SGN May 4, 2018 - Part 2

Arts & Entertainment

“Baker’s Dozen” Translations celebrates 13 years of Transgender cinema May 3-12

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN A&E Writer

ET AL. May 3-12

It’s hard to believe it’s been 13 years since the first Translations: Seattle Transgender Film Festival. I remember being asked to be a part of those first couple of years, sitting in little meeting rooms at the Northwest Film Forum coming up with

see TRANSLATIONS page 4

It’s May; it’s May theater openings

by Miryam Gordon

SGN A&E Writer

So eclectic a month of offerings that there can’t be a single person who wouldn’t love some production on this list! On your mark, get set, go get tickets!

Pilgrims, Forward Flux Productions, 5/1-5/19 (at West of Lenin)

On a ship to colonize a newly discovered planet, a soldier and a teenage girl find them-

selves quarantined together in a cabin and are forced to explore their own traumatic pasts and roles in a dying society. www.forwardflux.com

Crewmates, Annex Theatre, 5/1-5/16 (Tue/Wed nights) (world premiere)

A sensitive American-Muslim man from a conservative family starts a romance with an inspiring atheist Asian-American woman

see MAY OPENINGS page 3

Three Dollar Bill announces new Executive Director Ben McCarthy

Three Dollar Bill Cinema (TDBC) is excited to announce that Ben McCarthy has been selected as their new Executive Director. Ben will officially begin his role as Executive Director on May 15th, and TDBC looks forward to helping him transition into his leadership duties in the coming weeks.

McCarthy’s employment comes after an extensive search and reflects the TDBC’s commitment to bring a skilled leader who is impassioned in the organization’s mission. “Going through that extensive search made it all the more rewarding when we

see BEN MCCARTHY page 5

Independent ladies

Chatting with directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West about their Ruth Bader Ginsburg documentary RBG

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN A&E Writer

RBG

Now playing

I can’t say directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West have made the most cinematic documentary as far as RBG is concerned. A fairly typical and straightforward talking heads piece, this examination of the life and times of

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is still pretty sensational all the same. As aspirational as it is inspirational, the film moves as if it were shot out of a cannon, opening hearts and minds as it analyzes the Justice’s fascinating career in intimate detail.

I had the pleasure to touch base with directors Cohen and West about their film earlier this week. Here are some of the highlights from our all-too-brief conversation:

see ABOUT RBG page 6

MAY OPENINGS

continued from cover

who was adopted by liberal white parents. Their relationship grows lovingly, but the invasive supernatural world just cannot handle all this fluffy saccharine goodness. Agendas play out against each other as djinn and angel alike struggle to accept the everchanging narrative of human sexuality and morality. Even the Heavens are not immune to the power of the human condition. www.annextheatre.org

Shakespeare in Love, Seattle Shakespeare Company, 5/2-6/3 (at Cornish Playhouse)

Young Will Shakespeare is in dire need of inspiration. His next play is on deadline and the only thing he’s come up with is the title: Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter. Then he meets Viola, a smart and beautiful woman who desperately wants to perform on the stage, even though it’s forbidden. Will is smitten and gets inspired to write the greatest love story the world has known. (Based on the movie.) www.seattleshakespeare.org

Broken Bone Bathtub, Christine Longe and Minion Productions 5/3-5/24 (various private locations)

North areas: Queen Anne, Montlake, Phinney/Greenwood, Ballard, Fremont/ Wallingford, Ravenna

South areas: Mount Baker, Parkland/ Tacoma, Delridge/West Seattle, Capitol Hill

Siobhan O’Loughlin brings her intimate solo theatrical event. The award-winning immersive one-person play takes place in a bathtub – in an actual (local) home. After a serious bike accident, a young woman musters up the courage to ask for help, and shares her story, exploring themes of trauma, suffering, human generosity and connection. The audience (4 to 8 people at a time) takes on the role of Siobhan’s close friends assisting the cast-clad artist in her very real ritual of taking a bath. www.brokenbonebathtub.com

Little Shop of Horrors, Reboot Theatre Company 5/4-5/19 (at Slate Theater)

A genderqueer cast plays with this Broadway sci-fi smash musical, the story following a hapless floral assistant, Seymour Krelborn, who pines for his coworker Audrey, a Skid Row girl who’s always wanted more. A strange seedling that Seymour nurses to life grows into a foulmouthed, R&B-singing carnivorous plant with some devilish intents. www.rebootlittleshop.brownpapertickets.com

Auntie Lena’s African Stories, Thistle Theatre, 5/5-5/27 (various locations)

Auntie Lena and her friend Possum tell three stories of friendship from Africa. Jackal loves to trick his friend Hare in “Jackal’s Favorite Game.” “The Monkey’s Heart” is a trickster story of a friendship betrayed, and a new friendship is explored in “Frog and Snake.” Bunraku puppetry for children. www.thistletheatre.org

Love Never Dies, Paramount Theatre, 5/8-5/13 (national tour)

The year is 1907. The Phantom disappeared from the Paris Opera House 10 years ago. Now in New York, he lives amongst the rides and freak shows of Coney Island. He has finally found a place for his music to soar, but he has never stopped yearning for his one true love and musical protégée, Christine Daaé. Now one of the world’s finest sopranos, Christine accepts an invitation to travel from Paris to New York to perform at a renowned opera house. Christine’s marriage to Raoul is suffering from his drinking and gambling and they desperately need money. In a final bid to win back Christine’s love, the Phantom lures her, Raoul, and their young son Gustave, from Manhattan to Coney Island – not knowing what is in store

for them. This is Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sequel to The Phantom of the Opera www.loveneverdies.com/

Hairspray, Village Theatre, Issaquah: 5/10-7/1; Everett: 7/6-7/29

Director Steve Tomkins’ swan song as artistic director. Tracy Turnblad is a big girl with big hair and an even bigger dream: to dance her way onto national TV, dethrone the reigning teen queen, win the affections of the local heartthrob, and integrate a TV network… all without denting her ‘do! The Tony and Drama Desk-winning Best Musical teaches us to look past skin color and size in the fight for equal rights. Complete with favorite songs like, “You Can’t Stop the Beat,” “Welcome to the ’60s,” and “Without Love.” www.villagetheatre.org

Don’t Call it a Riot!, Ten Auras Productions, 5/10-5/20 (at 18th & Union)

Local playwright Amontaine Aurore writes about 1968 and Reed, a member of Seattle’s Black Panther Party, who must juggle the demands of a new marriage and pregnancy, yet still find time to fight for liberation and dream of creating a better world. When her best friend Marti moves in, there is yet one more thing on Reed’s plate. Reed is unaware of the forces that will eventually destroy the Party, as well as the ones that threaten her happy home. It will take 31 years before she finally discovers the betrayal that was at the root of a dream deferred.

http://www.tenauras.com/

Bent, The Changing Scene Theatre Northwest, 5/11-5/26 (at Dukesbay Theater, Tacoma)

Bent revolves around the persecution of gays in Nazi Germany, and takes place during and after the Night of the Long Knives. The title of the play refers to the slang word “bent” used in some European countries to refer to Gay men.

https://changingscenenorthwest.org/

Hand to God, Seattle Public Theater, 5/11-6/3

Puppeteer Ben Burris stars in this celebrated Broadway hit. After the death of his father, meek Jason finds an outlet for his anxiety at the Christian Puppet Ministry, in the devoutly religious, relatively quiet small town of Cypress, Texas. Jason’s complicated relationships with the town pastor, the school bully, the girl next door, and –most especially – his mother are thrown

into upheaval when Jason’s puppet, Tyrone, takes on a shocking and dangerously irreverent personality all its own. Hand to God explores the startlingly fragile nature of faith, morality, and the ties that bind us.

www.seattlepublictheater.org

Welcome to Arroyo’s, Theater Schmeater, 5/11-6/2

This play follows two siblings grieving the loss of their mother, and how community heals trauma. Supported by a soundscape from the birth of hip-hop, AfroLatina director Jay O’Leary punctuates the vital need to truly understand those who are parched for visibility and love.

www.schmeater.org

Lady Windermere’s Fan, Taproot Theatre, 5/16-6/16

It’s the party of the social season, but instead of celebrating, Lady Windermere suspects her husband is having an affair with a mysterious and beautiful stranger. As rumors swirl and secrets are revealed, the Windermere’s lives are upended and threatened to end in disgrace. This comedy classic from Oscar Wilde will charm you with its cleverness and wit.

www.taproottheatre.org

Blanket of Fear, ACT Theatre and Tribes Project, 5/17-6/3

A Caucasian woman is arrested at the airport, imprisoned by the Federal Government and accused of aiding a terrorist conspiracy. The incarceration ensnares the woman, her Iranian mother-in-law, and her Afro-Cuban American public defense attorney into a triangle of personal, cultural, and national identity crises. This production is a diverse group of women’s explorations into the dire consequences of fear. The audience is left with the questions the characters must face: what is truth and justice within the cloaked world of counterterrorism? www.tribes-project.com

Proof, SecondStory Repertory, 5/186/3

On the eve of her twenty-fifth birthday, Catherine, a troubled young woman, has spent years caring for her brilliant but unstable father, a famous mathematician. Now, following his death, she must deal with her own volatile emotions, the arrival of her estranged sister Claire, and the attentions of Hal, a former student of her father who hopes to find valuable work in the 103 notebooks that her father left behind. Over the long weekend that follows, a burgeoning

romance and the discovery of a mysterious notebook draw Catherine into the most difficult problem of all: How much of her father’s madness, or genius, will she inherit? www.secondstoryrep.org

5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche, Fantastic.Z Productions, 5/18-6/2 (at Ballard Underground)

Its 1956 and the all-women, all widow Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein are having their annual quiche breakfast. Will they be able to keep their cool when the Russians attack, turning their community center into a bomb shelter? This silly, sapphic story of pastry and forbidden love will leave you in stitches! www.brownpapertickets.com/ event/3121291

Mac Beth, Seattle Repertory Theatre, 5/18-6/17 (opens 5/23)

In playwright/director Erica Schmidt’s innovative adaptation, seven young women gather after school to re-tell the story of Macbeth, Shakespeare’s epic tragedy about the corrosive effects of ambition. Witches, ghosts, and prophecies drive this dark tale of a Scottish general who believes he is destined to be King of Scotland. And as the girls immerse themselves further and further in this infamous tragedy, the line between real life and bloody fantasy becomes increasingly blurred. www.seattlerep.org

You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Seattle Musical Theatre, 5/25-6/17

Charlie Brown contemplates what makes someone a “good” person in this musical that originally was produced in 1967 and focuses on all the characters from the “Peanuts” comic strip. Now the musical is a favorite of small, local theater companies. This production’s special focus will be actors who are all over the age of 55 years. www.seattlemusicaltheatre.org

Wild Horses, Intiman Theatre, 5/316/24 (at 12th Avenue Arts)

Sometimes-local playwright Allison Gregory’s savagely funny play about a threshold summer that forever alters an adolescent girl, as portrayed by her grownup self. Complex and timeless, it is a comingofage story for all generations. She struggles with the pathos and hubris of her teenage years, an uncertain identity, independence and authenticity, and the desire to find her place in a complicated world. www.intiman.org

TRANSLATIONS

ways we could schedule a small handful of features, documentaries, archival presentations and shorts into an easily digestible Saturday-Sunday package. It was a daunting, if still incredibly exciting task, and the fact the folks at Three Dollar Bill Cinema asked me to be a small part of this project fills me with joy each and every time I think about it, even today.

Flash-forward 13 years, and Translations is bigger than ever. Now the largest Transgender film festival of its type in the world, this year’s event runs a full 10 days and features screenings and events at eight different locations throughout Seattle. It’s a baker’s dozen of cinematic and cultural delights. Not only are there the requisite number of notable features, documentaries and shorts all worthy of a look, in addition there are a number of educational opportunities and events scheduled to take the conversation about the Transgender experience to the next level. Heck, there’s even a Transfriendly pool party this year at the Rainier Beach Pool, and if that doesn’t end up being an evening of frivolity, fun and friendship I’m not sure what else could be.

I sat down with returning festival director Sam Berliner to chat about this year’s festival in a little bit greater detail. Here are some of the highlights from our brief conversation:

Sara Michelle Fetters: Can you believe the festival is 13 years old? How crazy is that?

Sam Berliner: It is pretty amazing. I’m so grateful to have been a part of it for over half of the festival’s life!

Sara Michelle Fetters: I like that you’re not scared of the big 13. So many film festivals avoid that number like the plague.

Sam Berliner: Not at all! We’re reveling in our #bakersdozenchallenge theme. Donuts to eat. Donut floaties at the StepAnd-Repeats. Best of all, a challenge to our audience to see 13 films at the festival this

year! Each short in a shorts program totally counts, as do all of our non-film events.

Sara Michelle Fetters: This is your sixth year running the festival. What has changed for you during that time period? What have been some of the biggest surprises?

Sam Berliner: So much has changed over the years! I finally moved to Seattle in 2016, so no more working remotely. The

Ally” workshop to the festival as a safe space for ally newbies to come and learn about Trans issues so they can feel comfortable attending the festival as a whole. We’ve expanded our co-presenter program to reach out to wider and wider audiences and provide bulk free tickets to local organizations to give out to their clients.

This year we are adding a number of non-film events including a collaboration

festival literally doubled in size last year making it the largest Transgender film festival in the world. We started working with Blanket Fort Films to create our festival trailer in their Motion Picture classes for queer/trans adults. We’ve had the honor of hosting some phenomenal guests including Miss Major, CeCe McDonald, Ivan Coyote, Rae Spoon, Alexandra Billings, Jen Richards, Rhys Ernst, Sam Feder and Joe Stevens. We’ve added a “How To Be A Trans

with Velocity Dance Center to bring The Missing Generation by Sean Dorsey Dance to Seattle during the festival, an All Bodies + All Genders Swim, a “Speed-Friending” event and El Sanchez will be doing a standup comedy night. The festival is just growing and growing and I couldn’t be more excited!

In terms of surprises, I had no idea there would be this huge Trans boom of visibility in mainstream culture. From TV shows like

“Orange Is The New Black,” “I Am Jazz” and “Transparent,” to films like Dallas Buyers Club, The Danish Girl, A Fantastic Woman and Strong Island, the concept of being Transgender is reaching more and more people. Of course, none of these are perfect, but they are all jumping off points to educate and spread awareness. They represent a changing landscape into which the festival now exists. Plus, we are able to screen more Trans New Wave content in which the main character or subject’s “Transness” is not the focus of the story but just a part of who they are. Better, we’re able to feature Trans stories from all over the world so we here in Seattle can continue to expand our understanding of the issues facing Trans people in other cultures. It is a truly expansive time to be working in Trans cinema.

Sara Michelle Fetters: The breadth

and scope of this year’s festival is fairly incredible. How difficult was it to program all of these features, documentaries and shorts?

Sam Berliner: Even as the world’s largest transgender film festival we can only accept about 14 feature films, most of which I can put a short before, and two shorts programs, so that makes the festival very competitive. We received over 200 submissions and solicited films from around the world. It is always a challenge to program the festival but I view it as an honor and I work hard with my screening committee and other senior programmers to ensure that we curate the highest quality films that span the widest range of topics like gender, social class, race, geography, age and more. My goal is to create a festival where the most people possible can come and see themselves reflected on screen. That is such a powerful experience!

Sara Michelle Fetters: And it seems like there are more live programs than ever before, including dance lessons and a pool party! Why are events like these important? What do you hope audiences and attendees take away from them?

Sam Berliner: Yes! My goal with adding non-film events to the festival is to continue to enrich and create special experiences for Seattle’s Transgender communities. Translations is a celebration of all bodies and genders, and I see the festival is an opportunity to take it one step farther with the films as a jumping off point. Events like these are so important to continue to build new relationships, empower our communities and to just have a lot of fun.

Sara Michelle Fetters: What most excites you about this year’s festival?

Sam Berliner: It is impossible to choose one thing, Sara! We have 24 guests at the festival this year, which is an all time record for Translations. That is one of the things that makes film festivals unique, that the audience can interact with the filmmakers, subjects and stars of the movies. Director T Cooper and subject Dominic Chilko will be here for our Opening Night film Man Made and Dominic will also be performing at the opening night party. Fox

and Owl Fisher are flying all the way from the UK to be here for their World Premiere of I Am They on Saturday, May 12 at the Erickson Theatre. The dancers from Sean Dorsey Dance are all here for their performances of The Missing Generation and also for two dance workshops. We’ll have Rhys Fehrenbacher, star of the hit Cannes Film Festival feature They. And all of that is just the tip of the iceberg!

Sara Michelle Fetters: For Three Dollar Bill Cinema, where do you think the Translations program resides? Its growth has to be something, I would assume, the organization is especially proud of.

Sam Berliner: We here at Three Dollar Bill Cinema are immensely proud of the growth of Translations: Seattle Transgender Film Festival. It is our second largest program next to TWIST: Seattle Queer Film Festival, which is now in its 23rd year. Having a festival that is dedicated solely to Transgender communities is really special and unique. I am truly grateful to be a part of it.

Sara Michelle Fetters: What about for you? What have you not been able to accomplish with the festival as of yet that you hope to in the future?

Sam Berliner: Oh! I’ve got tons of ideas! I go through them each fall as I start planning the festival and I see which ones could work each year. I am so proud to finally be bringing Sean Dorsey Dance! I’ve been trying to make that one happen since my first festival! I have dreams of having a traveling version of Translations, like we did with TWIST Tops, about having an educational outreach arm of the festival, about creating a conference for Trans film festival organizers, about having a filmmaking workshop, all of that and more! Most of all, I’m excited about continuing to ask the community what they would like to see at the festival. There are so many ideas!

Sara Michelle Fetters: Quick! Three films or events you think audiences need to make it a priority to see or attend?

Sam Berliner: How about The Missing Generation with Sean Dorsey Dance at Velocity Dance Center, our opening night film Man Made followed by the opening

night party, the I am They world premiere and Live in Your Power shorts program which I think is just so inspiring. All of that is terrific.

Eep! I chose four. Oh well. Guess people will just have to go to all of them now. [laughs]

Sara Michelle Fetters: What do you hope audiences take away from this year’s festival? What do you hope they’re talking about?

Sam Berliner: I always hope that audiences find inspirational, resonant stories and a safe space at the festival, as well as a whole lot of fun! I hope they’re talking about meeting filmmakers. I hope they’re excited about seeing a dance for the first time and come away surprised by just how much it resonated with them. I hope they

BEN MCCARTHY

continued from cover

were able to identify the best candidate was in fact right here in our own Seattle community,” says Joey Burgess, Chairman of the TDBC board. “The board is confident in Ben’s ability to lead us into the next chapter of this tremendous organization. We look forward to many successes and great progress for the festivals and organization under his leadership.”

“I’ve been a patron of Three Dollar Bill Cinema since moving to Seattle almost 7 years ago and supporter of what they do to bring relevant stories to Seattle’s LGBTQ community,” stated McCarthy. “I’m beyond humbled to now join the team to continue to build upon the foundation set forth by past and present staff, board, and volunteers.”

McCarthy joins TBDC after serving as Director of Philanthropy at the Seattle International Film Festival since 2015. At SIFF, McCarthy led the day-to-day operations of the organization’s individual giving, membership, and special events. During his tenure, the organization’s membership base grew from 6,000 to over 7,000 with growth in its annual fund and auction.

Prior to SIFF, McCarthy was Lead-

see themselves reflected on screen. I also hope they’re already planning their carpool to the All Bodies + All Genders Swim or to the Speed-Friending event, both of which are going to be just fabulous evenings people are going to be talking about afterwards for a long time to go. Most of all, I hope they embrace that overall celebratory feeling and come away from the festival inspired. If even a portion of all of that were to come to pass, than I think it’s safe to say we’d all agree this year’s Translations has been a rousing success.

ership Development Manager at Seattle Works, an organization focused on nonprofit board training and connecting young professionals to volunteer opportunities in the community. McCarthy also managed the event production and operations for the Southeastern Theatre Conference and the North Carolina Conference for several years and holds a Master of Fine Arts in Art Leadership from Seattle University. His husband, Ryan, and their two dogs, Parker & Mateo, reside in NE Queen Anne.

About Three Dollar Bill Cinema

Three Dollar Bill Cinema strengthens, connects, and reflects diverse communities through queer film and media. This is achieved through access to films by, for, and about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people and their families, and a forum for LGBTQ filmmakers to share and discuss their work with audiences. We curate themed screenings throughout the year and produce programs in partnership with other arts, cultural, and service delivery organizations in the Greater Seattle area. To learn more, visit https://threedollarbillcinema.org

Courtesy of Three Dollar Bill Cinema

ABOUT RBG

Sara Michelle Fetters: It seems pretty obvious to say that Ruth Bader Ginsburg has lived a fairly incredible life. It’s a life chockfull of fascinating tidbits and indelible moments. When did you know that this was a film you needed to make?

Julie Cohen: It certainly seemed like a film that needed to be made. It was January 2015 when we came up with the idea. At that point, Justice Ginsburg was at what

as anything that she’s done while a member of the Supreme Court.

Julie Cohen: I think that’s right. We focus so heavily on the work that Justice Ginsburg did securing equal rights for women and men under the Constitution in the 1970s because that’s a tremendously important part of the work that a lot of people, including a lot of Justice Ginsburg’s big fans, don’t know about. It’s a reminder of some of the holes in our ordinary telling of history. That should be part of the common knowledge, that’s in textbooks. We don’t write textbooks, we make documentaries,

She’d laugh, and Julie said she cried. Early on she pulled out a tissue and she did wipe away a few tears but overall she just seemed to be completely engrossed and enjoying the story. Afterwards she was very gracious to say that she liked it and we were supremely relieved.

As for bringing her to Sundance. She’s a rock star. People just flock to her. It’s incredible.

Sara Michelle Fetters: Does it hit her that she has become this cultural rock star? What does she think about that?

Julie Cohen: Yes. Justice Ginsburg

seemed like the height of her Internet fame. Little did we know it was actually about to get bigger. She was starting to get so much attention online with the memes and the “Saturday Night Live” impressions and people getting the RGB tattoos. Betsy and I had each interviewed her previously for two separate projects we had made and it just hit us. OMG! Somebody needs to make a film about Justice Ginsburg and why not have it be us? Have it be the women who make it?

Sara Michelle Fetters: I like that you bring up what her mother told her, “Be a lady, be independent.” That independence, yet not losing what makes her a woman, this idea seems to run through the entire documentary in a really vibrant and electrifying way. What do you think that statements meant to you as filmmakers? Did it influence at all what you were trying to say?

Betsy West: Absolutely. Justice Ginsburg’s mother was tremendously influential. Her two pieces of advice, “Be independent. Be able to fend for yourself.” You see Ruth Bader Ginsburg fending for herself throughout this film. She really is not daunted by challenges. And also, “Be a lady,” which become not succumbing to useless emotions like anger; you see that as well.

In making the film, we were sometimes floored by the kinds of challenges that she was facing, stuff like graduating at the top of her class and not being able to get a job. In the Supreme Court, you’re able to listen to the audio tapes of that young lawyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, arguing before the nine male Justices. At a certain point she’s making very serious constitutional arguments and then you’ll hear the dismissive, condescending attempts at jokes from the Justices, something that a lesser woman would rise to anger. She always manages, it seems, to control her anger and to just keep pushing forward. I found that remarkable and also personally inspiring, thinking about what she faced and how she pushed through without ever losing her temper.

Sara Michelle Fetters: One of the most interesting things about the film is that you put so much emphasis on her life before becoming a Supreme Court Justice. There’s just as much heroism and just as much that’s inspirational there, if you will,

so we wanted to get that in. We wanted it to be a major part of our film, because it’s fascinating and it’s part of her legacy. Even if she had never become a Supreme Court Justice she earned a place in history for what she did for women.

Sara Michelle Fetters: Just considering how much she’s gone through, how much of an impact on U.S. society she’s had over the decades, it seems like most people never got the opportunity to know any of these things.

Betsy West. That’s so true. Frank Chi, who’s one of the meme makers who was really captivated by Justice Ginsburg’s words, said that it was really the first time that he and many young people understood the impact that the Supreme Court has on everyday people’s lives. I do think this explains part of this fascination with her. Suddenly, people are seeing her words and her work and identifying with that; understanding how important the Court can be on American society and the impact that it has.

Sara Michelle Fetters: During your various chats with her, what strikes you the most about them? What surprises you each time you sit down?

Julie Cohen: I think the surprising thing about Justice Ginsburg is that behind that serious, sober, judicial persona there’s a real human being with a lot of humor, a real romantic streak and this passion for the arts, particularly opera. I feel like it’s hard for an ordinary person to understand. She’s so deeply moved by music. When she saw the film for the first time, which was at Sundance, the first scene that seemed to bring her to tears was just watching herself watching the love duet from Lucia di Lammermoor. It’s not what you think of when you think of a judge in general or of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in particular, but that’s her.

Sara Michelle Fetters: As you brought it up, I just have to ask, what was it like taking Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Sundance?

Betsy West: It’s nerve-wracking! Julie and I sat across from Justice Ginsburg at the premiere and our eyes really rarely strayed to the screen. We were just glued to her and watching her reaction, sort of holding our breath because you know she at that point was our most important audience.

the Supreme Court as a whole. Do you get the feeling that, especially for, I want to say, the more progressive voices on the Court, that none of them look like they’re going go anywhere anytime soon?

Julie Cohen: I actually think it’s hard for us to make that judgment. Justices very rarely telegraph their intentions, which is what made Justice Ginsburg’s announcements about her clerks going forward unusual. But beyond that it’s not something they’re talking about. I mean, truthfully, some of the justices that you’re talking about on the Court’s liberal wing are among the younger justices. The Obama appointees, Justice Kagan and Justice Sotomayor, are relatively young, Supreme Court Justicewise. What will happen with Justice Pryor and Justice Kennedy has been the subject of some speculation. I don’t think we could pretend to know what they’re going to do, especially Justice Kennedy.

Sara Michelle Fetters: How important is a film like this, one that is inspirational in so many ways about an iconic individual, yet is also so aspirational in regards to what we, as an audience, as citizens of the United States, can potentially rise to become as human beings?

Julie Cohen: Wow. That’s a tough question. Obviously I think the film is important and I want people to see it. I’d be lying if I said otherwise.

More than that, I think there’s a lot in Justice Ginsburg’s example to aspire to. Her lifelong toughness, her water-off-a-duck’s-back style of not letting things that would really, you know, crush others, but never seem to get her down, all of that is inspiring. Her not trying to curtail the anger that she must have felt by being treated unfairly at various points in her life. We can relate to that.

does seem to be aware of her icon status. I mean, how could she miss it? Every time she goes and does a talk at a law school there’s just these throngs of people there, including people who don’t have tickets, who just want to wait basically outside the stage door to get her to autograph their copy of The Notorious RBG. It’s amazing. Other times it’s a picture or something they have that they’d like signed, or they want to take selfies, stuff like that. Her granddaughter told us that initially she found that quite unusual and surprising but that she’s basically decided to embrace it because it allows her to do what she loves to do which is educate. I think we captured that in the film. A number of times a sly smile creeps across her face when she sees herself with a fanbase. I think, particularly as an 85-year-old woman, that must feel pretty special. Our culture is famous for worshiping youth and here’s someone who’s hit her peak, is at her peak celebrity at the top of her game, at 85. That’s pretty cool. That’s part of the story we wanted to tell.

Sara Michelle Fetters: Thinking about that sly smile, there are moments in the film where you do kind of wonder how much longer can she keep doing this, how much longer she can go on as a Supreme Court Justice. But you just look at that smile and you get the feeling that she is going to stay on the Court for as long as it takes to do what she feels is right.

Betsy West: Yes. Justice Ginsburg loves the law. She has loved the law her whole life and has dedicated herself to the law. She seems very determined to keep herself in good shape. We were very fortunate to get into the gym and to be able to record her extraordinarily rigorous workout, which she is dedicated to. It’s part of what she has to do to just make sure that she’s capable of continuing the work she loves.

Justice Ginsburg has given a little bit of a signal of what she intends to do in the future by announcing the selections of her Supreme Court clerks, not just for next year’s term but for the term afterwards. That takes her through 2020. That seems to be an indication that she is determined to carry on for at least a few more years.

Sara Michelle Fetters: This isn’t so much about Justice Ginsburg, it’s more about

I don’t know. Her story, it gives us as human beings something to aspire to. If people watched this film and had thoughts about how you deal with adversity, learn ways of how to be civil with friends or with colleagues that disagree with you, then I think we’d feel good about that. Justice Ginsburg’s example is a good one to aspire to, I definitely agree with you on that.

Sara Michelle Fetters: I know you’re both very busy so I don’t want to keep you much longer. I just want to ask, at the end of the day, now that people are going to start seeing this outside of the film festival circuit, what do you hope they’re talking about? What do you want them to take away?

Betsy West: We hope they take away an appreciation for an extraordinary life and then, perhaps, they learn not only about what Justice Ginsburg did, but how she did it, about her approach to life. She is both a very practical and a very optimistic person. She takes the long view about our world and she says, “Hey, times may be tough, but look how far we’ve come.” She has a very, it seems to me, practical approach to how to make change, how to do it, never in anger, but logically, deliberately step-by-step. I think a lot of people can learn from that and be inspired by her story.

Julie Cohen: As your question suggests, we’re really excited for this film to start playing for a broader audience and we’re hoping they learn something and we’re hoping they walk away infused with a little bit of the exuberance that’s part of the Justice’s story. A lot of the film we think is fun to watch. A lot of it is funnier than you might expect for a film about constitutional law. There’s a lot of rancor in our country right now and bad feelings on all sides. Some of the audiences that have been seeing the film have been coming out saying they feel pretty good. We had a screening last night and when the audience saw Justice Ginsburg they just started cheering. That’s very empowering and fills us with hope. If fans of hers come away feeling really good then we feel good about that. If non-fans or people who don’t really know anything about her come away feeling anywhere close to the same, we feel pretty darn great about that, too.

Rousing RBG an inspiring biographical endeavor

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN A&E Writer

RBG

Now playing

I’m not going to say that RBG directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West have crafted the best documentary I have ever seen. It’s straightforward and decidedly old fashioned, this quickly paced look at the life of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg mainly a talking heads piece featuring a great deal of archival footage of the judicial icon as it spotlights a number of important moments from her incredible life. But even if their film isn’t going to blow anyone away with its cinematic creativity, that doesn’t make Cohen and West’s effort any less entertaining. Make no mistake, their film is massively enjoyable, watching Justice Ginsburg live her best life as joyous a spectacle as anything I’ll likely have the pleasure to sit through this year.

The introductory image of Ginsburg instantly, and somewhat brilliantly, encapsulates everything we’re about to watch. She’s ferociously working out, lifting weights wearing a purple sweatshirt with the words “super diva” splashed across the front. The inference Cohen and West are making is clear in that this is a woman who won’t sit down and certainly won’t shut up. In fact, she’ll politely take your slur or putdown and twist it right back in your face via a reasoned judicial decision that will set a precedent future generations will look back on and applaud.

There are a number of individuals on hand to speak about Ginsburg including her children Jane and James Ginsburg, her granddaughter Clara Spera, Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

authors Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik, Gloria Steinem, former Associate Justice Antonin Scalia’s son Eugene Scalia and former President Bill Clinton, but it is the 85-year-old Supreme Court Justice whose words are the most valuable. Listening to her talk about what she loves most about the law, about serving the greater good and about living up to the words her mother Celia challenged her to live by, which included “Be independent” and “Be a lady,” all of that is sensational, those moment an inspirational call to action that oftentimes made me want to rise from my seat and boisterously cheer.

If the first half of the film is spent mostly

looking into Ginsburg’s personal life, the second is where Cohen and West start diving headfirst into her judicial career, most notably chronicling the various cases she worked on as a lawyer and an advocate before she was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1996. While most of this is also covered in Carmon and Knizhnik’s masterful book, that doesn’t mean Cohen and West skimp on providing inside scoop on much of what occurred and why these cases and decisions were so important. Better, the directors don’t play it all like it’s all some sort of collegiate history lesson, the pair infusing things with an energetic urgency that’s creatively palpable.

But the best thing about RBG is that it is just as much about this moment in history, that it is rooted in today’s biggest stories and movements, as it is in looking back at Ginsburg’s life. There’s a reason that, in her 80s, the Supreme Court Justice has become such a potent figure, that she’s looked at as a tireless hero for moving the cultural and judicial conversation forward and not back. It’s clear Ginsburg is going to continue fighting what she sees as the good fight, and as such is making it pretty obvious she doesn’t intend to leave the Supreme Court bench, or the cultural spotlight, anytime soon.

Political thriller Backstabbing a showcase for Kingsley

by Sara Michelle Fetters

SGN A&E Writer

BACKSTABBING FOR BEGINNERS

Now playing

In 2002 former lobbyist Michael Soussan (Theo James) decides to make a change. He’s tired of working for corporate interests that put shareholder profit before the needs of the general population, and each day he makes a pitch to legally maintain loopholes protecting tax shelters or allow factories to keep polluting the atmosphere willy-nilly he can feel a little bit of his soul eroding with every word he utters. All of which is why Michael trades in his cushy paycheck to help run the U.N.’s Oil-for-Food program in Iraq. The idea is to swap the country’s oil for food and other forms of humanitarian aid, the altruistic designs of the program ones the former lobbyist feels he can get behind and support.

Leading Michael through this new world is U.N. undersecretary Pasha (Ben Kingsley), an eccentric, fast-talking bureaucratic showman who views lying as part of the job, especially if that tiny bit of subterfuge gets people to think they’ve come to the conclusions that you’re clandestinely attempting to lead them towards all on their own. But Michael discovers all is not as it should be, and some of the power players involved with this U.N. project are more interested in lining their own pockets than they are in providing that humanitarian aid. Now the idealistic young man has a choice to make, one that could very well determine whether or not the Oil-for-Food program continues or instead comes to a rather ignominious end.

Based on Michael Soussan’s best-selling memoir, co-writer and director Per Fly (Monica Z ) attempts to channel his inner Alan J. Pakula with the well-meaning, based-on-fact political thriller Backstabbing for Beginners. While no All the President’s Men, the film does have just enough going on underneath the surface to make it worthy of a cursory glance, not the least of which is Kingsley’s eccentric,

wildly anarchic performance. The Oscarwinning actor might not be giving the best performance of his career but that doesn’t make what he’s doing any less magnetic, his aggressive mania worth the price of a matinee ticket all by itself.

Not that he’s showing off or going wildly over the top for no reason. There is a determined focus to what Kingsley is doing that helps augment the complexities of the political imbroglio Soussan finds himself drowning within. Pasha’s arc is a dynamic one. Better, it is also more than what it initially appears to be. Kingsley’s lively portrayal is a delicious means to an end, and where the character ends up plays a monumental role in the decisions Soussan will

eventually make.

I wish I could say the same about James. I have no problem with the choice to underplay the character, to keep his emotions in relative reserve. He’s the observer here, after all, and as such his quiet detachment makes perfect sense. But James has difficulty registering all that’s going on underneath the surface. There’s no life behind his eyes, just a dull blankness that grows increasingly frustrating as the film goes on. As the central figure around which everything revolves Soussan is difficult to care about, and because of this any lasting sense of suspense or tension is undercut considerably.

Thankfully this flaw isn’t a fatal one. Fly’s script, co-written with Daniel Pyne

(Fracture), doesn’t mince a lot of words and gets to the heart of this U.N. corruption scandal with deft, minimalistic precision. Even though this is a movie built around dialogue, there is still a compelling urgency to what Soussan and Pasha are involved in that kept me watching, Brendan Steacy’s (The Last Exorcism Part II ) intimately lacerating cinematography a big reason why. While there’s no doubt as to where any of this is headed, getting to that conclusion still isn’t without its rewards, and thanks to Kingsley’s excellence Backstabbing for Beginners is a suitably intelligent procedural thriller I’m glad I took the time to watch.

Creepily imaginative Endless a giddy Lovecraftian thriller

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN A&E Writer

THE ENDLESS Now playing

After leaving what he dubbed a “U.F.O. death cult” years ago, Justin Smith and his slightly more gullible brother Aaron (writer/directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead) are the recipients of an oddly cryptic message that leads them to head back to their old stomping ground to see if anything has changed. Once in the middle of Californian nowhere, they discover they are welcomed back to Camp Arcadia with open arms, a somewhat surprising turn of events considering the terms they left things on when they escaped a decade prior. But the camp’s leader Hal (Tate Ellington) gives the brothers free reign to explore as they will, his motivations for doing so ones he’s not in the mood reveal.

The strangest thing about all of this? The denizens of Camp Arcadia were supposed to have killed themselves ten years ago. Instead, they’re seemingly living in a back-to-nature utopia, making their own home-brewed beer, growing their own food and spending countless hours on arts and crafts. But something even more unexplainable is going on, a growing list of surreal phenomena Justin becomes determined to uncover the truth behind. But as things grow increasingly unhinged it becomes apparent the brothers are on the verge of getting lost within the machinations of the cult they previously worked so hard to escape, the truths they believe they’re discovering potentially leading to answers they maybe didn’t want to know.

Less is more where it comes to the genre films of Benson and Moorhead. Their 2012 debut Resolution was a small-scale wonder, building in frightfully unnerving power as it craftily made its way to its sinister conclusion. Their terrifying 2014 follow-up Spring was even more impressive, the way the pair slowly suckered the viewer into their romantically intoxicating maze only to trap them inside their Lovecraft-inspired labyrinth close to spectacular. Now they return with what might be their most fascinating effort yet, the family-centric, apocalyptic, dialogue-driven spectacle The Endless, a movie where knowing as little as possible before the curtain opens and the lights go down is an almost absolute guar-

antee an audience member is about to have one heck of a creepily petrifying good time. Not all of what transpires makes perfect sense, and I can’t help but think that’s by design. As events spiral out of control and the weirdness escalates, Benson and Moorhead craft a phantasmagoric wonderland that’s as carefully constructed as it also feels utterly of the moment – almost as if what has transpired was conjured up by the filmmakers at the exact moment their cameras started filming. It’s all like some strange, exhilarating devil-may-care melding of something like Mike Cahill and Brit Marling’s lo-fi science fiction marvel Another Earth, Don Coscarelli’s unclassifiable, psychologically unbalanced creature-feature John Dies at the End and a Joe Swanberg mumblecore comedy like Drinking Buddies or Happy Christmas. Up is down. Left is right. Good loves Evil while Evil brings you roses and a box of chocolates wearing its best suit as it takes you out on a first date at a fancy restaurant.

At the core sit these two brothers, and while Benson and Moorhead aren’t the best actors I’ve ever watched carry a film from start to finish, that doesn’t make them any less perfect to play the two Smith boys. They have a relaxed, unforced energy that allows their mutual affection for one another to carry an authentic gravitas that only grows in stature and significance as things go on. The writing can feel a little mannered, especially as it pertains to the dialogue, and yet, coming out of the mouths of these two it can’t help but work, Benson and Moorhead making an oddly magnetic pair to focus all of this peculiar time-bending zaniness upon.

When I say “zany” I’m not kidding. Benson and Moorhead take their obvious adoration of all things Lovecraft to a realm that’s close to unclassifiable. More, they do it on what is obviously a minimal budget, creatively utilizing all that is at their immediate disposal to craft a visually imaginative whirligig of sensation and emotional

elasticity that’s continually fascinating. They even somehow tie things back to their debut Resolution, and while I wouldn’t call this effort a direct sequel to that far more self-contained chiller, the two films are still sitting comfortably inside an exceedingly similar ballpark.

The pacing can feel a little out-ofwhack, and while I’ve purposefully refrained from talking about any of the secondary characters I should also mention that no other actor makes anything of a memorable impact no matter how important they might be as far as assisting Justin and Aaron in their quest for answers. Even so, there are moments that are gleefully petrifying, Benson and Moorhead showing a directorial confidence that’s impressive start to finish. The Endless goes places that are both eerily unexpected and emotionally affecting, the all-encompassing monstrous beauty of this spellbinding sci-fi thriller impossible to understate.

Reasonably intriguing Escape a prisoner of its own shortcomings

by Sara Michelle Fetters

SGN A&E Writer

by

(Ralph Cashen) that prisoner 614 (George Sample III) has escaped and is thought to be hiding somewhere in their jurisdiction. They immediately set out into the secluded forest surrounding their little mountain community to capture him, thinking that if they do so the Sheriff will be so impressed he’ll have to give them back their jobs. But once they catch up with prisoner 614, Doyle and Hayford aren’t so sure they’re doing the right thing, and as the trio make their way back to town it becomes clear he’s an innocent man railroaded into prison thanks to the color of his skin.

I got the feeling while watching the handsomely mounted, if awkwardly titled, The Escape of Prisoner 614 that this odd, rather unfocused comedy/western/social commentary throwback was a labor of love for writer/director Zach Golden. Impressively cast and made on a minimal budget, it’s easy to tell all involved were giving everything they had in order to help the filmmaker’s feature-length debut meet with success. Additionally, the film’s lovely Catskill Mountains vistas are magnetically shot by

cinematographer Adam Lee, these images casting a picturesque spell I found beguiling.

But as far as compliments go, that’s about all I’ve got. Golden never creates anything approaching a consistent tone, and the story’s 1960s era trappings are so vague and nondescript I couldn’t help but wonder why the director seemed so intent on trying to establish them. While Starr and McDorman have a relaxed, almost brotherly chemistry that feels genuine, the personas they establish and the dialogue they’re forced to utter are too mannered, modern, stilted and stagy to come moderately close to feeling the same. Their jokes fall continually flat, while any scene calling for even a modicum of dramatic heft is obnoxiously unimpressive, Doyle and Hayford such massive nincompoops spending time with them becomes increasingly difficult as things progress.

The determination fueling it all is still undeniable, and I admit the scenes bookending the film got me to audibly chuckle, as did a restaurant sequence where the Sheriff gruffly explains to a hesitantly

shell-shocked waitress exactly what he means when he says he wants his baked potato “loaded.” There’s also a bizarre scene where Doyle and Hayford stumble upon a cadre of hunters and trick them out of their rifles, the absurdity of the moment strangely amusing even if it does feel more like some absurdly moronic “Saturday Night Live” sketch than it does an organic part of this particular story.

I do feel like Golden has something. He’s certainly ambitious, and while his debut has its fair share of problems, and I’m understating the situation considerably as far as that statement is concerned, the director still showcases a level of confidence in regards to pacing and performance that is intriguing as far as his future prospects are concerned. Not to say any of this is enough to make The Escape of Prisoner 614 worthwhile, not even the determined gravitas a suitably gruff Perlman brings to the table could make that be the case, but it does make Golden a young talent worth keeping an eye on. As far as positives go, however, that sadly might be it.

1533 13th Ave. - 323-1525

SEATTLE

BATHS

SEATTLE

CLUB Z - (men) 1117 Pike near Boren - 622-9958 HOT HOUSE SPA & SAUNA - (women)

CLUB Z - (men)

SW corner of Pike & 11th

1117 Pike near Boren - 622-9958

(stairs behind Wildrose) - 568-3240

HOT HOUSE SPA & SAUNA - (women)

STEAM WORKS - (men)

SW corner of Pike & 11th

1520 Summit - 388-4818

(stairs behind Wildrose) - 568-3240

STEAM WORKS - (men)

RESTAURANTS & BARS

1520 Summit Ave - 388-4818

88 KEYS - 315 2nd Ave. S. - 839-1300

BALTIC ROOM - 1207 Pine St. - 625-4444

RESTAURANTS & BARS

THE BOTTLENECK LOUNGE

2328 E. Madison St. - 323-1098

C.C. ATTLE’S BAR & GRILLE

88 KEYS - 315 2nd Ave. S - 839-1300

1701 E. Olive Way - 726-0565

BALTIC ROOM - 1207 Pine St. - 625-4444

THE BOTTLENECK LOUNGE

RETAIL SHOPS

DIESEL BAR - 1413 14th Ave. - 322-1080

GLO’S - 1621 E. Olive Way - 324-2577

HOT MAMA’S PIZZA - 700 E. Pine St. - 322-6444

BABELAND - 707 E. Pike St. - 328-2914

JAZZ ALLEY - 2033 6th Ave. E. - 441-9729

CASTLE SUPERSTORE #17

1017 E. Pike St - 204-0126

JULIA’S - 300 Broadway Ave. E. - 860-1818

KREMWERK - 1809 Minor Ave. #10 - 682-2935

DOGHOUSE LEATHERS

MADISON PUB - 1315 E. Madison - 325-6537

1312 E. Pike St. - 257-0231

EMERSON SALON - 909 E. Pike St. - 323-7437

NEIGHBOURS - 1509 Broadway - 324-5358

OUT WEST - 5401California Ave. SW

FANTASY UNLIMITED

THE PINE BOX - 1600 Melrose Ave - 588-0375

POCO WINE ROOM

2027 Westlake Ave. - (206) 682-0167

1408 E. Pine St. - 322-9463

1510 1st Ave - (206) 624-1784

HASHTAG - 3540 Stone Way N - 946-8157

POKE BAR - 1542 12th Ave - 402-5178

PONY - 1221 E. Madison St. - 324-2854

HERBAN LEGENDS - 55 Bell St - 849-5596

PURR - 1518 11th Ave. - 325-3112

HERB(N) ELEMENTS

R PLACE - 619 E. Pine - 322-8828

11013 Lake City Way NE - 535-8769

LAUGHING BUDDHA TATTOO

RE-BAR - 1114 Howell at Boren - 233-9873

ROOT TABLE 2213 NW Market St. - 420-3214

SEATTLE EAGLE - 314 E. Pike - 621-7591

1534 Broadway - 329-8274

SHORTY’S 2222 2nd Ave - 441-5449

NEW YORK EXCHANGE

THE CANTERBURY - 534 15th Ave. E. - 322-3130

CHANGES IN WALLINGFORD

2328 E. Madison St. - 323-1098

2103 N. 45th - 545-8363

C.C. ATTLE’S BAR & GRILLE

1701 E. Olive Way - 726-0565

225 Broadway E. - 726-3300

STOUT -1530 11th Ave - 397-3825

TOULOUSE PETIT

ONYX LEATHER - 1605 12th Ave. #8 - 328-1965

THE CRESCENT - 1413 E. Olive Way - 720-8188

THE CUFF COMPLEX

THE CANTERBURY - 534 15th Ave. E - 322-3130

CHANGES IN WALLINGFORD

2103 N. 45th - 545-8363

THE CRESCENT - 1413 E. Olive Way - 720-8188

THE CUFF COMPLEX - 1533 13th Ave. - 323-1525

DIESEL BAR - 1413 14th Ave. - 322-1080

GLO’S - 1621 E. Olive Way - 324-2577

HOT MAMA’S PIZZA - 700 E. Pine St. - 322-6444

JAZZ ALLEY - 2033 6th Ave. E - 441-9729

JULIA’S - 300 Broadway Ave. E - 860-1818

KREMWERK - 1809 Minor Ave. #10 - 682-2935

THE LUMBER YARD - 9619 16th Ave. SW - 695-2007

MADISON PUB - 1315 E. Madison - 325-6537

NEIGHBOURS - 1509 Broadway - 324-5358

OUT WEST - 5401California Ave. SW

THE PINE BOX - 1600 Melrose Ave - 588-0375

POCO WINE ROOM - 1408 E. Pine St. - 322-9463

POKE BAR - 1542 12th Ave - 402-5178

PONY - 1221 E. Madison St. - 324-2854

PURR - 2307 24th Ave E - 325-3112

QUEER BAR - 1518 11th Ave - 687-7491

R PLACE - 619 E. Pine - 322-8828

RE-BAR - 1114 Howell at Boren - 233-9873

ROOT TABLE 2213 NW Market St. - 420-3214

SEATTLE EAGLE - 314 E. Pike - 621-7591

SHORTY’S 2222 2nd Ave - 441-5449

STOUT -1530 11th Ave - 397-3825

TOULOUSE PETIT

601 Queen Anne Ave N - 432-9069

UNICORN - 1118 E Pike - 325-6492

WILDROSE - 1021 E Pike - 324-9210

ZIPPY’S GIANT BURGERS

5633 Airport Way S - 466-5954

9614 14th Ave SW - 763-1347

OZ - 3831 Stone Way N - 251-0630

601 Queen Anne Ave N - 432-9069

UNICORN - 1118 E Pike - 325-6492

PANACHE - 225 Broadway E. - 726-3300

RUCKUS - 1465 E Republican St - 257-4805

THE FANTASY SHOP

9630 16th Ave. SW - 762-3299

TABOO ADULT VIDEO

9813 16th Ave SW - 767-4855

TRUE LOVE ART GALLERY & TATTOO

1525 Summit Ave - 227-3572

UNDER U 4 MEN

709 Broadway Ave. E - 324-6446

UNCLE IKE’S

2310 E Union St - 1-800-GET-DRUGS

501 15th Ave E - 1-800-GET-DRUGS

9822 15th Ave SW - 1-800-GET-DRUGS

WILD AT HEART

1111 NW Leary Way - 782-5538

BELLINGHAM

LOVER’S

193 Telegraph Road - (360) 752-1862

RUMORS CABARET 1119 Railroad - (360) 671-1849

DES MOINES

ADULT AIRPORT VIDEO 2 21635 Pacific Hwy S - 206-878-7780

SECRETS 22862 Pacific Hwy S - 206-878-8480

EVERETT

ADULT AIRPORT VIDEO

11732 Airport Road - (425) 290-7555

LOVER’S - 112 SE Everett - (425) 353-3607

LOVER’S - 3402 Broadway - (425) 252-8754

KENT

WILDROSE - 1021 E. Pike - 324-9210

ZIPPY’S GIANT BURGERS

5633 Airport Way S - 466-5954

9614 14th Ave SW - 763-1347

OVER’S - 25801 104th Ave. SE - (253) 852-1720

RETAIL

SHOPS

THE FANTASY SHOP 604 Central Ave. S - (253) 850-8428

CASTLE SUPERSTORE #17

NASHVILLE’S SPORTS BAR (Drag Shows) 114 - Railroad Ave. N - (253) 852-0909

1017 E. Pike St - 204-0126

DOGHOUSE LEATHERS

LA CONNER

1312 E. Pike St. - 257-0231

EMERSON SALON - 909 E. Pike St. - 323-7437

HASHTAG - 3540 Stone Way N - 946-8157

NEW YORK EXCHANGE

225 Broadway E. - 726-3300

THE HERON INN & WATERGRASS DAY SPA 117 Maple Ave. - (877) 883-8899 info@theheron.com

ONYX LEATHER - 1605 12th Ave. #8 - 328-1965

OZ - 3831 Stone Way N - 251-0630

PANACHE

OLYMPIA

225 Broadway E. - 726-3300

RUCKUS 1465 E Republican St. - 257-4805

DARBY’S CAFE

THE FANTASY SHOP

211 5th Ave. SE - (360) 357-6229

9630 16th Ave. SW - 762-3299

LOVER’S 3959 Martin Way E, Suite D - (360) 456-7300

TABOO ADULT VIDEO 9813 16th Ave SW - 767-4855

JAKES - 311 4th Ave. E - (360) 956-3247

TOYS IN BABELAND - 707 E. Pike St. - 328-2914

UNDER U 4 MEN

709 Broadway Ave. E. - 324-6446

PORT ANGELES

MAPLE ROSE INN 112 Reservoir Rd - (800) 570-2007

UNCLE IKE’S 2310 E Union St - 1-800-GET-DRUGS 501 15th Ave E - 1-800-GET-DRUGS 9822 15th Ave SW - 1-800-GET-DRUGS

SPOKANE

WILD AT HEART 1111 NW Leary Way - 782-5538

BELLINGHAM

ANDY’S - 1401 W. 1st Ave. - (509) 747-0304

THE BLIND BUCK

LOVER’S 193 Telegraph Road - (360) 752-1862

204 N. Division St. - (509) 343-9425

GLOBE BAR AND KITCHEN

RUMORS CABARET 1119 Railroad - (306) 671-1849

204 N. Division St. - (509) 443-4014

NYNE BAR AND BISTRO

232 W. Sprague Ave. - (509) 474-1621

DES MOINES

ADULT AIRPORT VIDEO

EVERETT

KENT

LA CONNER

TACOMA

CASTLE SUPERSTORE 6015 Tacoma Mall Blvd. - (253) 471-0391

OLYMPIA

CLUB SILVERSTONE 739½ St. Helens Ave. - (253) 404-0273

PORT ANGELES

SPOKANE

TRI-CITIES

TACOMA

Activities

TO GET A CALENDAR LISTING: To have your meeting or event considered for the Community Calendar, please mail, fax, or drop off details to: SGN, Attn: Community Calendar, 1707 23rd Ave., Seattle, WA 98122. SGN phone: (206) 324-4297. E-mail: sgn2@sgn.org.

INCLUDE: Date, time, location, contact phone # for publication (if possible), brief description of event & sponsoring organization. DEADLINE: Tuesday 5pm.

NOTE: 10-digit dialing has come to the Seattle area. The (206) area code must now be used to dial local calls. Location of meetings/events is in Seattle unless otherwise noted.

SATURDAY - May 5

Translations:

Seattle Transgender Film Festival (May 3-12) https://threedollarbillcinema.org

Seattle Frontrunners Fun Run. 9am. Greenlake (outside Evans Pool). Every Saturday. GLBT running & walking club sponsors weekly runs, monthly potlucks, track & field activity, annual Run With Pride. (206) 4488518. www.seattlefrontrunners.org.

Positively Living Coffee Social. 9:30am-12 noon. Cupcake Royale, 1111 E Pike St. Every Saturday. Casual social get-together for the HIV community. Anthony, 206-957-1600. Sponsored by LIfelong. Entre Hermanos 5 de Mayo Fundraising Brunch. 12noon. El Gallito Mexican Restaurant, 1700 20th Ave. Enjoy music, friends, and delicious authentic Mexican food with live entertainment and complimentary mimosas and celebrate another year of Entre Hermanos’ community service to the LGBTQ Latino community. Your support will help Entre Hermanos continue their mission to promote health and well-being in the LGBTQ Latino community. Tickets: $40. https://www.brownpapertickets. com/event/3328391; http://entrehermanos.org

Rainbow Walk for LGBTQ Elders 50+ - Green Lake Walk. 12 noon-1pm. 7201 E Green Lake Dr. N. Every Saturday starting 3/31 - Come Rain or Shine! - Meet at the Wading Pool (along the north end of the lake). Hot coffee and beautiful Rainbow umbrellas to use “just in case.” For info, call (206) 393-3400;. Wheelchair-friendly walk. Sponsored by Generations Aging With Pride. Northwest Bears Potluck and Meet & Greet Beer Bust. 6pm. The Cuff, 1533 13th Ave at E. Pine St. Meets 1st Saturday each month. Northwest Bears is a Gay men’s social and service organization providing a focal point within the Gay community for Bears and Bear admirers. www.nwbears.com.

Oasis Youth Center in Tacoma - For Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Questioning Youth, Ages 14-25. 6pm-12 midnight. Call for location & details. Every Saturday. (253) 671-2838. www.oasisyouthcenter.org.

community calendar

Sean Dorsey Dance - “The Missing Generation.” 7:30pm. Velocity Dance Center, 1621 12th Ave. “The Missing Generation” is an award-winning dance theater work that is a love letter to a forgotten generation of survivors - those who witnessed and experienced the loss of part of an entire generation of gay and transgender people to AIDS in the 1980s and 1990s. Presented in conjunction with the Translations: Seattle Transgender Film Festival. Tickets: $20 advance; $25 at the door, if available; $17 MVP members and Three Dollar Bill Cinema members; $15 under 25 with ID; $50 patron. http://velocitydancecenter.org/

SUNDAY - May 6

Translations: Seattle Transgender Film Festival (May 3-12) https://threedollarbillcinema.org

Border Riders Motorcycle Club First Sunday Ride. Contact Border Riders for details and rendezvous point. Meets 1st Sunday most months. BRMC provides a social & educational fraternity for individuals interested in recreational motorcycle touring. www.borderriders.com Center for Spiritual Living. 8:25, 9:45, 11:30am. 5801 Sand Point Way NE. Blessings & we hope to see you soon! (206) 527-8801 ext 203, www.cslseattle.org

Gay Men’s Bowling in Everett 9:30am. Glacier Lanes, 9630 Evergreen Way, Everett. Every Sunday. Spectators welcome. Join us for lunch afterwards! Sponsored by the Snohomish County Gay Men’s Task Force. For info email John at johndmarsh@mac.com; www.gaysnohomish.org University Lutheran Church. 9:30am Worship, 10:30am Coffee Fellowship, 11am Adult Forum & Education Hour. 1604 NE 50th St. All are welcome. We choose love. (206) 525-7074. universitylutheranseattle.org Plymouth Church United Church of Christ. 10am Workship. 1217 6th Ave. Love your (LGBTQ) neighbor as yourself. (206) 622-4865, plymouthchurchseattle.org

St. Clement’s Episcopal Church. 10:30am Worship. 1501 32nd Ave S. Great music. Dynamic preaching. Holy communion. Encountering the transformative and unconditional love of God in Christ. Join us! www. stclementseattle.org

Seattle Sunday Bowling. 10:30am. West Seattle Bowl, 4505 39th Ave SW (at SW Oregon St). Open bowl every Sunday for the GLBT community & friends. You don’t have to worry about how you bowl! $6.50 + $3 shoe rental. (425) 785-4729.

Welcome Table Christian Church. 9:45am Meditation; 10:30am Worship; Labyrinth 2nd Sundays 1-4pm. 1322

S Bayview St. Where people of all genders and sexualities, and families of all shapes & sizes are welcome and

celebrated. A welcoming and affirming community since 1987. welcometablecc.org

Emerald City Metropolitan Community Church Seattle. 11am Worship. Chapel at University Temple United Methodist Church, 1415 NE 43rd St. MCC is a progressive Christ-centered faith community committed to providing a nurturing environment for individual & community growth thru Jesus Christ while celebrating unity in diversity. MCC is Seattle’s oldest Gay-friendly church. (206) 325-2421, www.mccseattle.org.

Meditation for GBT Men. 11am-1pm. Cal Anderson House, 400 Broadway. Suitable for beginning & experienced meditators. Sponsored by Dharma Buddies. Contact Forrest Rode, (206) 920-6117, or Doug Allison, doug.l.allison@gmail.com. Find us under “Dharma Buddies” under Meetup.com or DharmaBuddies.org. (Women may wish to contact our sister meditation group at www.LotusSisters.org.)

Just for Today (NA). 12-1:15pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Every Sunday. Drop-in 12-step Narcotics Anonymous group open to anyone in recovery. (206) 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org

New Beginnings (SLAA). 12 noon-1pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E #201, O’Neil Room. MEETS DAILY (except Saturday). Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous is a 12-step/12- tradition-oriented fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope to overcome sex and love patterns of addiction. (206) 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org

Paths to Recovery Al-Anon Family Group. 12-1:30pm. Seattle University Student Center, 901 12th Ave, Room 122. Every Sunday. LGBTQ supported. The Al-Anon Family Groups are a fellowship of relatives & friends of alcoholics who share their experience, strength & hope in order to solve their common problems. We believe alcoholism is a family illness & that changed attitudes can aid recovery. Greater Seattle AIS 24-hour number (206) 625-0000; www.seattle-al-anon.org

Rainbow Walk for LGBTQ Elders 50+ - Green Lake Walk. 12 noon-1pm. 7201 E Green Lake Dr. N. Every Sunday starting 3/25 - Come Rain or Shine! - Meet at the Wading Pool (along the north end of the lake). Hot coffee and beautiful Rainbow umbrellas to use “just in case.” For info, call (206) 393-3400;. Wheelchair-friendly walk. Sponsored by Generations Aging With Pride. Seattle LGBTQ Commission People of Color Stakeholders Committee Meet & Greet. 1:30-3pm. Capitol Hill Branch Library, 425 Harvard Ave E. Meet & Greet with Seattle LGBTQ Commission’s POC Stakeholder’s Committee. Share experiences, network and socialize.

Light refreshments and beverages available. FREE EVENT. Orca Swim Team Workout. Sun: Afternoon; Mon/Weds/ Fri: Evenings; Tues/Thurs: Mornings. Seattle University, Connolly Athletic Center, 14th Ave & E Cherry St. Preregistration required. Orca Swim Team workouts are for both competitive & recreational swimmers. www. orcaswimteam.org

Knights of Mantra Monthly Meeting. 3pm. The Cuff, 1533 13th Ave. Meets 1st Sunday each month. K of M/ Jet Chapter is a fun-loving leather/Levi social & charitable organization that raises money for various causes & organizations. (206) 329-0886. www.facebook.com/ kofmjetchapter/ Rain City Soccer Club - Kickabout. Sunday afternoon usually at 3pm. Location varies. Join us for Seattle’s mostly-weekly mostly-LGBTQ pickup soccer game. We play an organized, 2-hour scrimmage on nice fieldturf surface. Sometimes there is a brief training/practice session before we play. Usually there is a “one-beer” after the scrimmage. To sign up visit www.raincitysoccer.org PFLAG/Whatcom County (Bellingham) Monthly Meeting. 5pm. Community Food Co-op Bakery, 405 E Holly St, Bellingham. Meets 1st Sunday each month. Parents & Friends of Lesbians & Gays is a national support organization for parents, spouses, & families of GLBT persons, as well as those minorities. www.whatcompflag.org; PFLAG/Puget Sound: (206) 325-7724. Seattle Jazz Vespers. 6-8pm. Seattle First Baptist Church, Seneca St & Harvard Ave. Meets 1st Sunday each month (October-June). The historic Gothic sanctuary of Seattle First Baptist Church is offered to the best jazz groups in the city to perform 100 minutes of their own popular music. FREE. For info (206) 325-6051, www.seattlefirstbaptist.org/sjv Shame to Grace (SAA). 6-7:30pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Every Sunday. Sex Addicts Anonymous is a fellowship of men & women who share their experience, strength & hope with each other so they may overcome their sexual addiction & help others recover from sexual addiction or dependency. Seattle SAA helpline (206) 237-8828, SAA International Service Organization 1-800-477-8191. (206) 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org Ski Buddies Monthly Potluck. 6-8:30pm. (See website for details.) Bring a potluck dish to share. Ski Buddies is a non-profit GLBT & GLBT-friendly club which meets thruout the year. www.skibuddies.org Pride League Bowling. 6:30pm. West Seattle Bowl, 4505 39th Ave SW. Every Sunday. Regular league bowling. Jeff, (206) 932-3731; leagues@wsbowl.com.

[EXCEPT no bowling June, July & August.]

Integrity/Puget Sound. 7pm Worship & Fellowship. St. Mark’s Cathedral, Thomson Chapel, 1245 10th Ave E. Integrity is an international ministry of Gay & Lesbian Episcopalians, their friends & families, dedicated to education, support & service within the Church & the GLBT community. (425) 226-2746.

“Reunited” - A Benefit Cabaret with Gaysha Starr & Friends for Seattle Humane. 6pm doors; 7pm show. Julia’s on Broadway, 300 Broadway E. Featuring some of the best drag entertainment from the ’80s, ’90s & NOW! In remembrance of Nina. $20 at the door. An all ages event.

Sean Dorsey Dance - “The Missing Generation.” 7:30pm. Velocity Dance Center, 1621 12th Ave. See Saturday listing at 7:30pm. http://velocitydancecenter.org/ Noche Latina - Latino Night. 10pm. Neighbours, 1509 Broadway. Every Sunday.

MONDAY - May 7

Translations: Seattle Transgender Film Festival (May 3-12) https://threedollarbillcinema.org

Rainbow Walk for LGBTQ Elders 50+ - Volunteer Park Walk. 12 noon-1pm. 14th Ave E & E Prospect St. Every Monday starting 3/26 - Come Rain or Shine! - Meet at Black Sun sculpture across from museum. Hot coffee and beautiful Rainbow umbrellas to use “just in case.” For info, call (206) 393-3400;. Sponsored by Generations Aging With Pride.

SOBER On Meds. 1-2pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Every Monday. 12-step group open to anyone in recovery & living on a medicine regimen. (206) 3222437; www.sasgcc.org

Strength Over Speed (SOS). 2-3:30pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Peer support for Gay and Bisexual men recovering from crystal meth addiction. www.strengthoverspeed.org. (206) 322-2437; www. sasgcc.org

Orca Swim Team Workout. Evening. Seattle University, Connolly Athletic Center, 14th Ave & E Cherry St. (See Sunday afternoon listing.)

Freely Speaking Toastmasters. 7pm. Seattle Unity Church, 200 8th Ave N. Every Monday (except holidays & the last Mondays in August & December). Seattle’s only LGBT speaking club. www.FreelySpeaking.org Trans Youth Group. 7-8:30pm. Lambert House, 1818 15th Ave. Every Monday. A chance for youth to talk with others about their experiences & concerns related to identifying as Transgender. www.lamberthouse.org

Lambert House Art Night. 7:30-9:30pm. 1818 15th Ave. Every Monday. Bring your ideas & let’s have some fun. (206) 322-2515, www.lamberthouse.org

Destiny/Unity AA Meeting in Tacoma. 7:30-8:30pm. Christ Episcopal Church, 310 N “K” St, Tacoma. Every Monday. LGBTQ-friendly AA meeting. (253) 474-8897. (Also meets Fridays.)

Washington Gender Alliance Support Group Meeting in Shoreline 7:30pm. Center for Human Services, 17018 15th Ave NE, Shoreline. Every Monday. www. washingtongenderalliance.com

TUESDAY - May 8

Translations: Seattle Transgender Film Festival (May 3-12) https://threedollarbillcinema.org Orca Swim Team Workout. Morning. Seattle University, Connolly Athletic Center, 14th Ave & E Cherry St. (See Sunday afternoon listing.)

LGBTQ+ Group. 1:15-2:15pm. Orion Center, 1828 Yale Ave. Every Tuesday. A group for LGBTQ youth ages 13-24 & their allies. Sponsored by Youthcare. (206) 622-5555.

Rainbow Walk for LGBTQ Elders 50+ - Alki Beach Walk. 2-3pm. 61st Ave SW & Alki Ave SW. Tuesday starting 3/27 - Come Rain or Shine! - Meet at Statue of Liberty statue. Hot coffee and beautiful Rainbow umbrellas to use “just in case.” For info, call ((206) 393-3400;. Wheelchair-friendly walk. Sponsored by Generations Aging With Pride.

LGBTQ Questioning & Allied Youth Drop-in Group in Renton 6-8pm. Renton Area Youth Services (RAYS), 1025 S 3rd St, Renton. Every Tuesday. Confidential. Snacks provided. Bring friends or come alone - anyone 12-18 is welcome. Questions? Call Sarah Hardin, (425) 271-5600 ext 155, or email sarahh@rays.org

Strength Over Speed (SOS). 6-7:30pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Peer support for Gay and Bisexual men recovering from crystal meth addiction. www.strengthoverspeed.org. (206) 322-2437; www. sasgcc.org

ALISS - Aging Lesbians in South Seattle Evening Gathering. 6:30-8pm. Southeast Seattle Senior Center, 4655 S Holly St, Rainier Ave S & S Holly St., Social Hall. Meets 2nd & 4th Tuesday each month. This is a group primarily for Lesbians but all are welcome to attend. Facilitator: Fai Coffin; Cost: FREE. Metro route 7. Wheelchair accessible. Kate, (206) 722-0317; www.sessc.org. Alzheimer’s Association’s LGBT Caregivers’ Support Group. 6:30-8pm. Home Street Bank, 7307 Greenwood Ave N. Meets 2nd Tuesday each month. A free information and support group for care partners, family members and friends of individuals with demen

20 [HEALTH & WELL-BEING]

ENERGY/BODYWORK

21 [LICENSED MASSAGE - NON-SEXUAL]

ENJOY A SOOTHING MASSAGE

Swedish, Deep Tissue, Sports, and Hot Stone Massage on Capitol Hill. $65 an hour. Jeff, LMP. 206-6500542; rjeffa@hotmail.com; www.broadwaymassage. com. 17/3

EXCEPTIONAL BODYWORK

38 [MEN]

RAIN CITY JACKS

RCJ is Seattle’s private club hosting hundreds of group jack-off events since 2005. Hot, friendly, and genuine male bonding for men 18+ only. Email or visit our web site for information. info@raincityjacks.org; www. raincityjacks.org. 18/12

TIDY'S LANDSCAPING & HAULING

Shrubs, Blackberry & Ivy Removals * Dump Runs, Evictions, Basements & Garage Clean Outs * Bi-Weekly, Monthly & All Year-Round Yard Maintenance. Free Estimates. 206-354-8949. 21/6

Therapeutic massage. 30 years experience. Relaxation, major/minor injuries, chronic muscle pain. Small Ballard home office/studio. Massage table or massage chair. Convenient parking. (I’m a Gay-friendly straight male graphic artist, web author.) First session 50% off = $45/1.5 hours (travel extra). By appointment only. References available. Chris Pringer, Reiki Master, 206-286-0899. If you get a voice message mentioning “extension #,” please hang up and call back again; otherwise, please leave a message. Brochure, testimonials, etc. via chalicebridge.com/BMI-Brochure. html. 44/21

PETS OF THE WEEK

Adoption Center

Sunday – Wednesday | 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Thursday – Saturday | 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.

13212 SE Eastgate Wy, Bellevue, WA 98005 (425) 649-7563 | adoption@seattlehumane.org

Is your life missing a furry friend? Now is the perfect time to open your world to a pet in need. Coldwell Banker’s Homes for Dogs program with Adopt-a-pet.com has helped place 20,000 dogs into homes across the country. Could your place be the next happy ending for a pet in need? Make your house a home by visiting the shelter and bringing back the pet of your dreams.

May 4-6

Let the force guide you to Seattle Humane in Bellevue this weekend for $50 off all pet adoption fees May 4-6. Just like Jedi knights, shelter pets have great intuition, agility and resilience. Adopting will help save the rebellion! Whether you need a Han Solo, Yoda or Princess Leia at your side, there’s a perfect pet for you at Seattle Humane to explore the galaxies with! Learn more at Seattle Humane dot o-r-g.

Given by highly trained LMP. I specialize in injury treatment, acute, chronic, and repetitive stress motion. I have a studio on CapHill, and one just north of the UW. Insurance accepted. Matt Shafer, LMP, 206-2357766. 27/12

37 [BODYWORK]

EROTICALLY CHARGED nude full body rubdown from playful top, stimulating the senses. Get seduced. Incalls in Renton area. Scott, 206-355-4469. 09/3

GREAT MASSAGE

Given by highly-trained, clean-cut, handsome guy. I have two private studios, one on CapHill, and one just north of the UW. Call/text Matt, 206-235-7766. In/ out calls. 27/12

FREE & ANONYMOUS HIV & STD COUNSELING/TESTING Walk-In or by Appt GAY CITY HEALTH PROJECT 517 E. Pike St. M-F: 3pm-8pm; SAT: 12:30pm-5pm More Info & to Schedule Appt 206-860-6969

Spotty Dog

Meet Spotty Dog, a 1-year-old Labrador/Catahoula mix, who would love to be your best friend. This happy girl loves a good long play, especially where she can jump on all the squeakies you can throw. She also loves a good ear scratch and will trade plenty of sweet kisses for one. Spotty would love to have an active family that will take her running, hiking, and give her lots of play time. She has been having fun in playgroups and wouldn't mind joining a pack with another dog! If you have room in your heart and home for this happy girl, then come meet her today at the Seattle Humane – you'll be glad you did!

As with all of our dogs, Spotty has been spayed, microchipped, vaccinated and behavior-tested. She will go home with a certificate for an examination by a King County veterinarian and an identification tag. PLUS, most dog adoptions include 30 days of pet insurance from Trupanion and a training rebate when you complete a dog behavior course – a great way to start off on the right paw!

Olive

Meet Olive, a sweet 2-year-old kitty with long and soft grey and rust fur. This enchanting lady is sure to steal the show and all of the head scratches wherever she goes. She'll be a wonderful addition to a family looking to add a friendly cat to the mix. Olive is currently touring King County aboard Seattle Humane's mobile adoption bus, the MaxMobile! Check our website for upcoming locations. Don't miss your chance to meet this friendly gal!

As with all of our cats, Olive has been spayed, microchipped and vaccinated. All of our cats have been tested for Feline Leukemia/FIV and go home with a certificate for an examination by a King County veterinarian and their very own identification tag and collar. PLUS, most cat adoptions include 30 days of pet insurance from Trupanion – a great way to start off on the right paw.