “One Night Stand-Up.”  I looked up to see if it was going to be on again soon, but I didn’t see it on the schedule.

McNulty: Well its me, Carlease, Amy Boyd, Sandra Valls. They throw it up there every now and again. It aired a couple of weeks ago I know because some of the people in P-Town had said they’d just seen it. That was really fun to do.

Quest: I was able the catch bits from your show at Vixen and the Icehouse. How would you describe your comedy?

McNulty: I say I’m playfully sarcastic. I really try not to be mean-spirited. I don’t enjoy mean-spirited comedy. There’s enough mean crap in the world right now, we don’t need our comedy to be mean as well.
  It’s observational humor. I like to involve the audience, talk to them and have them feel totally comfortable. It’s fun for me.

Quest: And where will you be playing in Superior-Duluth?

McNulty: It’s at J.T’s and it’s a benefit for their gay and lesbian program at the University of Duluth. And between 7 and 10 PM you don’t have to be 21. It’s 18 and over during that time.

Tickets for the Jennie McNulty show will be sold at the door for $7. For more information about Jennie’s upcoming show in Superior, contact JT’s Bar and Grill by phone at: 715-394-2580 or visit the J.T.’s website at: www.jtsbarandgrill.net