Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein

She continues, “I think
this is a terrific show to be
doing for Coming Out
Day. If this is a celebra-
tion of gay and lesbian
I pride and affirmation, then
Gertrude Stein was way
ahead of the game. She
was out there openly cel-
ebrating when most didn’t
even dare speak of her
lifestyle. She had a great
deal of courage to be liv-
ing openly as a lesbian at
the turn of the century.”

And does Payne have any
special reason for doing
this particular show? “Oh
yes, of course. Gertrude
Stein was an egomaniac
and so atn I! There is

Photo by Cheri Goldstein something I find very

Sarah Payne as Gertrude Stein

magnetic about her. She
was right there when so

Cheri Goldstein

“You will meet many characters through
Gertrude’s eyes,” says Sarah Payne, the
director, producer and actress who will
play Gertrude Stein in the one woman
play Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein. The
play will both open and close the festiv-
ities celebrating National Coming Out
Day in the Barre-Montpelier area.

“You join Gertrude as she is packing up
her apartment in Paris after she and Alice
B. Toklas have been informed that they
have been evicted. As she is going
through her 1ife’s possessions, you will
meet people like her brother Leo, Picas-
so, and Matisse. There is also a very
lengthy discussion about her relationship
with Alice,” explains Payne.

many art fortns were
changing —— and she was there to help
change and create a new literary form.
She is very exciting to be depicting on
stage — and I like the challenge of a one
woman show.” Besides, Payne states
with a grin, “I am going to be 60 years
old soon and l’ve been trying to inch my
way out of the closet for years...I think
this show will be just a dandy coming out
party for myself!”

The show benefits the Vermont Coalition
of Lesbians and Gay Men and the Unitar-
ian Universalist Church of Barre. Show
times are 8:00 pm on Friday, October 11,
and Saturday, October 12 at the Uni-
versalist Church in Barre, at the comer of
Main and Church Streets. A donation of
$5 is suggested, more if you can, less if
you can’t. V

September 1991

Vermont AIDS
Council
Annual Meeting

The Vermont AIDS Council held its an-
nual meeting on June 8 in Randolph and
elected officers to lead its Board of Di-
rectors for the coming year.

Michael Femandes of Williamsville and
Christopher Monahan of Essex Junction
will serve as co-chairs. Femandes repre-
sents the Brattleboro AIDS Project on the
Vermont AIDS Council. Monahan repre-
sents Burlington-based Vermont
C.A.R.E.S. Ted Doucette, from the Ben-
nington Area AIDS Project, will serve as
Treasurer and Sam Sanders, representative
of the Upper Valley’s AIDS Community
Resource Network, is Secretary.

Also at the annual meeting, membership
in the Council was granted to the recently
formed Vennont PWA Coalition, a state-
wide group organized by and for people
living with AIDS and HIV infection.The
Vermont AIDS Council is a coalition of
state-wide community-based AIDS ser-
vice organizations. The Council’s Board
is comprised of two representatives of
each of the nine member organizations.

The Vermont AIDS Council provides a
forum for collaboration among the mem-
ber organizations, and serves as an um-
brella for those organizations by pro-
viding a network for information,
training, and advocacy. It seeks lasting
solutions to the growing need for educa-
tion, infonnation, and services for Ver-
monters who are affected by the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

The Vermont AIDS Council is based in
Montpelier, and can be reached at 229-
52557. V

TELEPHONE (802) 524-9595

 

CAROL L. THAYER, M.D.
FAMILY PRACTICE

DEBORAH G. ALICEN. M.A.
Licensed Psychologist-Master

L
P.0. Box 16
Plainlield. VT 05667

OFFICE HOURS
BY APPOINTMENT

R.D. 2, BOX 1160
FAIRFAX, VERMONT 05454

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(802) 454-7701