Tag Archives: Sage Theatre

10 Moments in 10 Years @YYCgayhistory

Posted on June 23, 2022 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

We’ve returned from a three-month hiatus to celebrate both pride month and ten years since the Calgary Gay History Project was founded. We began as a tiny project for Calgary 2012 and have been growing ever since due to an active and engaged community.

*One of Kevin Allen’s first public history presentations in 2013*

In gratitude, Kevin has reflected on a number of special moments from the decade’s deep dive into local queer history.

The blog: www.calgarygayhistory.ca was the information clearing house that started everything. One post that blew up was: Our History with the Police, written during the 2017 debate around police participation in Calgary Pride. The most read blog post continues to be Gay men are smarter than straight men – so says history, written in 2013. It seems every day someone in the world googles “are gay men smart?”
Gay History Walks. Ever since 2013, situating queer history in the Calgary landscape on a warm summer night with enthusiastic walkers is a slice of heaven (although we had a snow squall once that added a decidedly different frisson).
Everett Klippert. His life story has been a focus of the Calgary Gay History Project since its inception. However, everything deepened when his family got involved with the Project in 2015. Together we excavated Everett’s very profound role in changing Canadian history in 1969. His story continues to have posthumous impact, most recently with the expungement of his criminal record in 2020.
Club Carousel. Calgary’s original gay bar founded in 1970 was arguably the most formative queer space the city has ever seen. Our first commemorative Club Carousel Cabaret was held in 2014 at the High Performance Rodeo thanks to Third Street Theatre and our impresario Michael Green (RIP). Our second Cabaret was held in 2015 thanks to One Voice Chorus—sold out each time!
Gross Indecency: The Everett Klippert Story (2018). Saying “yes” to filmmaker Laura O’Grady was one of the best decisions we ever made. Not only did this short film garner festival laurels, but through the process Laura became a good friend. We made another great film in 2021, called Undetectable. Laura has our highest esteem.
Our Past Matters. The book had a difficult birth. It took four years to write—not one year, as planned. However, it was embraced in pre-production by a successful Kickstarter campaign and since has gone on to be a local best-seller as well as on the curriculum for some University of Calgary undergraduate classes. We are ever so grateful both for insightful readers as well as independent bookstores.
Legislating Love. Natalie Meisner’s play about the life of Everett Klippert was history turned into sublime art (I wept). Sage Theatre mounted the world premiere in 2018, and the play continues to gather praise, most recently winning an “Oscar” at this year’s Dublin International Gay Theatre Festival.
HiR. Kevin was honoured to be the inaugural Historian in Residence when the New Central Library opened in 2018. It was a high water mark for the Calgary Gay History Project and a terrific experience. The Library graciously hosted the book launch of Our Past Matters—an incredibly special memory now.
A Queer Map: The Calgary Atlas Project (2019). Kevin collaborated with artist Mark Clintberg on the first published map of the Calgary Atlas Project: an art project by the Calgary Institute for the Humanities at the University of Calgary. It’s beautiful.
Lois Szabo Commons. Last summer the City of Calgary unveiled a new park dedicated to Lois Szabo, the only living founder of Club Carousel. The park is a public and permanent commemoration of queer history in our city. We were honoured to participate in the nomination process and count Lois as one of the dearest people we know.

*Lois Szabo Commons Opens July 21, 2021*

No historian is an island. So many people have contributed to the success of the Calgary Gay History Project. In closing, we would like to give a shout out to project volunteers past and present: Nevena, Del, Rosman, Matt, Ayanna, Sheldon, Laura, Jonathan, Nolan, and Tereasa!

{KA}

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Posted in Gay history

Tagged bisexual, Calgary, Calgary 2012, Calgary Atlas Project, Club Carousel, Everett Klippert, gay, Gay history, Gay History Walk, gross indecency, human-rights, Laura O'Grady, Legislating Love, lesbian, Lois Szabo Commons, Mark Clintberg, Natalie Meisner, queer, Sage Theatre, transgender

YYC Queer History be my Valentine

Posted on February 11, 2021 by Kevin Allen | Leave a comment

Legislating Love: The Everett Klippert Story has returned as a radioplay and podcast. To celebrate, the Alberta Queer Calendar Project and Sage Theatre are hosing an online Listening Party, on Saturday, February 13th at 4:30 pm. Participants will gather to listen to the episode, followed by a Q&A with members of the cast and crew at 7:00 pm {including Kevin and Tereasa from the Calgary Gay History Project}.

Legislating Love was written by Calgary author, playwright, poet, and professor Natalie Meisner. It premiered in March 2018 at Sage Theatre to critical acclaim. The play explores the story of Calgary bus driver Everett Klippert, who was the last Canadian convicted of being a dangerous sexual offender because of his homosexuality. The Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark judgment in November 1967 set a new bar for injustice: Klippert was given a life sentence.

The play is told through the perspective of aspiring historian Maxine, who is researching the story of Everett. She becomes fascinated with Everett’s case and with discovering the man beyond the headlines. Inspired and captivated, Maxine connects with a senior at a local assisted living facility she knows only as Handsome, one of Klippert’s lovers and perhaps the only person who can truly illuminate the past. At the same time, Maxine is navigating her own new relationship with Métis comedian Tonya. This heartwarming, multi-generational exploration of queer love tells the near-forgotten story of one of Canada’s quiet heroes and reminds us all that the past must be remembered as we work together for a better future.

The radioplay features the work of Jason Mehmel (director/production coordinator), Kathryn P. Smith (sound designer), as well as actors Jenn Forgie, Matt McKinney, Kevin Rothery, and Kathy Zaborsky. Details about the episode and the launch party can be found at sagetheatre.com.

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Shaun Hunter recently released an online literary map of Calgary; a product of her Historian in Residence time at the Calgary Public Library. Heritage Calgary is a partner organization in this residency and you can find the map on its website: here. Note: there are several queer spots to discover (I was delighted to find the Tegan and Sara house). Shaun has compiled an LGBTQ+ reading list that can accompany one’s geographic sleuthing.

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Finally, my own valentine, Gordon Sombrowski, has publicly released a new short story, titled Pigeon Droppings—set in Calgary—as a teaser to his upcoming collections of short stories: What Narcissus Saw.

{KA}

Legislating Love Launch!

Posted on December 5, 2019 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

Next Monday, December 9th, join us for a significant Calgary gay history event: Legislating Love: The Everett Klippert Story, the award-winning play, is launching as a book. Published by the University of Calgary Press, Legislating Love features local playwright, Natalie Meisner’s emotionally engaging script with director’s notes from Sage Theatre’s Jason Mehmel and essays from the Calgary Gay History Project’s Kevin Allen and Tereasa Maillie.

There will be speeches, a special performance from the play, and a reception and book signing to follow. This free event starts at 7 PM in the BMO room of the Central Library. The library would prefer people to register in advance: here.

December 9, 2019 Book Launch

Sage Theatre premiered Legislating Love in March 2018 to much acclaim. The play explores the story of Calgary bus driver Everett Klippert, who was the last Canadian convicted of being a dangerous sexual offender because of his homosexuality. The Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark judgment in November 1967 set a new bar for injustice: Klippert was given a life sentence.

The judgment led to outrage amongst some progressives in Canada, prompting Pierre Trudeau’s famous quote: “Take this thing on homosexuality, I think the view we take here is that there’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation.” It also profoundly impacted the nation’s gay community when homosexuality was subsequently partially decriminalized in 1969.

Giving our stories artistic expression keeps them vital; it allows our history to have resonance and relations with the present. One of the things most admirable about Legislating Love is how deeply centred it is in Calgary. In fact, our city was more than a backdrop for the drama; it was a character itself in the play. Chicken on the Way, the Calgary Tower, and the Number One bus route: Calgary audiences thrilled to place themselves in the play’s narrative.

Audiences were moved emotionally by the production. The genuine quality of the play and positive word of mouth ensured that the run became largely sold out.

Playwright Natalie Meisner

Natalie said: “For me, one of the greatest endorsements for the show was the live testimonials as well as the written ones by Everett’s family and contemporaries. We have been contacted by theatres from across the country with interest in the script. I think this means we have opened a door to this Calgary based story and indeed this particular man’s story to the hearts and the minds of the country.”

{KA}