‘I Am’
May 19, doors at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m.
PushPush Theater
East Decatur Station
121 New St. #4, Decatur
678-596-3637 www.thefreedommovementatl.com
Cineprov! presents ‘Sex & the City’
May 23, 8:30 p.m.
Relapse Theatre
380 14th St. NW
404-914-4579 www.cineprov.com
‘I Am’ stage play tackles gay bashing, discrimination
Tahira Hyman moved to Atlanta in September from Detroit. She hoped to find a more art-friendly community open to the production of the her stage play, “I Am,” while also starting her new theater company, The Freedom Movement.
“I was working in social work [in Detroit] and was noticing a lot of discrimination. And I started to think how people stand in front of a podium to talk about tolerance … but nobody really listens,” Hyman says. “But if you hide it behind entertainment, people can be entertained but also get a moral from the story.”
Hyman’s play “I Am” comes to PushPush Theater in Decatur on May 19. It consists of different scenes of discrimination including a gay bashing, interracial relationships and abortion. Each scene is then followed by a monologue from a main character in the scene.
In the gay bashing sequence, three male friends are playing cards when one of them comes out. One friend attempts to beat the man up, and the two get into a fight.
Following the scene, the man who plays the gay character addresses the audience about being tired of being rejected, and then commits suicide on stage, Hyman says. The sister of the dead man then addresses the audience.
“She tells the audience all he wanted to do was love, and that’s what this production is about — love,” Hyman says.
– Dyana Bagby
Pine Lake writer wins Georgia Poetry Society prize
Alice Teeter, a lesbian poet and graphic artist from Pine Lake, won the 2008 Charles B. Dickson Chapbook Prize for her collection “String Theory.”
The Georgia Poetry Society award honors the best chapbook published in the state each year. Teeter beat 14 poets for this year’s award, judged by poet and critic Lewis Turco.
“‘String Theory’ is an exceedingly unusual and interesting collection of poems,” Turco says. “Clearly, the author has developed a personal style of writing instantly recognizable.”
Teeter began writing poetry 45 years ago as a fourth-grader, but only began to publish her work two years ago.
“I’m delighted to have won, and to have gained the attention of Lewis Turco,” Teeter says.
Teeter lives in Pine Lake with her partner, Pine Lake Mayor Pro-Tem Kathie deNobriga. Teeter works as a graphic artist and has provided cover artwork for a number of Atlanta-area bands.
“I think I pay a lot of attention when I write it or type it out to what it looks like on the page, so I think the visual layout is where my graphic arts training affects my poems,” Teeter said.
Her first large-scale project is a collaboration that will blend several mediums with physics theories.
– Matt Schafer
Movie improv group sets sights on ‘Sex & the City’
Cineprov!, the local improv group that pokes fun at films, targets the final two episodes of the television series “Sex & the City” on May 23 in preparation for the national release of the series’ big-screen namesake at the end of the month.
The troupe’s performances follow the format of the old television series “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” which screened B-movies, adding three characters posed as viewers who mock the film.
“Whenever there’s a sequel or a remake, we like to be there to remind Hollywood that they shouldn’t have done it, or to get people excited,” says Larry Johnson, Cineprov! founder.
He says that the troupe does not typically target any certain demographic with each installment, but he looks forward to the large gay contingent likely to turn out for “Sex & the City.”
“We’ve done a lot of shows that had a pretty big gay presence,” he says. “We trot it out and see who shows up, and the gay-themed movies always seem to be a good time.”
– Rob Beck
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