Newspaper Page Text
Page 6
Three Community Choruses
Offer Unity In Harmony
If ever there were goodwill ambassadors
chosen for the Atlanta lesbian and gay
community, prime candidates would be the
more than 125 vocalists comprising the three
choruses who support, encourage and
entertain these constituents.
All founded in the early ’80s, the Atlanta
Feminist Women's Chorus, the Atlanta Gay
Men's Chorus and the Atlanta Lambda
Chorale collectively serve a significant social
and political function, although their roots
might have been more self-serving.
Motivated by their individual desires to
sing and the absence of an avocational outlet
for their talents, leaders of each group
conclude that their organizations have grown
beyond their original purposes.
Shirley Chancey, general manager for the
Atlanta Feminist Women's Chorus, says "the
Chorus provides women a place to gather and
sing together and, consequently, has created a
social and support system. This is rare, even
in the heterosexual community."
The largest of the three groups, the
Women's Chorus currently has 85 members.
"We have increased in size and quality every
year since we organized in 1981," Chancey
explains. "Like our singers, the Chorus is
growing up, too. Over the years we have
come out to the community."
The second in size and the second to be
founded, the Atlanta Gay Men's Chorus
membership now numbers 23. "Our purpose
is to be the best musically we can possibly be,
and at the same time serve the gay
Friday, October 7th
Bon Voyage, IJa'llI
ftACK To
WMSfUNdTON PAHTy
Party Begins at 6:30 PM
Buses Leave at 7:00 PM
1890 Cheshire Bridge Road (404) 874-0980
community," says the Chores' general
manager Jerry Garrison.
"One of the major reasons for involvement
is that the Chores is a positive way of
showing what a gay person can do, while
providing a positive image that the gay
community can be proud of," Garrison
continues. "We strive to provide a healthy
social climate where our members and the
audience can establish positive gay
relationships."
Founded in 1984 by general manager Bob
Grice, Atlanta Lambda Chorale has a mixed
membership of both men and women
currently totaling ten. "Our first priority is to
serve the community," Grice corroborates the
others' philosophy. "We are trying to be
goodwill ambassadors for Atlanta."
A former member of the Gay Men's
Chores, Grice decided to form the Lambda
Chorale because of his love for music. "Also,
I had lots of encouragement from the
community to create a mixed chores, and the
reception has been very favorable; we're
united in harmony."
In addition to major concerts in Atlanta,
each chores performs for various public and
support events throughout the year. Last year
the Women's Chores was featured during the
National March on Washington for Lesbian
and Gay Rights, and both the Gay Men's
Chorus and the Lambda Chorale were among
the performers at this year's Gay Pride
celebration in Atlanta.
This season will find the Women's Chores
I l One "Mo Vitus-
EMERGENCE International
YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
The 5th annual conference sponsored by
Christian Scientists supporting lesbians
and gay men will address the ever present
power of divine Love to fill our lives with
joy and eliminate AIDS, discrimination,
and unhappiness from our experience.
Washington, D.C.
Oct. 7 & 8, 1988
Write: Emergence. P.O. Box 581
Kentfield. CA 94914
Call: (415) 485-1881
L
Lynn Lavner
"America's most politically incorrect entertainer"
with special guest
Doug Lothes
November 4, 1988
7:30 and 10:30
$10.00 in advance, $12.00 at the door
Collective Theater, 1105 Euclid Avenue, 584-2104
11
Southeastern
Arts, Media and
Education Project
jr 1
wtf
Lambda Chorale members: (Front Row) Elena Rutter, Billie Mills, Wayne
Morris, Reggie Wilsoa (Back Row) Jason Byers, Director, Scot O. Nelson, Bob
Bailey a, Bob Grice, President
in concert at the city's Opportunities Industrial
Center downtown on December 3. The Men's
Chorus will present their winter concert on
December 11, perhaps at the same location as
their summer program, Inman Middle School
on Virginia Avenue. Lambda Chorale also
will perform at the Inman School when they
stage their next full concert on a date yet to be
announced in January or February.
It is unprecedented that three community
choruses, all members of the national Gay
and Lesbian Association of Choruses, would
have such active programs in a single
southern city. "Singing is an important part
of both our members' and our community's
lives," adds Garrison
- John Blizzard
Ranson Trusts Her Own Voice in Secrets
Rebecca Ranson's new play, Secrets, set to open Thursday, October 6 at Nexus Theater, will
come as a change of pace to local audiences who have discovered the power of Ranson's
dramatic vision of their community's voice. Her last works (Higher Ground, For Love and
For Life) have reflected the current concerns or events in the gay and lesbian community, the
action and characters vibrant with the ring of truth. Although Secrets is a departure from her
usual style, it is still full of vitality and power.
Set in 1930 in the mill town of Carrboro, North Carolina, Secrets may appear to be a
different sort of play for the respected playwright The only real difference is that instead of
listening to other voices
tell the stories of their
loves and lives, Ranson
listened to her own
inner voice, a voice that
told her a story that
spans 39 years and
brings the characters to
the brink of the civil
rights movement in the
south.
Secrets follows the
evolving relationship of
two women, one black
and one white, from . , n
1930 to 1969. The play Melanie Hammet and Debra Duke as Phoebe and Rosetta.
begins as Phoebe, with her brother’s reluctant assistance, midwifes the birth of a stranger's baby.
The birth leads to a wary intimacy between the two women which gradually develops into an
enduring devotion.
Rosetta and Phoebe embaric on a life together which challenges the conventions of the rural
south. Although brother Leland readily accepts the nature of their relationship, the tiny town of
Carrboro is less charitable; the mill gossip that he hears reflects the community's response.
Ranson weaves the strands of the three inter-dependent characters into a tapestry of rich texture
and depth.
Ranson says that she wrote the play for several reasons: she wanted to create another
"women’s piece" (the most recent was Desperadoes six years ago). She was also interested in
exploring an inter-racial relationship and the survival of women's relationships over a long
period of time.
Ranson especially wanted to undertake a project that would "allow me to dream...I wrote this
play in a meditative mood. Once I knew the character's names-I can't write a word until I know
their names-then they start talking to me. You dream your characters and open yourself to
them and they'll start talking to you and tell you a lot about themselves."
Once she knew who her characters were, she began, not with an outline of a plot, but with
scene titles. This process demands that the playwright trust her inner voice. Ranson's trust in
that voice has been well-placed; whereas she "just used to hear the words, I now see the scene,
like a film-maker seeing 'what the shot is’." Indeed Ranson admits to a fascination with
cinematic devices: shifts of focus, edits and close-ups and sees her plays not so much as
literature but as films adapted for the stage.
Ranson is again directing her latest work, assisted by Jayne Pleasants. One of the challenges
they face is the passage of so many years in the play: Fifteen years elapse during intermission
and still another fifteen pass during the second act. Yet even that problem seems minor in
comparison to the difficulty of "dreaming" a play. Ranson’s loyal audiences, who have also
found a voice to trust, will not be disappointed.
- Kathie deNobriga
Secrets will run Oct.6 -23, Thursday through Sunday at Nexus Theater. 8:00PM. $10. Tickets
are available in advance at Charis Books or reservations may be made by calling 688-2500.
For group rates call 584-2104.
JIA NIKOLOPOULAS