Issue Date: 2/15/2007, Posted On: 2/14/2007
Home on the road
Becca A. Lewis as Lulu and Toni Amato as Pappi in Home.
Brian Jewell
bjewell@baywindows.com |  Queer Soup takes its message to the people
In the spring of 2002, I went with my comedy partner Karen Malme to see the play Interview with the Fifty Foot Woman, a queer-tinged spoof of the science-gone-amok films of the 1950s. As we watched the campy show, a light bulb went on over our heads. This little company, J Rene Productions, could have been us: a gay duo scraping together funny shows on a shoestring budget, for little more than the love of it. What if we pooled our resources?
Our first collaboration was a thrown-together affair, a cabaret we dubbed Queer Soup for its stone soup nature. The show struck a chord with the audience, we struck sparks amongst ourselves and we became the Queer Soup theatre company. Over the years the official membership went from four to five to six and finally back to four (Malme, Renee C. Farster, Kim Hoff and Jess Martin) and the shows became more elaborate, from a low tech night of one-act plays to the big cast of Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s High School Reunion.
With social commentary creeping into shows like Citizen Queer and Invasion of Pleasure Valley, the move into more serious fare was logical. In January of 2006, Queer Soup debuted its original drama Home, a searing examination of faith and family secrets that chronicles the fallout from a young woman’s discovery that her grandfather was biologically female.
Now, the little company with big ideas is preparing to take Home on tour to schools and conferences to educate audiences and start conversations about trans and gender issues. On the eve of an anniversary performance of Home in Boston to raise money for the tour, I spoke with some of my former compatriots — director/producer/writer Renee Farster and performer/writer/producer Karen Malme, along with actor Toni Amato — about the road to Home and their drive to produce queer theatre.
Q: I have the gist of it, but could you tell me a little bit more about the play?
Farster: It's basically a family story. Lulu has been raised by her grandparents, Papi and Nana. Upon Papi's death, Lulu finds out he was biologically female. It's mostly about her journey from confusion to anger to … deciding to out him to his congregation. She thinks that's the only way to get him into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Malme: It's what she learned from Papi, that the truth is what's important.
Farster: And it’s about the question of, which truth? She does out him in the eulogy, and it's also about how this affects her relationship with Nana and with her lover, Kai. And Papi is a presence in the whole thing, he has conversations with the characters. He believes she'll come around. And she does, but it's a little too late.
Q: So religion plays a big part in this.
Farster: I would say faith. Faith in God, but also trust in your family. Faith, gender and family is the play in a nutshell.
Q: Why did you move from comedy to drama?
Malme: The story was just pulling at us. We just couldn't let it go. We knew it was a leap for us as a troupe. Could we handle these themes and do it well? We didn't want to do it if we couldn't do it right.
Farster: Of course there's still humor in it. You have to have levity in a show like this.
Malme: And dildos.
Q: It's not a Queer Soup show without dildos.
Malme: Exactly.
Q: You could sell memorial dildos in the lobby.
Farster: That's a good idea actually.
Malme: Oh my god.
Q: So how did you feel about this leap after the first run was over?
Farster: I felt good about it. It was also our first full run at the Boston Center for the Arts, so the production values were very good for us and it was exciting to play in that house. And it felt like what we wanted to do, which was talk about stuff that isn't talked about that often and help build a community around it. A lot of folks from our community were touched by it. Not everybody loved it, but everyone had something to say about it. The discussion continued outside the theater. And that, to me, is almost more important.
Malme: That the goal in the first place, just to stir stuff up so people would talk.
Q: Did these conversations change how you saw the play?
Malme: We did talkbacks after a couple of the performances. Gunner Scott facilitated one, with speakers from the trans community. We also had one with some church groups. It was really interesting hearing their points of view and what they got out of the show, as opposed to what we saw in the show. I think it fed me as a performer, hearing these different views.
Q: So have you made any changes to the play?
Malme: More dildos!
Farster: Script-wise, nothing big. I think the way the show has changed is in how the actors are playing their characters, because we have the original cast for this show. The first time a lot of stuff was played very high. The script lends itself to that. Lulu in particular was an angry character. She's much softer now, and that affects everyone else. There's more sweetness, and I can see more internal conflict this time around.
Malme: The first time, the rehearsal process was so intense because the material was fresh and it brought up a lot of crap. It's the most personal show we've done. Now, we've been able to sit with the material and let it percolate, so it comes out differently. And these three people I'm on stage with, and Renee, we have this amazing connection from going through the first round together.
Farster: There’s an ease and familiarity there. That was needed for the show. And that's more present now.
Q: If you don't mind, could you say more about how it was personal?
Malme: For me, playing a character that's very confident in her sexuality and has a bravado that just pours out … for me, as a comic performer, that was a challenge … There were rehearsals when I just thought I sucked to holy heaven. But they would pull me out of that place and keep me going.
Amato: I think anytime you take people who are tight with each other, especially those of us who do things around art in the queer community, we support each other. We're connected and we take care of each other. And Queer Soup's really committed to diversity, and suddenly we have to embody people who are saying things that are a little … ugh. And you can't play that if you can't find the part of you that still holds on to that uncomfortable feeling. So to be part of this happy supportive queer community and have to yell horrible things at each other … that's hard. And the writing is really good because it puts every character in the position of having to say some truth that's really hard.
Farster: And not necessarily hear the right answer back.
Amato: Yeah. It's not just Lulu who says really mean things. And it's hard also knowing that people in our community come to this show and have to hear those things. Some of the early feedback was that people had a hard time with some of the scenes, because Queer Soup took the risk of representing this. But this stuff happens. That's especially risky for Queer Soup, a troupe that … I mean, we go to Queer Soup shows to laugh and feel good.
Q: We go for the dildos.
Amato: Yeah, so I can only imagine that was a big scary leap.
Q: After Home, Queer Soup did My Yolanda Love.
Farster: Yes. Though Jess [Martin, head writer] had been working on that for a long time. That was very personal for her. Home was more collaborative. It was actually born out of a writing workshop we did with Toni at a creative retreat. So My Yolanda Love is a completely different animal.
Q: But it had a lot of serious themes. Was Home a turning point for Queer Soup?
Farster: It was us growing up. It was our commitment to doing theater that mattered to us. And that could be fun or serious, but it felt like the first time we really thought about the power and responsibility of being a queer theatre in this town. Not to take ourselves too seriously, but if we have the privilege of doing this then we should say something with what we do. This was also the time we were working on our non-profit status and we were making a commitment that we're all in it for the long haul. But we're not always going to do serious stuff. Our next show is this summer and it's also a change for us, we're using work from outside the group for the first time. It's a mix of short things, funny and serious.
Malme: To celebrate our fifth anniversary, we thought it would be fun to ask people to write on the anniversary theme and see what comes back. We also had two big productions in one year so this is our chance to rest a little.
Farster: To rest and to plan. We're plotting out next year.
Malme: We're planning ahead?
Farster: No more finishing a show, then wondering what the next show will be. We're looking ahead, a couple shows out. That's a change.
Q: Did the decision to take Home on tour grow out of your growing sense of your mission?
Malme: We always wanted to do more with this show. The first run was to establish it. But it came out of our commitment to the community and it encouraged dialogue. So we came to see that we should take it to people, instead of hoping people came to it. That just grew naturally out of the initial ideas about the show.
Farster: Part of our mission statement says we smuggle ideas across society's borders -
Malme: - so we have to find those borders.
Q: So how are you finding these audiences?
Amato: I announced this at the last Gendercrash, and seven people came up to us to talk about taking the play to their college.
Malme: It's word of mouth, and contacts and lots of emails.
Farster: Some of the schools have a little money to give us, but churches and community centers generally don't. That's why we're doing the fundraiser. We don't want to be unable to take the show to people because of money issues.
Q: Have you streamlined or stripped down the show?
Farster: Yeah, it doesn't have a set and we've limited the props and costumes. It can be done without stage lights. It's like some traveling Russian theatre out of a suitcase. The actors are pretty much doing this for free.
Amato: What?!
Farster: So whatever money we can raise goes for lodging and transportation and hopefully a little stipend for the actors.
Q: When is the first traveling gig?
Malme: February 27 we're going to the North Shore Alliance for LGB Youth, the next one is in New York, and some colleges in April and so on.
Q: Are you excited?
Amato: I just want the tour jacket.
Q: So tell me more about your long range plans.
Malme: You're going to love this. Renee and I are working on a multimedia show with our friend Kathy Whitman, who is an amazing videographer. We have this idea of going to Graceland and filming it and doing interviews with the community there. And that will be the springboard for a show about gender and class, using Kathy's video.
Q: How do you relate this to Graceland?
Malme: Oh, it's got nothing to do with anything! [laughs] Renee and I both have a history with Elvis growing up. As genderqueer performers, Elvis was a huge inspiration.
Farster: He's the ultimate drag king. Toni's laughing.
Q: Hey, all gender is performance, right?
Farster: That's what I'm talking about!
Amato: I don't think I'll be part of that one.
Farster: The other two members of Queer Soup are going to be hiking the Appalachian Trail next year. Jess is hoping to get a play out of that experience.
Amato: Could you possibly be any more different? Lesbians in the woods and genderqueers at Graceland?
Malme: We've got granola in one hand and a peanut butter banana sandwich in the other hand.
Farster: And we're going to keep booking touring gigs, and we'd like to write a musical. That's in very early stages. And Jess has a new script that we might produce. It's sort of a parody of Nancy Drew, so that would be a return to the campy stuff.
Q: How do you find the time and money to do this?
Farster: We're lucky to have a long-term relationship with the Boston Playwright's Theater. They're very kind to us with resources.
Malme: Right now, we could not afford to do a show at the BCA every year.
Farster: We're really good at doing things on a small budget.
Q: So what keeps you going?
Malme: I just can't imagine doing anything else.
Farster: Yeah, I need to do theater. And it's fun and challenging. If it stops being fun …
Malme: What are you saying?
Farster: I'm saying we need to have a discussion.
Q: Oh, I've got a scoop! Toni, what about you? Will you keep working with Queer Soup?
Amato: As long as they're doing Home and they want me, yes. You know, you asked what keeps them going and they answered very humbly. For me to come on board and work with them, and find this passion they share with each other and shared with me, that only comes out of doing what they absolutely love doing. The commitment, the flame that they have … that's what I hope comes across in your article.
Q: So what do you think about theatre scene in Boston, and queer theater in particular?
Farster: Well, it goes in cycles and I don't know a lot of the long term history. There's good stuff being done, and I think there's enough different things being done. To be honest, I don't see enough theatre.
Q: When you're doing shows, you don't have much time to see shows.
Malme: But that's the danger, you don't want to become self-involved. It's good to see all kinds of things. I think we still need more venues. There would be more stuff out there if there were more little theaters out there. There's so much competition for space that shows come and go really fast, and it's hard to get people to go someplace other than the BCA.
Farster: Of the theatres that I think would be identified as queer … I think we all do pretty different stuff. I'm so glad The Theatre Offensive is still going strong. It's easier for us to do theater because they've been here. And it's great that Ryan [Landry] is so prolific, and he's grown a lot. He 's putting on deeper shows.
Q: What don't you like about Boston theatre?
Malme: The space issue is huge. And no one is doing anything about it, which I don't understand, There's so much money in this town but no one is really working to make new theaters.
Farster: One really specific thing is access. We are committed to doing an ASL show in every run. That's a big deal for a teeny company. If we can do it, everyone can do it.
Q: Underground Railway Theatre is teaming up with The Nora to build a new space. Have you thought of teaming up with other companies like that?
Farster: We're just not there yet. Our yearly budget is around $5000. We need to work on our infrastructure and get some grants.
Amato: Knowing these people, I've watched the group grow from pretty close up. From putting on silly stuff to taking the audience to really uncomfortable places … if I get grandiose they're going to get hives, but I think what Queer Soup has already done is tremendous. You put your asses on the line. If that's not art, what is?
Home will be performed Monday, Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Boston Playwright’s Theatre, 949 Commonwealth Ave, Boston. Suggested donation $20. Info: www.queersoup.net
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