LGBT POV

Somewhere along the line – before or after Stonewall, I don’t know – some in the LGBT liberation movement realized that as a “different” people with our own significant contribution to make, we needed to record and remember our past and nurture and create our future.

Gay Liberation/LA and Radical Faeries co-founder Dr. Don Kilhefner and author/therapist Mark Thompson have spent a lifetime in LGBT activism and both are keen on preserving LGBT history. They have given lectures about LGBT history at the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives - sometimes to the dismay of other activists who believe they have a better knowledge of “the truth.”

But what Kilhefner and Thompson want most to preserve is the time in the 1960s and 1970s when gay men, in particular, pursued liberation and total freedom of expression – wherever that might lead – often to ancient spiritual rituals involving nature and nudity. The joy was in discovering and creating new identities that celebrated their unique and common soul and life force as gay men. It was a celebration of the liberation of the individual and collective imagination.

But as time wore on, support for the newly created LGBT organizations required governmental grants and lobbying to change discriminatory laws. Slowly, perhaps of necessity, the LGBT movement for “liberation” morphed into the more demure movement for equal rights. The message changed from we are different and we celebrate those differences – to we are just like you and we want and deserve all the rights afforded heterosexuals.

Meanwhile, Kilhefner and Thompson, two self-described “elders,” worried about the message being sent to LGBT youth. Who was empowering them, supporting their developing imaginations?

Out of that concern, three years ago they created “Rise Up and Shout!” – LA’s first cross-generational event that showcased the artistic expression of LGBT youth, about which filmmaker Brian Gleason created an award-winning documentary. Gleason is joined by New York stage director Jim Pentecost in producing tonight’s performance showcase: “Rise Up and Shout! Voices of the Next LGBT Generation.”

Says Kilhefner:

We call it a show because we will be showcasing the gifts, imagination and creativity of LGBT youth–teens and early twenty-somethings. We call it a ceremony because we also see it as a Blessing of Our Youth Ceremony in which we welcome their genius into the life of our community–a significant initiation….

[T]here was a deep understanding that the only way we can live in the kind of gay and lesbian community that we want to live in, is for each generation to continue to build it.”

On their website, the filmmakers say this about the documentary:

“‘Rise Up And Shout!’ tells the story of four generations of creative gay voices in Los Angeles who unite to create a theatrical showcase for gay youth on September 9, 2006.  In the process, a unique community is created made up of young and old, black and white, shy and loud — including an 83 year-old priest and an 18 year old former prostitute and poet.

‘Rise Up And Shout!’ looks at this wide array of gay voices as they struggle through the creative process, through the generation gap left by the AIDS crisis, and through the politics and multifaceted culture that is the gay community in Los Angeles. ‘Rise Up and Shout!’ follows the four generations of gays and lesbians over the course of a year, asking questions like what was it like to come out: in 1946 and in 2006? and also showcases the auditions, rehearsals and performances of gay voices as diverse as drag opera to lesbian hip hop.”

This year’s event takes place at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre 4800 Hollywood Blvd., in Hollywood. Tickets for the one-night-only performance at 7:00pm are available for $25 at BGTtix.com. The money raised goes to the young performers. Additional information about the program can be found at riseupandshout.org or by calling (323) 823-3171.