@RyanNewYork
He sits on the Broad of Directors of The Ali Forney Center, where he is the founding producer of their annual Broadway Beauty Pageant fundraiser. He's also on the Board of Directors of The Deconstructive Theatre Project and the Board of Advisers of the startup TV Dinner.
He's also a director/producer, who lives in Brooklyn, NY and created the musical White Noise. Ryan writes about politics for The Huffington Post & The Hill. He has been a guest editor for Queerty and is the host of the podcast Gay History: Uncut.
Here Ryan blogs about politics, film, TV, history, religion, science, books, theater, digital media, LGBT issues, Bushwick & Williamsburg, New York City, and anything else he's interested in at the moment. Oh, and he'll probably talk a lot about himself.
This is a personal blog. Any opinions expressed here and on my Twitter represent my own and not those of my employer or clients.
Some great new pictures of the contestants in this year’s Broadway Beauty Pageant. It’s on MONDAY in New York City - tickets available here.
Contestants are out for this year’s The Annual Broadway Beauty Pageant!
Get your tickets at: http://bit.ly/BBP2013Tixs
It’s a fantastic group. “This year’s competitors will include Callan Bergmann (Silence! The Musical), Julius C. Carter (Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark), Yurel Echezarreta (Matilda), Matthew Goodrich (The Nance), Orion Griffiths (Pippin) and Paul HeeSang Miller (Mamma Mia!).”
(Photo from previous pageant)
As you may know, I’ve been producing The Broadway Beauty Pageant for seven years! Our 2013 competition is coming up on Monday, May 20th and we’ve just announced a trio of fantastic judges; Billy Porter, Andrea Martin and Michael Urie. The always fabulous Tovah Feldshuh is returning to host for a 6th time.
If you’ve never been before, this video is a great introduction to the fun.
Hope you can come out and support The Ali Forney Center, the nation’s largest and most comprehensive organization addressing the very-real issue of homeless LGBT Youth.
Tickets for The Broadway Beauty Pageant are available at www.nyuskirball.org/calendar/broadwaybeautypageant, and range in price from $25 –$150. All VIP tickets include a pre and post-show VIP cocktail reception, gift bag, and premier seating.
I’ll see you there!
Will Portman seems like a great guy, but there are many kids across the globe who come out under far harsher scenarios with higher stakes.
Many aren’t nearly as lucky as Will. In America, 40% of homeless youth are LGBT - largely because of parental rejection.
Just some perspective here.
My good friend Corey Johnson, who is running for city council in New York. Support him!
(via we-cant-wait)
My speech on marriage equality and digital media at Social Media Week Milan.
Had an amazing time there and was happy to spread the word.
I know your email boxes are overflowing today with opportunities to give to your favorite causes and organizations, but still I wanted to share three organizations that I supported in 2012.
Since today’s your last chance at 2012 deductions, don’t miss your chance to give to something important and take from the IRS at the same time. Even a $5 gift helps make the work these organizations do possible.
Tithing shouldn’t just be a religious concept.
- The Ali Forney Center: One of my favorite organizations out there, AFC works directly with LGBT homeless youth in New York City. There are 1,800 homeless LGBT youth each night on the streets of NYC and AFC spends each dollar they receive on comprehensive programs that really help.
- The Deconstructive Theatre Project: An innovative young theatre company that produces work and provides community education projects in Brooklyn.
- All Out: An international LGBT watchdog organization that keeps an eye on vital gay and human rights issues from Uganda to Russia. They were also the parent organization of the 2012 marriage equality effort The Four 2012 that I co-founded.
Of course, at Blue State Digital I’m lucky enough to work with dozens and dozens of amazing organizations that deserve support including The NAACP and Freedom To Marry.
Thanks and have a lovely New Year.
The Ali Forney Center, the largest and most comprehensive LGBT homeless youth organization in the country, suffered a major loss due to Hurricane Sandy. Their drop-in center, which is a lifeline to kids who live on the streets, was destroyed.
Below is a letter from their executive director, Carl Siciliano, detailing the situation and how you can help. (Hint: they really need your money.)
This organization is near and dear to my heart, I’m on the Board of Directors and have produced The Broadway Beauty Pageant for them for many years. Please give what you can to this very important cause.
Dear Friends,
Yesterday we were finally able to inspect our drop-in center in Chelsea, half a block from the Hudson River. Our worst fears were realized; everything was destroyed and the space is uninhabitable. The water level went four feet high, destroying our phones, computers, refrigerator, food and supplies.
This is a terrible tragedy for the homeless LGBT youth we serve there. This space was dedicated to our most vulnerable kids, the thousands stranded on the streets without shelter, and was a place where they received food, showers, clothing, medical care, HIV testing and treatment, and mental health and substance abuse services. Basically a lifeline for LGBT kids whose lives are in danger.
We are currently scrambling for a plan to provide care to these desperate kids while we prepare to ultimately move into a larger space that will better meet our needs. The NYC LGBT Center has very kindly and generously offered to let us temporarily use some of their space, and we hope to determine the viability of that on Monday.
We have been deluged with kind offers from people who wish to volunteer and donate goods. Unfortunately, we will have to provide our services in the time being in much smaller spaces that won’t accommodate volunteers or allow for much storage space. The best way people can reach out to help in this very challenging time is by making monetary donations. Please go to our website at www.aliforneycenter.org/hurricanesandy
It is heartbreaking to see this space come to such a sad end. For the past seven years it has been a place of refuge to thousands of kids reeling from being thrown away by their parents for being LGBT. For many of these kids coming to our drop-in center provided their first encounter with a loving and affirming LGBT community. I thank all of you for your care and support in a most difficult time.
- Carl Siciliano
Great article on Buzzfeed about the brand new video that Lady Gaga just released for The Four 2012. You can just skip to the video here.
Just 22 days until the election. Please reblog and share on Facebook to spread the word.
Share On Facebook: I’m voting for marriage equality.
Reblog to show your friends and family you’re supporting equality.
Get daily content at http://www.thefour.com.
It’s been 14 years since Matthew Shepard was murdered in Laramie, Wyoming. It was a defining moment in my teen years - I was just sixteen and had only been out of the closet a few months. Seeing a guy murdered for being something that I was, scared and saddened me. We’ve come a long way since 1998, but it’s important to remember all the Matthews there have been.
This video has clips from The Laramie Projects set to Elton John’s beautiful American Triangle.
RIP Matthew.
The second video of The Four’s four-part series focuses on real gay couples in the state of Minnesota. It’s lovely, please share.
From Minnesota, this is the second of a four-part series, co-produced by New Left Media and The Four, made in each of the states that have marriage equality votes this November. Part one, from Maine, can be viewed here.
Marriage For All Families captures the real experience of same-sex couples, to show that they have the same challenges, responsibilities, and aspirations as other couples. Still, they are strangers in the eyes of the law. That’s why marriage equality is so important: it aligns personality reality with legal reality, as a simple matter of fairness and equality.
Part three will be released Tuesday, October 16th on TheFour.com.
