July 24th, 2010 maggie
Maggie and Rachel have sequestered themselves at Camp Crowley, an exclusive Connecticut resort (formerly known as the Maggie Cee Ancestral Homeland) for a weekend of writing. Will we stick to the schedule? Will we burn the patio down when we attempt to grill our dinner? Will we manage to nap and swim at my parent’s new secret river swimming hole during our two hour afternoon break? I’m sure the suspense is killing you, so we’ll update throughout the day.
So far, more or less on schedule!
In the mess hall. Somehow, I always pick the Catholic coffee mug.
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July 13th, 2010 maggie
Phyllis Troubridge and Beatrice Llewellyn are invaluable members of the Femme Show, keeping our sewing kit stocked and tatting lace gloves for the entire cast as Solstice gifts. They always pack a mean picnic when we’re on the road. You can meet them and enjoy a civilized pot of tea on Wednesday July 28 at their Evening of Tea and Entertainment.
Tell us about your first experience with the Femme Show:
We were very pleased to make the acquaintance of the Femme Show through an introduction in Spring 2008, and delighted to be invited to offer our “Guide to Revolution and Comportment for the Feminine Sapphist” the following fall. Despite the somewhat checkered reputations of artists in general in such matters as manners and hygeine, we found the members of the show to be unfailingly gracious and deeply informative. In fact, to this very day, some of the most valuable pearls of wisdom contained in our etiquette guide have been gleaned from members of the Femme Show ensemble.
What makes the Femme Show so important?
Though we take great pleasure in advising our niece, Tucker, and hir acquaintances on all manner of sartorial and social dilemmas from the comfort of our porch and parlor, the opportunity provided by the Femme Show for SPPSSM to spread the gospel of good manners and good taste to Sapphists everywhere has been invaluable. We at SPPSSM firmly believe that Sapphists of all identifications, orientations, and presentations stand to benefit and to flourish from the addition of etiquette, culture, and class to the collective Sapphic vocabulary. The Femme Show enables this dream to reach to all corners of the Sapphic social universe.
What are you most excited about for the Femme Show in 2010?
We at SPPSSM are always so honored and delighted to share the timeless lessons contained within our very own “Lifestyle Compendium for the Modern Sapphic Socialite.” By October, we are hoping to have enrolled the first class of pupils at the SPPSSM Finishing School for Wayward Sapphists, and look forward to guiding many a lost soul through hir much-needed Sapphic social transformation.
What is your favorite thing to do onstage? Least favorite?
As seasoned presenters– we are, after all, available to address your sewing circles and religious institutions, your historical sociaties and gardening clubs– we derive a great deal of pleasure from addressing the social and sartorial queries that are germane to today’s Sapphist. We always treasure the opportunity to interact with, and enrich the lives of, the Sapphic populus.
As it is most generous of the Femme Show to host us in this forum, we simply cannot identify any aspect of our speaking experience as unsatisfactory. Due to the sheer volume of Sapphists experiencing acute etiquette crises at any given time, we at SPPSSM do wish we had more extensive opportunities for consultation with show attendees.
Sweet or savory?
When paired with a complimentary tea, at the appropriate time of day, both petit fors and tea sandwiches can be equally enjoyable.
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May 20th, 2010 maggie
Mel first appeared in this blog under the stage name Mr. GF. Mel is our official athletics coach, twitter proofreader, America’s Next Top Transmasculine T-shirt Model, and all-around genderqueer First Lady of the Femme Show.
Tell us about your first Femme Show.
My first Femme Show was the Portland, ME show in the summer of 2008. My job was to sell t-shirts – and it still is! I had seen some pieces in smaller bar shows beforehand, but this was my first full-length show. I remember really enjoying the whole evening-long experience and getting a good vantage point from my seat at the t-shirt table to see how much the audience enjoyed the show. And I got to chat with some of the old dykes who had seen the show afterwards, and they said something to the tune of, “wow, I wish we had girls to see in shows like this when we were young!” That was really special. I also remember tearing up while watching Small Stone – it was the first time I had ever seen it. It’s my favorite Femme Show piece, I think. Read the rest of this entry »
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May 11th, 2010 maggie
As our tell-all Tuesday feature winds down (two more weeks to go! Can you guess who’s left?), we are thrilled to present to you motorcycle-driving, cardigan-loving, tap-dancing, Québécois femme Mylène, who I love so much I cut and paste her name every time I write it.
Tell us about your first Femme Show.
By the time I finally got my ass to a performance, the Femme Show was infamous. I had been performing with Femme Captain at the time of its inception and was quite captivated by her passion for all things Femme. Finally, after a few seasons of not being able to see the show for boring reasons, I caught a performance in Portland, Me. I was blown away by what I saw; I cried a lot! I knew that I wanted to participate in some way.
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May 4th, 2010 maggie
Otherwise known as smart, feisty artists, educators, and activists Lea Robinson and Elizabeth Whitney, Bitches with Barrettes are The Femme Show’s favorite excuse to rock plastic barrettes, line dance, check hula hoops on the Chinatown Bus, and skip in a circle while trying not to drop the darn hoop.
Tell us about your first Femme Show.
we’d been looking for other queer artists in boston and we were so glad when maggie came to a works in progress event and told us about the femme show. it was kismet! we finally found a home for our hooping dreams.
What have you been up to since October?
we left boston and moved to new york city, and we love it! (though of course we miss the boston femmes.) we have been performing with The Bulldyke Chronicles at Dixon Place, the Famous Lesbian Comedy Road Show (east coast tour coming this summer), and we’ll be sharing a bill with two new solo shows at the July HOT! Festival at Dixon Place this July.
What makes the Femme Show so important?
it’s an incredible opportunity to get together with like-minded and inventive artists to talk about gender identity, and it’s an excellent motivator for working on new material.
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April 27th, 2010 maggie
Here is another member of the Femme Show: the First Generation. havalah was there back when you had to walk three miles uphill both ways carrying a tarp, 12 razors, and 6 bottles of shaving cream if you wanted to do a performance about queer femme identity. Also, unlike most of these pomo queers, havalah is not afraid to admit to being squarely on the sweet side of the oppressive snack binary.
Tell us about your first Femme Show.
Well, i met Maggie one of the first weeks i moved to Boston. We were at a reading of The Whipping Girl by Julia Serano, and Maggie was giving rides back to Jamaica Plain. i got a ride back, and have been involved with The Femme Show ever since! i remember being so nervous and excited about being a part of it, and at the dress rehearsal i knew i was a part of something very special, and that i had found my community. From singing Ass and Titties before going on stage to having folks tie up my knee high boots, i loved every minute of the first Femme Show.
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April 21st, 2010 maggie
I originally posted this to my personal facebook page, because it felt, well, personal, but I’ve been encouraged to share it with you. I am doing much better now than I was when I first wrote it and I now have a 2009 Toyota Yaris, suitable for cramming in at least 3, maybe 4 femmes.
I never thought of myself as someone who was emotionally attached to her car, but then me and the Lesbaru had an encounter with a Dodge Ram on Lamartine Street Friday morning. I am fine, if a bit anxious and overwhelmed, but the Lesbaru will be appearing soon at a junkyard near you. I need to get going on cars.com, but first I need to say a few words in honor of the Lesbaru.
It was my maternal grandmother’s second to last car, and she gave it to me for a penny, with new tires and a clean bill of health. That gift meant freedom to quit working in politics when I was at the edge of burnout and marriage equality in Mass. was at the edge of victory. With a car, I could take better-paid work doing what I love, instead of lower wage jobs trying to teach hip-hop at community centers in Cambridge. I didn’t even know at the time that I would found a motley crew of queer performance artists, and that we would cram that car with petticoats and cheese snacks and drive all over the East Coast.
I put the Dar Williams bumper sticker on it that I’d saved since high school, and Mom bought me a rainbow. I immediately got a job teaching on Friday nights in a bad part of Weymouth and backed it into a parking spot every time because I was afraid it would get vandalized. Soon after wards, I started to feel too cool for bumper stickers, but it was too late, so I gave it the ironic nickname. (I hope the Crowleys aren’t offended).
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