Queer Voices
Queer Voices
September 2nd - Houston is a Queer Friendly Destination with AJ Mistretta, and Matt Hune on 10 Years of Rec Room Arts!
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This week, author R. Lee Ingalls sits down with AJ Mistretta, VP of Corporate Communications at Houston First. They talk about how AJ markets Houston to the world, and includes the LGBTQIA+ community as part of its attraction. Then Brett Cullum talks to Matt Hune about the 10th anniversary season for Rec Room Arts, which kicks off with Rose Morrigan in AMADEUS in September. Brett and Lee also do a news wrap segment to round out this week.
Queer Voices airs in Houston Texas on 90.1FM KPFT and is heard as a podcast here. Queer Voices hopes to entertain as well as illuminate LGBTQ issues in Houston and beyond. Check out our socials at:
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Opening And Guest Preview
BrettYou are listening to Queer Voices, a radio show on KPFT 90.1 FM Houston, and available as a podcast wherever you get those. I am Brett Cullum, your host for this episode. We're taking a look at Houston as a destination city tonight, with Houston First Corporation's Vice President of Corporate Communications, A.J. Mistretta. Author R. Lee Ingalls finds out from AJ about how his job is to attract people from all over the world to come to Houston and also informs the LGBTQIA Plus community through their website, mygayhouston.com. Then I get to talk to Matt Hune about the upcoming 10th anniversary season for Rec Room Arts, a theater company that is kicking off this year's offerings with Amadeus and a very queer twist to it. Queer Voices starts now.
Marketing Houston With Houston First
LeeWelcome. Thank you for joining us. I am R. Lee Engels, and today I'm joined by AJ Mistretta. AJ oversees the communications for Houston First. Welcome, AJ. Hey Lee, how are you doing? Good, good. Thank you for joining me. Of course. Yeah, so can you explain to me a little bit about what Houston First is and what your role is with them?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so Houston First is what's called a destination marketing organization. And typically you see these organizations around the country. Usually it starts with something like visit, fill in the blank, right? Uh visit Nashville, visit Austin. For us, we are a little unique. We do run Visit Houston, which is a brand and a website. It is the official destination marketing organization for our region. We also run a number of facilities around the city, including the George R. Brown Convention Center, a number of theaters, parks, and so forth. So we are a little unique in that space in that we we market the city, we sell the city as a destination, but we also manage a lot of the facilities that Houstonians enjoy.
LeeWow. Sounds like quite a responsibility there. Tell me a little bit, uh, how does that, or what do you do that is specific to the LGBTQ plus community?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so we actually do operate a website called My Gay Houston. Uh, the organization does that really is targeted at the LGBTQ traveler, really letting them know what that big city experience is in Houston and what folks who are in the community can enjoy here. Uh, you know, we are not a uh an out a super outdoorsy destination, but we have a lot of great things that folks in the LGBTQ community do enjoy, you know, whether it's the arts, uh museums, amazing restaurants. And so that website really speaks to that community and tells them about some of the events and happenings uh that are specific to the community.
LeeRight, right. And remind me, what is the website again?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's mygayhouston.com.
LeeOh, okay. Thank you.
SPEAKER_02I'll have to do a chat. You asked me a moment ago about my specific role, and I didn't really elaborate on that. So my role really is telling the story uh from a communication standpoint of the organization of Houston First, what we do as a company, but also telling the story about our industry. You know, a lot of cities around the country, whether it's Las Vegas or Orlando, New Orleans, you know, they're known as hospitality destinations. A lot of folks don't automatically think of Houston as a leisure travel destination. And yet we are a huge one. We are a major one when it comes to concerts, sporting events, major conventions, festivals, and so forth. And so we need to remind folks all the time that, you know, we are one of the largest employers. When you think about all the restaurants, all the hotels, all the nightlife venues that are in the city, we are one of the largest employers and a big contributor to the economy. So part of my job is really conveying that out to the community, to our stakeholders about the importance of this industry and the importance of what we do for it.
LeeYeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02No, great information.
LeeThank you. Thank you. So, talking about destination, what are some of the major projects that are coming up that would kind of put us on that destination spotlight?
LGBTQ Travel Guide To Houston
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So, you know, obviously there are a lot of constantly new things popping up. You know, I look at things, projects such as the Memorial Park Master Plan. That's been ongoing for a number of years now. And we've seen some of the early components of that, whether it is the Eastern Glades uh that has already opened up the major tunnel system that with the uh the overland tunnels that go over Memorial Park. But we also are going to see other projects that are really transforming Memorial Park into a destination. A really exciting thing. I think that park was underutilized for a number of years, and yet it's larger. Many folks are surprised to learn that it's larger than Central Park, and yet hasn't been parts of it just really haven't been developed. And so a lot of that, that project I think will help transform the area in and around Uptown and become a destination. We also see, you know, in East Downtown an evolution, projects like East River that are transforming the area to the east of downtown that really uh will become a destination with, I think, a you know, major new restaurants, nightlife, and so forth. And that project is many acres that will be developed over the next 10 years. You also see projects like uh Buffalo Bayou East. So that's that's the whole project along Buffalo Bayou downstream that is really geared toward turning that into the type of environment that we see already upriver, you know, between downtown and Shepherd, really transforming the bayou. So these projects really have the capacity to reshape the destination and become more of a catalyst for future development.
LeeYeah. No, I can tell you, I used to jog at Memorial Park. This was back in the 90s and early 2000s, and now it's almost unrecognizable with all the changes that they've made. So yeah, it's it's amazing. If you get a chance to go see, it's absolutely something to be seen.
Projects Making Houston A Destination
LeeSo as I understand it, one of your tasks, and when I say yours, I don't mean you specifically, but Houston first, is to attract events and conventions to come to Houston. What do you do that is specific to our community, the LGBTQ community?
SPEAKER_02You know, Houston has hosted a number of uh conventions and major events uh tied to the LGTQ community in the past. In fact, in 2014, as I recall, I was very involved at the time in helping bring about the Creating Change Conference uh to Houston. Uh that was a major conference of community activists, leaders in community organizations, whether it's pride organizations, chambers of commerce, and so forth in the LGBTQ community. It really brings them all together to talk about some of the issues that are affecting this community and what can be done differently and actions that can be taken. And you know, it's called creating change because I think it really does catalyze change. Uh, it really is an energizing conference. And that conference was held at the Hilton Americas back in 2014. I'll tell you, what's really cool about that is, you know, out of that conference uh began some discussions around the need for an LGBTQ chamber here in Houston. We saw a number of other organizations, cities sending their chambers to that conference. And we realized as the fourth largest city in the country that Houston didn't have one and we really needed one. And I think, you know, you and I have a dear friend, Gary Wood, that was part of the foundation of that, of that chamber alongside uh Tammy Wallace. And uh those conversations really began out of that conference, which is amazing. So uh that that had fond memories of that conference, but that's just one. And we've hosted industry-specific conferences, whether it's the Association of LGBTQ Realtors as an example. I think that was held a couple of years ago. So we go after major conferences that really speak to you know the specifics of our of our community, but also about the industries that are that are prime here in Houston, right? And because we have such a robust LGBT LGBTQ community, those conferences do look at us. They look at the opportunity that presents to engage locals that are part of their organizations, as well as bring folks into a city that is easy to get to, has a great, great hotels and attractions, and uh we we see a lot of uh benefit from that.
LeeRight, great. Thank you. And yes, I I do agree that the chamber was unnecessary, uh, avoid in our community. And yeah, kudos to both uh Gary Wood and Tammy Wallace for getting that started. And this is their 10th year, yeah, with the chamber. So great, great for them. Appreciate them doing that. So, okay, the one question that I had, and and or misunderstanding that I had, I thought Houston First was actually a department within the city of Houston, but in our early conversations, you clarified that for me, that it is not. So can you kind of explain the role or connection between Houston First and the city?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so a lot of organizations like ours, DMOs, as I mentioned before, destination marketing organizations, sometimes they are actually a department of a city. In some cases around the country, we see that. Oftentimes they are a nonprofit. They are sometimes member-based, so they might have members that are hotels or restaurants and so forth. Our model is that we are funded primarily through hotel occupancy tax. So that's basically whenever you stay at a hotel, a portion of that rate goes back to a local community to reinvest in bringing more travelers, conventions, and so forth to that city, right? And so most of our revenue as an organization comes through uh hotel occupancy tax. We also get revenue through the operation of our facilities, like the convention center, and we actually own the Hilton Americas. So the operation of that hotel, as well as parking. So we actually operate some parking uh facilities in and around downtown as well. So those are our primary sources of revenue. We are uh very well, very tightly affiliated with the city, but we are not a city department. So we uh operate on behalf of our stakeholders, which are again, you know, the hotel community, the restaurants, and so forth. But we do answer to City Hall and make sure that they are kept abreast of what we're doing, and uh they ultimately approve our budget.
LeeYeah. Wonderful. Thank you. Thank you for that clarification. And then so we're talking about the communication, your audience. So who do you see as your audience and how do you get to them? What is your what is your you know? So we have a lot of different media available to us today. So remember the newspaper, magazine, online, uh, social media.
SPEAKER_02Who's your audience? How do you nip to them? Yeah, so um, you know, interesting. I oversee corporate communications here, and uh, we divide it out into two kind of buckets, if you will. On my side, I'm speaking primarily to the local media community, working with newspapers, uh, television stations, and so forth to get the word out about, again, you know, what we're doing as a company. Uh, and we can talk about a major project that we are underway on in a moment, but what we're doing as a company, and then also what's going on in our industry. How is how is the uh travel and visitor economy doing here in Houston? How are our hotels doing? How are how are restaurants doing and so forth? So we can speak about that. And we primarily speak about that into the local media audience. Uh in our marketing department, uh, we have another PR division that really focuses on telling the story of the destination, right? So they're working with outlets such as travel and leisure, food and wine, uh, the Wall Street Journals, entertainment section to talk about travel to Houston and they're engaging with writers that come here, that experience the city, and that can then write about that. So again, you know, I'm focused more on telling that corporate story and that industry story, and they're focused more on telling the story about the destination and what it means to again visit Houston.
LeeYeah, excellent point. So now one one kind of this is a little bit of a sidetrack, but still something that's important to our listeners, and that is the shift in in communication. So we're accustomed to or we grew up in a world of credit, primarily newspaper, magazine, et cetera. And we are now seeing a shift to more digital sources and social media. Do you how aware are you of that switch? Are you? And does your plan for communication kind of address that?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you know, typically on my side, we're working with a lot of traditional media, with with the newspapers, with um, you know, and when I say newspapers, I mean, you know, print and digital newspapers. I think, I think we we know that there are some completely online uh outlets these days as well as the television stations. But on the on the destination side, you know, what we're seeing is increasingly we we're working with influencers, with digital influencers, those that are engaged on social media, because people are now planning their vacations, you know, through TikTok, through Instagram, right? They're following influencers that they can see and they can track and they think they can say, okay, that looks like something really fun that I would like to do. I want to go visit that restaurant, I want to go to that museum. And so we're engaging them, those influencers, in ways that we really never have before. Certainly traditional advertising and public relations are core to our big part of what we do and our planning. But a growing part of that strategy is working where folks are. And that increasingly is through digital means, through social media, through influencers that uh help convey how what the what the trip experience can be in a place like this. We also, you know, as a as an organization, we again manage a number of facilities. We manage Jones Hall and the Wortham. So we engage influencers on our side sometimes to talk about, you know, what are some of the upcoming events happening in some of our facilities, whether it is a new convention that's just that just that's opening uh this week at the convention center and what folks might be able to experience there if it is a public show, right? What it might be like the, for instance, like the car show or a boat show. What can folks experience this weekend at the convention center? And then also, again, you know, what's going on at the theaters, what's going on at some of the parks that we manage, and you know, what can folks experience this weekend? So those are the things that we uh engage influencers on as well as traditional media.
LeeRight, great.
Crisis Comms Lessons From Harvey
LeeThank you. So we talked a little bit about uh communications outward from your organization to your audiences, but there's also the communications coming in toward you as well. So one of the questions is a change in the mayor's office and the uh mayor's administration, does that change what you do? And if so, how so?
SPEAKER_02Really, uh, you know, we are very focused on our mission, which is to help uh grow the Houston economy through our industry, right? And so a big part of that is, you know, we we are determined to bring more conventions to our city, bring more businesses that are in the hospitality sector and adjacent sectors. And so, really, that mission is core to who we are. It outlasts every administration. Certainly, certain uh leadership might have perspective, and we want to we want to engage uh the mayor or council members on those those ideas, and we certainly do that frequently. But our mission really remains the same across administrations to really focus on what it means to be a destination and how we can help grow that experience here in Houston.
LeeThank you. Thank you. So I and I'm trying to think of a uh a difficult message that might be given to you to to communicate outwards, and I can't come up with an example. But if you were given a message or or something happened in the city that that now we need to communicate that outward, how how would you how does your organization handle that?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you know, we we experience difficult situations all the time. A lot of them are focused around, unfortunately, tragedies, like whether it's a a major storm, for instance. How do we, if we have a significant size convention coming to the city, but we've got we're facing a hurricane, you know, how do we manage that? How do we communicate about that? But we don't want to put people in danger, right? So crisis communications as part of the job, making sure that uh we are equipped to communicate directly with our clients. In cases where, uh, for instance, during Hurricane Harvey, you know, a portion of the convention center had to be turned into a temporary shelter. And you know, we certainly were able to do that and and accommodate Houstonians in need, but you know, that comes with its own communication components, right? We were working in that situation with the Red Cross, with the mayor's office, with federal leaders and so forth. So when tragedy strikes, it really requires people to be nimble. It requires organizations like ours to be to be flexible and to roll with the punches. Uh, but at the same time, we again we have to get back to you know the core business and uh and making sure that we can continue to support our stakeholders, which again are the is that hospitality community.
LeeYeah, thank you. Thank you. So staying in the crisis of discussion, has there been an event or crisis that you've been involved in that kind of changed the way you think about public communication?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think it was probably Harvey. I'll give you uh a quick story there. You know, I actually had uh had left the organization at that time and had eventually would come back, uh, but I had gone to the Chamber of Commerce of the Greater Houston Partnership for a bit. And that was in the interim in between those jobs, and I and that's when Hurricane Harvey hit. And I'll tell you, you know, I was called by my previous boss and and others with the with Houston First and said, Hey, listen, we know you live close by. Uh a lot of our folks can't get to the convention center. Would you be willing to help out? And and given the situation, I said, sure, I if I can get there, I'll help out. So what that entailed was me being, you know, at the convention center for a few days, working again alongside the communications folks with the Red Cross, with with the mayor's office at the time. And, you know, I really saw uh folks uh coming together in a unique way to support Houstonians in need. And that was just really special. We had some challenges. We had people that um security challenges, folks, you know, that perhaps you know had were up to no good. We had to make sure that that that fo that the folks that were that were here because they needed to be were safe. And so we had to, you know, address that with HPD and so forth. But you know, overall, just a really tremendous experience and seeing people come together to support those in in their their those difficult times. I hope that we don't have another situation like that, but I do know that based on that experience, you know, when Houstonians need each other, we we show up.
LeeOkay. So what kind of shifting a little bit, what is something that Houstonians may not know about your team?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think people are often surprised that that Houston is such a prominent destination. I think Houstonians tend to think, well, I live here, but you know, do people really come to visit? And people do come to visit. They come to visit for, again, all the things that we talked about, for the museums, for the restaurants, for the attractions, for things like Space Center, which is so unique to Houston, right? I would encourage folks to embrace that identity as a destination, to encourage friends and family to come visit them. You know, there are tremendous events that happen throughout the year, uh, whether it's rodeo or spring break or you know, all the things that we we come to know and love here that are part of part and parcel to our identity as his as Houstonians. I would encourage folks to look at our city as a as a destination, to to encourage people that they know to come and visit. And uh, I think it's a it's a it's a great thing. Right, right.
Being Out At Work
LeeWell, now kind of shifting that conversation a little bit. So has being gay shaped your experience as a communications professional? If so, how?
SPEAKER_02I look at it as making sure that our community is represented where possible, that our specific needs as LGBTQ people are seen and heard in the rooms. You know, I think that we all have a responsibility as members of this community to represent the broader community when we can. And if we're the only person in the room, then sometimes that means that we're the representative, right? And so making sure that people are thinking about those things, thinking about what it means to be inclusive, to be represented, that's important to me in my communications role. At the same time, you know, it's a job. And so sometimes you have to leave certain, you know, personal feelings aside. Uh, but at the same time, you know, do the job, but at the same time, making sure that people know who you are. I'm very specific and and and open about who I am at work. I always have been. And uh that's a big part of my identity. But at the same time, I do my job. And sometimes it's leaving certain certain beliefs and and and things and so forth at at the door.
LeeYeah. No, and I totally agree. I understand. I appreciate that. So do you feel a responsibility then for the LGBTQ plus community then in your role?
SPEAKER_02I do, and as much as I, again, want to make sure that we're represented, that our thoughts and feelings, as much as I as an individual can represent them, you know, I am gay, I'm not uh I'm not trans, I'm not bi. I can't represent everybody, right? And and the and the thoughts and feelings of everyone, but I know what it means to be part of this community. And I do feel that I have a responsibility to make sure that people are thinking about the needs of this community and the needs of other marginalized, traditionally marginalized communities, whether it's people of color and so forth. So I I do feel a responsibility, but at the same time, you know, it's it's it's finding that that happy medium. You can't be an activist all the time, right? Uh, but certainly at the same time making sure that the voice is heard.
LeeYeah.
SPEAKER_02No, I I totally agree.
LeeSo one thing that was very prominent when I was in my early work years was sometimes you had to hide who you were so that you to protect your job or or or whatever you were doing. Do you feel that is still the case today? Are you are there times that you feel like you have to hide who you are in order to be successful or or do you not feel that?
SPEAKER_02I've never felt that way in in the roles that I've had. You know, previous to this work, I was a journalist for a number of years. I was an editor, I was a reporter. You know, those are really open professions and they were when I was coming out, you know, in the early 2000s. I've never felt the need or the desire to hide who I was at at work. But at the same time, I recognize that some folks do have that need, depending on the industry. I think that does still happen. I hope it doesn't happen as much as it used to. I do think it's different for gay and lesbian folks than it is for trans folks. I think unfortunately there's still more stigma attached to the trans community, and some of those folks really do struggle with being out at work. And that's something we need to we need to work on as a community.
LeeOur community has become more politicized. Uh, with that being the case, both at the state and the national level, does that make communication different or has that changed how you communicate outward, b both in the community and and outside the community?
SPEAKER_02Not for me. Again, I think sometimes we just need to express who we are. We need to express our feelings.
LeeSo when young people listen to you and see you in your job, what is the message that you would like them to take away?
SPEAKER_02For sure. You know, I think that being a mentor to people that are just coming into their careers that are searching for the right career is so important. And I think for me, I would want them to see somebody in a position of influence from our community, from the LGTQ community successful, that somebody has been able to build a career that has been able to effectively be who they are. And that's my desire is to encourage folks who are just coming out to be themselves, to be able to strive and to be successful. At the same time, I think for me, I I love being able to teach young people this space, about this space. Whether that's this, when I say that, I mean, you know, being able to be a communicator, whether it's as a writer, as a PR professional, as a communicator in general. I love being able to teach that. And so for me, I always encourage people first and foremost to be able to write. I think that that's an incredible skill and certainly something that is important today. Yes, we have AI. Yes, we have the ability to plug some stuff into a chat bot, but no one can replace the notion of being able to craft compelling arguments in in writing. And so I think that we that is a skill that is extremely important to anything in communications. I tell people all the time, if you can write, you can go places. And so I really, really do encourage young people to learn to write compellingly, and that will lead them and and and serve them in good stead.
LeeYeah, no, no, no. I appreciate that. Of course, I've I've followed your career now for probably a couple of decades and very impressive. You've done a great job. I think visibility is important. Uh, people having success in their careers while still being authentic with to who they are is very, very important. And you have done that uh and done it very, very well. Uh so kind of stepping in outside the our community, what would you like people to know about Houston first and the communications that that you're part of?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I just want people to know that we're here, that we do represent Houston on the global stage. And that is important. You know, we aren't just promoting Houston to folks living in Louisiana and Arkansas, right? Near neighboring states. We're promoting Houston around the world. We have agents in places like China, in in uh Germany, in Great Britain, in Mexico, uh, all these places where we're trying to encourage tourism from to our to our city. And those are great things because when we can bring international tourists, they they tend to tend to stay longer, right? So we are representing Houston. We are driving people here and encouraging them to spend money, which then helps improve the overall living experience here in Houston. Because when we can encourage new restaurants, when we can encourage new museums, because we've got the visitors to support it, that means great experiences for locals as well. And that's really important.
LeeYeah, no, I absolutely agree. So we we we walk in dual world. So we uh, you know, I have uh a message board that I uh communicate with everybody. So for everybody, where would they go to get information about Houston?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so they would go to visithouston.com for that visitor experience, like what to do this weekend, what festivals are coming up, uh, what's what's going on in our community at any given moment, hottest view restaurants, things like that. So that's where they can find a lot of that information. If they want to learn a little bit more about Houston First and the visitor economy, and when I say that, I mean what's going on in hotels, what's what's going on at the at our airports, how many people are coming through Houston's airports and so forth, that's when they go to HoustonFirst.com. And there it's you know, that's our corporate website where we're talking about what's happening in our industry and in our company. But uh it's two kind of different different sides of the coin a B2C message on visithouston.com and then a B2B message on HoustonFirst.com.
LeeYeah, no, and I I will have to say from a personal experience, when I was putting together a calendar for a print magazine, I went to Houston First and got the information on what's going on and where it's going on. So yeah, I it's a great website, great resource. I have to uh so I will absolutely support you in that. And then we also have the other side of the coin is that we have a very specific community that we address as well. And where would our community they go to to get information about the LGBTQ plus community?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so uh we have again mygayhouston.com where we have editors devoted to who are members of our community devoted to telling this community what's going on in Houston, right? So whether it's major pride events or it's uh October and coming out month, uh, you know, the the events going on around our community that are that are important to members of our community, whether they're visiting or locals, that's where they'll find that at mygayhouston.com.
LeeGreat. Well, thank you, AJ, for joining me today. I appreciate it. It's always good to know a little bit about what's going on in Houston.
SPEAKER_02Awesome. Thanks so much. I appreciate it, Lee. Thank you.
Keep KPFT Commercial Free
BrettThank you for listening to Queer Voices here on KPFT 90.1 Houston or as a podcast. KPFT is a listener-funded station. This is Brett Cullum. You will notice you won't hear any commercials on our program, and that is because we have wonderful people who support us. You can become one of those by going to KPFT.org and making a donation. You can pay it once or monthly. None of these funds raised go to pay us because the show is assembled by volunteers. Yep, that's right. I'm Steve. In fact, I'm a monthly donor to the state to myself because I believe so much in having a place where media can be free to say or do anything it wants without corporations or government entities dictating what we do. So go to kpft.org and join us in making content that speaks to your community. Hi there, this is Brett Cullum.
Rec Room Arts Tenth Season
BrettMatt Hune is one of the founders and the artistic director of Rec Room Arts. It is a 60-seat theater within walking distance of Minute Made Park that is producing critically acclaimed shows for gosh, 10 years now? Yeah. So is Rec Room the only thing you're doing?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you know what? I also uh run a therapy practice and have been doing that for a while too. But the idea of really exploring sort of the the human condition through through both those avenues is what I've yeah, that's that's the thing.
BrettIn the past, you've also uh lectured and taught at Prairie View AM University. You've worked with the alley, you've worked with Tuts, you've worked with HGO stages. I feel like you've hit every theater in town. Yeah. Uh so but rec Room Arts is sort of special. So I'm glad to have you here, Matt. I I always call you the elusive Matt Hune. So I don't know. I'm sorry. No, it's okay. It's great. This is your tenth season. So tell me about what four shows you have picked for this tenth season of Wreck Room Arts.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you know, I this season felt sort of big and important. And you know, it was really important for me to sort of look back at where we've come from, what's brought us here, and where we're going from here. So I was interested in shows that really explore art, performance, music, theater, whatever that might be, but the idea of what art is and what could be, what it could be. And also show of like really interesting shows that uh characters are really scrounging at finding a home in a place where they might not really feel at home. So outsiders really elbowing their way in to be coming uh, you know, kind of established to where they are. So we start, we start the season with Peter Schaefer's really now classic Amadeus. Um, it was turned into a film in the 80s, uh the play premiered in the 70s, and we thought, you know, gosh, you know, we've been we've been thinking about this play for quite some time, but but really felt right to program it now, put it in our small space. We are really distilling this big epic down into an eight-person show that really is about the that relationship between Mozart and Antonio Salieri, who was the court composer of the time in Vienna. Going back to this idea of distilling down an epic in our small space that really has been really become our driving force. So putting big shows that don't quite necessarily fit in a 60-seat theater and and making them fit and being us being able to sort of look at the story from that perspective. It's been really such a fun thing that I think Rec Room provides that, you know, starting it 10 years ago wasn't necessarily at the forefront of the mind, but really has been, you know, one of my favorite parts about Rec Room.
BrettBut from We definitely put a lot of stuff in there that I was like, wow, how are you going to do this? Yeah. And Amadeus is definitely one of those where I was like, oh, okay. Yeah. Um who are your two leads for Amadeus, right?
SPEAKER_03We have Rose Morrigan, and this is Rose's first time with us here at Rec Room. She is very, you know, I'm just like our our our conversations on kind of what who Mozart is and her approach was just so exciting to me. So Rose is playing Mozart, and then we have Luis Galindo who is playing Salieri, and those two really kind of taking charge and leading it. We we also have uh Wesley Whitson, who many people may remember from Angels in America. He's playing The Emperor, um, and just just perfectly. And just a handful of really great ensemble actors, KB Kendrick Brown, who was in our Death of a Salesman. Just really, I'm really, really excited for this group of people. Really part of the casting for this show is like, okay, let's who do we want to play with? And that's really we we got those people, and it's rehearsals are so fun because we're like, whoa, you know, they we could do anything. This could be we could tell this in any way. So we have people just just like a yes and type of environment and the room, which is so fun.
BrettRose is an incredible casting choice. The last time I saw her on stage, she was doing Sherlock Holmes. Yeah. This is just like an amazing big yes and uh transgender lead for a show, which is just amazing. I mean, I would have expected Hedwig, of course, as an opportunity for that, and you're doing that later in the the season. But for Amadeus to come right out of the gate with this is uh gonna be an amazing crew to see do it, and of course, the rest of the cast just it was really important for me in this story.
SPEAKER_03What's well at least what kind of sticks out to me and about Amadeus is that you you have Mozart who's being really thrust into this environment by necessarily no choice. He's just sort of strapped to to a comet and has just kind of landed here and is like, this is you know, Mozart can't not do what Mozart does. So, but that it Mozart really goes into this environment where people are very black and white. This is how things are done, this is how things are not done. These are yes, no labeling everything, and Mozart comes in as just this enigma that people are not sure how to respond to, not sure how to define. So um, you know, I I think you know, not necessarily was like, you know, we want an actor who we want a trans actor. It just happened to be like Rose was great, and oh my gosh, wow, these these things really fit and it it ended up it is working really, really in a great way.
BrettWell, I'm excited. It's a great cast. So and Rose is definitely one that can pull off Amadeus pretty well.
Amadeus Casting And Season Themes
BrettSo yeah, and then the next show that you're doing is Accidental Death of an Anarchist.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, this is an this is a new adaptation from a Dario Faux play, an Italian playwright. Uh we uh this is our Christmas show that's not a Christmas show. It is just it's a farce of conspiracy theories, rebellion, institutional distrust. I'll say rebellion is another theme we were looking for in the season because I that has kind of been our spirit from the beginning. But yeah, accidental death of an anarchist happens after some death threatens to expose corruption in the system and how the system really figures out how to manage that potential exposure. But this is Christmas time at the police station. I think I mean it is it is hilarious, it is very of the time, and and I think people really love it.
BrettYeah. And then of course, you've got your big musical just in time for Valentine's Day, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which of course I is a show that I know backwards and forwards, but uh what made you want to do Hedwig?
SPEAKER_03Uh I just love the music. I mean, and it the themes of the show fit so well into what we were thinking, and in terms of that rebellion, in terms of an outsider trying to find home. And yeah, it just felt right.
BrettWell, it's ironically perfect for Rec Room Arts because you are in the shadow of Minute Made Park. So I can imagine Hedwig screaming across to the search.
SPEAKER_03Part of me, like I of course, I I hate when there's an event going on at the ballpark be just because parking is so bad for us, but part of me wishes like, oh, it'll be great if there is uh during you know it's not baseball season, but sometimes there are, you know, this big concerts that happen over there. So we'll see.
BrettYes. No, it's a perfect setting. So I'm excited about that one. And then you round out with the light fantastic. And this is a show I'm not as familiar with. So can you tell me about what the light fantastic is?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, we've had a long relationship producing work by Ike Holter, who is a Chicago playwright. I've known Ike and I have been friends since we were uh coming of age, great friend, and I love his work. And so he's re kind of tooling the uh the light fantastic for our production. It's the horror, it well, it's at at its core is a horror, but we'll say a horror comedy. But yeah, it takes place in a sort of a rural Indiana town where some where some uh weird things are happening.
BrettAll right. Well, great. Well, you know, 10 years, crazy to even think about. But how has directing changed for you over these 10 years? Has it has this whole project kind of altered your view of that?
SPEAKER_03Well, yeah, I I guess for me it's altered more so my career in a way that I wasn't like happy accident in terms of like, oh, yeah, I've really been able to kind of set up shop here in our space and figure it out in a way that, you know, that each every space has its quirks. I would, you know, argue that our space might have more quirks than than most. And those limitations that our space just inherently has um has allowed not just me, but I feel like any creative team that we get on board and any actor that we get on board to just really become more creative. I'm a I'm a big believer in that limitations really allow us to uh the freedom to soar and and make perhaps bolder choices than we might if we had like all of the resources. So so yeah, I mean, I I'm always loving the idea of, you know, this this show or this moment that we have in our heads, that's total this is an impossible thing to to do in our space. Let's make it happen. And that that spirit of directing, that spirit of just creating the work is what has been, you know, a through line, at least behind the scenes, and and how we work. And one thing that I really am, you know, it it it makes it makes the thing exciting
Building A Theater In 60 Seats
SPEAKER_03for me.
BrettWell, how did you get started 10 years ago? Tell me about the genesis of all of this.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I had recently moved back to Houston from I was living in Chicago, and um, you know, there was a type of work that was happening there in Chicago that I didn't quite see happening here in Houston. So I was like, oh, there's a little bit of a hole in the market. So um, you know, it made me, you know, just in terms of a little experiment, I created what I called the living room series, and I started doing theater in my living room. And now it wasn't theater in my living room. What I did is converted my living room into a black box theater at the time. It was a monstrous uh townhouse, and uh and we did a season of four shows, and and I we I just recently married, and after the fourth show production, my wife was like, okay, either you leave or the theater leaves, pick so that happened. But eventually, like I had hooked up with Stephanie Whittles Wax, who I co-founded Rec Room with, and we were both teaching at HSPVA at at the time, and we kept floating this idea around. Her brother had uh Harris Whittles, who was many people would may remember him or know of his work in comedy. Uh, he was big in the show Parks and Rec, but he he had recently died, and we we were just kind of, you know, in some ways, we were, you know, I was wanting to generate this new work, and Stephanie, you know, certainly not speaking for her, but I feel as though she was like kind of working through some of this, you know, these life events for her within the company. So we just got together, we called it Rec Room. It was sort of a homage to Parks and Rec and the Living Room series, hence the name. And then yeah, we we stumbled upon the space. What happened? There was someone who cold called me while I was doing the living room series and said, I read what you're doing in the Houston press. I I think it's great. I have a loft downtown, I want you to do theater in my loft. And and in the back of my head is like, I've been doing this, I would not wish this upon my worst enemy. I'm not doing theater in someone's living space. I I I know what that's like, and I don't want to do that. Um, but uh also she cold called me, so I was like, okay, I have to meet this person. That's it's cool. So so we met and she actually lives, lived up uh above Rec Room and introduced me to uh Stefan, who has been with us really since then and was was there and got us going in the space, and it was you know one thing after another. Um still you know, it started still as an experiment. Like, what are we putting in here? What how does this look? And I think we have eventually sort of found our footing in a way, although I all always believe, you know, we're you know it's important to sort of reinvent ourselves. What is you know as as long as we're following kind of what that mission is, what we originally set out to do, we still are kind of figuring out that identity. But but at the time it was like throw everything at the wall, what works, what doesn't, and it was a real uh wild, wild west of wreck room.
BrettThat is still a wild, wild west. Are you kidding? Yeah, true. I was always wondering, is there a production from those first 10 years? And you look back and you think, okay, this is the moment where we define what Rec Room Arts really is.
SPEAKER_03That was our production of Cinder, and uh it was Cinder is an iCulture play. It was really, it felt like right. We had like a real kind of unit set. It was Stefan's first scenic design in our space. And uh I was like, okay, this is this is taking hold. You know, there's things before that that was like, oh, this is cool. Um, you know, our our version of uh The Rite of Spring, um, which is really cool. Lord Gutierrez choreographed it, but but I would say Cinder really was the first show that we did that kind of catapulted us in the direction that we're still kind of continue, uh we continue to go down.
BrettWhat do you want Rec Room to look like in the next 10 years? Is there a vision there? Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I I want us to, I, you know, I I am in in order to have a strong theater ecosystem, not just theater ecosystem, but like a cultural city ecosystem, you have to have strong theater. In order to have strong theater, you part of the thing that needs to be involved in there is theater of all sizes that are of good quality. So I'm not interested in creating, you know, the 200-seat version of Rec Room. I want to keep Rec Room at its sort of seating capacity. Certainly we could go up perhaps a little bit more, but uh just it being a space that is kind of still presenting the type of work we're presenting, but in a way that is just more engaged in terms of people understanding how how big our small thing is. And not not and by small, I mean like kind of just you know, our our our physical space, which I think is happening. We're on that trajectory. Um you know, I I think there's a world in which Rec Room becomes part of the theater district that I'm would be very interested in, just would be part of that trajectory in terms of honoring the importance of that type of work. You know, uh I also am interested in developing new work, supporting writers. That is, I think, an um a really, really important obligation for a theater like Rec Room to support the creation of new plays and new theater. So we're doing all that and lots of things behind the scenes that are moving in that way. You know, I someone might look at this current season like, well, there's no new play aside from like a new adaptation of an old play, however, uh just to say we are doing that, and there will be things to come that will resemble that.
BrettSo what do you think you guys have proven about what a small theater in Houston can do that just the large theaters can't?
SPEAKER_03Is there a aesthetic or an accomplishment or it it's hard to sort of nail down because you know, I I think there's there's like an alchemy involved in theater that is really important that really uh depends on the environment, the people in it, and all that. Uh I think you know, I I view my job as you the leader of recruit to really my my first and foremost job is to make sure that alchemy works. So to create an environment in which the the magic, so to speak, and not necessarily sounds cliche, but to where the magic can happen. But you know, we certainly to be able to put in a show or present a show that looks as though it it costs the same amount to produce at a large theater, but we're doing it at a fraction of the cost. In terms of materials, I mean part of that is our space is small, so we don't we have to we don't have to buy as much material. But still you know w we I would argue art design and acting talent is is up there amongst you know we we can compete it's I I'll say that.
BrettYes. In a big way. I last year your production of angels in America just the scope the craziness of doing both parts together the tech, the acting I was just blown away. I was like this is just incredible what you're doing with this space and how you're kind of reinventing that. So I think that that's what has me excited about celebrating you for 10 years and seeing what comes up next. Amadeus of course starts September 17th runs through October 10th. You can find out more information recroomarts.org and it's you're downtown you're right in the shadow of Minima Park. So it's an interesting space you've got a little bar that makes things kind of nice.
SPEAKER_03Yeah I'll say in terms of that 10 year we have a lot of upgrades to space that people would be excited to know about or or experience. We have not just renovated bathrooms but additional bathrooms in our space we have the the bar is getting a makeover and just gonna flow is gonna be really nice. So so in that way we're you know the space is gonna be feel feel different for those people who are used to it.
BrettAll right well Matt Hewan congratulations on 10 years. I'm excited to see where all of this goes so uh congratulations and we'll see you for Amadeus and accidental death of an anarchist and Hedwig and the angry anchor and the life fantastics. So there you are. Thank you Brett and hi there this is Brett Cullum and I am joined by author
Headlines On Trans Rights And Culture
BrettR. Lee Ingalls and we're going to talk about some of the things in the news one of the big things we have to talk about last week was a terrible week. We lost two huge icons in the queer community both Dolly Parton and Tim Curry and I wanted to find out some kind of tidbits about both of them that would be relatable to the queer voices audience. One of the big things that I found out was that Dolly Parton had a transgender chauffeur and longtime assistant named Jason Pyrrhot. Did you know that? I did not know that no well Pyrrh worked as Dolly Parton's uh Hollywood chauffeur beginning in the 80s and apparently remained connected to her for more than 30 years and he became a personal assistant as well and one of the things that's so fascinating is a lot of things kind of happened with them and their relationship.
LeeYeah yeah so this was back in 1990 uh the tabloid magazine star ran a sensational story of course they did about Perot essentially outing him as a trans man the headline was Sex Change Shocker in Dolly's limo with the subheadline describing a man who used to be a woman a transgender newsletter called 20 minutes preserved the material for the from the story.
BrettYeah but Pierrot's comments about Dolly were always positive and he said that she knew about him very nice lady all of those good things and in fact Dolly Parton returned the favor in 1994 there was her book Dolly My Life and Other Unfinished Business which is a great one if you want to read up about Dolly and she mentioned Jason by name and in a QA section she was asked about trans people and gender transition and she essentially said that everything she knew about the subject she learned from her friend Jason.
LeeSo she was tremendously supportive she also thanked him for her internes and her 2016 album Pure and Simple for his time love and attention to details and Perot uh contributed to her 2023 book Behind the scenes it makes Dolly's reputation as an LGBTQ ally considerably more interesting because this was happening in the 1980s long before she was routinely celebrated as a queer icon.
BrettYou know and then also put some light on some things that came up in 2023. The legislation in Tennessee they were trying to put some anti-trans things on the books. Dolly came out and said that she had transgender people, gay people and lesbians in her family and circle of employees adding that she knew and loved them and didn't judge them and obviously uh Jason Piro was one of those so and there's a pretty uh remarkable connection. The same Dolly Carton who employed and stood by a trans man in the 1980s later wrote Traveling Through which was an Oscar nominated song from the film Trans America about a transgender woman going across country.
LeeYeah yeah yeah illustrating she was always a supporter of the community and she didn't mind standing in the face of everyone and saying this is the way it is and you should be okay with it. Yeah. So yeah a tremendous loss for the world really and and our community in particular. And then there was Tim Curry. Tim Curry wow what a what a character he was so he never really admitted to being part of that LGBTQ plus community. He was a queer cultural icon but we shouldn't retroactively label his personal sexuality he always seemed to keep that guarded.
BrettYeah it was interesting he was rumored to be with certain people but it was just never he just he kept everything very private which is very interesting because he obviously was so boisterous and confident in the role of Frankenberger in the Rocky Horror Pixar show.
LeeNot only that one but you know I also marked his performance in Home Alone 2. I think he did a remarkable job small part for sure but very memorable.
BrettWell you know who else had a part in that film.
LeeYeah yeah I think I do. Yeah oddly enough speaking of Trump his administration asked the Supreme Court to take up a transgender military ban and the administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the litigation involving 28 transgender service members and the military's policy barring transgender people from the service is something that they're really trying to enact and it seems kind of I mean it's hard enough to get anybody I know into the armed service one of the f things that I find most difficult to understand is from our segment last week we talked about the fact that transgender people probably represent about one percent of our society and the amount of time that this administration and certain politicians are spending on that issue is just amazing to me. And I it's something I will never understand understand. It's amazing what they get fixated on. Yeah, yeah yeah yeah. So another one that came up for us was the uh Federal appeals court blocks efforts to obtain transgender patient medical records. The Second Circuit got rejected the Justice Department's last attempt to obtain private medical records involving transgender young people receiving uh gender affirming care in New York. Sad statement.
BrettVery sad and it's just I I don't know why anybody could access medical records. There's things like PIPA and rules about that that just it it doesn't make any sense. I I really don't get it. Yeah another thing I really didn't get was Texas's drag ban. I had talked to local legend uh Violet Blue about it when it came up and it got uh struck down again in Houston, thankfully right here. Uh U.S. District judge David Hitner ruled against Texas Senate Bill 12. He said it was unconstitutional and found that its restrictions on sexually oriented performances are really overly broad and vague and really kind of in an ironic statement and this was before she passed he said that it could potentially encompass performances that aren't traditionally considered drag including things like theater, ballet, cheerleading, concerts and even performances associated with Dolly Parton. So kind of a full circle moment there her being mentioned in that as well. So for sure.
LeeYeah so and then taking uh a glimpse of what's going on internationally at Canada our neighbors to the north unveiled a national monument acknowledging historic uh persecution of the LGBTQ plus people. So they officially unveiled the national monument in Ottawa uh commemorating people that were harmed uh by government sanctioned discrimination it's particularly significant because it formally uh acknowledges the historical mistreatment of the LGBTQ uh Canadians by their own government.
BrettYeah it's interesting that they're taking the blame actually and creating a monument to admit that they persecuted their own people. In this case the government did it but here locally in in our c nation. Yeah no the Stonewall Inn I think is our biggest monument for the LGBTQ plus community. Yeah and uh it was designated a historical landmark back in 2000 and President Obama back in 2016 had it as a national monument. So it encompasses uh Christopher Park and the Stonewall Inn and and the portion surrounding the streets. So it's it's it's not the inn itself. That is still privately owned. It remains an operating bar. The National Park Service uh doesn't own that but Christopher Park is federally administrated and it's recognized as a state historic site and New York City designated as a city landmark in 2015 so we've got a lot of uh things about that going on with uh the the stonewall. I mean that's our biggest monument.
LeeYeah yeah yeah yeah so talking about the attacking you know a small percentage of our population the Trump administration tried to remove the pride flag for this past year but it was
Resources And Closing Credits
Leeoverruled.
BrettSo those are the news headlines for this past week uh but I do want to thank our guests from this week's episodes uh AJ Mistrata from Houston First you can find out more about them at Houstonfirst.com and also mygayhouston.com yeah fascinating to hear his mission and his company's mission to actually promote Houston worldwide and speaking of promoting things in Houston I spoke to Matt Kuhn of Rec Room Arts and they kick off their 10th anniversary season with Amadeus which starts on September 17th runs through October 10th you can find out more at recroomarts.org and it will be starring transgender actress Rose Morrigan as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Cathails got a tails cut the tails cut a tails got the tails cut a tails cut a tails cut a tails cut a tails cut a tails cut a tail got a tail got a tail got a tails is both is both seventeen fifty six top twenty seven Wolfgang of the days is born seventeen sixty one at the end of five on the day as the composer 1873 he plays his first piano 1882 Wolfgang on the day as Mozart bears constant waiver 1884 Wolfgang on the day as Mozart becomes a Freemason 1991 Mozart composes the magic of 50 years Mozart dies 1985 after the posting of telco recording this has been Queer Voices heard on APFT Houston and as a podcast available from several podcasting sources check our webpage queervoices.org for more information some of the material in this program has been edited to improve clarity and runtime this program does not endorse any political views or animal species views opinions and endorsements are those of the participants and the organizations they represent in case of death please discontinue use and discard remaining products for queer voices I'm Glenn Holtzman
