GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE DECEMBER 24, 1993

"A SURE SHOT FOR AN OSCAR! Who can resist Jeanne Moreau?" -Caryn James, THE NEW YORK TIMES

"THIS IS AS GOOD AS ENSEMBLE ACTING EVER GETS"

-Jeffrey Lyons, SNEAK PREVIEWS/CNBC

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INTERNATIONAL GAY TRAVEL ASSOCIATION

Actors say bank is AIDSphobic; others say not

by Charlton Harper

Is there a Scrooge lurking behind the friendly demeanor of the Great Lakes Theatre Festival, thwarting efforts at raising money for local AIDS organizations? Some concerned members of the cast and crew of A Christmas Carol say so. But others say that it's more a matter of policy-making than stinginess or phobia.

In an effort to support World AIDS Day and local AIDS work, cast members of A Christmas Carol had planned to stage a cabaret-styled revue to follow the December 16 and 17 evening performances. The revue, titled High Spirits: A Christmas Carol Cares, follows a tradition of actors responding to the AIDS crisis by using their talents as the draw.

However, a revue was not the first idea for a fundraiser. Originally, cast members had hoped to solicit attending audiences for donations, much like they had done last year when they raised $16,000. But matters of policy presented a problem. Society Bank, the major underwriter for the run of A Christmas Carol, maintains a strict policy of preventing any type of fundraising during any production for which they are sponsors, a position they held last year as sponsors for Carol, though it had not been enforced.

"I think that's a reasonable position," says Anne DesRosiers, managing director of GLTF. "Anyone who isn't responsive to donor wishes is a foolish recipient." Several area arts fundraisers agree that as a major underwriter, Society is entitled to make such policy, and that it's a routinely observed practice.

Shifting their focus to the idea of a revue, participating actors had hoped to place fliers in Carol programs as a way to promote their

efforts. But again, policy prevented such a move. It is a general practice at Playhouse Square that only two loose "stuffers" ever appear in one program, an attempt to keep excess paper from winding up in the garbage, on the floor and unread. Programs for Carol already contained two stuffers, thereby preventing more.

But concerns about AIDS-phobia can't go unanswered. Is Society Bank AIDSphobic? "I really don't think so," says Joe Interrante, director of Health Issues Taskforce and a good judge of such issues. "I look for phobia like this all the time. I wondered if it applied here. But I don't think so. Society was a major sponsor of the AIDS Walk after all." Society donated $5,000 to the Walk, the only bank to become a sponsor, a hard point to ignore.

While some people within Carol are advocating the possibility of pulling personal accounts from Society, it's a move that DesRosiers thinks unwise. "Because corporations like Society sponsor our work we are therefore able to offer employment to many people, including gay people. If they [Society] were to withdraw such support, where would we be? Isn't that like biting the hand that feeds you?"

DesRoziers also aknowledges the enormous but admirable task before the cast of Carol, that of performing in one show and trying to organize efforts to produce another one. "It's not an ideal situation," she says, "to do a fundraiser and a show. It would be tight for me to try something like that. But I think they've done a wonderful job."

Anyone who missed the show but might still want to make a donation can send a check made out to: Health Issues Taskforce, GLTF, 1501 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115.

Mass. governor signs gay youth protection law

Boston Gay students have new protection against discrimination and harrassment in public schools through a measure Gov. William Weld signed into law December 10.

Some school systems have gay rights policies, but no other state has adopted such a law, which flatly bans discrimination against gays in schools, said Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (P-FLAG).

Weld made a low-key announcement of the bill signing at a news conference on another issue. David LaFontaine, head of the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, said some gay youth who worked in support of the legislation were

disappointed he didn't hold a formal ceremony.

Many students have been prohibited by principals and school districts from organizing gay and lesbian student groups, said LaFontaine.

Weld, a Republican, said it was "an unanswered question" whether gay students could sue "upon alleging that the atmosphere at a school had become intolerable."

According to a 1989 report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 30 percent of all youths who committed suicide were lesbian or gay. It also estimated 28 percent of gay students drop out of school.

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