I recently had an opportunity to speak with Linda Perry. If you don’t know her, you should. She is a successful singer, songwriter, producer and an out lesbian. Originally known as a musical force with her band The 4 Non Blondes, Linda is one of the most sought after names in the music industry. The Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center holds an annual event called An Evening With Women. Linda Perry and Brent Bolthouse, along with Shannon Del, Annie Goto and Kelly Lynch, have co-chaired this event at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel for the past five years.

PWB:  How did you come to be involved with An Evening With Women?

LP:  The Center had come to me a couple times about participating in an event; I also received a Creative Integrity Award from them. I think it was the 4^th time they invited me, I decided to do it and it was held at a place called The Music Box. The event had been going on for years but was much smaller then, at a different type of level. I decided if I was going to be involved with it then I would have to make it over so it could be a bigger, more solid event that would help make more money for The Center; to get the word out to more people, more advertisements, get more celebrities involved. Basically, to team up to make more money for The Center was my number one goal and it is really a fun event.

PWB:  Do you do other work with the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center?  Or is this your primary focus there?

LP:  No, this one event is pretty time consuming. I have my work that I do and I’m pretty busy all the time. Besides GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) and obvious things, I’m always a part of The Center. I dedicate my time to this event for the women’s portions of the programs and services there because, you know, the women struggle more. It’s just the way it is. We don’t have as much going on as a lot of the men’s services; they get a lot of money. There are a lot of gay men out there that are so awesome, they’re out, they’re spending money, and they are being a part of things. They go out and support gay bars and events; they’re wonderful. But part of why women’s bars can’t stay open is because women aren’t like that; we don’t go out as much. We want to hibernate, be in bed at 8:00pm with our girlfriends, snuggling, drinking tea and watching a movie with our dogs.  We don’t want to go out, go to bars, and be out there “doing” the nightlife. This event is that one time a year where I go after them and say, “Hey ladies, can we seem to gather up the momentum to be a part of this and make it happen?”  It’s not so much a male/female thing, but, if you go to the (The Center’s Anniversary) Gala, it’s huge, it’s massive, and it’s very male-dominated in attendance. The guys are out supporting the bars, the scene, you know?  Women, we’re not like that. We want to pack up the U-Haul and move into our new girlfriend’s house that we’ve known for three days. That’s what we do. (laughs)

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Article Courtesy Examiner.com

The New Ensemble is set to open a female-driven version of Shakespeare's Hamlet next week at the Broken Leg Stage.

The production not only features TNE founding member Brooke Aiello in the typically male lead, but showcases the talents of four other women in the eleven-person cast. This, too, is rare for a play usually performed with as few as two actresses.

TNE Artistic Director Heather Parish said her casting selections were as simple as “I had several incredibly talented women audition, and they were cast.” However, once it became obvious that the show was going to end up taking on a feminine mystique, there were issues that needed to be immediately addressed.

“We adjusted things like giving the society more matriarchal themes and making sure it was one that would be open to a lesbian relationship,” said Parish.

This meant lifting the text out of Elizabethan England and placing it in a post-modern, dystopian world; a concept that not only allows for the mostly out-and-open gay love story between Hamlet and Ophelia, but also helps get the best use out of the confined space that is the Broken Leg Stage.

The girl-on-girl love affair is one of the more obvious modifications to Shakespeare’s script, but according to Aiello, at its core, it’s not much different than what the Bard originally intended.

“Love is love and people are people,” she said. “The betrayals are still the same.”

Cast members agree that most of the changes brought on by newly female perspectives are subtle, yet beneficial to the storytelling.

According to Gabriela Lawson, who plays Hamlet’s BFF Horatio, “It’s been fun to discover the nuances of affection between girlfriends not readily provided in the traditional telling where both characters are male. The bond of sisterhood allows for a tenderness, a closeness and an intimacy exclusive to the love between female friends.”

TNE founding member Kristen Lyn Crase plays Hamlet’s mother Gertrude. “Playing opposite a female Hamlet allows a certain amount of rivalry to develop between the characters,” she said. “A mother-daughter relationship has such a different feel to it than a mother-son one.”

Parish said that in order to make this vision work, she and her cast had to “come to terms with the idea that these female characters are not always going to be Heroines…they’re flawed and confused and occasionally unsympathetic-but that is a way in which we need to come to grips with women’s equality. Women are as allowed to be fully flawed people as much as men are, even while their strength can see them through.”

Hamlet opens April 13^th at 8 p.m. at the Broken Leg Stage and runs for three weekends. Additional shows are: April 14, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28 at 8 p.m. and April 14, 21, and 28 at 2 p.m.

Tickets: www.newensemble.com

Will Call Reservations: (559) 457-9613

Fri/Sat Evenings: $15 Walk Ins/$12 reservation or online in advance. Thu eve/Sat Matinee: $10.

Broken Leg Stage
1470 N. Van Ness at Home Street between Floradora and McKinley in Fresno’s Tower District.

*Appropriate for high school and up, parental guidance suggested. No latecomers admitted. For questions, email Artistic Director, Heather Parish at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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