CommuniKate: Newsletter
« April 2007 | Main | June 2007 »
May 2007
[CommuniKate logo]
May 2007
-- Happy 30th Anniversary NCLR
-- It's Not too Late to Win a Date with Kate!
-- Boston Spirit
-- Site News
-- DVD News
-- Mother's Day Editorial: My Comic Mom
-- EduKate
-- Monthly Trivia Contest: Win an Anniversary T-Shirt
-- Kate Clinton Tour News
-- It's A Blog World After All!
-- Fan Spotlight
-- Booking and Publicity
Photo: 495831210_eac054adf8.jpg
Kate Clinton is Martina's favorite butch ball girl. (Photo: Cheryl Mazak)
===========================================
Happy 30th Anniversary NCLR
===========================================
Photo: 495842382_a143748d08.jpg
Kate, Martina and Kate Kendell share at moment at the NCLR Tennis Clinic (Photo: Cheryl Mazak)
On the morning of the gala bash, Kate went to the Golden Gateway Tennis and Swim Club. Not to work out, but to attend the tennis clinic that this year's Voice and Visibility Honoree, Martina Navratilova generously conducted for ten lucky auction winners. Martina worked on the basics and then played doubles with the players, all the while giving running commentary and corrections on her pesky headset. Kate did her best imitation of a young Wimbledon ball girl. We're sure the BenGay will kick in any minute.
Read more from Kate:
http://kateclinton.com/communikate/community/
Enjoy more photos from the Tennis Clinic:
http://kateclinton.com/kate-multimedia/
----------------------------
A party to end all parties
Photo: home_honorees.jpg
Credit: Lynnly Labovitz
Wow! NCLR wanted to hold the party to end all parties, and thanks to you, we think we came pretty close on May 12th. Thank you!
From the inspiring presence of Kate Clinton, John Amaechi and Martina Navratilova to the world premiere of NCLR at 30: A Short Film and the incredible energy in the room, the night was everlastingly memorable and wildly successful. It was a perfect way to showcase how far NCLR has come and what an important institution they have become in the movement.
Read more about the evening: http://www.nclrights.org/30gala/index.php
Photo: DSCN6515.jpg
As Kate continues to fundraise for NCLR, she has money coming out of the wazoo
----------------------------
"Prom" Memories
Kate,
Thanks for emceeing the NCLR dinner dance - or the "Prom" as it's called in our house. This year was 5 years running for us and you make it fun. The fortune cookies were a big hit too. It's nice to know you think I'm hilarious because I think the same of you.
Thought you would enjoy the picture. FYI - I think the goal at an event like that is to check out other people's merchandise. You can see your own any night of the week (see picture below).
Have a great year,
Julie
Photo: kate-nclr-fundraiser.jpg
Kate x 2 = Fundraising for NCLR
===========================================
It's Not too Late to Win a Date with Kate!
===========================================
We have a received numerous entries for this contest, so just in case you didn't get a chance the first time around you still have time.
That's right, a get-together with Kate herself! Due to feedback from readers like you, this offer will be exclusive to newsletter members only.
Simple as this - describe your pefect date with Kate and send it along to kate@kateclinton.com by June 30, 2007.
kate@kateclinton.com
Photo: DSCN6504.jpg
Deb Mosk, Kate and Dr. Deb
===========================================
Boston Spirit Magazine Celebrates Kate
===========================================
Photo: spirit-cover-4-07.jpg
Stop by for a visit. Boston Spirit, launched in April 2005, is a bi-monthly, glossy, color, in-home delivered magazine. Locally owned and operated, we strive to provide the highest quality editorial in every issue. If you've missed any of our past issues there is an archive of past articles on this site.
Catch Kate's latest interview:
http://www.bostonspiritmagazine.com/index.html
===========================================
Site News
===========================================
----------------------------
New Items on CafePress!
Photo: thumbs/cafepress-lazytop-feature.jpg
Thanks to your feedback on the survey, we've got all-new stuff for you at CafePress! Check out Kate's new Climate Change tour apparel including black shirts, hoodies, and all new products featuring fan-favorite one-liners like "Lazy Top" and "Women laughing together is like women coming together."
http://www.cafepress.com/kateclinton
----------------------------
Climate Change: All's Fal that Ends Well
"I remember exactly where I was when I heard that Jerry Falwell had died. I had just landed from a cross-country flight and was in a taxi, trying to preserve the pleasure..."
http://kateclinton.com/communikate/climate_change/
----------------------------
The HA [Humor Activism] Corner
Photo: hacorner-kate.jpg
We want to hear your activism stories! Share some of the witty, gay civil protests you've done in our HA [Humor Activism] Corner:
http://kateclinton.com/communikate/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5
----------------------------
Gay Pride E-Cards
Photo: thumbs/e-card-thumb.jpg
Have you sent a free electronic Kate Clinton greeting card? Surprise someone with a note in their mailbox:
http://pub28.bravenet.com/postcard/post.php?usernum=2381952992
===========================================
DVD News
===========================================
COMING SOON! All Out Films Presents: It's Come To This! 25th Anniversary DVD - Release Date To Be Announced
We have seen the rough cut and you will love this collectors' item. This DVD will feature tons of bonus extras and outtakes.
Catch the World Premiere of It's Come To This:
Newfest: New York Gay & Lesbian Film Festival on Thursday, June 7
http://www.newfest.org
Provincetown Film Festival on June 14
http://www.ptownfilmfest.org
Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival between July 12-23
http://www.outfest.org
LOGO airdate to be announced... in the meantime be sure to catch Kate on Laughing Matters on LOGO.
----------------------------
here! Comedy Presents Kate Clinton
Photo: thumbs/heretv-logo.gif
Beloved political humorist, Kate Clinton, cuts lose and runs with the burning issues of the day - same and same old sex marriage, pop and pope culture, good and bad Bush fatigue - in this one-funny woman, standup performance. You'll laugh til you think!
Photo: dvd-art.jpg
http://www.heretv.com
Find out more and order your DVD now:
http://kateclinton.com/katemart/2006/07/here_comedy_presents_kate_clin.html
===========================================
Mother's Day Editorial: My Comic Mom
===========================================
My mom had a wonderful sense of humor. And she would often dissolve into gulping fits of "I don't know why that strikes me so funny," laughter after hearing grim bits of news. I loved to feed her stories and get her to laugh inappropriately. She loved her family fiercely, worked the beatitudes daily in her church and civic community and would be embarrassed that I am telling you about her sometimes perverse streak of humor.
My mom also had five children. She was of the generation of Moms, on the cusp of Betty Friedan, who planned meals, went grocery shopping once a week, baked and cleaned daily, washed and folded loads of laundry, was there for us after school, oversaw homework, etc beyond etc. She said she loved it. After attending her 6:30 a.m. mass, she was on the move until late every night. She was busy.
My comic mom was the mother of one of the funniest, most charismatic girls in my Catholic high school. When my friend invited me over to her house after school, I met the woman who was to be my comic mom for almost 45 years. My friend's dad was a respected thoracic surgeon in the city. There were three kids in her family. They had more disposable income than my family. Her mom had help and seemed to have more leisure time than my mom. I was talking about that recently with Jane, now 85, and she looked me in the eye and said, "I made time for you."
Did she ever. That first afternoon I met her, she breezed into the elegantly appointed kitchen - i.e. they had a dishwasher!! - wearing one of her trademark, full length caftans and tossed me an orange. Normally an excellent catcher, I was distracted, still processing the caftan at 4 p.m., and the orange sailed by and smashed a cut glass goblet on the counter behind me. She said, "Oh, my uterus," and we all fell out laughing.
At that point I had no idea what a uterus was, but thought the line was hilarious. I can still see the shock on my own mother's face, when at the family dinner table that night I entertained them all with the story about meeting Jane. The repeated and perfectly delivered punch line, "Oh, my uterus," thudded like a Don Imus. To my Mom's credit, she never kept me from going to Jane's. Her own sense of self was never threatened by Jane's sense of humor.
Thank goodness. Jane was a connoisseur of found humor. She did great show and tell. She clipped cartoons, headlines, want ads out of the paper and made notes of funny sayings or situations. She was pre-post-its. She got Mad magazine delivered. We sang the Mad magazine movie parodies. In what were some of my earliest out-of-my-own-house performances, she would specify a foreign accent and have me do on-demand dramatic readings of some of the more tedious Christmas letters they received.
In our little town in upstate New York, she was very media savvy. Through her I was introduced to comedy records: Bill Cosby, Totie Fields, Moms Mabley, Hello Mudda, Mike Nichols and Elaine May. For years we've done their routines, now compressed into comedy shorthand, "Suture. Suture. Clamp. Clamp. I love you. What?" We roared through early Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Pink Panthers, Joan River's Rabbit Test. We vetted possible friendships based on whether or not they laughed at Young Frankenstein. Now it's Napoleon Dynamite. She would call my house at odd times and say, "Channel Four, right now." I would turn on our TV and there would be Bette Midler on Merv Griffin for her first time. We watched a lot of early SNL and loved Jane Curtin and Bill Murray doing the news. She now sends me the best of any YouTube videos I get.
To be with her in public was totally upstate New York transgressive. She was stylishly Auntie Mame brash with a shocking bawdiness. She was primordial pre-Maude. And yet she could generally get anyone to play along with her. She was an invaluable model for the stand-up comedy I came to do for a living. Jane is justly proud of my accomplishments because she is such a huge part of them.
Every year I look for a Mother's Day Card in the Hallmark tiers under a Comic Mother section. Nada. Every year I buy her some over-the-top, embossed, glittery card. I write it to, "Jane, you ignorant slut." I sign it, "Thank you for everything, love, Kate." I always circle the price on the back of the card.
===========================================
EduKate
===========================================
----------------------------
Quotable K8T
"At my age, a second coming would be lovely."
- Kate Clinton
----------------------------
Sexy = Book Clubs and Study Groups
Back in the lesbian day, late 1970s say, in addition to the clitoral, there was the literal. The word. We would wait for a new book from Audre Lourde, Adrienne Rich, Mary Daley or Cherie Moraga. We'd find it, pass it around, read it, talk about it, fight about it. The brain was a big sex organ and it was engaged, engorged, enraged. I know I was on fire, finally reading words I had barely thought, much less articulated to myself. Those readings and discussions formed the ethical basis of the work I do now.
That's why I'm a big advocate of book clubs. We have a study group - we meet once a month, order in, gossip before dinner and then discuss what we've read. My group has a fondness for dense policy books and those months I sit at the kid's table. During the summer we go to movies and have dinner after. The point is to think new thoughts and to talk. Not only do we read things out of our comfort/interest zone, but we get to see pals in a thoughtful setting different from instant message exchanges. And it's a great guarantee that months won't go by without seeing each other.
So look around you. Look for someone who intrigues you with her thoughts. Ask that person for coffee. Tell her you want to start, need to start a study group. Brainstorm some more people. Invite about ten over to your place. Tell them what you want to do. Pick a category - fiction, non-fiction, biography, graphic novel, essay, poetry. Pick a date - second Wednesday every month, whatever. Pick a first meeting place. Read. Discuss. Not only will you be surprised how much you wanted to do it - you'll be amazed how much you needed to do it. Doesn't that just sound sexy?
----------------------------
Outspoken Activist Of The Month: Sue Hyde
Photo: sue_hyde_187x233.jpg
For two decades, Sue Hyde has inspired and nurtured organizers and led community members to participate in democracy with the goal of securing freedom, justice and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people and their families.
Read more about Sue's work: http://www.thetaskforce.org/about_us/staff_directory/sort_by_name/Sue_Hyde
----------------------------
Page One: K8T is reading... Come Out and Win: Organizing Yourself, Your Community and Your World by Sue Hyde
Photo: suehyde-comeoutandwin.jpg
Come Out and Win will educate, engage, and agitate LGBT and straight activists to become involved in the political movement to win full equality under the law and sexual/gender freedom. Spurring a new generation of activists to positive social action, it not only tells the history of gay liberation but, crucially, offers guidance and practical advice for building organizations and taking concrete action to eradicate homophobia.
http://www.beacon.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=1853
----------------------------
Page One: K8T is reading... People Magazine
Photo: logos/people-magazine.jpg
You'll need a no-brainer break after your study group.
http://www.people.com/
----------------------------
Outspoken Organization Of The Month: National Lesbian and Gay Task Force
Photo: logos/NGLTF.jpg
Become a member! They give the best bang for your buck. The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the grassroots power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. We do this by training activists, equipping state and local organizations with the skills needed to organize broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movement's premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all.
http://www.thetaskforce.org
----------------------------
My View, Your View, Our View
Let's get a grass roots campaign going to have you replace Rosie as the moderator on the View. Oh my aching maria, that would be good. If they think Rosie is too much, wait till you get your tongue on Elizabeth. It would be tooooo good.
Keep fighting,
Shelley
----------------------------
Paving the Way
Hi, Kate,
Enjoyed the newsletter, as usual. Regarding your address to the young-uns of today:
Friend Hollis and I were having a sandwich the other day at Bison Witches down on 4th Av in Tucson, the two of us at a large table. Soon a young woman came over and said she was expecting friends and did we mind if they shared our table. Of course not. And I'm thinking to myself, "If she's not, Im not!" Her friends came, and after a bit, we started chatting a little, casual, non-informative stuff, actually.
BUT THEN, one of these darlin' babies they're in their early twenties, Hollis and I are 62 and 64 said out of the blue, We want to thank you for what you've done for us, the work you've done, the battles you fought; you've made life easier for us. You paved the way.
Wow.
May G(ood) O(ld) D(yke) bless them. We certainly did!
BTW, congratulations on the GLADD media award. It's high time!!
Love to you - and hurry back to Tucson.
Lane Aldridge
===========================================
Monthly Trivia Contest: Win an Anniversary Tour T-Shirt
===========================================
Photo: shirt-front.jpg
The first person to email us with the correct answer to the following trivia question gets an Anniversary tour t-shirt from CafePress. Score! Here's the question: "Which recording artist did Kate open the show for in 2004?" Click here to email us your answer:
kate@kateclinton.com
----------------------------
Last Month's Contest
Last month's question was "How many years young will Kate be this November?" The answer is 60. Congratulations to April's Trivia winner, Robert Kelly. Thanks for playing - better luck to the rest of you this month!
Check out Kate's CafePress stuff here:
http://cafepress.com/kateclinton
===========================================
Kate Clinton Tour News
===========================================
More Kate's Dates:
http://kateclinton.com/kates-dates/
----------------------------
Get Ready for Climate Change!
Photo: kates-dates-april07.jpg
5/25-26-27/07
Provincetown, MA
The Crown and Anchor
7pm
http://www.onlyatthecrown.com
5/31/07
New York, NY
Lambda Literary Awards
Katie Murphy Amphitheater
Fashion Institute of Technology
7th Avenue @ 27th Street
New York, NY
http://www.lambdalit.org
6/1/07
Long Beach, CA
The Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center
http://www.southcoastchorale.org
6/2-3/07
San Francisco, CA
Brava! Theater
June 2- 8pm
June 3- 3pm
http://www.brava.org
415-647-2822
6/10/07
Northampton, MA
Northampton High School
Perugia Press 10th Anniversary Event
www.perugiapress.com
info@perugiapress.com
6/18/07
New York City, NY
Garden Party 24
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
6/28-29-30/07
Provincetown, MA
The Crown and Anchor
7pm
http://www.onlyatthecrown.com
July/August 07
Provincetown, MA
The Crown and Anchor
July 5,6,7,12,13,14,19,20,21
August 2,3,4,9,10,11,16,17,18,19,23,24,25,26,30,31
7pm
http://www.onlyatthecrown.com
----------------------------
Kate's Posts from the Road: Edible Equality
"It's Dinner Season!! Instead of proms, we gay people have dinners and I for one can't get enough..."
http://kateclinton.com/communikate/2007_tour_notes/
===========================================
It's A Blog World After All!
===========================================
----------------------------
OurChartreusers!
Photo: logos/ourchart-logo.gif
Have been in a slight slump since the end of this L-Word season. And I'm sorry, Ricky Gervais and The Riches don't help my withdrawal. Some days I just mope around the house wearing my red therapist nose from the third season. And the Yankees suck, so thank goodness you all have connected with us in our little corner of the chart. Only ten more months to next season. Sigh...
http://www.ourchart.com/blog/41
----------------------------
Kate Clinton Fearless on The Huffington Post - Breaking News and Opinion
Photo: logos/logo_huffington_post.jpg
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/becoming-fearless/
----------------------------
My Dear MySpaceCadets!
Photo: badges/myspace-fan-club.gif
Thanks so much for finding me and for letting me into that little screen portal on your desk. It's finally spring in NYC and I'm having a hard time staying with the keyboard. In your honor, I'm going down to Riverside Park right now to smell the cherry blossoms!
Kate's MySpace Fan Club:
http://groups.myspace.com/kateclinton
Kate's MySpace Page:
http://www.myspace.com/kateclinton
===========================================
Fan Spotlight
===========================================
Send Kate a letter or a photo - we're always posting new fan photos on the site and Kate loves to hear from you! Here are some recent letters and photos. Keep 'em coming!
See fan photos:
http://kateclinton.com/kate-multimedia/
Send Kate a photo or letter:
kate@kateclinton.com
----------------------------
Echoes of Olivia
Kate,
I dont know if you remember me but I was the one in pool volleyball that used her face to return a serve. I just wanted to tell you that it was very nice chatting with you. It is super when you meet a famous person and they are down to earth and easy to talk to.
Maybe when I take my next Olivia vacation I will be lucky enough to get to laugh at your act (in a good way!) It will make it that much more enjoyable having met you in person!!
Brandi
----------------------------
Glad about GLAAD
Kate,
Thanks so much for all you do for us and our community. We are proud that GlAAD has honored you. My partner and I have been together for 34 years and we always say that your political humor/truth has only improved with age. Keep up the good fight. We need to continue to move forward. You have done more than you know to help us do that. Thanks again. Hopefully, we will see you in P-Town this summer.
Love, Bob & Don
Hi Kate -
I saw you on the televised GLAAD awards the other night and so loved your speech. Where have you been all of my life? Or rather, where have I been to not know of you?
Thank you for all that you do.
I see your profile lists you as living in P-Town. What a wonderful place - one of the best in the U.S. I think. I hope to be playing there soon.
I must catch one of your shows. Do you ever come the Ithaca way? (they like their queers there, not so much here in Binghamton).
all the best to you and peace...
- mpp
http://www.michaelpatrickphelan.com
Hey Kate!
Saw you recieve your Pioneer Award at the GLAAD event! Congratulations! Your acceptance speech was fabulous! It was the highlight of the show!
Love you!
Elaine Lotcpeich
Hi Kate,
Congratulations on your Pioneer Award. My Gal Sue won a Pioneer Award through the University of Buffalo for pioneering girls and womens sports for Title IX back in '72. You pioneer women are both turning sixty this year. Sue today. Have a great day and off I go to read your blog.
Debz
Dear Kate,
A HUGE congratulations on receiving the Pioneer Award! It's richly deserved, and you are one of the pioneers who have made the road so much easier for so many. You're the top (uh - double meaning intended; and your routine about now being a "lazy top" made coffee come out of my nose!)
A chance to win a date with you? I'm entering! Of course I know you're in a relationship, so it would be more of a platonic cawfee thing (you know, when "a cup of coffee" literally means "a cup of coffee?).
You're brilliant and you're the best! I have thanked the universe for you after every performance I've had the enormous pleasure of attending. Keep doing that thing you do-:)
Warmly,
Jeanne aka JeanneProf
----------------------------
A Fan for 20 Years
Kate,
You were one of the first comedians that I saw, when I was still a teenager. You're always been out and proud. Your comedy has always been real and I have always been able to relate. And it's nice to see that you're still doing comedy, with the same partner, looking your age, but still looking great!
I'm proud to say that I've been a fan for almost 20 years and I'm looking forward to Family Week in P-town because I'm hoping that you're planning to perform so that I can introduce my partner and maybe even my kids to your comedy.
Thank you for being you!
Charlene
PS. I'm sure you get millions of fan letters, but I saw you online and I didn't want to miss an opportunity to acknowledge someone who has made a difference in my life.
===========================================
Booking and Publicity
===========================================
Whether you're with an organization, corporation, club, theater or bookstore, feel free to inquire about having Kate entertain you for the evening. You can now find workshop and presentation descriptions here:
http://kateclinton.com/booking-publicity
----------------------------
Bring Kate to Your Workplace.
Prudential and Stride Rite have - why not your employer? Whether it's a training seminar, holiday party, caucus meeting, trade show or sales meeting, Kate offers a variety of shows to fit your many corporate entertainment needs. Remember Kate can design a show to meet your particular requirements. Let us know what you have in mind!
tammartin@aol.com
----------------------------
For personal appearances/performances (i.e. standup, hosting, emceeing, business and organization presentations) contact:
Tam Martin, Artist Representative
Beachfront Bookings/Productions
[Beachfront Bookings/Productions logo]
P.O. Box 13218, Portland, OR 97213-0218
(503) 281-3874 phone | (503) 281-3881 fax
tammartin@aol.com
http://beachfrontbookings.com
----------------------------
For College and University lectures, contact:
Jodi Solomon
Jodi Solomon Speakers Bureau, Incorporated
325 Huntington Avenue Suite 112, Boston, MA 02115
(617) 266-3450 phone | (617) 266-5660 fax
http://www.jodisolomonspeakers.com
----------------------------
For media & merchandise inquiries, contact:
Michele Karlsberg Marketing & Management
47 Dongan Hills Ave, Staten Island, NY 10306
(718) 351-9599 phone | (718) 980-4262 fax
karlsbergm@aol.com
===========================================
kate@kateclinton.com
http://kateclinton.com/booking-publicity
============================================
Posted by admin at 12:41 PM | Permalink
Booking & Publicity
If you're interested in booking Kate, or if you're looking for a press kit, or high-res photos and logos, come check out the Booking & Publicity section. You'll find everything you need, including complete contact details.
Kate Wired
Log in to your favorite social networking site and get hooked up with Kate. These links will open in a new window.
