Chararcter Research: Robin Tyler

Robin Tyler is a stand-up comic and a gay activist who has been working in both fields since the 1960s. Tyler was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, on April 8, 1942. In 1972 she moved to Toronto, and later New York City, where she performed stand-up comedy.In 1978, Tyler became the first out lesbian on U.S. national television on a Showtime comedy special, and released her comedy album, Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Groom. Some of Tyler's humor relied on "pro-gay" jokes to counteract the propensity of anti-gay humor. Tyler explains her first attempt at pro-gay humor: "I got up and did this joke about running into a right-wing guy and he said 'I think they should take all you queers and put you on an island someplace.' And I said 'They did, darling, and they call it Manhattan.'" Tyler continued to create jokes in which gays and lesbians were the subject of the humor instead of the object. Since that time, Tyler has used her comedy for the benefit of the gay rights movement. Tyler's humor is edgy and political. One of her most famous jokes answers the question of whether homosexuality is a disease. "If homosexuality is a disease," Tyler says, "let's all call in queer to work: 'Hello. Can't work today, still queer.'"

Tyler has has worked as a national event organizer since 1979 when she organized the first March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights which drew over 100,000 demonstrators to the Washington D.C. Since that time she has organized other marches, lesbian music festivals, and has fought for gay marriage rights. On February 12, 2004, Tyler and her partner, Diane Olson, the granddaughter of a former governor of California, filed the first lawsuit for marriage equality in the state of California. After gay marriage became legal, Tyler and Olson were the first same-sex couple to be married in Los Angeles. Tyler is executive direcgtor of the Equality Campaign and is working to make gay marriage legal again.

In the new version of her show, Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Groom, Tyler says, “We want marriage equality, that’s the front of the bus. The Democrats want us to have civil unions, or domestic partnership. That’s the back of the bus. The Republicans want us off the bus. And the radical religious right wants us under the bus.”

Click here to read Robin Robin Tyler's blog posts on huffingpost.com.

Robin Tyler speaks in Fresno at Meet in the Middle.


Robin Tyler on MSNBC


Robin Tyler works the crowd at the Resolution Action Fair.


Robin Tyler and her wife, Diane Olson, in a NO on 8 television spot


Sources
http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/tyler_r_ssh.html
http://www.robintylertours.com/alwaysabridesmaid/news1.html
http://huffingtonpost.com

Before and After Stonewall

Most Americans have a sizable gap in their historical knowledge when it comes to the history of gays and lesbians in the United States. Before Stonewall (1984) and its sequel After Stonewall (1999) each clock in at about 90 minutes, but this cumulative three hours provides viewers with a wealth of information about the triumphs and tragedies of gays and lesbians over a span of 80 years, and serves as a quick start to further research.Before Stonewall is not only a powerful documentary, but also a priceless historical artifact. The film is rich with interviews of those who were gay and lesbian adults as far back as the 1920s. Many of the the men and women who tell the stories of visiting speakeasies in the 20s and serving in WWII in the 40s are not alive today, 25 years after the film was made. The film describes a time when gays and lesbians were closeted and invisible and just beginning to find each other and themselves. Although, the U.S. still has far to go in granting equal rights to gay and lesbian citizens, it is heartening to see how far the country has come due to the brave struggles of those in the early 20th century.After Stonewall, continues the story where Before Stonewall left off - at the Stonewall Riots in 1969. The interviewees tell the story of the great leaps forward in the gay movement, such as electing openly gay officials to public office and repealing anti-gay laws. But they also describe the heartbreak of the massive setbacks, such as the growth of the religious right and AIDS.

Both films are entertaining, educational, and incredibly moving. They are available in VHS format at the San Diego Public Library. Check the website for locations: http://www.sandiego.gov/public-library/. As a Netflix subscriber, I watched the films instantly online (in bed, on my laptop!) The DVD and VHS can also be purchased new and used from Amazon.com.

Upcoming Events

Attention Cast: Three events are coming up that you may want to attend!

JUNE 23: S.A.M.E. (San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality) is hosting an Activist Town Hall Forum titled: 'Where Do We Go From Here In The LGBTQIQAA Activist Movement?' at The LGBT Center - 3909 Centre St. from 6:30PM - 9:00PM. The Key Note Speakers will be ROBIN TYLER (a character in Dear Harvey played by Crystal Brandon) and DIANE OLSON. Dear Harvey will have a table set up to distribute information about the show.

JULY 1: From 11:00 AM to noon, San Diego State University students, faculty and staff will join local politicians, business leaders and other members of the community in hosting a Rainbow Flag Raising Ceremony on campus in support of SDSU's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students, staff, faculty and community. We will be handing out Dear Harvey flyers, encouraging people to come to the show.

JULY 18: The cast of Dear Harvey has been invited to march in the San Diego Gay Pride Parade with the SDSU LGBT community. We will be handing out business cards and carrying signs in the parade and participating at the Diversionary booth to promote the play.

All cast members are encouraged to attend any of these events. Please contact Producer Jay Sheehan at

♫

jsheehan@mail.sdsu.edu or Dramaturg Lauren Beck at lbeck79@gmail.com for more information.

See you there!

A short article to kick off your summer reading list

Last week, in honor of Harvey Milk's birthday (also known as "Harvey Milk Day" in San Diego) the Gay and Lesbian Times ran a story about Harvey that includes interviews with Dear Harvey playwright Patty Loughrey and the real life people that appear in the play. (Actors, you may recognize some of your lines!) Read the article here!

No More Mrs. Nice Gay!

"No civil rights movement has EVER lost. Never. It is not a matter of if our community will win full equal rights, including marriage. It is only a matter of when. But as in all civil rights movements, we will have to fight like hell for it." - Robin Tyler

Robin Tyler and her wife, Diane Olson

Quote from DayofDecision.com
Photo from PeaceLoveLunges