Best night of my life

I've been having trouble describing how electric our world premiere in downtown Wichita was earlier this week, but I think my filmmaking buddy Lester Rowe summed it up best.
"So let's recap," he said. "You had two mayors, a bunch of filmmakers, Miss Missouri and not an empty seat in the house, Only a select few get to experience that. You took an article, turned it into an idea, went on a first time filmmaking journey and had a moment."
As I told the crowd afterward, I think it was the best night of my life.
The emcee was the aforementioned Miss Missouri, Sierra Scott, who happens to be the best friend of marketing guru Christine Bitner, who helped organize the event.

Wichita mayor Jeff Longwell was in attendance with his wife Susie and 10 of my castmates from Wichita Gridiron, Mulvane mayor Shelly Steadman and her husband Kyle, who are executive producers for the film, were there as well. So were executive producers Dave and Trish Powell. Former teachers. College classmates. Best friends. Doctors. Lawyers. Politicians. Pastors. Journalists.
Musician MariaElena, who scored the movie, was there, as was artist Ram Hull, who animated it. I should really stop trying to name people at this point, but I do owe a big thank-you to my friend Brendan O' Bryhim, who came up with the idea of this event in the first place.
We drew a standing-room-only crowd on a Tuesday night in Wichita. One marketing professional said that was nothing short of miraculous. VIP Wichita Magazine, Splurge! and the Tallgrass Film Festival all had photographers there. It was a first-class event at a first-class venue, Roxy's Downtown. We even got this review from the Wichita State University Sunflower.
But none of those things were the most satisfying part.
When the lights dimmed and the movie began, Christine and I settled in at the very back of the room and paid attention to the audience. They laughed in the exact moments we expected them to. They cheered in other moments when we didn't expect them to. Some cried at the end. They hung on every word. Many didn't want it to end. It was the stuff filmmakers dream about. They really got what I've been trying to do.
So what now? Well, we have four more screenings in Kansas over the next month, and there's been a lot of inquiries about an encore screening at Roxy's. So stay tuned for an update on that.

Nice timing

According to the website NewNowNext.com, the worst place in America to live if you're gay is ... Wichita, Kansas. This piece comes right as we're diving into post-production of the documentary Out Here In Kansas.

Now ... this is a somewhat subjective conclusion, since there were other cities (Olathe, Kansas, for example) who scored lower than Wichita's 21, but there you have it. It was based on data provided by the Human Rights Campaign and its annual "Municipal Equality Index," which rated 408 cities nationwide on specific criteria for LGBT equality.
I'm not an expert on every city in the country, and I know Kansas laws are tough on the LGBT community. But I find it hard to believe Wichita is the absolute worst city for gay people. I mean, we do have gay-friendly churches. There are at least a couple gay bars and organizations like Wichita Pride Inc. For crying out loud, we can even claim Matthew Vines, the man behind an enormously popular gay Christian movement.
You can read the piece from NewNowNext here.

Our evening with Melissa Etheridge

Rock legend Melissa Etheridge performed at the Wichita Orpheum last night. "Out Here In Kansas" producer Jon Pic and I were fortunate enough to meet her backstage before the concert.
Etheridge, for those who haven't seen our documentary, plays a significant part in "Out Here In Kansas." She is from Leavenworth and is practically an icon in the LGBT community, not to mention a brave cancer survivor. (Watch this and tell me it doesn't give you a few goosebumps.)
Melissa called Jon and me "the movie guys" and just couldn't have been nicer. She offered to sign our movie poster (Jon was smart enough to bring a silver Sharpie.) I thanked her over and over again for being a part of our film, and she thanked us "for the important work you're doing."
Jon and I got fifth-row seats to the concert, which was incredible. She played a two-hour set, including an encore, and pretty much blew everyone away with her showy guitar playing and trademark raspy voice. At one point she even took over the drums.
She talked to the audience a lot about growing up in Kansas and her experiences in Wichita - which included church camp, "believe it or not." She sang "Wichita Lineman." She's clearly proud of her home state, even though she's now lived most of her life in Los Angeles.
"Kansas rocks," she told the audience. "Don't you ever say any different."

Introducing our new film project

The subject matter won't have much in common with "Out Here In Kansas," but the same film crew has already begun a still-untitled documentary about an indoor soccer team called the Wichita Wings.
This film will focus on the 1980s Wings, who quickly became a pop culture phenomenon in Wichita with their long hair, tan legs and flamboyant personalities. They were mostly European players with large appetites for fun, and they couldn't have come along at a more perfect time.
This will be a bigger project than "Out Here In Kansas." We'll have more photos, more B roll, more history and more interviews (we're already done 12).
But it's safe to say Wichita Wings: The Movie (that's our working title) will have a similar look. I'm sharing the director's role with Kenny Linn. Jon Pic is back as producer. Tim O'Bryhim, who co-wrote a history of the Wings book with Michael Romalis, is also a producer.
You can follow the project on our Facebook fan page, or our Twitter account.

What would Jesus do? Probably not this

"Oh, no."
That was my gut reaction to yesterday's news that reinforced Wichita's reputation as the worst place in America to live if you're gay.
Trinity Academy, a private Christian high school in Wichita, has publicly reminded us on its application it has the right to expel students who have a gay family member. Yikes.
I'm not sure how long this has been on Trinity's application, but the school's administration was forced to go into spin control mode (albeit not on camera) after it blew up on social media - and the real media -yesterday.
The former Trinity student KSN's Brittany Glas interviewed for its story on the link above is married to a former co-worker of mine. Many of my kids' classmates at Central Christian Academy are now attending Trinity. My daughter used to attend their cheerleading camp. Pastor Joe Wright, who has been crucial in the making of our documentary, was a key part of creating Trinity in the first place.
So as a Christian, my reaction to the story was not anger, but sadness. For Trinity to put that statement in black and white seems to go against everything I've been taught about Jesus.

In praise of the library

Our new, soon-to-be-finished website states that during the production of "Out Here In Kansas," we made 52 trips to the library.
I'm not completely sure how our web designer came up with that number, but I'll bet it's at least that many.
The Wichita Public Library, mainly the downtown and Rockwell branches, are the ones I've visited most. They were especially helpful in helping me search old microfilm, and I made sure to thank them in the closing credits of the documentary.
I'm pretty sure they also know my face at the libraries in Andover and Augusta. I've also used the libraries in Derby, Towanda, Wichita State and the University of Kansas. I'm probably forgetting about a couple.

Our busy month ahead

Here is a list of where "Out Here In Kansas" will be screening in April.

* 8:30 p.m. Thur., April 6: Kansas City FilmFest, Kansas City, Mo. Details

* 6:30 p.m. Thur., April 13: Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas Details

* 6:30 p.m. Wed., April 19: Wichita State University, Wichita, Kan. Details

* 7 p.m. Wed., April 26: Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, Kan. Details

* 2 p.m. Sat., April 29: Twister Alley Film Festival, Woodward, Okla. Details

Let's just say she was a savior

I didn't really know Dona Lancaster until a couple of months ago, when we were starting rehearsals for the journalist-performed Wichita Gridiron. Director Rick Bumgardner introduced her to the cast this way ...
"Dona," he said, "is God."

Dona was quick to tell everyone she is not God, and she was just there to help out however she could. She is a longtime fixture in the local theater scene, currently with Wichita Community Theater, and we became fast friends.
The more I thought about the shoot I wanted to do for the opening credits for "Out Here in Kansas," the more I realized I could really use a good acting coach on set. Yes, it's a documentary, but this particular scene was going to require some facial expressions and body language from Burt that were going to be hard for me to communicate. (You'll know what I mean when you see it.) And yes, I know what I wanted - but Dona was able to make Burt feel what I wanted. It was really pretty amazing. Don't let anyone fool you - acting is hard.
Bless her heart - Dona (pronounced DOAN-a, pictured here with Burt) not only came to help us out, she spent the entire day with us on set. And it was a long day, particularly for Burt, who was wearing a suit doing take after take in the 90-degree heat.
Burt hugged Dona when the day was over, and so did I. After going over the footage with Kenny later that evening, I wanted to hug her again. It just wouldn't have been as good without her.

The Hitman is on board

Our screening at Wichita State on April 19 will be emceed by a local legend in the radio world: Greg "The Hitman" Williams.
Williams, who can be heard from 6-10 a.m. weekdays on Power 93.5 FM, has been on Wichita's airwaves since he was a student at East High School. He also attended WSU, which is part of the reason we wanted him to emcee the event.
Most important, though, was the fact that he's seen "Out Here In Kansas" and wants to support it. You can learn more about the event on WSU's Facebook event page here.

Here's where the party happens

For those of you in the Wichita area, I hope you're considering attending our Final Friday event, which starts at 5 p.m. tonight (March 27) at 216 N. Mosley.
Here is a photo of the venue, a terrific office venue called "The Labor Party." (A television reporter I used to work with asked me if this was the Wichita Communist Headquarters. No, it's just a play on words.)
So if you're down for free drinks, free munchies and a free sneak peek of what we've been working on, The Labor Party is truly the place to be.

Live with the local legends

If you happen to near a radio Friday afternoon, I'd like to invite you to listen to what should be an interesting interview.
Bob Knight, the former seven-term Wichita mayor, and local funnyman Bucky Walters have invited me on their radio show to promote "Out Here In Kansas."
The show will air from 5-6 p.m. CST Friday, Sept. 25 on KQAM, 1480 AM. It is live and listeners are invited to call in at (316) 721-8255.
Couple of things here.
One, earlier this year I convinced Bob to be in my silly little skit for Wichita Gridiron. (That's him in the angelic white robe. Bucky, in the dress, has been performing in Gridiron for more than 30 years.)
Two, if there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that this interview could spin off in different directions.
So there's that. But it promises to be fun.

Come meet us at Pridefest

They're trying to avoid the storms right now, but Wichita Pridefest is currently happening at the Mid-America All-Indian Center. 

It is the largest LGBT event in Wichita, and Out Here In Kansas will have a booth there tomorrow (Sunday, Sept. 25). Based on what I saw there setting up this afternoon, it's a crazy popular event. We will be on the northeast Mezzanine, booth 62. 

If that information doesn't get you far enough ... just tell someone you're looking for the popular T-Mobile booth. (We're right next to it, on the end. That booth was rocking before Pridefest even started. They have candy bars and everything.)

I will personally be there until at least 2 p.m., when I'll then be relieved by creative genius (and producer of our movie) Jon Pic.

Pastor Joe's new venture

When he was doing a callback voiceover for us a few weeks ago, Pastor Joe Wright spoke to me about his new calling: A church in downtown Wichita that is geared toward sheltering - and ministering to - the homeless.
It was far from a done deal then, but apparently there's been some major progress. Pastor Joe and "Church on the Street," which sits at Central and Market, are both prominently featured the Wichita Eagle this weekend. I encourage you to check out the article, which includes a couple of videos.

All in good fun?

As I've mentioned before on this blog, I'm performing in a production called Wichita Gridiron, which is a comedy show put on by local journalists. It's kind of like a "Saturday Night Live" for Wichita. The best thing about Gridiron is it raises money for local college journalism scholarships. The second-best thing is the show can be a little edgy and risque, and advertisers in the program tend to loosen up. Here's our ad in this year's program, for example.

Truth is, though, Gridiron used to be a lot edgier. I learned that the hard way on opening night yesterday when "50 Shades of Brownback," a skit I wrote parodying the movie "50 Shades of Gray" and in which our governor "seduces" a gay reporter, was censored significantly. Perhaps that's a blog for another day.

WSU to screen documentary April 19

In what I'm sure will be our largest audience to date, "Out Here in Kansas" will screen on the campus of Wichita State University next month.
The event will start at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 19 at the CAC Theater. Admission is $2, with proceeds going to WSU Spectrum, a social/discussion group for the LGBT community and its allies.
Spectrum is one of my favorite organizations. Even though it has no religious affiliation, I believe its mission falls right in line with what Jesus taught us.
WSU's Elliott School of Communication and Office of Diversity and Inclusion have stepped up to co-sponsor the event, as well as the Kansas Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Admission is free for WSU students. You can learn more about the event, and RSVP for it, on this Facebook event page.

The venue is set: Lucky's

Our First Friday event will be from 8-10 p.m. May 1 at Lucky’s Everyday, 1217 E. Douglas in Wichita. The free concert is to raise awareness for our film "Out Here In Kansas" (and of course we’ll be thrilled to take donations that night).

On a personal note, I cannot wait to see our two performers Friday night. Both are untraditional women singer-songwriters who have done some serious living despite thier young ages. I know it's going to be great, but I’m honestly not exactly sure what to expect beyond that.

MariaElena (pictured) has had a strong local following since moving here from China, of all places, and has a background in several genres of music, including punk rock.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith has been described by one critic as “Patsy Cline infused with Nine Inch Nails.” (I can’t top that, so I’m not even going to try.) Hollis Smith's "Even Angels Bite the Dust" was the first song I wanted for our movie, and I was able to track her down in Florida. You could say we hit it off from there, even though I won't meet her in the flesh until Friday. 

Some anonymous lineman

I only covered a handful of high school football games when I worked at The Wichita Eagle, but one that I remember well involved the 1993 Andover High Trojans.
Their quarterback was Zack Siegrist, who longtime Eagle prep writer Duane Frazier claims is the best high school quarterback he ever saw. By the Siegrist ended his career, he held state records for most passing yards in a season and career.
Little did I realize one of Zack's linemen would change my life 22 years later. No. 68, Burt Humburg.

Making new friends at Glitter!

McAlester, Okla., is more than a 500-mile round trip from Wichita, but I had a good reason for driving there Friday: The Glitter! Film Festival, recently featured by NBC News.
The four-film block that included "Out Here In Kansas" had to have been one the best ones. It started with "The Symphony of Silence," a tear-jerking narrative directed by Cedric Thomas Smith (pictured on the far right).
Next up was our film, followed by "Upstairs Inferno," a feature documentary I was well aware of before Glitter! It's the story of a gay club in New Orleans being set on fire, resulting in the murder of 32 people.
The block ended with "Your Way Back to Me," which was directed, shot and edited by first-time filmmaker Alexandra Dietz (second from right). It's a documentary about Native-American Hannah Sheridan (far left), her career as a lesbian in the Navy and her family's way of coping with death.

Back "home" at Butler

A student reporter asked me today about my relationship with Butler Community College.
Well, I replied, I grew up 10 minutes down the road from BCC. Went to the Grizzlies' football camps when I was a kid. Took college algebra there when I was 19. Covered countless football and basketball games there when I worked for the Wichita Eagle. Stayed up all night with them in Idaho after they won the national championship. Taught English for them as an adjunct. Worked with their athletic department, and marketing.
"Butler," I finally said, "is part of my family."
That's why I was so proud for "Out Here In Kansas" to screen on the BCC El Dorado campus in front of so many of the people who are the reason for that relationship. (I had never even met Butler President Kim Krull, but bless her heart, she was there too.)
Many thanks to BCC's Crystal Aluko (pictured above) for setting up the event. In case you don't know, there's another one on Tuesday in Andover.

Last thought about 2016

OK, so 2016 is finally almost over. This was a long year (and not just because it was a leap year). It's well documented how it claimed an eye-popping number of some of the most talented artists to ever walk the earth. I think we can also agree most of us survived the nastiest presidential election in history.
Closer to home, Kansas remains stuck in a recession, and it doesn't look like things are going to improve any time soon.
Still, I'm grateful for what 2016 meant for our documentary "Out Here In Kansas."
First of all, we finished the thing, which was no small task.
Second, we've had people support it. Sure, there have been great friends (that's me in the top photo at our world premiere a couple of months ago, posing with some of my beloved cast members of Wichita Gridiron). But strangers have reached out and embraced it, too. We've had so much help from so many people, including some who have disappeared from my life.
Third, I know we've got bigger things coming in 2017. Thanks for keeping up with the project on this blog, and I'll see you on the other side.