Thoroughly Modern Maupin: The Legacy of Armistead

"You don't have to keep up, dear. You just have to keep open.”                                                            — Anna Madrigal (from Michael Tolliver Lives)
Litquake joins forces with American Conservatory Theater and BARtab to co-present Thoroughly Modern Maupin: The Legacy of Armistead, an  evening of readings and music starting at 8 pm on May 12 at The Swedish American Hall.
Tickets are $15 in advance (from Brown Paper Tickets), $18 at the door.
With appearances/performances by:
Marga Gomez is a San Francisco-loving, nationally touring comedian and writer/performer of nine solo plays. She was named Best Comedian for 2011 by the Bay Area Reporter, Best Solo Performance for 2010 by the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle, and is a triple winner of “Best of the Bay” comedian, from the San Francisco Bay Guardian. She can be seen every Monday as the host of Marga's Funny Mondays at The Marsh in Berkeley. She is honored to be part of this tribute to Armistead Maupin.
Scott James writes a weekly column about San Francisco for The Bay Citizen and The New York Times. Under the pen name Kemble Scott he is also the author of two bestselling novels, SoMa and The Sower. “I'm following Armistead Maupin's career in reverse. He started with a newspaper column, and ended up with a series of provocative books. I've done it backwards, but I'm looking forward to hanging out at a naught Hollywood icon's swimming pool some day soon.”
International Superloon Precious Moments a.k.a. Michael Soldier can be seen in the feature films Devious Inc, The Craving, and The Gay Bed & Breakfast of Terror. After an infamous win of the coveted Miss Trannyshack title in 2001 s/he has been a slippery fixture on the San Francisco scene. Since arriving in SF in 2000, s/he has had lead roles in theater productions of classic American plays, spent 18 months in the smash Cockettes revival of Pearls Over Shanghai, been a live news anchor/journalist for Q television, and appeared in 30 award-winning porn flicks. S/he is a featured interviewee in the documentary international festival fave 24 Hours On Craigslist. As a lead vocalist in the genderfucked rock band PEPPERSPRAY, s/he has opened for Cher’s farewell tour and Scissor Sisters. S/he has been a guest lecturer on the adult entertainment industry for Stanford’s psychology department and the San Francisco Sex Institute. Michael & Precious Moments are currently considering pursuit of an MFA in drama from Yale and enjoying his 20th year in practice as a massage therapist.
Kevin Simmonds is a poet, composer and performance artist originally from New Orleans. His publications include three forthcoming publications, the poetry collection Mad for Meat (Salmon Poetry), the anthology Collective Brightness: LGBTIQ Poets on Faith, Religion and Spirituality (Sibling Rivalry Press) and the edited collection Ota Benga Under My Mother's Roof (University of South Carolina Press). His music has been performed throughout the US, the UK, Japan and elsewhere and was recently featured on PBS NewsHour. He has received fellowships and commissions from the San Francisco Arts Commission, Fulbright and Jack Straw. Right now he's working on ORIENT: a new anthropology, a multimedia work about Asian-Black tensions in the San Francisco Bay area and Los Angeles that will premiere at CounterPULSE this October.
K.M. Soehnlein is the author of three novels: The World of Normal Boys, You Can Say You Knew Me When and Robin and Ruby. His essays have appeared in anthologies including Bookmark Now: Writing in Unreaderly Times; Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys; and Love, Castro Street. He’s been published in San Francisco magazine, 7×7 magazine, Village Voice and Out. He teaches in the MFA in Writing Program at the University of San Francisco. Contact him through kmsoehnlein.com.

Michelle Tea is the author of five novels, a book of poetry, numerous short stories, hundreds of Bay Area newspaper articles and has edited several anthologies on fashion, class, queer writing and personal narrative. Her novel Valencia won the 2000 Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian Fiction, a San Francisco Bay Guardian Goldie Award for Literature, and the prestigious Rona Jaffe Foundation award for early-career female writers. She is co-founder of the legendary Sister Spit all-female spoken-word road show, and is founder /artistic director of RADAR Productions, which presents, commissions, develops, and tours literary programs that stimulate the production of queer and underground literature.
Beer, wine, and cocktails from
Thoroughly Modern Maupin comes as the City ramps up for  the world premiere of A.C.T.'s much-anticipated "Tales of the City"  musical later this spring! Featuring the next generation of writers who  continue to further ideals Armistead helped pioneer and champion in his  work.
About Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City

The already-extended world premiere production of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City has been extended an additional week through July 10. Based on  Armistead Maupin’s popular series of newspaper columns and novels, Tales  of the City was adapted into an award-winning television production on  PBS, but this will be the first time it has been put onstage. The  all-star creative team includes Tony Award–winning writer Jeff Whitty (Avenue Q),  who is writing the book; Jake Shears and John Garden of the glam-rock  band Scissor Sisters, who are writing the music and lyrics;  choreographer Larry Keigwin; and Tony Award–nominated director Jason  Moore (Avenue Q and Shrek: The Musical). Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City plays May 18–July 10, 2011, at the American Conservatory Theater (415  Geary Street, San Francisco). For exclusive first looks, ticket info,  and special offers,visit act-sf.org/talechasers

Litquake 2011

Mark your calendars for October 7-15, when the largest literary festival west of the Mississippi once again swarms the San Francisco Bay Area. Our Lit Crawl NYC date is September 10th, and our Lit Crawl Austin will be held October 22nd as part of the Texas Book Festival.
In the meantime, we’ve got a full calendar of upcoming Bay Area spring and summer readings and other cool happenings—check out the Events page for more specifics!
If you’re interested in submitting to become a participant, please check out our guidelines and Submit your work with our handy form. But don’t delay – submissions close June 1.
We appreciate your continued support to make this festival going 12 years strong. For donation and sponsor information, please visit the Get Involved section of this site.
Thanks, and we'll see you at the festival!

Michael Showalter at JCCSF

On Sunday, March 6th, Litquake co-presents an evening with comedian/author Michael Showalter, in conversation with Litquake co-founder Jack Boulware at the JCCSF. Showalter isn’t just your average funny guy. The brain behind television’s Michael & Michael Have Issues and The State, the films Wet Hot American Summer and The Baxter, and the comedy trio Stella, makes his literary debut with his new book Mr. Funny Pants. Join us for a side-splitting evening with a comic genius.
The JCCSF is located at 3200 California Street. Show begins at 7 pm, with wine bar hosted by Litquake. Advance tickets are $12 members, $15 general public, and $10 students.

Journey to the Epicenter at ZYZZYVA

On March 3rd join Litquake and the West Coast literary journal ZYZZYVA for our first Epicenter of 2011. For the first time since its 1985 debut, ZYZZYVA has a new editor. Laura Cogan (pictured), along with new managing editor Oscar Villalon, fills the shoes of founding editor Howard Junker, all in a brand-new downtown office.
Stop by and meet the ZYZZYVA masthead, mingle with lit lovers, writers, and readers, and preview the journal’s Spring issue (featuring contributors Stephen Elliott, Tom Barbash, Matthew Dickman, and Robin Ekiss—and sporting a cover by renowned artist Richard Misrach).
Wine and savory treats help celebrate a new beginning for a Bay Area institution. 5-7 pm, 466 Geary Blvd., 4th floor, RSVP to editor@zyzzyva.org.
The Epicenter series pairs the folks behind San Francisco’s Literary Festival with literary journals, reading series, publishers, schools, and more at free monthly gatherings for the literary-minded. If your group would like to co-host a future Epicenter with Litquake, please email Elise Proulx at ep@litquake.org.

Culture Club at Noise Pop

On February 26-27 Litquake co-presents the Noise Pop Culture Club, a weekend of DIY talks, workshops and crafting, at Public Works in the Mission District. In particular, check out Saturday afternoon’s event “Exploring the Cross-Section of Music and Books,” with musician/authors John Wesley Harding and Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Ten bucks gets you admission all day long. Public Works is located at 161 Erie Street. Events run 12 noon to 6 pm both days, visit Noise Pop’s site for tickets and more info.

Music Memoirs with Noise Pop

Advance tickets are still available for our February 24th event as part of San Francisco’s Noise Pop music festival—Way Behind the Music: From Miley Cyrus to Motley Crue, a night of hilariously odd music memoirs brought to life onstage!

Join our lineup of esteemed musicians and writers as they read excerpts from a choice selection of American music autobiographies, featuring the actual published literary efforts of Justin Bieber, Jewel, Gene Simmons, George Jones, Marilyn Manson, Tori Amos, Vince Neil, Denise McLean (mother of Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean), and many more. Readings performed by Mark Eitzel, Thao Nguyen, Beth Lisick, Linda Robertson, Michelle Tea, Bucky Sinister, Jesse Michaels, Paul Myers and Tom Heyman. Hosted by Anthony Bedard (Hank IV). The Make-Out Room, 3225 22nd Street in the Mission. Doors open at 7, show at 7:30. Tickets are just $10 in advance or $15 day of show.

Way Behind the Music

On February 24th at the Make-Out Room in San Francisco, Litquake partners with the city’s Noise Pop music festival for Way Behind the Music: From Miley Cyrus to Motley Crue, a night of hilariously odd music memoirs brought to life onstage.
Join our lineup of esteemed musicians and writers as they read excerpts from a choice selection of American music autobiographies. Featuring the actual published literary efforts of Justin Bieber, Jewel, Gene Simmons, George Jones, Marilyn Manson, Tori Amos, Vince Neil, Denise McLean (mother of Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean), and many more. Readings performed by Mark Eitzel, Thao Nguyen, Beth Lisick, Linda Robertson, Michelle Tea, Bucky Sinister, Jesse Michaels, Paul Myers and Tom Heyman. Hosted by Anthony Bedard (Hank IV). The Make-Out Room, 3225 22nd Street in the Mission. Doors open at 7, show at 7:30. Tickets are just $10 in advance or $15 day of show!