Florida Agenda

By TROY MAILLIS

Dan Savage, Co-Founder of the “It Gets Better” Project, is making an appearance in “An Evening With Dan Savage” at Art Explosion in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, February 26 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 – $35 and can be purchased at browardcenter.org. Savage, who writes the controversial sex and relationship column “Savage Love,” also has a book coming out in March. Through various forms of media, Dan Savage has consistently pushed the envelope and has become a trendsetter in the realm of getting his point across. Dan recently spoke with Mark’s List about his upcoming appearance, his column and his new book.

You are making an appearance at Art Explosion for ArtsUnited. What can we expect from “An Evening with Dan Savage”?

Well, that depends—I’m most comfortable working in a question- and-answer format, so it’s really the audience that drives evenings with me, just as they drive columns with me, and podcasts with me. I like doing it that way because then, if the conversation gets too dirty or nutso, the audience really has no one to blame but itself.

Are you happy with the success of the “It Gets Better” Project? Why do you think it took this long for a campaign like this to come about? What were your personal experiences that helped form this campaign?

I’m touched by the success of the “It Gets Better” Project, but I wouldn’t say I’m happy. I’d be happy if there were no need for something like the “It Gets Better” Project. I’d be happy if LGBT kids weren’t being bullied, and there was no need for the IGBP anymore, and we could pull the whole thing down tomorrow.

And I think that if we hadn’t have launched this campaign, someone would’ve thought of it or something similar. Clearly my husband and I weren’t the only adult LGBT people or allies who were aching to reach out to hurting LGBT youth—and not all LGBT youth are hurting; in many ways, and in many places, there’s never been a better time to be a queer kid than right now. It just needed a spark. We gave ourselves permission to talk to LGBT kids, and by proxy gave all LGBT people everywhere permission to talk with these kids, and so many people leapt in, stepped up, and took action that it’s obvious to me that people were waiting for someone to say, “Let’s do this.” If it wasn’t us, someone else would’ve jumped in, I’m convinced.

I was bullied a bit in middle school, and a little in high school. But I didn’t have it as bad as my boyfriend had it—he was brutalized. I also hear every day at “Savage Love” from LGBT kids all over the country, many of them are being bullied not just by their peers, but also by their families, and they’re in so much pain—queer kids whose families reject them are eight times likelier to attempt suicide. People need to understand that rejecting your gay kid won’t make him straight, but it could make him dead.

You have a book coming out in March. What will the book be about?

The book is a collection of essays—some new essays, and some adaptations from the videos on the website. We collected some of our favorites, transcribed them, edited them, and asked the folks who made them to revise them. It’s powerful stuff. We hope the book will reach kids who aren’t wired, and we’re hoping it will be placed in school libraries all across the country.

How has your column changed since you started it? Do you think if you started it in 2011, you would have been able to call it “Hey, Faggot”?

Well, when I started the column in 1991 the “Hey, Faggot” salutation was a reference to a roaring debate in the gay community, inspired by Queer Nation activists, about “reclaiming hate words.” If we used them, if we embraced them (“Yeah, I’m a fag/dyke/sissy, so what?”), then they couldn’t be used to wound us anymore. I thought the logical end-point for that reclamation process was giving straight people permission to use those words in a non-hateful way. Hence, “Hey, Faggot.”

I still use the word faggot in the column— I love the word faggot—but I don’t think that if I started the column today I’d use that salutation, just because the debate it referenced is long over, and the joke is over.

The thing that changed my column most was the Internet—I started doing “Savage Love” before there was a Google, and I’m doing it now years later. Before Google, I got a lot of “What’s a cockring?” questions, and “Where’s the BDSM group in my area?” questions. I don’t get those anymore, which is a shame, because those were easy questions! Now I get mostly questions that involve situational ethics—lots of gray. It’s hard to screw up the answer to “What’s a cockring?” It’s easy to screw up the answer to “My husband cheated on me and I’m not sure I want to stay in this marriage.”

You’ve been controversial in many of your columns, do you think there is a line that exists that can still be crossed?

I don’t know—I’m always looking for lines and bursting past ‘em, and I’ve yet to find the uncrossable line that couldn’t be crossed!

Would you ever run for political office?

Yes I would, if my boyfriend would permit it, which he wouldn’t, so no.

What can we expect next from Dan Savage?

You can expect me to go on a nice, long vacation. My boyfriend-in- America/husband-in-Canada and I have been working round the clock on IGB since the project launched, and then the book, and now we’re heading out on a book tour (which sounds like a vacation but definitely is not), so we’re thinking Hawaii is next for us—a beach in Hawaii, with a cocktail waiter standing at the ready. That’s also one of the ways in which it gets better.

info:

An Evening with Dan Savage
Saturday, February 26 – 8p.m.
Tickets: BrowardCenter.org

Comedian Tony Tripoli

By TROY MAILLIS

Tony Tripoli: I Sh*t My Pants!
(An Evening of Sophisticated Stand-Up)
Andrews Living Arts
23 NW 5th Street
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
Tickets: (954) 647-2409
Friday, Dec. 17 at 8 PM
Saturday, Dec. 18 at 7 & 9 PM
Sunday, Dec. 19 at 7PM

Comedian/actor Tony Tripoli, who has shared on-screen laughs with household firecrackers such as Kathy Griffin, Charlie Sheen and Bo Derek, is everything you want in a comedian and more. And he will make sure you know it! Andrews Living Arts and 4 The Sea Productions present “Tony Tripoli: I Sh*t My Pants!” (An Evening of Sophisticated Stand-Up) Dec. 17-19. In addition to stand up, he currently writes jokes for “Fashion Police” with Joan Rivers. Tony joked with Agenda about his upcoming show and why you will ‘sh*t’ your pants.

AGENDA: You have a show coming up in Fort Lauderdale next week. Can you talk about the show and what we can expect?

TONY: I am very excited. It’s going to be a really fun time. The show is called “Tony Tripoli: I Sh*t My Pants!” It’s practically and operetta. It’s just embarrassing, true tales of disasters happening in my life. I will say things that are so shocking and so ‘inside’ Hollywood. It’s my story of a single 40 year old gay guy living in West Hollywood.

AGENDA: When did you know that comedy was your thing? Was it something that you always knew you wanted to do or did it just happen?

TONY: I think it happened in a way similar to a lot of other comics. I was always a pain in the ass and I just found a way to make money off of it. One of the things that’s wonderful about me is I have opinions about everything regardless of whether I know anything about that topic. Since I was little, I have always been a mouthy person. I was that kid in the grocery store who would see a handicapped person and yell, “Hey look at that retarded person.” Basically I’m still doing that. Now it’s just my job.

AGENDA: Have you always been an openly gay comedian and actor? Were there any obstacles as a result?

TONY: I’ve always been completely openly gay and out of the closet. Let’s be honest, I didn’t have a lot of other choices. From across the room no one is going to think I’m a lumberjack. My television agents know not to submit me for any commercials or sitcoms unless the role is a gay role. With straight roles, I spend the whole time trying not to “walk that way” or “talk that way” and it takes all the fun out of it. There is a lot of bullshit you have to go through to actually get to perform, but once you are finally performing that’s the good part. So to do something that will take the fun out of it—why would you do that to yourself ?

AGENDA: What has it been like working with Kathy Griffin and Joan Rivers? Have they taught you a lot in your own career?

TONY: Kathy Griffin and I worked together and were best friends for about 10 years. There were times we would sit around and watch television and throw jokes around. I would eventually hear some of the jokes when she would perform, and I would remember back to when that funny joke or story was created in the room. It was thrilling. That was enough for me, and I never thought I would do stand-up myself; but my mom kept insisting that I should do it. I eventually did one night of stand-up at a benefit just so I could call my mother and say, “Look, I’m finally going to do stand-up.” My whole family flew in to watch me tell my story, and I thought that would be it. But when I walked off stage that night, I thought that it was the most fun I’d ever had. When you are doing stand-up, an editor, director, writer or producer can’t come in a change anything and take out the parts you like. You as the stand-up comedian becomes all of those roles. That kind of control is thrilling for someone who is pushy like me. It was the greatest thing. I hate to admit it, but my mother was right. I’ve been doing stand-up ever since.

AGENDA: How does it work on a show like “Fashion Police,” and what other projects are you working on moving into 2011 ?

TONY: With “Fashion Police” it’s a conversation between four people: Giuliana Rancic, George Kotsiopoulos, Kelly Osbourne and comedy legend Joan Rivers. It’s like Joan is hosting a little cocktail party. There are a few of us who write jokes for Joan the night before the show. We all sit around and laugh and laugh and laugh; and Joan laughs harder than anyone. Joan and I eventually go through the jokes and rank them based on what that show has time for. While the show is happening, I help guide her on how many jokes she can tell. One of the most amazing things I can tell you about Joan is that she is one the most generous audience members. She absolutely wants to be knocked off of her chair with laughter. She loves when someone else is on a roll and being hilarious. She’s a delight in every possible way.

I have big plans with Joan for 2011 and will be opening for her on the road. You can check out tonytripoli.com for all of the details.

By Troy Maillis

After schedule changes and some “diva” behavior, Jennifer Holliday, the headline performer at this year’s annual Stonewall Street Festival, wowed the excited crowds with hit songs such as “One Night Only” and “I Am Changing” from the Broadway smash-hit “Dreamgirls”.  A seasoned performer for 30 years, Holliday kept the Wilton Manors crowds anxiously awaiting her performance, and some fans were not very pleased with Holliday’s “diva” behavior leading up to the performance. Read more after the Jump, Jennifer Holliday Exclusive Interview

Troy Maillis to take over as Editor-in-Chief

TROY MAILLIS

By DMITRY RASHNITSOV

The Beatles once sang, “You say goodbye and I say hello, hello, hello. I don’t know why you say goodbye I say hello.” Well this column is kind of my hello and my goodbye. As many of you have noticed, I took over the editorial duties of the Florida Agenda newspaper in February with no fanfare. It was business as usual around here.

Except you all did notice a difference. The paper began featuring more coverage of what was happening in your world-the local problems, issues and happy moments that surrounded your every day life. You saw us expand our coverage of the sporting events you participate in, review the plays and movies you want to watch and give you previews of the cities you want to travel to.

All the while we still kept our end of the bargain by being “your local LGBT news authority,” by presenting content that could not be found anywhere else, both positive and negative in the community.

You’ve never seen me write a column before, because I have been the one covering many of the news stories going on in the community, and I have an old school journalism mentality to never mix the news sections with the opinion pages. Experts who are passionate about their topics can give you much better opinions than I ever would. Since you’ve never heard from me before, let this column be my hello and my goodbye. I am leaving to take a fulltime position with a non-profit in the South Florida community. However, wipe those alligator tears off your face, as you’ll still see my name as a freelance reporter pop up in the pages of the Agenda (you can’t get rid of me that easy!). So without further pomp and circumstance, let me introduce you to the new editor of both the Florida Agenda and Mark Magazine, Troy Maillis.

Troy has worked with JumpOnMarksList.com since November 2009 and was in charge of editing the website. He will now be the sole editorial authority for the web and print publications for Multimedia Platforms, the parent company of Florida Agenda, Jump On Marks List and Mark Magazine. Troy is a graduate of the University of Florida and a twotime qualifier for the World Gymnastics Championship competition and nearly made the 2008 Olympics in China. He was once named the “top male gymnast in the Bahamas.”

Troy is also a graduate student at Nova S o u t h e a s t e r n University, studying to receive his Masters in Business Administration. He still teaches tumbling classes to youth gymnasts in addition to participating in competitive all star cheerleading at Top Gun in Miami. Now that’s what i call being involved!

Troy’s gymnastic feats have taken him all over the world, having spent time living in Toronto, Jacksonville, and New York City.

“The Florida Agenda and Mark Magazine are the leading publications in the South Florida GLBT community and I promise to keep the content local, informative, proactive and beneficial,” Troy said to me when he was officially announced as the new editor.

Troy, I plan on holding you to that promise. While newspapers and magazines all over the country are struggling to survive, Multimedia Platforms is in the first phase of a yearlong expansion plan. Already the Florida Agenda has launched its web presence, www.FloridaAgenda.com and JumpOnMarksList.com has expanded it’s content to offer 14 different city guides for towns in Florida and all over the United States. This is just the beginning.

Welcome to your new job Troy, the director of data, the leader of the lowdown, and the supervisor of the scoop.

Troy Maillis will take over as the Editor-in-Chief of Florida Agenda and Mark Magazine in addition to JumpOnMarksList.com. He can be reached at TroyM@JumpOnMarksList.com.