Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Sister Spit bringing Dorothy Allison to Chicago
by Charlsie Dewey
2012-04-11

This article shared 4822 times since Wed Apr 11, 2012
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


This month kicks off the national tour of Sister Spit, the self-described raucous, rowdy performance gang of queer poets, performers and filmmakers. The group of seven, including award-winning lesbian writer Dorothy Allison, will park its van in Chicago Saturday, April 14, to perform at the Chicago International Movie and Music Festival.

Begun in the 1990s by writer Michelle Tea, the Sister Spit tour was revived several years ago and has continued its popularity, drawing exciting new and well-known writers and performers to hop in the van and crisscross the country.

Tea is excited to have Allison join the tour this year. Allison has garnered accolades and numerous awards for her work during her nearly 30-year career. Her book Bastard Out of Carolina was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1992 and became a best-seller. It was also made into an award-winning film and, this year, the 20th-anniversary edition of the book was just released. Her 1998 book Cavedweller became a national best-seller and a New York Times Notable book of the year. She has also won several Lambda Literary Awards.

Allison, who has worked with Tea on other projects, said she has wanted to join the tour for several years, but due to a very full schedule of readings, teaching and events, this will be her first time climbing into the van. She will be on the first half of the tour, through April 15.

"I know what I am doing on Sunday," she said before the start of the tour. "The opening is on Sunday. I have prepared, because I am old; I have been on this rodeo before. I have three different sets designed, one is seven minutes and two are 10 minutes each."

She added, "One of the things that happens when you are doing this kind of program is a cross fertilization, and the work will change. I know this. I know there will be new work in the course of the program and I know that to a large extent we will start sparks off of one another. So I expect every program to be different."

Allison sees the Sister Spit tour as particularly important at this time because she said that even large universities are struggling to keep their arts programs intact and there is a growing need for low-cost, high-quality performances.

"I work a lot with Columbia College [where she was a writer in residence in 2006] and I am on the board of the media center there. ... One of the things that makes this tour and this kind of event even more important is that a lot of universities—not just small ones but big ones—have had drastic cuts in funding. So arts programming is becoming more and more embattled. One of the things that is happening at Columbia College has been a real budget struggle that is causing them to cut some programs and combine other programs. But what it means really is there is going to be a loss of programming all over the country."

Although times are tough, Allison sees a positive side to the struggle saying that hard times are great for writers. "When writers think they can make money, when they think they can make a killing and get a contract, they tend to actually start writing for an imaginary audience that might not be their best. But when you are hopeless, when things are just damn, damn bad you mind as well write what you really want to write. You mind as well take enormous risks, and I am seeing that in terms of young writers. ... It does encourage an enormous amount of experimentation and people striking sparks off of one another and doing the work they want to do instead of doing the work they think will sell."

The Sister Spit tour is always composed of artists taking chances and pushing boundaries with their work and CIMMFest is a great venue for the tour to plug into.

"It's such an amazing, visionary festival," Tea said. "Sister Spit has always been something of a mishmash, hybrid. We are literary, but we are performance, and we bring a lot of people who have multiple careers, like Brontez Purnell and Justin Bond, who both have music and performance careers in addition to being writers. I think we fit really well into a festival like CIMMFest that recognizes how genres and artists are multi-faceted and collaborative."

Tea had a special message to fans: "Beloved audience, we are going to blow your minds. Just like we always do."

In addition to Tea and Allison, this year's Sister Spit tour also includes Mx Justin Vivian Bond, Brontez Purnell, Erin Markey, Cassie J. Sneider and Kit Yan.

Sister Spit will perform at Wicker Park Art Center, 2215 W. North Ave., Saturday, April 14, at 8 p.m., followed by an afterparty at Beauty Bar, 1444 W. Chicago Ave., beginning at 10:30 p.m. Admission to the performance is $12 and the afterparty offers a sliding-scale admission of $5-$10.


This article shared 4822 times since Wed Apr 11, 2012
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Kara Swisher talks truth, power in tech at Chicago Humanities event
2024-03-25
Lesbian author, award-winning journalist and podcast host Kara Swisher spoke about truth and power in the tech industry through the lens of her most recent book, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story, March 21 at First ...


Gay News

THEATER Chicago's City Lit has anxiety on tap with 'Two Hours in a Bar'
2024-03-21
Two Hours in a Bar Waiting for Tina Meyer by Kristine Thatcher with material by Larry Shue Text Me by Kingsley Day (Book, Music and Lyrics). At: City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.. Tickets: ...


Gay News

RuPaul finds 'Hidden Meanings' in new memoir
2024-03-18
RuPaul Andre Charles made a rare Chicago appearance for a book tour on March 12 at The Vic Theatre, 3145 N. Sheffield Ave. Presented by National Public Radio station WBEZ 91.5 FM, the talk coincided with ...


Gay News

Almost 8% of U.S. residents identify as LGBTQ+
2024-03-16
The proportion of U.S. adults identifying as LGBTQ+ continues to increase. LGBTQ+ identification in the U.S. continues to grow, with 7.6% of U.S. adults now identifying as LGBTQ+, according to the newest Gallup poll results that ...


Gay News

Women's History Month doesn't do enough to lift up Black lesbians
2024-03-12
Fifty years ago, in 1974, the Combahee River Collective (CRC) was founded in Boston by several lesbian and feminist women of African descent. As a sisterhood, they understood that their acts of protest were shouldered by ...


Gay News

No 'explanations' needed: Affinity remains a haven for Chicago's Black queer community
2024-03-12
Back in 2007, Anna DeShawn came out while she was studying for her undergraduate degree. At around the same time, she searched online for "Black lesbians in Chicago." Her search led her to Affinity Community Services, ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Altercation, mpox research, Univ. of Fla., George Santos, tech battle
2024-03-08
Video footage uploaded to Facebook showed an altercation between a state trooper and two prominent Philadelphia LGBTQ+ leaders, the Washington Blade reported, republishing an article from Philadelphia Gay News. Celena ...


Gay News

Affinity Community Services' Latonya Maley announces departure
2024-03-06
Latonya Maley, executive director of Affinity Community Services, announced March 6 that she would be stepping down from her post. The announcement came from a statement with Affinity board members. Maley said that, "It has been ...


Gay News

LPAC celebrates historic wins for LGBTQ+ candidates in Super Tuesday primaries
2024-03-06
From a press release: Washington, DC—Today, LPAC,the nation's leading organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary candidates to public office, proudly announces the outstanding victories of 67% of endorsed candidates ...


Gay News

THEATER 'R & J' puts a female, queer spin on Shakespeare
2024-03-05
Romeo and Juliet is the theatrical gift that keeps on giving. It's been reworked for the masses numerous times, whether in direct adaptations or musicals such as West Side Story. Shakespeare's plotline points have even inspired ...


Gay News

Without compromise: Holly Baggett explores lives of iconoclasts Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap
2024-03-04
Jane Heap (1883-1964) and Margaret Anderson (1886-1973), each of them a native Midwesterner, woman of letters and iconoclast, had a profound influence on literary culture in both America and Europe in the early 20th Century. Heap ...


Gay News

There she goes again: Author Alison Cochrun discusses writing journey
2024-02-27
By Carrie Maxwell When Alison Cochrun began writing her first queer romance novel in 2019, she had no idea it would change the course of her entire life. Cochrun, who spent 11 years as a high ...


Gay News

Brittney Griner's jersey retired at Baylor University
2024-02-20
On Feb. 18, Baylor University retired Brittney Griner's #42 jersey. Griner—a two-time AP national player of the year, two-time Olympic gold medalist and the NCAA women's career blocks leader (with 748)—attended a Bears home game ...


Gay News

Theater Review: Billy Elliot, The Musical
2024-02-19
Book and Lyrics: Lee Hall; Music: Elton John. At: Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora Tickets: 630-896-6666 or Paramountaurora.com; $28-$79. Runs through March 24 Billy Elliot: The Musical may nearly be two decades old, but ...


Gay News

Second Glance Productions hosts LGBTQupid Soiree
2024-02-16
In celebration of Valentine's Day, Chicago based film and media production company Second Glance hosted The LBGTQupid Soiree. The event, which was focused on spinning attitudes on this particular day, was presented at The iO ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.