Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

SCOTTISH PLAY SCOTT GayCo at 20
by Scott C. Morgan, Windy City Times
2016-10-05

This article shared 482 times since Wed Oct 5, 2016
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


Gay activist and performer Jim Bennett was amazed when he saw the sketch-comedy show Whitney Houston, We Have a Problem back in 1996 at The Second City's Donny's Skybox Studio. It was the very first production of GayCo, which would go on to become Chicago's oldest and longest-running LGBTQ sketch comedy troupe.

"I was floored and I loved it," said Bennett, adding that, at the time, he was just starting to take improvisation classes with The Second City Training Center. "It was incredible to see this show that's completely done on gay themes and the talent that was in it, and it was really something that I wanted to do."

Bennett joined GayCo in 1999. He stepped away only a few years ago due to his full-time job as Midwest regional director for the Lambda Legal Defense Fund when the battle for marriage equality really started intensifying.

For GayCo's one-night-only 20th-anniversary show titled "GayCo XX: Gay for Play," a number of GayCo alumni like Bennett will be returning. Others include Martin Garcia ( Blackish, The Mindy Project ), Celeste Pechous ( Hot in Cleveland, Workaholics ) and Andy Eninger ( head of The Second City's writing program ).

"It's going back to the material over the past 20 years," Bennett said. "One thing that is interesting is the selection of scenes is based more on the funny rather than the political. Partly because a lot of the political scenes feel dated."

Not to say that GayCo was ever afraid to tackle controversial issues through the years. Bullying, the U.S. Military's former "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy and even the Iraq War's Abu Ghraib prison torture scandal provided fodder for GayCo sketches.

GayCo also dealt with issues that initially weren't on the front burner like marriage equality. Bennett pointed out that he wrote GayCo's first sketch about gay marriage long before they were legalized in the state of Massachusetts. The sketch was born out of headaches Bennett and his future husband faced in trying to get a mortgage as a couple who were not legally recognized by either federal or state governments.

"I was always considered 'the political gay' in our group, so for me to have a voice, to be able to bring the issues I care about but to be able to do it with humor was amazing," Bennett said. "With comedy you can slide so much through when people's defenses are down."

GayCo also allowed LGBTQ performers to develop their craft with their defenses down, too. Bennett mentioned that when he took comedy classes at Second City and i.O. in the 1990s, there often was a "frat element" that could intimidate others and push LGBTQ characters into the same old stereotypes. But that's not to say that wasn't friction within GayCo itself, especially when it came to disagreements among members of the LGBTQ community.

"The majority of our humor was found in the differences between lesbians and gays and sort of the odd way that our community is just put together," Bennett said. "It was always a perfect place to mine humor and it would both play out in rehearsals and in the shows themselves. We would have times when the guys would be talking about sex, what people did and what it was like at the Manhole [bar] that night, and if the women shared one story that was about something they did, the guys would go, 'Stop! That's gross.' And we would have huge fights over this double standard and then we would find that hilarious."

The 20th anniversary of GayCo is one for celebration, but also for much reflection and sadness. That's because original GayCo cofounder and ensemble member Judy Fabjance, passed away from cancer this past August.

Bennett credits Fabjance for playing a major role in the creation of GayCo. But also he stresses that Fabjance being out and open as a lesbian helped to make The Second City far more welcoming to LGBTQ performers through her long affiliation with the organization starting as a starry-eyed fan and later as a much-beloved improvisation instructor.

"Judy grew up at Second City. They knew her since she was a 15-year-old girl hanging around just wanting to meet everyone. So for Second City and certainly for us, they began to understand the issues of what it would like to be LGBT because they knew Judy—they came out with Judy," Bennett said. "For Judy to struggle within Second City and not feel completely welcome, because they knew her so well, they as an organization realized that the LGBT community needs to feel that The Second City is their home and that's where their voice is. We owe a ton of their understanding and their willingness to bring us into the fold because of Judy."

Part of GayCo's 20th-anniversary show will play tribute to Fabjance's life and work by featuring some of her sketches. Bennett said one of Fabjance's strengths was writing relationship material that still holds up today.

"It's going to be very painful to do some of Judy's scenes," Bennett said. "Although I'm very excited that we're doing them."

"GayCo XX: Gay for Play" is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, at Second City's UP Comedy Club, 230 W. North Ave. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. General admission tickets are $20; visit GayCo.com for more information.

Dueling lesbian dramatists

The five finalists of Pride Films and Plays' 2016 LezPlay Contest will have their works performed in staged readings from Friday, Oct. 7, to Sunday, Oct. 9. The LezPlay Contest strives to enhance the visibility and viability of women who write for the stage and screen in which lesbian characters and themes play a pivotal role. For example, this month Pride Films and Plays is producing the world premiere of last year's LezPlay Contest winner, Nancy Nyman and Heather McNama's Resolution.

The 2016 LezPlay Contest features Lena Wilson's Fraying Live Wires Tend to Give Off Sparks at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 8. Performances on Saturday, Oct. 8, feature Rae Brinstock's Watch Me Burn at 1 p.m. and Geraldine Inoa's Bold as Love at 7 p.m. Performances on Sunday, Oct. 9, feature Ann L. Gibbs and Judith Allen's To Bury a Stranger at 11 a.m. and Corinne J. Kawecki's The Days are Shorter at 3 p.m. All shows are at the Center on Halsted's Hoover-Leppen Theatre, 3656 N. Halsted St. Pay-what-you-can admission, though $10 is the suggested donation. Visit PrideFilmsAndPlays.com for more information.


This article shared 482 times since Wed Oct 5, 2016
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Jamie Barton brings nuances of identity to her Lyric Opera 'Aida' performance 2024-03-18
- Chicago's Lyric Opera is currently featuring a production of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida starring Michelle Bradley as Aida, Jamie Barton as Amneris and Russell Thomas as Radamès. The opera runs through April 7, 2024, with Francesca Zambello ...


Gay News

Queer Eye's Jai Rodriguez is set to slay at The Big Gay Cabaret 2024-03-05
- Out and proud performer Jai Rodriguez is set to play at The Big Gay Cabaret this March for three days. Presented by RuPaul Drag Racer Ginger Minj, this monthly series highlights the wide world of cabaret ...


Gay News

THEATER 'R & J' puts a female, queer spin on Shakespeare 2024-03-05
- Romeo and Juliet is the theatrical gift that keeps on giving. It's been reworked for the masses numerous times, whether in direct adaptations or musicals such as West Side Story. Shakespeare's plotline points have even inspired ...


Gay News

Center on Halsted hosts 6th Annual Intergenerational Talent Show 2024-03-03
- On the evening of Feb. 29, Center on Halsted held its 6th Annual Intergenerational Talent Show in front of a packed audience at the Hoover-Leppen Theater. The event brought together participants of the Center's youth and senior ...


Gay News

THEATER When growth is paramount: Jim Corti helps fuel Aurora theater expansion 2024-03-01
- Out actor/director/choreographer Jim Corti made his Broadway debut in 1974, in the ensemble of Leonard Bernstein's musical Candide. Director Harold Prince's acclaimed Tony Award-winning revival is often cited as a ...


Gay News

Theater Review: Billy Elliot, The Musical 2024-02-19
- Book and Lyrics: Lee Hall; Music: Elton John. At: Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora Tickets: 630-896-6666 or Paramountaurora.com; $28-$79. Runs through March 24 Billy Elliot: The Musical may nearly be two decades old, but ...


Gay News

'West Side Story' gets a sex-positive spin with new burlesque show 2024-02-19
- In partial observance of National Condom Day, which was Feb. 14, Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) presented A West Side Story Burlesque at the Harris Theater for two hour-long performances on Feb. 17. The show, ...


Gay News

Second Glance Productions hosts LGBTQupid Soiree 2024-02-16
- In celebration of Valentine's Day, Chicago based film and media production company Second Glance hosted The LBGTQupid Soiree. The event, which was focused on spinning attitudes on this particular day, was presented at The iO ...


Gay News

Carisa Hendrix mesmerizes as Lucy Darling in Teatro ZinZanni 2024-02-12
- Since 2019, Teatro ZinZanni has gathered together amazing performers from all over the world to create an experience in Chicago under the Spiegeltent in the Cambria Hotel building, 32 W. Randolph St. Over the years, ticket ...


Gay News

THEATER Dot-Marie Jones talks Goodman production, 'Glee,' 'Bros' 2024-02-12
- Running through Feb. 18 at the the Goodman Theatre, the production Highway Patrol works with a script conceived entirely from Emmy-winning actor Dana Delany's (TV's China Beach) digital archive of hundreds of tweets and direct messages ...


Gay News

Dr. Lady J explains how opera can be a drag 2024-02-10
- On Feb. 8, Center on Halsted, in partnership with Lyric Opera of Chicago, presented a lecture by historian, drag activist, podcaster and curator Dr. Lady J. The event, titled "Castrated Superstars, Cross Dressed Divas, and Queer ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Raven-Symone, women's sports, Wayne Brady, Jinkx Monsoon, British Vogue 2024-02-09
- In celebration of Black History Month, the LA LGBT Center announced that lesbian entertainer Raven-Symone will be presented with the Center's Bayard Rustin Award at its new event, Highly Favored, per a press release. She joins ...


Gay News

Chicago-based production company to host all-inclusive, LGBTQ-focused Valentine's Day event 2024-02-07
--From a press release - CHICAGO — Second Glance Productions will host the LGBTQupid Soiree this Valentines Day, Wednesday, February 14, 2024. The event will be held at the iO Theater, 1501 N. Kingsbury St., from 6 pm to 11 pm ...


Gay News

THEATER Nostalgic 'Sunsets' still offers a timely reflection of LGBTQ+ community 2024-02-07
- Nostalgia reigned on a variety of scales this past weekend in Chicago. During her Celebration tour, at a majestically packed United Center, Madonna acknowledged the last 40 years of her career, highlighting her '80s interactions with ...


Gay News

The Jeff Awards announces the 50th-anniversary non-Equity theater nominations 2024-02-06
--From a press release - (Feb. 6, 2024 - Chicago) — Celebrating its 50th anniversary awarding recognition for Non-Equity theater, the Joseph Jefferson Awards announces its nominations for theater excellence among Non-Equity theater during the ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.