AMPLIFYing LGBTQ History Month: Q&A with Anne Lynch

Pittsburgh Ally

To date, the AMPLIFY project has published over 270 Q&A’s from the Western Pennsylvania region. These stories capture important moments in LGBTQ History, from the current day and extending as far back as the Kennedy Administration in terms of lived experiences of LGBTQ people. I’ve asked some folks to weigh in on the impact of […]

Q&A: Actor Shamika Cotton on the ‘Female Gaze’ of Her African-Carribbean Feminist Spy Character, Marianne Angelle

Shamika Collage Marianne Angelle

“I think the thing that resonates with me the most about Marianne is her willingness to jump in the fight for “freedom, justice, humanity” in spite of the inherent sacrifice that comes with that. Such bravery. A human bravery, which comes with a nagging fear which can only be dealt with by finding allies that can help you along the way.”

Q&A with City Theatre: #PayWhatYourWant and Radical Hospitality in the Arts

Pay What Your Want Pittsburgh

Affordability has been a frequent factor for many of my arts and cultural decisions over the years. As a disabled social worker, my income only stretches so far and has historically been constrained by my profession. My first trip to City Theatre was as an invited guest of a dear friend in 2003 and I […]

Review and Q&A with Motive Salon on #NorthsidePgh

While I was recovering from my hysterectomy, I had to find a new hair stylist. So I turned to Facebook and asked for a referral to a stylist who was queer friendly and used organic, cruelty free products. That spawned a huge discussion. Some people thought gay friendly was the same as queer friendly (it […]

Q&A with Singer-Writer Jill Sobule Live in Pittsburgh This Weekend Only

  Your Name: Jill Sobule Your Pronouns: her/She How do you describe your identity? Jeepers, I kind of don’t think about that as much. I guess “bi”, “fluid”, “queer”? They all could work We last ‘spoke’ via Q&A in 2013 when you came to town with the Julia & Jill Show. So I’ll skip the usual […]

Q&A with Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields

When I read that the Magnetic Fields were coming to Pittsburgh for a two-show performance of their latest album ‘50 Song Memoir‘ – I threw caution to the wind and requested an interview with Stephin Merritt. He can obviously have his pick of all the mainstream media in the region; I was hoping that his […]

Q&A: ‘Nomad Motel’ Playwright Carla Ching on Creating Responsible, Thoughtful, and Human Art

Carla Ching

A new play is debuting at the City Theatre this month, Nomad Motel written by Carla Ching.  This show also marks the debut of a ‘pay what you want’ option at City Theatre during select performances. Details at the end of this post. May 12 – June 3, 2018 In the not-so-sunny side of California, Alix […]

Q&A with Lisa Boeving-Learned, Candidate for PA State House District 8

Lisa reached out to me to ask for inclusion in this series. She made me realize that my call-for-Q&As should specify that it is not limited to Pittsburgh. I was struck by her passion for progressive solutions in our rural communities. Lisa grew up in Pittsburgh, moved away for her adult life, and has since […]

Q&A with Kareem Kandil, Candidate for PA State House District 30

Kareem reached out to me in response to my call for Q&A’s with candidates challenging incumbents. This series is designed to highlight the folks who heeded the call to resist by running for elected office. Kareem is running for Pennsylvania State House in the 30th district, a North Hills District outlined in the image below. […]

Q&A with Will Anderson, Candidate for PA State House District 24

This is the next in a series of blog posts about individuals challenging incumbents or running non-traditional races in Pennsylvania. Will’s campaign reached out to me after I posted a call for respondents. He is running in the primary against a Democrat State Rep in the 24th district. Will has documented his years of community […]