By Kristin Kowalski
Tom Chiola became an inspiration for the LGBT community when he became the first openly gay candidate elected to public office in Illinois. Now he adds acting to his resume as an understudy for three roles in F**king Men at Bailiwick Chicago this summer. Although Chiola is an understudy, he will definitely be performing at least two nightsJuly 2-3as Donald, one of the play's 10 characters.
The play, adapted from Arthur Schnitzler's 1900 La Ronde, has a unique format based around 10 characters with two characters in each of the 10 scenes. F**king Men portrays the struggles gay men encounter in defining themselves and their relationships and intertwines the lives of the characters through their partners. The show follows 10 characters "as they negotiate the before and after of lust, love, betrayal and the pursuit of sex and emotional connection," according to the show's website ( fmenchicago.com ) . "I've been so fortunate to become involved with this project," said Chiola. "When I read it, I saw a lot of what I lived, what I'd been through in that play."
F**king Men goes along with Bailiwick Chicago's Mission to "tell stories that stimulate our audience and celebrate our diverse community, enhancing our understanding of ourselves and others." Characters in the show include a couple in a 12-year open relationship, a closeted TV personality, a hot, young actor who wants to come out of the closet, as well as a wide range of gay men in other career and relationship situations. Chiola said, "Another reason why I'm so happy to be a part of this production ( is ) because of what this play's aboutour connections, our relationships as gay men." Each transition drives the play forward by connecting characters from scene to scene through their sexual partners. "There's a dance that goes on in every scene and at times one character is leading the dance and then the other character is leading the dance," said Chiola. "With the character Donald, I know the two characters who I'm going to be on with and those are ( played by ) Beau Forbes and Arthur Luis Soriathey give so much in the scenes that reacting to them... makes it that much easier for me."
"It's just amazing for me to watch these guys go through what they go through in their daily lives to be able to walk onstage," said Chiola. Chiola expressed respect and admiration for the talent of his fellow cast members as well as the sacrifices they makesome working 3 or 4 jobsto be able to perform for live audiences. "Folks, it's a mix of straight and gay actors and I would defy anyone to be able to pick out at the end of the evening who were the straight actors and who were the gay actors," said Chiola. "I just think that people will be impressed with these performances, so I think they should come and see this great group."
F**king Men is uniquely structured in a way that focuses on the characters and the challenges they face as gay men negotiating relationships. "I remember the days of struggling with coming out," said Chiola. "How I was dealing with it in my third year of law school and how I knew there were two other guys in the law school who were gaywe used to avoid each other in the hallways."
"We didn't have contact with each otherthere was no support system."
The play looks at diverse situations, which can allow audiences of all persuasions to relate in some way or at least understand what gay men have to go through in their relationships. "Gay men are going to find a piece of themselves somewhere in this production," said Chiola, "things that they've had to deal with in their lives, things they've thought about."
"I think straight audiences may get a little bit better flavor of what we deal with that is different than a straight relationship," said Chiola. The play stands on its own as a compelling analysis of gay men's relationships and the talent of the ensemble alone should be enough to draw audiences, said Chiola. He also mentioned that the production has original music and the director's vision makes the play "a film noir kind of experience" with a "stylized kind of film experience as opposed to a stage experience."
Chiola considers this play as his second chance at acting, which he abandoned for law school in college. "And this was really my second chance to see if acting was something that I could get a handle on, be any good at," said Chiola. "I'm so grateful that ( Tom Mullen ) has decided to take a chance on somebody that's really the new kid on the blockI'm the rookie here." Though this will be Chiola's professional debut in theater, he hopes it won't be his last appearance on the stage. He plans on continuing acting classes and vocal lessons while he looks for more shows that catch his eye like F**king Men did.
F**king Men opens June 26 and runs through July 25 with performances at 8 p.m. on Fridays; 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Saturdays; and 7 p.m. on Sundays at Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W. Belmont. ( Chiola will appear July 2-3. ) For tickets, visit www.ticketmaster.com or call 773-327-5252.