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GAY WEB SERIES “EASTSIDERS” ANNOUNCES CAST
Indie dark comedy attracts established TV stars
Los Angeles, CA – November 30, 2012 – “As the World Turns” star Van
Hansis and “Happy Endings” star Stephen Guarino have joined the cast of
the new web series “EastSiders,” which is scheduled to premiere on
Friday, Dec. 14th.
Hansis, who was nominated for three Daytime Emmies for his portrayal of Luke
Snyder, plays one half of the gay couple at the center of the show, opposite
series creator Kit Williamson. Guarino, whose other work includes three
seasons of “The Big Gay Sketch Show,” “Confessions of a Shopaholic”
and “Bear City,” guest stars as an eccentric party promoter in episode
two.
Cal’s quirky best friend is played by indie film actress Constance Wu,
whose work includes the Sundance film “Sound of My Voice.” Kathy’s
boyfriend Ian is played by veteran stage actor John Halbach, whose work
includes “Tartuffe” on Broadway and the cult hit “Children at Play,”
featured in The Advocate as one of their top ten gay plays. Matthew
McKelligon rounds out the cast as Jeremy, whose work includes “She’s
Living for This” and the upcoming James Franco film “Interior. Leather
Bar,” which is slated to premiere at Sundance.
SERIES SUMMARY
Written and directed by award winning playwright Kit Williamson,
“EastSiders” explores the aftermath of infidelity on a gay couple in
Silverlake, CA. When Cal (Kit Williamson) finds out Thom (Van Hansis) has
been cheating on him with Jeremy (Matthew McKelligon), their relationship is
turned upside down. Will the lies tear them apart or are they just stubborn
enough to stay together forever? Drunken outbursts and double standards
abound in this dark comedy about the sad and funny messes we make out of our
lives.
THE CREATOR
Kit Williamson, the writer/director/star of the series, began his career on
Broadway, acting in the Tony-Nominated revival of “Talk Radio.” Most
recently, he appeared in the indie film “Best Friends Forever.” As a
playwright, he was awarded the Playwrights First Award by The National Arts
Club.
“I wanted to create gay characters with the same complexity and flaws
straight characters are allotted. The way gay couples are depicted is often
frustrating to me. There’s a huge spectrum of lifestyles and experiences
within the gay community and I wanted to explore a kind of relationship that
isn’t often represented. We are so profoundly grateful to have assembled a
cast of this caliber, because this kind of story really hinges on the
acting.” – Kit Williamson
###
“EastSiders: The Series” launches Episode 1 on December 14th at
www.EastSidersTheSeries.com where you can find exclusive photos and
behind-the-scenes photos. Follow the show on twitter at @EastSidersTV and
“Like” us on Facebook athttp://www.facebook.com/EastSidersTheSeries
PRESS CONTACTS:
Kristyne Fetsic (Publicity Manager) — EastSidersPR@gmail.com
Kit Williamson (Creator) — EastSidersTV@gmail.com
Los Angeles, CA – November 30, 2012 – “As the World Turns” star Van
Hansis and “Happy Endings” star Stephen Guarino have joined the cast of
the new web series “EastSiders,” which is scheduled to premiere on
Friday, Dec. 14th.
Hansis, who was nominated for three Daytime Emmies for his portrayal of Luke
Snyder, plays one half of the gay couple at the center of the show, opposite
series creator Kit Williamson. Guarino, whose other work includes three
seasons of “The Big Gay Sketch Show,” “Confessions of a Shopaholic”
and “Bear City,” guest stars as an eccentric party promoter in episode
two.
Cal’s quirky best friend is played by indie film actress Constance Wu,
whose work includes the Sundance film “Sound of My Voice.” Kathy’s
boyfriend Ian is played by veteran stage actor John Halbach, whose work
includes “Tartuffe” on Broadway and the cult hit “Children at Play,”
featured in The Advocate as one of their top ten gay plays. Matthew
McKelligon rounds out the cast as Jeremy, whose work includes “She’s
Living for This” and the upcoming James Franco film “Interior. Leather
Bar,” which is slated to premiere at Sundance.
SERIES SUMMARY
Written and directed by award winning playwright Kit Williamson,
“EastSiders” explores the aftermath of infidelity on a gay couple in
Silverlake, CA. When Cal (Kit Williamson) finds out Thom (Van Hansis) has
been cheating on him with Jeremy (Matthew McKelligon), their relationship is
turned upside down. Will the lies tear them apart or are they just stubborn
enough to stay together forever? Drunken outbursts and double standards
abound in this dark comedy about the sad and funny messes we make out of our
lives.
THE CREATOR
Kit Williamson, the writer/director/star of the series, began his career on
Broadway, acting in the Tony-Nominated revival of “Talk Radio.” Most
recently, he appeared in the indie film “Best Friends Forever.” As a
playwright, he was awarded the Playwrights First Award by The National Arts
Club.
“I wanted to create gay characters with the same complexity and flaws
straight characters are allotted. The way gay couples are depicted is often
frustrating to me. There’s a huge spectrum of lifestyles and experiences
within the gay community and I wanted to explore a kind of relationship that
isn’t often represented. We are so profoundly grateful to have assembled a
cast of this caliber, because this kind of story really hinges on the
acting.” – Kit Williamson
###
“EastSiders: The Series” launches Episode 1 on December 14th at
www.EastSidersTheSeries.com where you can find exclusive photos and
behind-the-scenes photos. Follow the show on twitter at @EastSidersTV and
“Like” us on Facebook athttp://www.facebook.com/EastSidersTheSeries
PRESS CONTACTS:
Kristyne Fetsic (Publicity Manager) — EastSidersPR@gmail.com
Kit Williamson (Creator) — EastSidersTV@gmail.com
Homophobia,
LGBT News
With repeal last year of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law, many military people, including senior leaders, assumed that married gay and lesbian couples had gained not only job security but also equality in allowances, benefits and access to family support programs. That assumption is wrong.
Since the law took effect 14 months ago, the Department of Defense has kept in place policies that bar spouses of same-gender couples from having military identification cards, shopping on base, living in base housing or participating in certain family support programs.
Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, said Army Lt. Col. Heather Mack, 39, “simply just prevented me from losing my job. It didn’t do anything else.”
Mack’s spouse, Ashley Broadway, also 39, can shop in stores on nearby Fort Bragg, N.C., only in the status of “caregiver” for their son, Carson. Lacking a military dependent ID card, Ashley has been challenged by checkout clerks when her shopping cart includes items such as deodorant that clearly aren’t needed by their two-year old.
If Mack is reassigned, the couple will have to pay Ashley’s travel and transportation costs out of pocket. Mack draws housing allowance at the higher “with dependents” rate only because of their child. Marriage alone for same-sex couples, though recognized as legal by 11 states and the District of Columbia, doesn’t qualify a military sponsor for married allowances or civilian spouses for entry onto bases.
Full story here
Tom Philpott's Military Update: Married gays, lesbians still viewed as 'single' by military
Since the law took effect 14 months ago, the Department of Defense has kept in place policies that bar spouses of same-gender couples from having military identification cards, shopping on base, living in base housing or participating in certain family support programs.
Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, said Army Lt. Col. Heather Mack, 39, “simply just prevented me from losing my job. It didn’t do anything else.”
Mack’s spouse, Ashley Broadway, also 39, can shop in stores on nearby Fort Bragg, N.C., only in the status of “caregiver” for their son, Carson. Lacking a military dependent ID card, Ashley has been challenged by checkout clerks when her shopping cart includes items such as deodorant that clearly aren’t needed by their two-year old.
If Mack is reassigned, the couple will have to pay Ashley’s travel and transportation costs out of pocket. Mack draws housing allowance at the higher “with dependents” rate only because of their child. Marriage alone for same-sex couples, though recognized as legal by 11 states and the District of Columbia, doesn’t qualify a military sponsor for married allowances or civilian spouses for entry onto bases.
Full story here
Frank Mugisha, Ugandan Gay Activist: If Anti-Gay Bill Passes, I'd Be 'Sentenced To Death'
“If the law is passed the way it is right now, I would go to jail, and I would be killed,” said Ugandan gay activist Frank Mugisha, speaking from Kampala last week, regarding the newly-revived bill known as the “kill the gays” bill, which could punish homosexuality, which is already illegal in Uganda, with life in prison or death. “The bill says anyone who commits the offense [and speaks out] against this legislation more than once is a serial offender. And the fact that I’ve already said in Uganda that I’m gay, and that I’m an advocate for LGBT rights, that means I’m promoting homosexuality in Uganda, according to this bill. This legislation, if passed into law, it would automatically make me a serial offender and I would be sentenced to death.” (Listen to the full interview below) Mugisha disputes those in the government in Uganda, and those among antigay leaders in the U.S., who say the death penalty provision has been removed from the bill.
“This legislation is very draconian and there have been rumors that [the death penalty provision] was removed,” he said in an interview on my SiriusXM OutQ program, about the bill which the speaker of the parliament promised as a Christmas “gift” to the nation and could be voted on any day. “[But] the committee said they have completed their report, and the committee cannot change the legislation. What they can do is, they can only make recommendations in their report. So right now we are talking about legislation that has the death penalty. As of right now Parliament has never received any new or different or water-down legislation. Any recommendations [for revision] can be refused or accepted by parliament.”
Full story here
Gay New York Times Columnist Wants Bill Clinton To Apologize For 'Nasty' Law
As the Supreme Court decides whether to review the Defense of Marriage Act, the New York Times' first openly gay columnist is assailing Bill Clinton for ever signing the anti-gay law.Frank Bruni wrote an open letter to Clinton in his Sunday op-ed, calling out the popular former president for not fully participating in the gay rights movement or apologizing for signing DOMA.
"Doma ... is one of the uglier blemishes on your record, an act of indisputable discrimination that codified unequal treatment of gay men and lesbians," Bruni wrote, calling the law "a nasty bit of business."
The 1996 law defines marriage as between a man and a woman and effectively means gay couples often have to pay higher federal taxes than heterosexuals.
Then-Georgia Congressman Bob Barr wrote DOMA following an outcry over a Hawaii Supreme Court decision indicating it was leaning towards legalizing same-sex marriages in the state.
Full story here
Indiana gay marriage battle: Timing is everything
Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma told reporters before the election that the measure could move swiftly through his chamber, but he did not include it in a package of ideas House Republicans said they would push in 2013.
Rep. Eric Turner, R-Cicero, led the fight for the measure's passage last year but has yet to say if or when he will introduce the measure, which needs a second vetting by the General Assembly before it can be placed on the 2014 ballot.
"I don't know yet. Our leadership team, including (Rep.) Tim (Brown) and others, will get together and identify all the things we want to try to accomplish this session and next," Turner said. "We'll look at a lot of factors."
Some supporters of the ban argue now is the time to push the measure through. But there are more variables than usual for lawmakers to consider heading into 2013.
They will have to write their next biennial budget, get acclimated to a new governor for the first time in eight years and measure the possibility that the U.S. Supreme Court will take up the issue and make the whole argument moot.
"I'm assuming legislators are going to wait and see what the new governor's agenda is, what the new budget looks like," said Micah Clark, executive director of American Family Association of Indiana, which supports the ban. "They can pass things as quickly or slowly as they want."
Full story here
Human rights defenders and land ownership
Lira Town, situated some 350km from Kampala to the north, is an area deeply affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army conflict that wrecked Uganda from 1986 until the Juba talks (2006-2008), marking the beginning of the end for Joseph Kony and the rebels in Uganda.
It was the start of a peace process that ultimately led to the creation of South Sudan in 2011 and also marked the beginning of a decline of the LRA in northern Uganda, forcing them out of the bases they had been occupying in southern Sudan, last seen in the Eastern Congo or the Central African Republic.
These days there is a lot less urgency for those internally displaced who had fled rural villages to seek sanctuary in towns from the violence. Lira town now thrives with bustle of commercial trade in its compact town centre.
The most talked about issues I encountered focussed on one central problem that’s on the rise right across Uganda: land ownership.
In discussion with the Deputy District Police Commander and the District Office of Prosecutions it emerged that land ownership or land disputes were behind nearly all of the criminal cases and violations of human rights in Lira district.
This may not come as a surprise when Uganda’s population has risen tenfold to since independence in 1962. The issue has been exacerbated by the discovery of oil reserves in Hoima District and new cases of forced evictions and land grabbing are reported on an almost daily basis.
The throngs of men and women I witnessed seated outside the Lira courts pending hearings on land issues, particularly over ownership by people displaced during conflict, all seek to reclaim land they previously worked on.
The court system is simply unable to cope with the demands on it. The Officer of Prosecutions bemoaned the lack of human resources at his disposal.
The state is bound to provide lawyers to represent the deceased in any court case but its failure to pay lawyers for their work has led to many refusing to take up these positions, bringing the justice process to a grinding halt.
Faced with a flailing system, a number of individuals seek alternative solutions which are not always legal.
Mob justice – where citizens take the law into their own hands – is on the rise in Uganda and it may increase as land disputes keep happening and formal crime and punishment structures fail to address them.
Full story here
Putin health concerns rise
President Vladimir Putin’s health problems are “nothing serious,” Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in the highest-level response to speculation the Russian leader’s condition has prevented all foreign trips for a month. “We all have some minor issues we have to deal with,”Medvedev said in an interview with Finnish media, according to a transcript e-mailed by his office today. “Is it hard to be a president or prime minister? It’s hard. Every person has the right to look after their health.”
Putin, 60, who extended his more than decade-long rule in March elections, made his last visit abroad on Oct. 4-5 to Tajikistan. Domestic trips and visits to countries including Turkey and Pakistan were canceled or delayed. He also annulled his annual call-in show scheduled next month and has conducted most official business at his residence outside Moscow.
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, has said the Russian leader pulled a muscle in his back in early September, which is requiring no treatment and has no effect on planned foreign trips. Speaking on Nov. 1, Peskov dismissed speculation that Putin aggravated an old back injury during a Sept. 6 flight leading a flock of endangered cranes in a motorized hang glider before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Russia’s Pacific port city of Vladivostok.
Full story here
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