Let's do something about this friends!
VERY IMPORTANT PLEASE READ - TALES OF A FOURTH GRADE LESBO **BANNED** BY PASADENA PLAYHOUSE
Los Angeles, CA July 26, 2012
Well, we’ve officially been censored. I shouldn’t be shocked, but I am. It is with so much disappointment and sadness that I sit down to type what I’m about to tell you.
We have been gearing up for a second run of Tales of a Fourth Grade Lesbo—our joyful dance/theater piece about homophobic bullying in elementary school. The show would have taken place on August 25 & 26th at the Pasadena Playhouse’s Carrie Hamilton Theater. I haven’t been able to officially announce the show yet, because I thought we were confirmed… then it suddenly seemed that we were not 100% confirmed… then all of a sudden there was a strange radio silence on their end.
It turns out, the Artistic Director of the Pasadena Playhouse has a problem with the title of the play. I was told that unless we change the title—presumably to remove the word “Lesbo,” although this was never actually stated— we are not welcome to perform at the Carrie Hamilton Theater.
Wow.
Bear in mind that we’re talking about a RENTAL here. I wanted to pay money, out of pocket, to rent a theater that, to my understanding, presents sophisticated and mature work all the time. (A recent production entitled “ASS” was not asked to change its title, although the Artistic Director feels that this doesn’t count, because it was only a staged reading and not heavily marketed.) As part of our rental agreement, the theater would provide us with only the barest minimum of technical and box office support— on my dime. In no way were we asking them to fund or endorse Tales of a Fourth Grade Lesbo. I don’t believe any precious subscriber dollars would have been funneled towards our groundbreaking little gay play.
Needless to say, I refuse to change the title of the show. First and foremost, I’m not in the habit of kowtowing to homophobic censorship. And that’s what this is— make no mistake; homophobic censorship and discrimination. Second and almost irrelevantly, Tales of a Fourth Grade Lesbo already had a tremendously successful run at Highways Performance Space— are we really expected to confuse our potential supporters and diminish the amazing momentum this show has had, by changing the name to pander to a more conservative Pasadena audience?!
In my back-and-forth with Artistic Director Sheldon Epps, he was unfailingly kind and polite… but also adamantly evasive. When I repeatedly asked him *what* about the title was so offensive and to *whom,* his final answer was that it causes “challenges to our branding efforts which we choose not to face for internal reasons at this time.”
So, it is with an incredibly sad and heavy heart that I have to announce that there will be no more performances of Tales of a Fourth Grade Lesbo this Summer. The show is canceled. (Needless to say, it would be impossible to find a comparable theater at such short notice. And personally, I would rather devote my efforts to editing the DVD of the show, rather than fight with a theater to have it produced.)
IF YOU FEEL INCLINED TO TELL SHELDON EPPS, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE PASADENA PLAYHOUSE, THAT YOU LOVE THE TITLE “TALES OF A FOURTH GRADE LESBO” AND THAT BANNING IT FROM THE PLAYHOUSE IS JUST PLAIN WRONG, PLEASE DO. PLEASE CONTACT THE PASADENA PLAYHOUSE ASAP AND CALL OUT THIS DISCRIMINATION FOR WHAT IT IS. (If you like, please BCC me at gina@ginayoung.com, so I can thank you for your support.)
EMAIL: SEPPS@PASADENAPLAYHOUSE.ORG
PHONE: (626) 356-7529
PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL— I don’t think name-calling or threatening language will help our cause. But perhaps you could tell him that you WOULD come to see a play with “Lesbo” in the title… and that you now WON’T be interested in seeing any future productions at the Pasadena Playhouse?
I’m so disheartened, I don’t even know what to do. Thanks for listening and for being such amazing supporters of this show.
xox gina young
gina@ginayoung.com
UPDATE:
The Pasadena Playhouse was "FLOODED" with emails and phone calls yesterday. AMAZING. THANK YOU, EVERYONE! But the bad news is, many of you received a response that was a straight up lie.
In case you missed it, TALES OF A FOURTH GRADE LESBO's August performances were just canceled due to Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director of the Pasadena Playhouse, refusing to rent the Carrie Hamilton Theater to a play with "Lesbo" in the title. (For the full story, click the link below.)
Yesterday, friends like you showed your support with dozens of emails and calls. HOWEVER, apparently Mr. Epps has been sending out a form letter saying: "It is not true that the production was canceled or rejected. We were in the middle of negotiations on a rental agreement that would serve all parties involved in the best possible way. Conversations that I am more than willing to continue, and that I believed were in process."
THIS IS EXTREMELY DISINGENUOUS ON MR. EPPS' PART. I was told, in no uncertain terms, that either we change the title or we cannot rent the theater. I told him that this would mean canceling the show. His misleading email has served to defuse a lot of people's anger, when the fact remains that our show is still BANNED from his space!
PLEASE CONTINUE TO SPREAD THE WORD. Sheldon Epps' refusal to open The Carrie Hamilton Theater to a play with a queer title constitutes artistic censorship and homophobic discrimination, and WE STILL NEED MORE CALLS AND EMAILS OF SUPPORT!
EMAIL: SEPPS@PASADENAPLAYHOUSE.ORG
PHONE: (626) 356-7529
WEBSITE: http://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/contact.html
In case you missed it, TALES OF A FOURTH GRADE LESBO's August performances were just canceled due to Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director of the Pasadena Playhouse, refusing to rent the Carrie Hamilton Theater to a play with "Lesbo" in the title. (For the full story, click the link below.)
Yesterday, friends like you showed your support with dozens of emails and calls. HOWEVER, apparently Mr. Epps has been sending out a form letter saying: "It is not true that the production was canceled or rejected. We were in the middle of negotiations on a rental agreement that would serve all parties involved in the best possible way. Conversations that I am more than willing to continue, and that I believed were in process."
THIS IS EXTREMELY DISINGENUOUS ON MR. EPPS' PART. I was told, in no uncertain terms, that either we change the title or we cannot rent the theater. I told him that this would mean canceling the show. His misleading email has served to defuse a lot of people's anger, when the fact remains that our show is still BANNED from his space!
PLEASE CONTINUE TO SPREAD THE WORD. Sheldon Epps' refusal to open The Carrie Hamilton Theater to a play with a queer title constitutes artistic censorship and homophobic discrimination, and WE STILL NEED MORE CALLS AND EMAILS OF SUPPORT!
EMAIL: SEPPS@PASADENAPLAYHOUSE.ORG
PHONE: (626) 356-7529
WEBSITE: http://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/contact.html
