On this episode of Queer Voices, we begin with Jacob Newsome interviewing Joelle Espeut, founding chair of the Houston Stonewall Democrats. Joelle discusses her journey to founding a new political action group. Then Brett Cullum talks to Kathy Ng, a playwright who will premiere BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS DISORDER. The show runs from November 21st through December 13th at the MATCH complex. Finally, Deborah Moncrief Bell talks with Ian Haddock about THE NORMAL ANOMALY. It's a group that seeks to empower the black queer voices in our community.
Tickets for BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS DISORDER can be found here:
https://matchouston.org/events/2025/beautiful-princess-disorder
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:
https://www.facebook.com/QueerVoicesKPFT/ and
https://www.instagram.com/queervoices90.1kpft/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:02):
This is KPFT 90.1 FM Houston, 89.5 FM Galveston, 91.9
FM Huntsville, and worldwide onthe internet at KPFT.org.
SPEAKER_08 (00:24):
You are listening to Queer Voices, a show on KPFT and
a podcast for the LGBTQIA pluscommunity that has been around
for about five decades.
Up first this week, we have aninterview from Jacob Newsome
with Joel S.
Pew, who has founded theStonewall Democrats.
And then we have a segment whereI, Brett Cullum, get to
(00:47):
interview Kathy Ng, who haswritten the play Beautiful
Princess Disorder, which opensits run at the Match Theater
this Friday.
And finally, Deborah MoncriefBell gets to talk to Ian
Haddock.
He is founder and creator of theNormal Anomaly, and he will be
talking about that organization.
(01:09):
Queer Voices starts now.
SPEAKER_04 (01:15):
Hello, everyone.
My name is Jacob Newsom withPower of the Narrative in
partnership with KPFT QueerVoices, and we have a special
guest.
We have Joelle with theStonewall Democrats.
And Joelle, I know you can doyour introduction the best, so
I'm gonna let you take it fromhere.
SPEAKER_05 (01:30):
Thank you.
Thank you.
Hello, everyone.
My name is Joelle S U.
My pronouns are she, her, hers.
I am many things, but I think inthis conversation, it'll be
primarily focusing on me beingthe founding chair of the
Greater Houston StonewallDemocrats.
And yeah, I am happy to be herewith you today.
SPEAKER_04 (01:49):
Yes.
So tell me why you decided tocreate Stonewall Democrats and
why now?
SPEAKER_05 (01:56):
You know, it's interesting.
It actually happened kind of byhappenstance and circumstance.
Um at the beginning of the year,I ran for um the Houston LGBT
political caucus president.
First time, if it was the firsttime that there was a runoff for
the presidency for the caucus.
(02:17):
And I did not win.
Um, you know, through, you know,through my advocacy work in
community, I actually met the exStonewall president of the
statewide chapter.
I ran to him in Eagle Pathmonths before.
And so after I lost thepresidency for the caucus, I ran
into him again at the statecapitol.
(02:39):
There was an all-in for equalityday um with equality Texas, and
I was actually speaking at therally.
And so I ran into him and he waslike, Well, you know, Joelle,
what's new?
What's going on?
And I was like, Well, I lost.
I lost the friend, I lost therun out of the president.
And he was like, Well, why don'tyou start Stonewall in Houston?
Houston is the only major cityin Texas that doesn't have a
(03:03):
Stonewall chapter.
And at first I was like, I don'tknow if I want to start
something.
I was just, I was very on thefence about it.
But, you know, I think thinkingabout my advocacy and my
political stances on things, Iwas just like, you know, I was
unsure if that was the radicaldirection that they would go to
seek.
And he was like, no, this isperfect and this is timely and
(03:26):
full transparency, you are whowe need to lead in a dynamic
city like Houston.
SPEAKER_04 (03:31):
Yeah, it sounds like, you know, it sounds like,
and correct me if I'm wrong,what you learned through losing
the presidency is that that youlearn to make your own power.
And it sounds like you'didentified a need for some kind
of radical truth-tellingplatform for people to go to,
and that's where StonewallDemocrats was born.
Am I hearing that correctly?
SPEAKER_05 (03:52):
Yeah, I think, you know, I always at my core, I
want to do impactfulmission-driven work.
And I thought that that wasgonna be through leading the
caucus, and that didn't pan outexactly.
I'm still a member of thecaucus, but it didn't pan out
that way.
And so this year is such animportant pivotal year in our
(04:14):
community.
The stakes are extremely high.
And with the work that I do, Iwant to continue to do impactful
work at a high level and provideresources, tools, and education
for our community that helpsthem make the most informed
decision.
That is at the core what Iwanted to do.
(04:35):
And that really forged itspathway towards Stonewall.
SPEAKER_04 (04:39):
That's beautiful.
And what is the work thatStonewall Democrats have done so
far, just so the public knowsthat y'all have been here, been
doing the work even before youcreated Stonewall?
But I want to hear about thework y'all are doing now and how
people can get involved.
SPEAKER_05 (04:53):
Yeah, so we formed in we formed in June, and I
think it was imperative to kickoff and be founded in June,
because June is not only PrideMonth, but June celebrates the
life and the legacy ofStonewall's kind of founding
mothers and transestors, MarshaP.
Johnson, who really the LGBTmovement has been built on not
(05:17):
just the backs of them, but thebacks of other black and brown,
trans and gender expansivepeople.
Um, and so for me, I thoughtthat it was important to kick
off during June.
And at our kickoff, we had over80 people there.
It was a mix, it was a mixracially orientation, gender
expression.
We had electeds there, we hadcandidates, we had Congressman
(05:40):
Al Green speak, we had KendallScudder, the president of the
Texas Democratic Party, speak.
Um, and it just showed just theexcitement.
I think that when you centercommunity in any conversation um
and center community inadvocacy, you get energy, you
get a feeling of hope and joythat is unbridled.
(06:00):
And I think that's what we sawin June.
So since June, we've been doinga couple of different things.
So we've been having virtualhappy hours because Stonewall is
really about centeringcommunity.
And when you center community,you have to center accessibility
and making sure the informationis accessible.
And so we've been having monthlyvirtual happy hours where we
(06:21):
talk to elected officials andcandidates about their platform,
about their campaign.
So we've already um hadconversations with Christian
Menifee, with Lauren AshleySimmons, with um Alejandra
Salinas.
This month we'll be talking toVicky Goodwin, candidate for
lieutenant governor.
So we are really trying to bringthose candidates and those
(06:44):
electeds to people and make themmore accessible.
That is really the key.
We've also kicked off an IGseries because social media, of
course, we can't run away fromit, age and meet community where
they are.
So we kicked off an IG seriescalled Black Girls Who Politics.
Um that's a passion project ofmine for years, but it's really
(07:04):
been about talking to blackwomen in politics, whether it is
the advocacy side or they're anelected official, and just
talking about the currentpolitical climate, how we move
forward, how they're feeling.
And then we're working on somereally exciting initiatives for
the top of the year.
And then just engage incommunity, networking, really
(07:25):
like I really want to centerorganic um connections with
community that arebi-directional, where everyone
and all of us can benefit.
Because this isn't just aboutwho we want to be elected.
Yes, that's true.
But this is really aboutstarting and fostering a
movement amongst community.
SPEAKER_04 (07:43):
Tell me more about that movement piece.
I really want to hear about yourmovement.
SPEAKER_05 (07:46):
Yeah.
So, you know, I during my dayjob, I'm the advocacy director
for the Normal AnomalyInitiative.
So we're an organization, acommunity-based organization
that centers um eliminatingbarriers while also uplifting
narrative change within uhmarginalized communities.
And it's important to understandthat in centering community,
(08:07):
it's understanding thatcommunity does have the answer.
Community knows the answer.
What typically happens iscommunity lacks resources,
community lacks the knowledgeand the tools to be able to
exact that change.
There's there are also systemicsystems and at play that
oftentimes keep communitiesdown.
(08:28):
So it I am very clear that likecommunity has the answer, has
always had the answer.
And so when I think about thegrassroots work of Stonewall,
it's really about mobilizingcommunity.
One of our upcoming initiativesthat I'm most excited about is
our faith-based allyshipinitiative, where we will be
really engaging with churchesand faith-based institutions
(08:51):
around civic engagement andallyship and like building that
connection, not because it's anelection year, but building that
connection because we all needeach other is going to step up
against, you know, this currentpolitical climate and move
forward.
And then movement building isalso, you know, through our
(09:12):
Black Girls Who Politicinitiative, it shows that you
know, black women across thespectrum of womanhood, you know,
we all are similar.
Whether you are trans,cisgender, heterosexual, here is
among that.
That's a microcosm of our largercommunity, is if we focus on
where we are similar, if wefocus on, you know, building
(09:34):
community, if we focus on hope,if we focus on joy, that is
where liberation, that is whereequity lies.
And so the work of Stonewall,while it centers like that
organizing, that movementbuilding, that education
advocacy, it also centers hopeand joy because that is me, my
core is hope and joy.
SPEAKER_04 (09:54):
Yeah.
I think you know, havingcultivating joy, especially in
this environment, is resistance.
SPEAKER_05 (10:00):
It is, it absolutely is joy.
They are people, yes, they aretrying to strip our rights and
take away our rights.
But I mean, if you were like,I'm a black trans woman in
Texas, that baby, they have beenafter us for years.
I mean, what they are doing isdifferent than what they have
been doing five, six, sevenyears ago.
And so when I think about itfrom that lens, it's like you
(10:21):
know, I am living my life whilefighting and also understanding
that every day I'm getting upand I'm still going to enjoy
life, I'm still going toexperience joy and happiness
because they can't take that andthey won't take that.
Um, they can try to take myrights, but they can't take my
identity, and they can't takethe identity of our community.
And I think that that'simportant and to understand that
(10:43):
regardless of what's happening,we still deserve joy and there
is still hope for a bettertomorrow.
SPEAKER_04 (10:51):
I like I like that a lot.
You know, what do you want tosay for the people who have yet
to find you who may just comeacross episode one day and just
like they just feel so unseen,especially in this environment?
SPEAKER_05 (11:04):
I would tell them that oftentimes you are in
search of community, andsometimes you could be searching
for tears.
Um you find them through apodcast episode or radio
episode, or you find themthrough an Instagram post,
through a random event, and thenyou realize like this is what
(11:25):
I've been missing, and thisfeels like home, and this feels
like family, and this feels likecommunity.
That is what I hope that peopleget when they engage with
greater Houston StonewallDemocrats.
Um like community, it feels likefamily because that's what the
movement work should feel like.
I think that we are at a timewhere, you know, yeah, things
(11:46):
are things are seeming grim anddim.
They are.
It's a rough political time,it's a rough economic time, it's
a rough time just socially.
But I think we've been herebefore, and we have the tools to
really hunker and really buildthe movement and and really
(12:07):
ground ourselves in ourcommunity for that long fight
because it is going to be a longfight, but the pendulum will
swing back.
And I think that when peopleengage or when they if they
randomly come across thisepisode or they engage with
Stonewall or here, I hope thatthey get that feeling of
community.
I hope they get that feeling ofthis feels like something bigger
(12:31):
than me that I want to be a partof.
You know, Stonewall is new,we're we're growing, but we want
to grow with community.
We are not trying to tellcommunity what to do.
We want to build this movementwith community.
Sounds like a fluid movement.
Like, it is, it is, itabsolutely is.
SPEAKER_04 (12:50):
Yeah.
Joel, you've been an amazingguest.
Is there any is there anythingyou want the audience to take
away from from today's talk?
SPEAKER_05 (12:58):
Um, you know, the the easiest thing to do at this
time is to think that you don'thave any power.
And you absolutely have power.
You actually have more powerthan you think.
And advocacy and engagement canlook different for many people.
It doesn't have to be marchingin the street, it doesn't have
to be storming the the Capitol.
(13:19):
Well, not storming the Capitol,like protesting or rallying.
It doesn't have to look likethat.
It could be door knocking, itcould be organizing, it could
simply be casting your vote inthe upcoming election.
But you do have a responsibilitywhen we think about liberation
and we think about, you know,the forward movement of us as a
(13:40):
community and as a society, youdo have a responsibility and you
do have power.
And it's up to you to decidewhat it looks like when you
exercise that power.
But I I strongly implore peopleto really look inward to realize
their personal power and own itand see how they want to use
(14:01):
that power because that's theonly way that we're going to be
able to move forward.
SPEAKER_04 (14:05):
That's beautifully put, Joel.
Thank you so much for coming onto the show.
And I look forward to theconversation.
Thank you.
Bye bye, Joelle.
SPEAKER_08 (14:14):
Hi, this is Brett Cullum.
And today I am joined by KathyNg.
She is a playwright, director,teacher, and get this crafter
from Hong Kong.
She writes plays that attempt tocreate these stretchy
human-adjacent spaces that arealso construction sites for new
alien languages.
And so we are going to talk toher about that and figure out
(14:34):
exactly what that means.
But recent works includeKingdom, Skyrats, and of course,
Beautiful Princess Disorder,which is coming to the match
November 21st through December13th.
It is catastrophic theater atits finest doing a this is a
world premiere, Kathy, right?
SPEAKER_06 (14:51):
Yes.
SPEAKER_08 (14:52):
Yeah, no one's ever seen this.
SPEAKER_06 (14:53):
No.
SPEAKER_08 (14:58):
Well, I don't even know, like Beautiful Princess
Disorder.
I love the name, but what is theshow about?
SPEAKER_01 (15:05):
Well, the show is set in what um we're calling the
parking lot of heaven, or atleast that's what the triangle
person who's a main character inthe play calls it.
And triangle person is like ahumanoid, but not fully human,
and they're also like a thoughtbaby.
So like in the script, they'remeant to be wearing like a like
(15:29):
a very like geometrictriangle-shaped head, but who
have a human body and they weara no nonsense navy blue
swimsuit.
And so they're kind of they'reone of the inhabitants of the
parking lot of heaven, kind oflike waiting.
There's like an intercom wherelike the angels are like kind of
like, oh, like you will beprocessed soon, sort of like
(15:53):
sort of like playing with likethe gates of heaven type of
thing.
And the other, presumably thereare more inhabit inhabitants
waiting at the parking lot ofheaven, but um the other
characters are Mother Teresa andTelecombe, the in the infamous
murderous Sea World Orca killedthree of his trainers during the
(16:20):
murderous orca.
Three people, but two weretrainers and one wasn't, but
yeah.
SPEAKER_08 (16:25):
Okay.
Yeah.
Yeah.
No, this sounds like a verystraightforward thing.
SPEAKER_01 (16:29):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_08 (16:30):
Where do you I mean, obviously, this is not your
first play that you've written.
You've had works publishedbefore.
What got you into writing plays?
SPEAKER_01 (16:42):
I think it was because I really wanted to do
more theater and kind ofrealized that if I wrote plays
that people wanted to do, then Icould be a part of making it.
And also I love language, Ithink.
Language is one of my favoritemediums, even though I I like to
(17:03):
work in a lot of differentmodes.
And there's sort of that kind ofexcitement of the play as like a
like a blueprint to kind of likealmost I see it like there's
lines and there's stagedirections, but it's a series of
prompts for artists you hope tocollaborate with in the future,
like directors, actors,designers.
(17:26):
I love the excitement of almostpreparing like a unit or a
package to give to like excitingartists and see what comes out
of it, which is always almostcan't I can't like even though I
am the one writing, I it's neverhow you imagine it in your head.
SPEAKER_08 (17:43):
Never.
And the catastrophic theater,anything can happen.
And I mean anything can happen.
They they have no boundarieswhatsoever.
How the heck did you get hookedup with them?
SPEAKER_01 (17:56):
Oh, so I feel so lucky because Lisa Damore, who
is um who they just catastrophicjust produced Frozen Section,
which is a new player of hers.
She's been my playwritingteacher and kind of mentor for I
would say almost a decade now.
We've known each other.
And we recently reconnected acouple of years ago because she
(18:17):
was helping lead the Brownplaywriting MFA program while
Julia Jargo, the head, was on asabbatical.
So on my first semester, I wastaught by Stacey Karen Robinson,
who's this amazing solo artistand playwright whose workshop
and the theme around solo waswhat generated Beautiful
(18:37):
Princess Disorder.
But and I was also writing itwhile Lisa was there and she got
to know we got to reconnect.
And I think she uh was talkingto Jason about some of my plays
while they were workingtogether.
So and then Jason Nadler readsome of the plays, and that's
how we got connected and startedchatting.
SPEAKER_08 (18:58):
Yeah.
Lisa's amazing.
I mean, catastrophic has along-standing relationship with
her and obviously just did herworld premiere frozen section.
So it's wild because Lisa's gota super huge national
reputation, but you do too.
I mean, I when I was diggingstuff up about you, the New York
Times talks about you.
SPEAKER_01 (19:17):
Oh, yes.
Well, that was a production of aplay called Happy Life in 2022,
produced by The Hearth, whichwas like a really great great,
crazy adventure.
And yes, but you know, I itfeels weird in terms of like I
also because I just came out ofschool.
I I feel so lucky to kind of beenmeshed in getting to know
(19:40):
better sort of the network ofAmerican experimental theater
makers currently still likemaking stuff, trying to connect
people, mentoring youngerartists, like is a definite
network of people like that.
And Lisa is an integral part ofthat.
And I feel like a a beneficiaryof both her kindness and also
(20:03):
the insistence on like makingsure that younger people have
can become experimental Americantheater makers, and and it's
something I feel really gratefulfor.
SPEAKER_08 (20:14):
You're originally from Hong Kong, correct?
But where do you live now?
SPEAKER_01 (20:18):
I live in Providence, Rhode Island.
SPEAKER_08 (20:21):
Oh, okay.
How did you end up inProvidence, Rhode Island?
SPEAKER_01 (20:26):
Well, I c um I grew up in Hong Kong.
I went through the internationalschool system and went through
and which was when we had like aAmerican-based education, and a
lot of what my life revolvedaround was kind of getting to
American college, which is andthen so I ended up at Brown for
my undergraduate degree, where Ialso I that that's where I first
(20:50):
fell in love with theater andstarted doing it and ended up
majoring in writing forperformance.
And then I after that had a longjourney trying to figure out
ways to stay in the country tokeep making art, which took me
to my first graduate degree inuh musical theater writing at
(21:11):
Tisch.
And then I worked for a coupleyears at um Club Thumb, which is
a really awesome experimental,uh New Work focused theater in
New York City.
So, but then COVID hit and meand my partner, who we just got
married uh after the first Trumpadministration, who I met in
(21:35):
college, and I was like, we justcan't afford this city.
We're like really burnt out,maybe we just need to like get
out of the city and startsomewhere that's both new, but
we both kind of knew because wemet so we moved back to
Providence and to try and justfigure out life there.
(21:58):
And that was when I applied todo the playwriting graduate d
program at Brown, which I endedup doing and just graduated this
past spring.
So that's kind of how I've endedup in Providence.
SPEAKER_08 (22:16):
Just the long road.
SPEAKER_01 (22:18):
The long road, yeah.
SPEAKER_08 (22:20):
Yes, the long and winding road.
Now, when I read the New YorkTimes, they said that you have a
queer sensibility, and I noticedthat you use she they pronouns.
So how do you identify as queer?
I wanted to just ask you aboutthat too.
SPEAKER_01 (22:32):
Yeah, I think that like I identify as queer in the
sense of I'm constantly tryingto figure out and even though
like there is there's so muchbenefit and help with categories
and labels, I'm trying to figureout, especially in the space of
(22:53):
my plays, how to like existoutside of those categories that
of normal everyday life, to seelike what else like we can we
can be.
A lot of my plays have are oftenhybrid creatures.
So for example, for Happy Life,one of the characters is a cat
(23:17):
mermaid, which she's like corpsethat kind of loaded out of a
Hello Kitty doll, which is basedoff of real life murder, but
that off doll component clingsto her in that world, and she's
neither she's she's neitherfully ghost or human.
She's and like and her and shekind of bonds with the other
(23:38):
ghosts like Hermit, which islike kind of like w was like
deeply insp inspired by sort oflike my own journey with like
body dysmorphia and like andespecially like having like um
female parts that I really feltlike was were like traumatizing
(23:59):
as a child and I wanted tochange my body and hermit as
like a ghost who is a trans maskghost who first thing he does in
the afterlife is slice off hisboobs and then sort of like that
because kind of where the playbegins.
And I think I there's queernessin the hybridness of my
(24:19):
characters or like thenon-humanness, but also trying
to find the human impulseswithin, maybe inside of that,
and also find a lot of queerduring creativity and language
because I really like languageis both the prison but both like
a liberating pool.
And I find it possible or likeinteresting in a play when by
(24:43):
the end of it, you've all almostlike created a new language
together with both the creativeteam and also every audience
that comes sees it.
SPEAKER_08 (24:54):
So this is a level of queerness that is like next
because not only are you talkingabout kind of the human binary,
but these are creatures, theseare hybrids, these are people
that are incorporating otherthings.
And I know that Catastrophic isgonna have a fundraiser later
where they wanted a disco Cabmermaid zombie theme or
(25:14):
something.
So that's they're they'reobviously paying homage to you
and happy life.
SPEAKER_01 (25:19):
I I don't I hope I well mermaids in general is such
a seductive creature.
Like there's that's a oh so Idon't know if it's a direct for
happy life, but yeah, like Ifeel like one reason why Meat
and Catastrophic have feel anexciting collaboration is
because they also have they alsohave that kind of desire and
(25:42):
hunger to kind of explore whatkind of reach for like what else
we could be as like creatures onthis planet rather than our
concept of human, which ofcourse deeply incorporates
LGBTQ, all the orientations andall the different gender
(26:03):
identifications that arepossible for the human mind.
SPEAKER_08 (26:07):
Yeah, we're emphasizing the other for sure.
So beautiful princess disorder,November 21st through December
13th at the match.
Going back to that, obviouslyyou've got a great cast.
Triangle person.
SPEAKER_01 (26:19):
Who's the actor playing that?
The actor playing TrianglePerson is T Lavot Febled, I
think.
That's what their last name ispronounced.
I'm embarrassed to not know forsure, but their name's T,
they're this amazing non-binarylike poet, like graphic
(26:40):
designer, actor.
They're just incredibly,incredibly cool.
And I have Kyle Sturdivant astelecom and Amy Bruce's mother,
Teresa, and the the cast is juston fire.
They are so excited to see I'mit's already been amazing seeing
(27:03):
them in rehearsals and stuff,but T actually has been named
the gayest and greatestnon-binary poet.
SPEAKER_08 (27:13):
I mean, they have all these accolades, they are
the icon.
Uh if you want to get a crowd,just put T at the front of your
show for sure.
They are just a powerhouse onstage.
I am just so excited that theyare taking on Triangle Person
because when I saw the the leadwas Triangle Person, I was like,
(27:35):
who the heck can play TrianglePerson?
But T like makes so much sense.
They're born for that.
SPEAKER_01 (27:44):
Yeah, they're really, they really are, and
they're like taking thecharacter in ways that like they
they're getting to because uhI've been able to be in ca in
Houston twice now since theprocess has started and meeting
the actors and talking withJason, chatting with all the
designers.
(28:04):
I really set out to try and makethe show that these group of
people are meant to maketogether.
And I've been rewriting duringthe rehearsal process, and a lot
of the big new changes aredirectly inspired by just
getting to know the people arecatastrophic and inspired by who
they are.
SPEAKER_08 (28:24):
They are super inspiring.
You've got a great group.
So your your play is inwonderful hands.
And Jason Kodler, I mean, he'sworked with Lisa extensively.
I think if anybody understandsexperimental theater or anything
like that, he's definitely solike I've I've learned so much
from him already.
Yeah.
No, so have I over the years forsure.
SPEAKER_01 (28:44):
Yeah, he's been doing this for decades and just
like relentless about it.
And like you can really feelthat when you talk to him and
you work with him.
And also he was a teacher of no,not he he was a student of Maria
Irene Fornez, who one of thegreatest American playwrights of
all time.
So it's kind of nuts.
SPEAKER_08 (29:06):
Yeah, so you've got all these superstars at the
Catastrophic Theater.
You've got Jason Nadlerdirecting, you've got the match,
which is a great space to be in.
I am really excited aboutBeautiful Princess Disorder.
Although like I keep trippingover the title.
It's gonna be great.
And of course, the adventures ofTriangle Person and the parking
lot of heaven.
SPEAKER_01 (29:24):
Yes, that's where it's end.
Yes.
SPEAKER_08 (29:26):
So do you identify with Triangle Person or who in
the play kind of represents you,your voice?
SPEAKER_01 (29:32):
Hmm.
I would say that it's kind of Iwould say that almost in every
play, my whole self is likefractured into every part of it
and like stagiurations and andstuff.
I would say that like maybeTriangle Person is like probably
the heart character of the playfor me, or I also like to call
(29:52):
it fuzzy edge um sibling dramafor an only child because I'm an
only child and triangle personare you two?
I've always like and thatsibling relation is for me both
so familiar because so manypeople have siblings and it can
it's so intense and storied andand I'm just like wow never I'll
(30:15):
just never know what that isbecause I'm I ha would never
have a sibling and like andtriangle person was like just a
character I doodled a lot as akid that has like come has
followed me throughout lifegrowing up and so like they're
kind of in my head are like myimaginary sibling in a sense so
like that's that's kind of likethey're kind of the anchor of
(30:37):
the show I think yeah well Ican't wait again match the
theater complex November 20ththrough December 13th and are
you gonna be here for theopening night?
SPEAKER_03 (30:49):
I'll be here so I'll be at opening night so maybe we
can we'll meet in person Yeah nowe totally will I I hang out
there we'll we'll have a a glassof champagne and everything to
celebrate the opening up thiswonderful play and thank you so
much we are so excited to seeyou and and see your work yeah
I'm really excited to share thisplay with Houston and have this
(31:10):
kind of be like my first forayinto the city I feel really
lucky yeah we'll be so lucky tohave you thank you thanks so
much Brian Ian Haddock is thefounder and executive director
(31:42):
of the Normal Anomaly anorganization that started just a
few years ago but has just grownby leaps and bounds and been
very successful.
SPEAKER_02 (31:53):
Ian first of all tell me exactly what the normal
anomaly is absolutely so thenormal anomaly is an
organization that is focused onthe barrier reduction through
narrative change.
And so we offer generallyflexible options for community
(32:15):
to engage andor be assisted andwe focus on doing that from a
lens of changing the lives ofthe people we engage with and
then thereafter changing theperspective or the narrative
that people see based upon asense of marginalization.
SPEAKER_03 (32:32):
And it's the only organization I know of in
Houston and maybe in the regionthat is focused on the black
queer experience.
Tell me first of all how did itall come about?
SPEAKER_02 (32:44):
Yeah originally I started off as a blogger writing
is still my first love.
I love the idea of tellingstories uh but during COVID-19
what we realized is that tellingstories was not enough.
We were not changing thenarrative and that required us
(33:05):
to go through getting anonprofit status.
In 2021 uh we got our nonprofitstatus and uh we started
thinking about how do we want tocraft this organization.
And there were no organizationsthat really focused on black
LGBTQ people in the region.
And so we said that is the workthat we must do.
(33:28):
And so what we try to do is wetry to be we try to center black
LGBT people while beinginclusive of any marginalized
identity.
And so what that does is itcreates solutions for people who
are arguably at the most marginsand if we can fix those
(33:49):
situations because obviouslythey would have more barriers in
this socio-political climate ifwe can find solutions for them
for any marginalized identity.
SPEAKER_03 (34:01):
Excellent how did you very first start off after
you were blocking you you talkedto some people and said hey kids
I got this idea where do we gofrom here?
And so what what were the firststeps you took?
Was it getting that 501c3?
SPEAKER_02 (34:17):
No, no actually you know our first engagement was
with the Montrose Center.
We were fiscal uh we were a partof the nonprofit incubator at
the Montrose Center we like tosay we were one of their
favorite success stories and soit was really just an idea and
through the nonprofit incubatorworking with Kennedy and working
(34:37):
with Anne and we still work withAvery over there at the Montrose
Center but I was workingdirectly with them and we were
creating bylaws and we werecreating standard operating
procedures and really doing somestrategic mapping working with
other philanthropicorganizations connected to them
and really the reality is Iprobably would not have been
(35:00):
successful if the Montro Centerwouldn't have said, hey, you've
outgrown us you should get yourown organization.
You should start your ownorganization.
Really it was the MontroseCenter was a conduit for us to
begin and also a catalyst forour success because once we got
our 501 status we hired twomembers of our team that is
(35:24):
still with us to this day andthat has just been able to you
know we've been able toskyrocket since then so tell me
something about the programsthat you do offer.
Yes yes so one of the programsthat we're offering we have
several partners who on aregular basis usually biweekly
(35:45):
donate items that could becleaning supplies it could be
drinks food sometimes it's evencash incentives and so we call
that our no barrier services andso for those services people
just have to sign up on aformice and our drop-in space
and pick out whatever they wantto for free we also offer our
(36:08):
trans allyship collective andthat is a collective of black
trans women who are scholars inaction for gender expansive
services.
And so that program is inpartnership with the University
of Houston Sustain Center and inthat they are developing
training to make communitymembers elected officials and
(36:31):
businesses better allies tomarginalized folks censoring
those furthest at the marginsand so we have six black trans
women that are part of thatcohort along with one of our uh
and also a connection at U of H.
Uh we also offer anentrepreneurship class called
Project Liberate um and that isgenerally a six to nine month
(36:55):
cohort we plan to open that upin February uh and this this uh
class uh has been worked withthrough Yale University Center
for Interdisciplinary Researchon AIDS as a way to meet the
social drivers of health andreduce that and so this six
month program has some amazingcurriculum we've been able to
(37:19):
launch uh 59 businesses throughthat program and our newest
program that we are currentlyworking on and trying to build
awareness around is transitionalhousing.
As you know, housing ishealthcare housing should be a
human right and what we'reseeing is that the people that
are at the margins the top threethings based upon our capacity
(37:41):
building assessment istransportation, housing and
employment.
And so we've already offeredentrepreneurship we offer
transportation six months outthe year depending on funding
and so now we're going to startdoing transitional housing.
And so we're building thatprogram with some leaders in
Atlanta to try to make itsustainable on its own.
(38:03):
And so we're really excited tolaunch that in spring 2026.
SPEAKER_03 (38:08):
I know the Montrose Center and Tony's place are are
two places where they try tohelp young people who may be in
need of that transitionalhousing.
So it's all about connectionsisn't it you said Montrose
Center helps launch your effortand then working in conjunction
(38:28):
with other organizations andeven the University of Houston
is how you're able to meet yourgoals.
And tell me about Talk to meThursday.
SPEAKER_02 (38:38):
Yeah you know so another thing that we are trying
to do is we are trying to dothings throughout the week that
really uses social media and ourspace to have conversations.
And so each day whether it's onsocial media or in person we are
doing engagements andinitiatives and so Talk to me
(38:59):
Thursday is one of those thingsthat we're doing every other
Thursday we have a team memberthat will be talking about
something that you know is anormal anomaly something that a
lot of people deal with but alot of people don't talk about
and then on Wednesdays we'll bedoing yoga at our center for
free led by Dr.
(39:19):
Maria Wilson and one Friday outthe month we'll also be doing
Zumba and then every other weekwe'll be doing financial classes
on Tuesdays.
And so we're really trying tojust really meet the needs and
reduce barriers.
We listen to community weconstantly doing are doing
(39:40):
assessments with the people weserve and we see what they need
and we try to you know findpeople that that can work it
out.
So Talk to me Thursday is reallyabout uncovering hard
conversations that a lot ofpeople are having in silence.
SPEAKER_03 (39:56):
Explain to me just for a moment what is meant by
the term normal anomaly.
SPEAKER_02 (40:01):
Absolutely I am a bit of a geek um and like I said
words you know writing is my ismy first love and so when I was
trying to think about anorganization that was you know
queer that was of culture youknow I'm a person of color an
African American person Irealized that it's so hard to
(40:24):
constantly have to come out butyou do still want those spaces
where you can be fully yourself.
And so you know I could havenamed us you know black LGBT
something, but the reality is alot of a lot of harm is
connected to our blackness andour queerness.
And so trying to come up with aname for an organization that
(40:46):
centered you know queer peopleof color was difficult.
And so I came up with this ideaof who I've always thought I
was.
You know people think I'm ananomaly because they're like hey
you didn't finish college butyou're writing research papers
and hey you didn't you didn'tfinish this but you're doing
that and I'm and I'm blessed tosay that but I don't think that
(41:09):
that's much of an anomaly.
You know my experience good andbad created a situation where I
have a chance and it was becauseof community it was because of
people like you on Queer Voiceswhich was my first platform that
I ever got a chance to speakabout normal anomaly it was
because of you know peopleliving with HIV was because of
(41:32):
trans women it was because oflesbians it was because of a
community that I have a chanceto live the life that I live and
do the work that I want to do.
And I believe that everybodydeserves that chance.
And so what better name couldyou come up with than something
that literally says differentbut normal different but
(41:55):
accepted different but acommunity different but embraced
and so that is exactly whatnormal anomaly means.
It's this idea that we may bedifferent but we're really more
alike than we see.
SPEAKER_03 (42:07):
Right.
And to some degree we're allnormal anomalies.
Yes yes and I think that's animportant thing that you
mentioned which is sometimes inlife things don't necessarily go
the way you think they would orthat people say they should but
when you find something that youhave a passion for something
(42:29):
where there's a need and you sayhey I can help with that then
that kind of launches you.
And so much of what I've learnedin my own life has been through
volunteer efforts.
I got in there I did the workand next thing I know I had been
developing skills you know Ilearned how to be a volunteer
(42:49):
coordinator.
I even learned how to dojournalism through being a
volunteer.
So uh that that is uh a a awonderful thing and I really
like that idea I'd like to seemore people have that vision of
uh as they have their lifedirection how they can plug into
(43:10):
that kind of energy now you werenamed one of the gay 100 tell me
what that means oh my gosh I amstill in shock actually soon
I'll be going to the awardceremony and I'm so excited but
you know the Out 100 accordingto everybody that I know is you
(43:34):
know one of if not the mostprestigious LGBT national list.
SPEAKER_02 (43:39):
It honors the top 100 LGBT people in the nation I
don't know how I made it but uhI am so grateful to be inducted
into this year's class of Out100.
You know this work people oftensay this work is thankless.
I don't agree with that I thinkthat this work is so hard that
(44:02):
you can miss the thank yous.
But I I have been embraced bycommunity like this is this is
this is representative of whathappens when community believes
in community.
And so this is really for mebeing a part of Out 100
highlighting the fact that ifyou put your head down and you
(44:24):
work with community and you loveon community and you show up for
community that people will seeyou.
I don't have the biggestplatform I don't have the most
followers you know I don't havethe the the best connections but
you know I do my work in mycorner I stay consistent and um
I'm grateful that you know somesomething as big as Out 100
(44:49):
would would see me for.
SPEAKER_03 (44:50):
And the Out 100 is uh from uh Out magazine yeah and
I know one of the people alsothis year is V from under the
desk news and I particularlyadore her when you go to the
event please seek them out andgive them a big old hug and love
on her them for me because I Ijust think what they do is also
(45:16):
phenomenal and what you do likeI said you it's just been a few
years what four years going onfive and you just made such an
impact on the Houston communityone of the things that you offer
is HIV testing and I think I sawa figure of over twelve hundred
(45:37):
people that have been tested.
So tell me is that where peopleshow up at your location and say
I want to get tested or what howdo you facilitate HIV testing?
SPEAKER_02 (45:48):
Absolutely we specialize in at-home testing we
have at-home uh testing kitsthat are you know basically what
you can get from Walgreens butwe give them to you for free uh
we also although they're at-hometest uh testing kits we actively
walk people through it if theyneed help so that somebody can
(46:10):
be there with them but we alsooffer um and we'll be offering
this some more in January weoffer complete STI testing kits
that can be mailed in uh thatyou can take home and get your
results at home and theygenerally offer eight or nine uh
different options for testingincluding HIV, prick, syphilis,
(46:34):
donor, chlamydia, so on and soforth.
And that is also offered forfree.
All you have to do is go to ourwebsite.
Right now we have we havecompleted all of our our testing
numbers for the year but we'reworking with we're currently
working with the funder to giveus more access so that we can
(46:55):
offer these complimentarytesting kits um and when they
when they come out all you haveto do is reach out to us on our
website and either you can comein pick up the kit do it in our
location or take it home and youcan mail that off and they will
send your result everything isprepaid and uh and and taken
(47:17):
care of.
SPEAKER_03 (47:18):
And that's a wonderful option for there to be
there for people who forwhatever reason don't feel
comfortable going somewhereelse.
So and it's really importantknowing your status and knowing
how to take care of yourself andthe people you love is the name
of the game, isn't it?
SPEAKER_02 (47:34):
Yes, yes.
You know I'm a person, I'm aprep advocate I've been on prep
for I don't know over a decade.
Now I'm on yes to go which is asix month prep injection.
And so I really, you know, I'm ahuge advocate for knowing your
status and also not just knowingyour status so that you can get
(47:56):
on medication or get on prep,but because holistic wellness is
so important, you know, as queerfolk, HIV is a big thing, but we
also have like diabetes and wealso have like high blood
pressure and so on and so forth.
And so when you get into thehabit of getting tested and
going to get checked up on andgoing to the doctor, you live a
(48:19):
longer life this this world Ibelieve this current world wants
to take us out and one of thebest things we can do is care
for ourselves.
One of those big thingsparticularly for our queer
communities is to update yourstatus.
SPEAKER_03 (48:33):
Exactly so in order to do all the things you do and
I I know you get funding invarious ways but one of the ways
that you get funding is throughyour annual gala I say gay some
people say gala but I think gayla sounds better right and
that's coming up December tellme what's in store for that oh
(48:56):
my gosh it is going to be somuch fun.
SPEAKER_02 (49:00):
I I love our gala I say gay la too because I'm a gay
la.
But I get so excited about ourgayla because one of the things
working with marginalized folksmost people most of them don't
get to to celebrate and there'sa lack of you know queer joy
there's a lack of black joy andwe bring all of that to the
(49:21):
place we're gonna have aviolinist an amazing DJ we have
some amazing honorees includingDiamond Styles who is an
award-winning podcaster RonaldMatters who is an award-winning
blogger we have you know localcommunity members who are going
to be honored and internationalresearchers that lead HIV
(49:45):
prevention trials networkstudies as well as the Gilead
Compass initiative which wasGilead's investment in the South
of over$10 million to fourdifferent coordinating centers
including University of Houston,Emory University, Southern AIDS
Coalition and Wake ForestUniversity School of Divinity.
(50:06):
And so they're going to behonored in this space and we're
just really really excited forthe event but also we are we are
committed as you can probablytell we are committed to the
future and and moving forwardthe reality is like a community
save me and community willsustain our organization.
And so we're inviting people tocome out and enjoy themselves to
(50:31):
embrace you know these narrativechangers that we're going to be
honoring but also to help tochange the narrative through
making sure our organization issustainable.
SPEAKER_03 (50:43):
This is Deborah Moncrieve Bell and I'm speaking
with Ian Haddock, the founderand executive director of the
normal anomaly now Ian youmentioned this like we're in a
society that wants to take usout and those people that are on
the margins in particular are injeopardy because of that.
I know there's a lot of stressbecause of that there's a lot of
(51:06):
fear because of that.
So what does the normal anomalyoffer in terms of mental health?
SPEAKER_02 (51:12):
Yeah that's a great question first of all and I'm
not sure how much I will sharebut I want to share a word of
thanks to you for you know beingin community with me during a
tough time for myself severalseveral months ago four or five
(51:32):
months ago I had what I considermy first major panic attack and
I'm sure now looking back I hadmany different anxiety attacks
but I had a a major one and Ishared it publicly on social
media.
And Deb, you were so helpful andso loving and so consoling.
So I wanted to publicly thankyou for that care and concern.
(51:55):
And that has pushed the NormaAnomaly to try and figure out
ways that we can support ourcommunity in the past we've
given out opportunities forscholarships for therapy and we
have worked with therapists toyou know give reduced cost or
low cost excuse me therapysessions.
(52:16):
But you know from my experienceand as I talked to the team at
the Normal Anomaly one of thethings that we realized is my
experience is not unlike otherpeople aka it was a normal
anomaly and you know people youknow I went to the doctor and I
did get on medication for myanxiety but it was you know
(52:38):
people sending me messages aboutthis might work and I read this
and this might be good to cope.
And so we are starting a peersupport group in the in December
we'll be starting a peer supportgroup that is going to be led by
a counselor and one of our staffat the Normal Anomaly and it's
(53:00):
simply going to be a place wherepeople can come and talk and get
information peer-to-peer fromour work.
We also do peer support in amore organized level in our
Dallas location.
And so that is through um astudy through HIV Prevention
Trials Network and that worksthrough people can engage with a
(53:25):
peer supporter one-on-one inDallas to help them navigate
through HIV and mental healthsystems.
We have a directory ofclinicians and connections and
we navigate people directlythrough that.
But here in Houston we'll bedoing a peer support group twice
a month that really is inspiredby you and other people that
(53:50):
reached out to me during thattough time for myself.
SPEAKER_03 (53:54):
Well I appreciate the thanks but you know to me
that's just kind of what you dois that uh say it's that old
thing about we're all justwalking each other home.
And that's what community isabout is putting the unity in
community.
And uh of course I've worked fora long time with the Walk for
(54:15):
Mental Health Awareness that uhPatrick McIlvain started.
And the goal of thatorganization is like the normal
anomaly, we want to removestigmas because the stigma of
having a mental illness of anykind and there are many, there's
over a hundred and somethingincluding addictions.
Many of us I didn't know until Iwas in my 60s that I was
(54:38):
neurodivergent which means Ithink a little different than a
lot of people but it's notnecessarily a bad thing.
It's just there are differencesand people don't always
understand what's going on whenthere's someone who does not
behave as what they consider thenorm.
But there's so many of us thatthere's there's nothing normal.
(55:01):
Normal is just a sitting on thewashing machine right so finding
matching the needs and resourcesis what we do.
We try to find out how, okay,there's a stigma because people
have attitudes uh and how do weremove that stigma?
And one of the things that wasfound was that the stigma is the
(55:23):
number one reason people don'tseek out help.
So that's the thing the normalanomaly and other organizations
are saying we're here to help.
And so all you have to do is letus know you need help and we're
there for you.
And so I'm glad to know that Iwas able to offer you something
I suffer from anxiety most ofthe time it's managed but when I
(55:46):
have too difficult of a time Ido have medication and so
there's there should be nostigma on doing what you need to
take care of your health andthere's no health without mental
health so you're just like wehave we're holistic beings so
it's all of us that that isincorporated in that.
Well Ian tell me again aboutyour gala coming up on December
(56:11):
11th the when, where and whowill be there.
SPEAKER_02 (56:16):
Absolutely it is December 11th from 6 p.m to 10
p.m at Bell Tower on 34th Streetwe're going to be honoring you
know Diamond Styles, Dr.
LaRon Nelson, uh Gilead CompassInitiative, and many and and two
other people we are extremelyexcited you know going to have
(56:36):
violinists great food greatpeople uh would love to see
everybody come out uh you can goon our website normalanomaly.org
to find out any more informationand who's hosting that evening I
forgot friend my friend UzaLodia from ABC13 eyewitness news
(56:58):
I'm so excited yeah we adore hershe she's marvelous so I thank
you for being with us on QueerVoices to talk about the normal
anomaly just for telling usabout the normal anomaly and I
wish you all the success in theworld with Agala and with your
programs going forward.
SPEAKER_08 (57:16):
This is Deborah Moncrief Bell and you've been
listening to Queer Voices youhave been listening to Queer
Voices we are here every week at8 p.m on Wednesdays on KPFT and
you can also find us as apodcast wherever you find them.
Be sure and support KPFT bydonating through their website
(57:37):
at KPFT.org that helps us stayon the air and supports listener
funded radio this show iscreated by Brian Lavinka,
Deborah Moncrief Bell, JacobNewsom, Joel Tatum, Davis
Mendoza DeRuzman, and EthanMichelle Gantz.
And I am Brett Cullum and I hopeto produce this week's episode.
See you next week
This is KPFT 90.1 FM Houston, 89.5 FM Galveston, 91.9
FM Huntsville, and worldwide onthe internet at KPFT.org.
SPEAKER_08 (00:24):
You are listening to Queer Voices, a show on KPFT and
a podcast for the LGBTQIA pluscommunity that has been around
for about five decades.
Up first this week, we have aninterview from Jacob Newsome
with Joel S.
Pew, who has founded theStonewall Democrats.
And then we have a segment whereI, Brett Cullum, get to
(00:47):
interview Kathy Ng, who haswritten the play Beautiful
Princess Disorder, which opensits run at the Match Theater
this Friday.
And finally, Deborah MoncriefBell gets to talk to Ian
Haddock.
He is founder and creator of theNormal Anomaly, and he will be
talking about that organization.
(01:09):
Queer Voices starts now.
SPEAKER_04 (01:15):
Hello, everyone.
My name is Jacob Newsom withPower of the Narrative in
partnership with KPFT QueerVoices, and we have a special
guest.
We have Joelle with theStonewall Democrats.
And Joelle, I know you can doyour introduction the best, so
I'm gonna let you take it fromhere.
SPEAKER_05 (01:30):
Thank you.
Thank you.
Hello, everyone.
My name is Joelle S U.
My pronouns are she, her, hers.
I am many things, but I think inthis conversation, it'll be
primarily focusing on me beingthe founding chair of the
Greater Houston StonewallDemocrats.
And yeah, I am happy to be herewith you today.
SPEAKER_04 (01:49):
Yes.
So tell me why you decided tocreate Stonewall Democrats and
why now?
SPEAKER_05 (01:56):
You know, it's interesting.
It actually happened kind of byhappenstance and circumstance.
Um at the beginning of the year,I ran for um the Houston LGBT
political caucus president.
First time, if it was the firsttime that there was a runoff for
the presidency for the caucus.
(02:17):
And I did not win.
Um, you know, through, you know,through my advocacy work in
community, I actually met the exStonewall president of the
statewide chapter.
I ran to him in Eagle Pathmonths before.
And so after I lost thepresidency for the caucus, I ran
into him again at the statecapitol.
(02:39):
There was an all-in for equalityday um with equality Texas, and
I was actually speaking at therally.
And so I ran into him and he waslike, Well, you know, Joelle,
what's new?
What's going on?
And I was like, Well, I lost.
I lost the friend, I lost therun out of the president.
And he was like, Well, why don'tyou start Stonewall in Houston?
Houston is the only major cityin Texas that doesn't have a
(03:03):
Stonewall chapter.
And at first I was like, I don'tknow if I want to start
something.
I was just, I was very on thefence about it.
But, you know, I think thinkingabout my advocacy and my
political stances on things, Iwas just like, you know, I was
unsure if that was the radicaldirection that they would go to
seek.
And he was like, no, this isperfect and this is timely and
(03:26):
full transparency, you are whowe need to lead in a dynamic
city like Houston.
SPEAKER_04 (03:31):
Yeah, it sounds like, you know, it sounds like,
and correct me if I'm wrong,what you learned through losing
the presidency is that that youlearn to make your own power.
And it sounds like you'didentified a need for some kind
of radical truth-tellingplatform for people to go to,
and that's where StonewallDemocrats was born.
Am I hearing that correctly?
SPEAKER_05 (03:52):
Yeah, I think, you know, I always at my core, I
want to do impactfulmission-driven work.
And I thought that that wasgonna be through leading the
caucus, and that didn't pan outexactly.
I'm still a member of thecaucus, but it didn't pan out
that way.
And so this year is such animportant pivotal year in our
(04:14):
community.
The stakes are extremely high.
And with the work that I do, Iwant to continue to do impactful
work at a high level and provideresources, tools, and education
for our community that helpsthem make the most informed
decision.
That is at the core what Iwanted to do.
(04:35):
And that really forged itspathway towards Stonewall.
SPEAKER_04 (04:39):
That's beautiful.
And what is the work thatStonewall Democrats have done so
far, just so the public knowsthat y'all have been here, been
doing the work even before youcreated Stonewall?
But I want to hear about thework y'all are doing now and how
people can get involved.
SPEAKER_05 (04:53):
Yeah, so we formed in we formed in June, and I
think it was imperative to kickoff and be founded in June,
because June is not only PrideMonth, but June celebrates the
life and the legacy ofStonewall's kind of founding
mothers and transestors, MarshaP.
Johnson, who really the LGBTmovement has been built on not
(05:17):
just the backs of them, but thebacks of other black and brown,
trans and gender expansivepeople.
Um, and so for me, I thoughtthat it was important to kick
off during June.
And at our kickoff, we had over80 people there.
It was a mix, it was a mixracially orientation, gender
expression.
We had electeds there, we hadcandidates, we had Congressman
(05:40):
Al Green speak, we had KendallScudder, the president of the
Texas Democratic Party, speak.
Um, and it just showed just theexcitement.
I think that when you centercommunity in any conversation um
and center community inadvocacy, you get energy, you
get a feeling of hope and joythat is unbridled.
(06:00):
And I think that's what we sawin June.
So since June, we've been doinga couple of different things.
So we've been having virtualhappy hours because Stonewall is
really about centeringcommunity.
And when you center community,you have to center accessibility
and making sure the informationis accessible.
And so we've been having monthlyvirtual happy hours where we
(06:21):
talk to elected officials andcandidates about their platform,
about their campaign.
So we've already um hadconversations with Christian
Menifee, with Lauren AshleySimmons, with um Alejandra
Salinas.
This month we'll be talking toVicky Goodwin, candidate for
lieutenant governor.
So we are really trying to bringthose candidates and those
(06:44):
electeds to people and make themmore accessible.
That is really the key.
We've also kicked off an IGseries because social media, of
course, we can't run away fromit, age and meet community where
they are.
So we kicked off an IG seriescalled Black Girls Who Politics.
Um that's a passion project ofmine for years, but it's really
(07:04):
been about talking to blackwomen in politics, whether it is
the advocacy side or they're anelected official, and just
talking about the currentpolitical climate, how we move
forward, how they're feeling.
And then we're working on somereally exciting initiatives for
the top of the year.
And then just engage incommunity, networking, really
(07:25):
like I really want to centerorganic um connections with
community that arebi-directional, where everyone
and all of us can benefit.
Because this isn't just aboutwho we want to be elected.
Yes, that's true.
But this is really aboutstarting and fostering a
movement amongst community.
SPEAKER_04 (07:43):
Tell me more about that movement piece.
I really want to hear about yourmovement.
SPEAKER_05 (07:46):
Yeah.
So, you know, I during my dayjob, I'm the advocacy director
for the Normal AnomalyInitiative.
So we're an organization, acommunity-based organization
that centers um eliminatingbarriers while also uplifting
narrative change within uhmarginalized communities.
And it's important to understandthat in centering community,
(08:07):
it's understanding thatcommunity does have the answer.
Community knows the answer.
What typically happens iscommunity lacks resources,
community lacks the knowledgeand the tools to be able to
exact that change.
There's there are also systemicsystems and at play that
oftentimes keep communitiesdown.
(08:28):
So it I am very clear that likecommunity has the answer, has
always had the answer.
And so when I think about thegrassroots work of Stonewall,
it's really about mobilizingcommunity.
One of our upcoming initiativesthat I'm most excited about is
our faith-based allyshipinitiative, where we will be
really engaging with churchesand faith-based institutions
(08:51):
around civic engagement andallyship and like building that
connection, not because it's anelection year, but building that
connection because we all needeach other is going to step up
against, you know, this currentpolitical climate and move
forward.
And then movement building isalso, you know, through our
(09:12):
Black Girls Who Politicinitiative, it shows that you
know, black women across thespectrum of womanhood, you know,
we all are similar.
Whether you are trans,cisgender, heterosexual, here is
among that.
That's a microcosm of our largercommunity, is if we focus on
where we are similar, if wefocus on, you know, building
(09:34):
community, if we focus on hope,if we focus on joy, that is
where liberation, that is whereequity lies.
And so the work of Stonewall,while it centers like that
organizing, that movementbuilding, that education
advocacy, it also centers hopeand joy because that is me, my
core is hope and joy.
SPEAKER_04 (09:54):
Yeah.
I think you know, havingcultivating joy, especially in
this environment, is resistance.
SPEAKER_05 (10:00):
It is, it absolutely is joy.
They are people, yes, they aretrying to strip our rights and
take away our rights.
But I mean, if you were like,I'm a black trans woman in
Texas, that baby, they have beenafter us for years.
I mean, what they are doing isdifferent than what they have
been doing five, six, sevenyears ago.
And so when I think about itfrom that lens, it's like you
(10:21):
know, I am living my life whilefighting and also understanding
that every day I'm getting upand I'm still going to enjoy
life, I'm still going toexperience joy and happiness
because they can't take that andthey won't take that.
Um, they can try to take myrights, but they can't take my
identity, and they can't takethe identity of our community.
And I think that that'simportant and to understand that
(10:43):
regardless of what's happening,we still deserve joy and there
is still hope for a bettertomorrow.
SPEAKER_04 (10:51):
I like I like that a lot.
You know, what do you want tosay for the people who have yet
to find you who may just comeacross episode one day and just
like they just feel so unseen,especially in this environment?
SPEAKER_05 (11:04):
I would tell them that oftentimes you are in
search of community, andsometimes you could be searching
for tears.
Um you find them through apodcast episode or radio
episode, or you find themthrough an Instagram post,
through a random event, and thenyou realize like this is what
(11:25):
I've been missing, and thisfeels like home, and this feels
like family, and this feels likecommunity.
That is what I hope that peopleget when they engage with
greater Houston StonewallDemocrats.
Um like community, it feels likefamily because that's what the
movement work should feel like.
I think that we are at a timewhere, you know, yeah, things
(11:46):
are things are seeming grim anddim.
They are.
It's a rough political time,it's a rough economic time, it's
a rough time just socially.
But I think we've been herebefore, and we have the tools to
really hunker and really buildthe movement and and really
(12:07):
ground ourselves in ourcommunity for that long fight
because it is going to be a longfight, but the pendulum will
swing back.
And I think that when peopleengage or when they if they
randomly come across thisepisode or they engage with
Stonewall or here, I hope thatthey get that feeling of
community.
I hope they get that feeling ofthis feels like something bigger
(12:31):
than me that I want to be a partof.
You know, Stonewall is new,we're we're growing, but we want
to grow with community.
We are not trying to tellcommunity what to do.
We want to build this movementwith community.
Sounds like a fluid movement.
Like, it is, it is, itabsolutely is.
SPEAKER_04 (12:50):
Yeah.
Joel, you've been an amazingguest.
Is there any is there anythingyou want the audience to take
away from from today's talk?
SPEAKER_05 (12:58):
Um, you know, the the easiest thing to do at this
time is to think that you don'thave any power.
And you absolutely have power.
You actually have more powerthan you think.
And advocacy and engagement canlook different for many people.
It doesn't have to be marchingin the street, it doesn't have
to be storming the the Capitol.
(13:19):
Well, not storming the Capitol,like protesting or rallying.
It doesn't have to look likethat.
It could be door knocking, itcould be organizing, it could
simply be casting your vote inthe upcoming election.
But you do have a responsibilitywhen we think about liberation
and we think about, you know,the forward movement of us as a
(13:40):
community and as a society, youdo have a responsibility and you
do have power.
And it's up to you to decidewhat it looks like when you
exercise that power.
But I I strongly implore peopleto really look inward to realize
their personal power and own itand see how they want to use
(14:01):
that power because that's theonly way that we're going to be
able to move forward.
SPEAKER_04 (14:05):
That's beautifully put, Joel.
Thank you so much for coming onto the show.
And I look forward to theconversation.
Thank you.
Bye bye, Joelle.
SPEAKER_08 (14:14):
Hi, this is Brett Cullum.
And today I am joined by KathyNg.
She is a playwright, director,teacher, and get this crafter
from Hong Kong.
She writes plays that attempt tocreate these stretchy
human-adjacent spaces that arealso construction sites for new
alien languages.
And so we are going to talk toher about that and figure out
(14:34):
exactly what that means.
But recent works includeKingdom, Skyrats, and of course,
Beautiful Princess Disorder,which is coming to the match
November 21st through December13th.
It is catastrophic theater atits finest doing a this is a
world premiere, Kathy, right?
SPEAKER_06 (14:51):
Yes.
SPEAKER_08 (14:52):
Yeah, no one's ever seen this.
SPEAKER_06 (14:53):
No.
SPEAKER_08 (14:58):
Well, I don't even know, like Beautiful Princess
Disorder.
I love the name, but what is theshow about?
SPEAKER_01 (15:05):
Well, the show is set in what um we're calling the
parking lot of heaven, or atleast that's what the triangle
person who's a main character inthe play calls it.
And triangle person is like ahumanoid, but not fully human,
and they're also like a thoughtbaby.
So like in the script, they'remeant to be wearing like a like
(15:29):
a very like geometrictriangle-shaped head, but who
have a human body and they weara no nonsense navy blue
swimsuit.
And so they're kind of they'reone of the inhabitants of the
parking lot of heaven, kind oflike waiting.
There's like an intercom wherelike the angels are like kind of
like, oh, like you will beprocessed soon, sort of like
(15:53):
sort of like playing with likethe gates of heaven type of
thing.
And the other, presumably thereare more inhabit inhabitants
waiting at the parking lot ofheaven, but um the other
characters are Mother Teresa andTelecombe, the in the infamous
murderous Sea World Orca killedthree of his trainers during the
(16:20):
murderous orca.
Three people, but two weretrainers and one wasn't, but
yeah.
SPEAKER_08 (16:25):
Okay.
Yeah.
Yeah.
No, this sounds like a verystraightforward thing.
SPEAKER_01 (16:29):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_08 (16:30):
Where do you I mean, obviously, this is not your
first play that you've written.
You've had works publishedbefore.
What got you into writing plays?
SPEAKER_01 (16:42):
I think it was because I really wanted to do
more theater and kind ofrealized that if I wrote plays
that people wanted to do, then Icould be a part of making it.
And also I love language, Ithink.
Language is one of my favoritemediums, even though I I like to
(17:03):
work in a lot of differentmodes.
And there's sort of that kind ofexcitement of the play as like a
like a blueprint to kind of likealmost I see it like there's
lines and there's stagedirections, but it's a series of
prompts for artists you hope tocollaborate with in the future,
like directors, actors,designers.
(17:26):
I love the excitement of almostpreparing like a unit or a
package to give to like excitingartists and see what comes out
of it, which is always almostcan't I can't like even though I
am the one writing, I it's neverhow you imagine it in your head.
SPEAKER_08 (17:43):
Never.
And the catastrophic theater,anything can happen.
And I mean anything can happen.
They they have no boundarieswhatsoever.
How the heck did you get hookedup with them?
SPEAKER_01 (17:56):
Oh, so I feel so lucky because Lisa Damore, who
is um who they just catastrophicjust produced Frozen Section,
which is a new player of hers.
She's been my playwritingteacher and kind of mentor for I
would say almost a decade now.
We've known each other.
And we recently reconnected acouple of years ago because she
(18:17):
was helping lead the Brownplaywriting MFA program while
Julia Jargo, the head, was on asabbatical.
So on my first semester, I wastaught by Stacey Karen Robinson,
who's this amazing solo artistand playwright whose workshop
and the theme around solo waswhat generated Beautiful
(18:37):
Princess Disorder.
But and I was also writing itwhile Lisa was there and she got
to know we got to reconnect.
And I think she uh was talkingto Jason about some of my plays
while they were workingtogether.
So and then Jason Nadler readsome of the plays, and that's
how we got connected and startedchatting.
SPEAKER_08 (18:58):
Yeah.
Lisa's amazing.
I mean, catastrophic has along-standing relationship with
her and obviously just did herworld premiere frozen section.
So it's wild because Lisa's gota super huge national
reputation, but you do too.
I mean, I when I was diggingstuff up about you, the New York
Times talks about you.
SPEAKER_01 (19:17):
Oh, yes.
Well, that was a production of aplay called Happy Life in 2022,
produced by The Hearth, whichwas like a really great great,
crazy adventure.
And yes, but you know, I itfeels weird in terms of like I
also because I just came out ofschool.
I I feel so lucky to kind of beenmeshed in getting to know
(19:40):
better sort of the network ofAmerican experimental theater
makers currently still likemaking stuff, trying to connect
people, mentoring youngerartists, like is a definite
network of people like that.
And Lisa is an integral part ofthat.
And I feel like a a beneficiaryof both her kindness and also
(20:03):
the insistence on like makingsure that younger people have
can become experimental Americantheater makers, and and it's
something I feel really gratefulfor.
SPEAKER_08 (20:14):
You're originally from Hong Kong, correct?
But where do you live now?
SPEAKER_01 (20:18):
I live in Providence, Rhode Island.
SPEAKER_08 (20:21):
Oh, okay.
How did you end up inProvidence, Rhode Island?
SPEAKER_01 (20:26):
Well, I c um I grew up in Hong Kong.
I went through the internationalschool system and went through
and which was when we had like aAmerican-based education, and a
lot of what my life revolvedaround was kind of getting to
American college, which is andthen so I ended up at Brown for
my undergraduate degree, where Ialso I that that's where I first
(20:50):
fell in love with theater andstarted doing it and ended up
majoring in writing forperformance.
And then I after that had a longjourney trying to figure out
ways to stay in the country tokeep making art, which took me
to my first graduate degree inuh musical theater writing at
(21:11):
Tisch.
And then I worked for a coupleyears at um Club Thumb, which is
a really awesome experimental,uh New Work focused theater in
New York City.
So, but then COVID hit and meand my partner, who we just got
married uh after the first Trumpadministration, who I met in
(21:35):
college, and I was like, we justcan't afford this city.
We're like really burnt out,maybe we just need to like get
out of the city and startsomewhere that's both new, but
we both kind of knew because wemet so we moved back to
Providence and to try and justfigure out life there.
(21:58):
And that was when I applied todo the playwriting graduate d
program at Brown, which I endedup doing and just graduated this
past spring.
So that's kind of how I've endedup in Providence.
SPEAKER_08 (22:16):
Just the long road.
SPEAKER_01 (22:18):
The long road, yeah.
SPEAKER_08 (22:20):
Yes, the long and winding road.
Now, when I read the New YorkTimes, they said that you have a
queer sensibility, and I noticedthat you use she they pronouns.
So how do you identify as queer?
I wanted to just ask you aboutthat too.
SPEAKER_01 (22:32):
Yeah, I think that like I identify as queer in the
sense of I'm constantly tryingto figure out and even though
like there is there's so muchbenefit and help with categories
and labels, I'm trying to figureout, especially in the space of
(22:53):
my plays, how to like existoutside of those categories that
of normal everyday life, to seelike what else like we can we
can be.
A lot of my plays have are oftenhybrid creatures.
So for example, for Happy Life,one of the characters is a cat
(23:17):
mermaid, which she's like corpsethat kind of loaded out of a
Hello Kitty doll, which is basedoff of real life murder, but
that off doll component clingsto her in that world, and she's
neither she's she's neitherfully ghost or human.
She's and like and her and shekind of bonds with the other
(23:38):
ghosts like Hermit, which islike kind of like w was like
deeply insp inspired by sort oflike my own journey with like
body dysmorphia and like andespecially like having like um
female parts that I really feltlike was were like traumatizing
(23:59):
as a child and I wanted tochange my body and hermit as
like a ghost who is a trans maskghost who first thing he does in
the afterlife is slice off hisboobs and then sort of like that
because kind of where the playbegins.
And I think I there's queernessin the hybridness of my
(24:19):
characters or like thenon-humanness, but also trying
to find the human impulseswithin, maybe inside of that,
and also find a lot of queerduring creativity and language
because I really like languageis both the prison but both like
a liberating pool.
And I find it possible or likeinteresting in a play when by
(24:43):
the end of it, you've all almostlike created a new language
together with both the creativeteam and also every audience
that comes sees it.
SPEAKER_08 (24:54):
So this is a level of queerness that is like next
because not only are you talkingabout kind of the human binary,
but these are creatures, theseare hybrids, these are people
that are incorporating otherthings.
And I know that Catastrophic isgonna have a fundraiser later
where they wanted a disco Cabmermaid zombie theme or
(25:14):
something.
So that's they're they'reobviously paying homage to you
and happy life.
SPEAKER_01 (25:19):
I I don't I hope I well mermaids in general is such
a seductive creature.
Like there's that's a oh so Idon't know if it's a direct for
happy life, but yeah, like Ifeel like one reason why Meat
and Catastrophic have feel anexciting collaboration is
because they also have they alsohave that kind of desire and
(25:42):
hunger to kind of explore whatkind of reach for like what else
we could be as like creatures onthis planet rather than our
concept of human, which ofcourse deeply incorporates
LGBTQ, all the orientations andall the different gender
(26:03):
identifications that arepossible for the human mind.
SPEAKER_08 (26:07):
Yeah, we're emphasizing the other for sure.
So beautiful princess disorder,November 21st through December
13th at the match.
Going back to that, obviouslyyou've got a great cast.
Triangle person.
SPEAKER_01 (26:19):
Who's the actor playing that?
The actor playing TrianglePerson is T Lavot Febled, I
think.
That's what their last name ispronounced.
I'm embarrassed to not know forsure, but their name's T,
they're this amazing non-binarylike poet, like graphic
(26:40):
designer, actor.
They're just incredibly,incredibly cool.
And I have Kyle Sturdivant astelecom and Amy Bruce's mother,
Teresa, and the the cast is juston fire.
They are so excited to see I'mit's already been amazing seeing
(27:03):
them in rehearsals and stuff,but T actually has been named
the gayest and greatestnon-binary poet.
SPEAKER_08 (27:13):
I mean, they have all these accolades, they are
the icon.
Uh if you want to get a crowd,just put T at the front of your
show for sure.
They are just a powerhouse onstage.
I am just so excited that theyare taking on Triangle Person
because when I saw the the leadwas Triangle Person, I was like,
(27:35):
who the heck can play TrianglePerson?
But T like makes so much sense.
They're born for that.
SPEAKER_01 (27:44):
Yeah, they're really, they really are, and
they're like taking thecharacter in ways that like they
they're getting to because uhI've been able to be in ca in
Houston twice now since theprocess has started and meeting
the actors and talking withJason, chatting with all the
designers.
(28:04):
I really set out to try and makethe show that these group of
people are meant to maketogether.
And I've been rewriting duringthe rehearsal process, and a lot
of the big new changes aredirectly inspired by just
getting to know the people arecatastrophic and inspired by who
they are.
SPEAKER_08 (28:24):
They are super inspiring.
You've got a great group.
So your your play is inwonderful hands.
And Jason Kodler, I mean, he'sworked with Lisa extensively.
I think if anybody understandsexperimental theater or anything
like that, he's definitely solike I've I've learned so much
from him already.
Yeah.
No, so have I over the years forsure.
SPEAKER_01 (28:44):
Yeah, he's been doing this for decades and just
like relentless about it.
And like you can really feelthat when you talk to him and
you work with him.
And also he was a teacher of no,not he he was a student of Maria
Irene Fornez, who one of thegreatest American playwrights of
all time.
So it's kind of nuts.
SPEAKER_08 (29:06):
Yeah, so you've got all these superstars at the
Catastrophic Theater.
You've got Jason Nadlerdirecting, you've got the match,
which is a great space to be in.
I am really excited aboutBeautiful Princess Disorder.
Although like I keep trippingover the title.
It's gonna be great.
And of course, the adventures ofTriangle Person and the parking
lot of heaven.
SPEAKER_01 (29:24):
Yes, that's where it's end.
Yes.
SPEAKER_08 (29:26):
So do you identify with Triangle Person or who in
the play kind of represents you,your voice?
SPEAKER_01 (29:32):
Hmm.
I would say that it's kind of Iwould say that almost in every
play, my whole self is likefractured into every part of it
and like stagiurations and andstuff.
I would say that like maybeTriangle Person is like probably
the heart character of the playfor me, or I also like to call
(29:52):
it fuzzy edge um sibling dramafor an only child because I'm an
only child and triangle personare you two?
I've always like and thatsibling relation is for me both
so familiar because so manypeople have siblings and it can
it's so intense and storied andand I'm just like wow never I'll
(30:15):
just never know what that isbecause I'm I ha would never
have a sibling and like andtriangle person was like just a
character I doodled a lot as akid that has like come has
followed me throughout lifegrowing up and so like they're
kind of in my head are like myimaginary sibling in a sense so
like that's that's kind of likethey're kind of the anchor of
(30:37):
the show I think yeah well Ican't wait again match the
theater complex November 20ththrough December 13th and are
you gonna be here for theopening night?
SPEAKER_03 (30:49):
I'll be here so I'll be at opening night so maybe we
can we'll meet in person Yeah nowe totally will I I hang out
there we'll we'll have a a glassof champagne and everything to
celebrate the opening up thiswonderful play and thank you so
much we are so excited to seeyou and and see your work yeah
I'm really excited to share thisplay with Houston and have this
(31:10):
kind of be like my first forayinto the city I feel really
lucky yeah we'll be so lucky tohave you thank you thanks so
much Brian Ian Haddock is thefounder and executive director
(31:42):
of the Normal Anomaly anorganization that started just a
few years ago but has just grownby leaps and bounds and been
very successful.
SPEAKER_02 (31:53):
Ian first of all tell me exactly what the normal
anomaly is absolutely so thenormal anomaly is an
organization that is focused onthe barrier reduction through
narrative change.
And so we offer generallyflexible options for community
(32:15):
to engage andor be assisted andwe focus on doing that from a
lens of changing the lives ofthe people we engage with and
then thereafter changing theperspective or the narrative
that people see based upon asense of marginalization.
SPEAKER_03 (32:32):
And it's the only organization I know of in
Houston and maybe in the regionthat is focused on the black
queer experience.
Tell me first of all how did itall come about?
SPEAKER_02 (32:44):
Yeah originally I started off as a blogger writing
is still my first love.
I love the idea of tellingstories uh but during COVID-19
what we realized is that tellingstories was not enough.
We were not changing thenarrative and that required us
(33:05):
to go through getting anonprofit status.
In 2021 uh we got our nonprofitstatus and uh we started
thinking about how do we want tocraft this organization.
And there were no organizationsthat really focused on black
LGBTQ people in the region.
And so we said that is the workthat we must do.
(33:28):
And so what we try to do is wetry to be we try to center black
LGBT people while beinginclusive of any marginalized
identity.
And so what that does is itcreates solutions for people who
are arguably at the most marginsand if we can fix those
(33:49):
situations because obviouslythey would have more barriers in
this socio-political climate ifwe can find solutions for them
for any marginalized identity.
SPEAKER_03 (34:01):
Excellent how did you very first start off after
you were blocking you you talkedto some people and said hey kids
I got this idea where do we gofrom here?
And so what what were the firststeps you took?
Was it getting that 501c3?
SPEAKER_02 (34:17):
No, no actually you know our first engagement was
with the Montrose Center.
We were fiscal uh we were a partof the nonprofit incubator at
the Montrose Center we like tosay we were one of their
favorite success stories and soit was really just an idea and
through the nonprofit incubatorworking with Kennedy and working
(34:37):
with Anne and we still work withAvery over there at the Montrose
Center but I was workingdirectly with them and we were
creating bylaws and we werecreating standard operating
procedures and really doing somestrategic mapping working with
other philanthropicorganizations connected to them
and really the reality is Iprobably would not have been
(35:00):
successful if the Montro Centerwouldn't have said, hey, you've
outgrown us you should get yourown organization.
You should start your ownorganization.
Really it was the MontroseCenter was a conduit for us to
begin and also a catalyst forour success because once we got
our 501 status we hired twomembers of our team that is
(35:24):
still with us to this day andthat has just been able to you
know we've been able toskyrocket since then so tell me
something about the programsthat you do offer.
Yes yes so one of the programsthat we're offering we have
several partners who on aregular basis usually biweekly
(35:45):
donate items that could becleaning supplies it could be
drinks food sometimes it's evencash incentives and so we call
that our no barrier services andso for those services people
just have to sign up on aformice and our drop-in space
and pick out whatever they wantto for free we also offer our
(36:08):
trans allyship collective andthat is a collective of black
trans women who are scholars inaction for gender expansive
services.
And so that program is inpartnership with the University
of Houston Sustain Center and inthat they are developing
training to make communitymembers elected officials and
(36:31):
businesses better allies tomarginalized folks censoring
those furthest at the marginsand so we have six black trans
women that are part of thatcohort along with one of our uh
and also a connection at U of H.
Uh we also offer anentrepreneurship class called
Project Liberate um and that isgenerally a six to nine month
(36:55):
cohort we plan to open that upin February uh and this this uh
class uh has been worked withthrough Yale University Center
for Interdisciplinary Researchon AIDS as a way to meet the
social drivers of health andreduce that and so this six
month program has some amazingcurriculum we've been able to
(37:19):
launch uh 59 businesses throughthat program and our newest
program that we are currentlyworking on and trying to build
awareness around is transitionalhousing.
As you know, housing ishealthcare housing should be a
human right and what we'reseeing is that the people that
are at the margins the top threethings based upon our capacity
(37:41):
building assessment istransportation, housing and
employment.
And so we've already offeredentrepreneurship we offer
transportation six months outthe year depending on funding
and so now we're going to startdoing transitional housing.
And so we're building thatprogram with some leaders in
Atlanta to try to make itsustainable on its own.
(38:03):
And so we're really excited tolaunch that in spring 2026.
SPEAKER_03 (38:08):
I know the Montrose Center and Tony's place are are
two places where they try tohelp young people who may be in
need of that transitionalhousing.
So it's all about connectionsisn't it you said Montrose
Center helps launch your effortand then working in conjunction
(38:28):
with other organizations andeven the University of Houston
is how you're able to meet yourgoals.
And tell me about Talk to meThursday.
SPEAKER_02 (38:38):
Yeah you know so another thing that we are trying
to do is we are trying to dothings throughout the week that
really uses social media and ourspace to have conversations.
And so each day whether it's onsocial media or in person we are
doing engagements andinitiatives and so Talk to me
(38:59):
Thursday is one of those thingsthat we're doing every other
Thursday we have a team memberthat will be talking about
something that you know is anormal anomaly something that a
lot of people deal with but alot of people don't talk about
and then on Wednesdays we'll bedoing yoga at our center for
free led by Dr.
(39:19):
Maria Wilson and one Friday outthe month we'll also be doing
Zumba and then every other weekwe'll be doing financial classes
on Tuesdays.
And so we're really trying tojust really meet the needs and
reduce barriers.
We listen to community weconstantly doing are doing
(39:40):
assessments with the people weserve and we see what they need
and we try to you know findpeople that that can work it
out.
So Talk to me Thursday is reallyabout uncovering hard
conversations that a lot ofpeople are having in silence.
SPEAKER_03 (39:56):
Explain to me just for a moment what is meant by
the term normal anomaly.
SPEAKER_02 (40:01):
Absolutely I am a bit of a geek um and like I said
words you know writing is my ismy first love and so when I was
trying to think about anorganization that was you know
queer that was of culture youknow I'm a person of color an
African American person Irealized that it's so hard to
(40:24):
constantly have to come out butyou do still want those spaces
where you can be fully yourself.
And so you know I could havenamed us you know black LGBT
something, but the reality is alot of a lot of harm is
connected to our blackness andour queerness.
And so trying to come up with aname for an organization that
(40:46):
centered you know queer peopleof color was difficult.
And so I came up with this ideaof who I've always thought I
was.
You know people think I'm ananomaly because they're like hey
you didn't finish college butyou're writing research papers
and hey you didn't you didn'tfinish this but you're doing
that and I'm and I'm blessed tosay that but I don't think that
(41:09):
that's much of an anomaly.
You know my experience good andbad created a situation where I
have a chance and it was becauseof community it was because of
people like you on Queer Voiceswhich was my first platform that
I ever got a chance to speakabout normal anomaly it was
because of you know peopleliving with HIV was because of
(41:32):
trans women it was because oflesbians it was because of a
community that I have a chanceto live the life that I live and
do the work that I want to do.
And I believe that everybodydeserves that chance.
And so what better name couldyou come up with than something
that literally says differentbut normal different but
(41:55):
accepted different but acommunity different but embraced
and so that is exactly whatnormal anomaly means.
It's this idea that we may bedifferent but we're really more
alike than we see.
SPEAKER_03 (42:07):
Right.
And to some degree we're allnormal anomalies.
Yes yes and I think that's animportant thing that you
mentioned which is sometimes inlife things don't necessarily go
the way you think they would orthat people say they should but
when you find something that youhave a passion for something
(42:29):
where there's a need and you sayhey I can help with that then
that kind of launches you.
And so much of what I've learnedin my own life has been through
volunteer efforts.
I got in there I did the workand next thing I know I had been
developing skills you know Ilearned how to be a volunteer
(42:49):
coordinator.
I even learned how to dojournalism through being a
volunteer.
So uh that that is uh a a awonderful thing and I really
like that idea I'd like to seemore people have that vision of
uh as they have their lifedirection how they can plug into
(43:10):
that kind of energy now you werenamed one of the gay 100 tell me
what that means oh my gosh I amstill in shock actually soon
I'll be going to the awardceremony and I'm so excited but
you know the Out 100 accordingto everybody that I know is you
(43:34):
know one of if not the mostprestigious LGBT national list.
SPEAKER_02 (43:39):
It honors the top 100 LGBT people in the nation I
don't know how I made it but uhI am so grateful to be inducted
into this year's class of Out100.
You know this work people oftensay this work is thankless.
I don't agree with that I thinkthat this work is so hard that
(44:02):
you can miss the thank yous.
But I I have been embraced bycommunity like this is this is
this is representative of whathappens when community believes
in community.
And so this is really for mebeing a part of Out 100
highlighting the fact that ifyou put your head down and you
(44:24):
work with community and you loveon community and you show up for
community that people will seeyou.
I don't have the biggestplatform I don't have the most
followers you know I don't havethe the the best connections but
you know I do my work in mycorner I stay consistent and um
I'm grateful that you know somesomething as big as Out 100
(44:49):
would would see me for.
SPEAKER_03 (44:50):
And the Out 100 is uh from uh Out magazine yeah and
I know one of the people alsothis year is V from under the
desk news and I particularlyadore her when you go to the
event please seek them out andgive them a big old hug and love
on her them for me because I Ijust think what they do is also
(45:16):
phenomenal and what you do likeI said you it's just been a few
years what four years going onfive and you just made such an
impact on the Houston communityone of the things that you offer
is HIV testing and I think I sawa figure of over twelve hundred
(45:37):
people that have been tested.
So tell me is that where peopleshow up at your location and say
I want to get tested or what howdo you facilitate HIV testing?
SPEAKER_02 (45:48):
Absolutely we specialize in at-home testing we
have at-home uh testing kitsthat are you know basically what
you can get from Walgreens butwe give them to you for free uh
we also although they're at-hometest uh testing kits we actively
walk people through it if theyneed help so that somebody can
(46:10):
be there with them but we alsooffer um and we'll be offering
this some more in January weoffer complete STI testing kits
that can be mailed in uh thatyou can take home and get your
results at home and theygenerally offer eight or nine uh
different options for testingincluding HIV, prick, syphilis,
(46:34):
donor, chlamydia, so on and soforth.
And that is also offered forfree.
All you have to do is go to ourwebsite.
Right now we have we havecompleted all of our our testing
numbers for the year but we'reworking with we're currently
working with the funder to giveus more access so that we can
(46:55):
offer these complimentarytesting kits um and when they
when they come out all you haveto do is reach out to us on our
website and either you can comein pick up the kit do it in our
location or take it home and youcan mail that off and they will
send your result everything isprepaid and uh and and taken
(47:17):
care of.
SPEAKER_03 (47:18):
And that's a wonderful option for there to be
there for people who forwhatever reason don't feel
comfortable going somewhereelse.
So and it's really importantknowing your status and knowing
how to take care of yourself andthe people you love is the name
of the game, isn't it?
SPEAKER_02 (47:34):
Yes, yes.
You know I'm a person, I'm aprep advocate I've been on prep
for I don't know over a decade.
Now I'm on yes to go which is asix month prep injection.
And so I really, you know, I'm ahuge advocate for knowing your
status and also not just knowingyour status so that you can get
(47:56):
on medication or get on prep,but because holistic wellness is
so important, you know, as queerfolk, HIV is a big thing, but we
also have like diabetes and wealso have like high blood
pressure and so on and so forth.
And so when you get into thehabit of getting tested and
going to get checked up on andgoing to the doctor, you live a
(48:19):
longer life this this world Ibelieve this current world wants
to take us out and one of thebest things we can do is care
for ourselves.
One of those big thingsparticularly for our queer
communities is to update yourstatus.
SPEAKER_03 (48:33):
Exactly so in order to do all the things you do and
I I know you get funding invarious ways but one of the ways
that you get funding is throughyour annual gala I say gay some
people say gala but I think gayla sounds better right and
that's coming up December tellme what's in store for that oh
(48:56):
my gosh it is going to be somuch fun.
SPEAKER_02 (49:00):
I I love our gala I say gay la too because I'm a gay
la.
But I get so excited about ourgayla because one of the things
working with marginalized folksmost people most of them don't
get to to celebrate and there'sa lack of you know queer joy
there's a lack of black joy andwe bring all of that to the
(49:21):
place we're gonna have aviolinist an amazing DJ we have
some amazing honorees includingDiamond Styles who is an
award-winning podcaster RonaldMatters who is an award-winning
blogger we have you know localcommunity members who are going
to be honored and internationalresearchers that lead HIV
(49:45):
prevention trials networkstudies as well as the Gilead
Compass initiative which wasGilead's investment in the South
of over$10 million to fourdifferent coordinating centers
including University of Houston,Emory University, Southern AIDS
Coalition and Wake ForestUniversity School of Divinity.
(50:06):
And so they're going to behonored in this space and we're
just really really excited forthe event but also we are we are
committed as you can probablytell we are committed to the
future and and moving forwardthe reality is like a community
save me and community willsustain our organization.
And so we're inviting people tocome out and enjoy themselves to
(50:31):
embrace you know these narrativechangers that we're going to be
honoring but also to help tochange the narrative through
making sure our organization issustainable.
SPEAKER_03 (50:43):
This is Deborah Moncrieve Bell and I'm speaking
with Ian Haddock, the founderand executive director of the
normal anomaly now Ian youmentioned this like we're in a
society that wants to take usout and those people that are on
the margins in particular are injeopardy because of that.
I know there's a lot of stressbecause of that there's a lot of
(51:06):
fear because of that.
So what does the normal anomalyoffer in terms of mental health?
SPEAKER_02 (51:12):
Yeah that's a great question first of all and I'm
not sure how much I will sharebut I want to share a word of
thanks to you for you know beingin community with me during a
tough time for myself severalseveral months ago four or five
(51:32):
months ago I had what I considermy first major panic attack and
I'm sure now looking back I hadmany different anxiety attacks
but I had a a major one and Ishared it publicly on social
media.
And Deb, you were so helpful andso loving and so consoling.
So I wanted to publicly thankyou for that care and concern.
(51:55):
And that has pushed the NormaAnomaly to try and figure out
ways that we can support ourcommunity in the past we've
given out opportunities forscholarships for therapy and we
have worked with therapists toyou know give reduced cost or
low cost excuse me therapysessions.
(52:16):
But you know from my experienceand as I talked to the team at
the Normal Anomaly one of thethings that we realized is my
experience is not unlike otherpeople aka it was a normal
anomaly and you know people youknow I went to the doctor and I
did get on medication for myanxiety but it was you know
(52:38):
people sending me messages aboutthis might work and I read this
and this might be good to cope.
And so we are starting a peersupport group in the in December
we'll be starting a peer supportgroup that is going to be led by
a counselor and one of our staffat the Normal Anomaly and it's
(53:00):
simply going to be a place wherepeople can come and talk and get
information peer-to-peer fromour work.
We also do peer support in amore organized level in our
Dallas location.
And so that is through um astudy through HIV Prevention
Trials Network and that worksthrough people can engage with a
(53:25):
peer supporter one-on-one inDallas to help them navigate
through HIV and mental healthsystems.
We have a directory ofclinicians and connections and
we navigate people directlythrough that.
But here in Houston we'll bedoing a peer support group twice
a month that really is inspiredby you and other people that
(53:50):
reached out to me during thattough time for myself.
SPEAKER_03 (53:54):
Well I appreciate the thanks but you know to me
that's just kind of what you dois that uh say it's that old
thing about we're all justwalking each other home.
And that's what community isabout is putting the unity in
community.
And uh of course I've worked fora long time with the Walk for
(54:15):
Mental Health Awareness that uhPatrick McIlvain started.
And the goal of thatorganization is like the normal
anomaly, we want to removestigmas because the stigma of
having a mental illness of anykind and there are many, there's
over a hundred and somethingincluding addictions.
Many of us I didn't know until Iwas in my 60s that I was
(54:38):
neurodivergent which means Ithink a little different than a
lot of people but it's notnecessarily a bad thing.
It's just there are differencesand people don't always
understand what's going on whenthere's someone who does not
behave as what they consider thenorm.
But there's so many of us thatthere's there's nothing normal.
(55:01):
Normal is just a sitting on thewashing machine right so finding
matching the needs and resourcesis what we do.
We try to find out how, okay,there's a stigma because people
have attitudes uh and how do weremove that stigma?
And one of the things that wasfound was that the stigma is the
(55:23):
number one reason people don'tseek out help.
So that's the thing the normalanomaly and other organizations
are saying we're here to help.
And so all you have to do is letus know you need help and we're
there for you.
And so I'm glad to know that Iwas able to offer you something
I suffer from anxiety most ofthe time it's managed but when I
(55:46):
have too difficult of a time Ido have medication and so
there's there should be nostigma on doing what you need to
take care of your health andthere's no health without mental
health so you're just like wehave we're holistic beings so
it's all of us that that isincorporated in that.
Well Ian tell me again aboutyour gala coming up on December
(56:11):
11th the when, where and whowill be there.
SPEAKER_02 (56:16):
Absolutely it is December 11th from 6 p.m to 10
p.m at Bell Tower on 34th Streetwe're going to be honoring you
know Diamond Styles, Dr.
LaRon Nelson, uh Gilead CompassInitiative, and many and and two
other people we are extremelyexcited you know going to have
(56:36):
violinists great food greatpeople uh would love to see
everybody come out uh you can goon our website normalanomaly.org
to find out any more informationand who's hosting that evening I
forgot friend my friend UzaLodia from ABC13 eyewitness news
(56:58):
I'm so excited yeah we adore hershe she's marvelous so I thank
you for being with us on QueerVoices to talk about the normal
anomaly just for telling usabout the normal anomaly and I
wish you all the success in theworld with Agala and with your
programs going forward.
SPEAKER_08 (57:16):
This is Deborah Moncrief Bell and you've been
listening to Queer Voices youhave been listening to Queer
Voices we are here every week at8 p.m on Wednesdays on KPFT and
you can also find us as apodcast wherever you find them.
Be sure and support KPFT bydonating through their website
(57:37):
at KPFT.org that helps us stayon the air and supports listener
funded radio this show iscreated by Brian Lavinka,
Deborah Moncrief Bell, JacobNewsom, Joel Tatum, Davis
Mendoza DeRuzman, and EthanMichelle Gantz.
And I am Brett Cullum and I hopeto produce this week's episode.
See you next week
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