Surviving the pandemic II: adaptation and grief

11 May 2020

My email is usually full of press releases from publicists and artists who are presenting some event or have some new art that deserves attention. That flood has dwindled to a trickle. What is arriving is very hopeful and aspirational, artists and art forms struggling to adapt to this new reality and create some new vision that can exist online. My original intention with this post was to highlight some that I found intriguing and laudable - and I will - but as with "Surviving the pandemic with some help from talented friends," I must add the caveat that I too am existing in a bubble of semi-isolation meaning that what comes to my attention is nowhere near exhaustive or even necessarily representative of the arts as a whole.

Those cheerful plans crumpled when I hit a personal wall and am now struggling to work my way through the stages of grief. All the endless, relentless horrible news that spews from the television, news outlets and the mouth of US idiot-in-chief, is terrifying and incapacitating. I am operating at a half, maybe less than half, percentage of productivity. And a percentage of that energy is being expended convincing myself, and those around me, that we will get through this. And that hopefully culture will not only survive, but will also be rebooted into something where we have more respect for the earth and for each other.

What slammed me into inertia and grief was the announcement of the closing of Club 120. Theatre and nightlife has been particularly hard hit with little financial support from the government and the sad knowledge that those gathering places will be the last to re-open. Club 120 was more than an entertainment venue, it was a community centre where the marginalized and disenfranchised gathered. The accent was on LGBTQ, but the umbrella was far larger than that. What Todd Klinck and Mandy Goodhandy created was a space where art could flourish, was encouraged, and where the outsiders became the insiders.

Goodhandy's biography Just Call Me Lady is the best place to get a sense of how a dream became an iconic institution, and hopefully Todd will put his prodigious literary chops to, at some point, recount his adventures and misadventures. I was lucky enough to perform at Club 120 twice, once for a benefit and once for Todd's birthday. I covered Queer Idol, DJ Blackcat's revolutionary nights that eventually grew into the House of Monroe, the Kinky Jesus competition, the club kid extravaganza Sodom, Kinky Jesus again, and then full circle with Just Call Me Lady: The Musical. But that list doesn't include the events that now have to find a new home: the TNTMen's naked dances, Rangeela, comedy and cabaret in the diner, the Latinx night, Todd's electronic music nights, Rough House and so many more.

Club 120 was unique and revolutionary. And very much needed. The sexual, gender, racial and artistic revolution in Toronto has lost its foremost proponent. Not just locally. Though I have told the story many times it bears repeating. When there was a gathering of gay journalists organized by Tourism Toronto, the fab offices got multiple calls from our colleagues who were eager to visit the one local site that wasn't on the official agenda. They had all heard of Goodhandy's (which became Club 120) and it's infamous Diamond Rooms. And they all wanted to go. Todd and Mandy have been a global influence.

When I went on a similar excursion to Las Vegas, we were treated to several of the Cirque du Soleil shows that revolutionized the offerings on The Strip. Now those shows are dark as are les Grands Chapiteaus. While the world waits breathlessly for the return of that special brand of magic that only Cirque provides, the company is releasing a series of online videos under the moniker of "CirqueConnect." So far there are two streams, "Cirque du Soleil Presents: The Best Of” highlighting favourite acrobatic disciplines and “Behind the Curtain” which goes behind-the-scenes of creating the shows.

From interviewing Cirque superstars Thomas Evans, Emmanuel Cyr, Francis Croft, Rafael Munhoz, Mark Pamsey, Michel Laprise, Joe Putignano and many more, I know that backstage is as fascinating as the spectacle that is onstage. And while the latest online offering, "Behind the Curtain of Luzia," is not as overwhelming powerful as Luzia itself, it is immersive and will keep one almost sated until circuses can once again hit the road or brighten The Strip. The videos premiere on cirquedusoleil.com but can then be found on YouTube.

The pandemic has also played havoc with more intimate gatherings. Arranging a hook-up or a "date" is currently difficult if not impossible. Squirt.org is attempting to create a virtual voyeuristic bathhouse experience simulation with their CumUnion party but GROWLr has decided to become a full-on patron of the arts with "GROWLr Live," an in-app live video broadcasting feature that allows users to livestream broadcasts and video chat with other users for free." So far there is a talk show Big Dipper Live starring the hirsute sexy rapper, Jackie Beat's one-woman show Shelter in Face, and an evening of comedy with the hilarious Varla Jean Merman.

Who knew that "dating" apps, so often blamed for the demise of LGBTQ nightlife, might become the salvation? Or at least a stopgap. The GROWLr Live productions are free (if you install the app) and the performers are all being paid. If only this innovation had occurred sooner, who could have resisted Mandy Goodhandy hosting The Grindr Follies?

Finances are going to grow rockier for all our establishments, institutions and artists. And we'll keep trying to bring awareness to as many as we can. But I have to plug one that particularly intrigues, the indomitable Susan Claassen has organized a Zoom benefit for her day job as artistic director of Tucson's Invisible Theatre. These days in my semi-isolation, we are consuming an inordinate amount of TCM and continually speculating each time we see a fabulously clad diva, "Is that an Ory-Kelly or an Edith Head?" Miss Head herself will be doing an interview version of her award-winning and eye-opening A Conversation with Edith Head on May 15, where she will "reflect about her years at Paramount and some of her most stylish stars, including Mae West, Dorothy Lamour, Barbara Stanwyck, Veronica Lake, Hedy Lamarr, Bette Davis, Gloria Swanson, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly." Info at edithhead.biz

SummerWorks and Luminato are also going online with a mixture of performances, seminars and "virtual parties." So are the Hot Docs festival, Theatre Passe Muraille, the Toronto Jewish Film Festival, London's Royal National Theatre, TIFF, and even Inside Out. It is an unprecedented experiment in adaptation brought on by necessity rather than artistic impulses. But I think we can trust that between the queers, the circus folk and the divas, the arts and nightlife will survive the pandemic. And so will we.