The Black Brokeback Mountain by Kevin B. Hansen

Welcome to Hanson’s Corner.  Sit back and relax.  Rest your feet, pour yourself a nice cool refreshing drink and ease your mind.  I want to invite you on a journey as we explore some of the exciting things that artists are doing with their craft – touching souls and making an impact to make us think, sometimes smile and just feel good about ourselves.  Sometimes our journey will take us to some dark hidden places that we’ve never dared to venture, but nevertheless, we’ve felt it was time to go there, so we will.  But more importantly, I will try to shed some light on some events that I think you’ll want to check out and tell a friend or two.

 

















First Stop, New York City.  This summer I had the pleasure of seeing a wonderful and powerful one-act play called SESSIONS 2 by Nisha Beech.   This play is a very important and timely play dealing with the story of two Black men dealing with a relationship on the down low.  SESSIONS 2, starts off very raw and in your face as we hear the music playing a Donna Summer’s song I LOVE TO LOVE YOU BABY.  The music is intoxicating and we’re sitting in darkness, and it’s sensuous. Then we begin to hear the gunts and moans of two people having sex and the red lights slowly comes up and all we see is the firm sinuous naked back and ass of a muscle bound Godiva chocolate thug talking dirty and taking that ass that is so welcome and hungry to meet his every thrust.  I LOVE TO LOVE YOU BABY, plays louder and louder as the red lights get brighter and the man on top exclaims how he’s gonna fuck that ass good.  “That’s right baby, give me that ass.  Ah shit, that shit is sweet yo.  That’s right man, hold still.  Yeah, that’s how I like it.  Don’t move!  Yeah just like that.  Hold it!”  We hear his voice quiver as he’s about to lose control and reach an exhilarating climax, but then, just when things are getting good, and all hell is about to break lose and juices are starting to flow and reach that place of no return.  That place that’s so good, where the sweat drips from every pore of your body and you don’t care who knows what you’re doing, or how much noise you’re making.  So good that you almost feel like you’re the one doing the damn thing.  So good that you secretly wish you were the one doing the fucking or being fucked.  Then all of a sudden, the man who’s been passively submissive the entire time flips the switch and throws him off of him.  “Ahhhhh DAMN, MAN, WHY THE FUCK YOU GOTTA DO THAT SHIT?,” the THUG yells in agony, disappointed because he didn’t get to bust that nutt the way he wanted to, which this time was going to be the way he wanted it . . . in the RAW!

But Derrick wasn’t having none of that.  He may have loved Michael, but this was the first time they had ever done it without protection.  This time was going to be different, it was going to be special, Michael said.  But Derrick didn’t believe it, because he knew better.  He knew Michael was too afraid to make the real plunge, for love.  Who was he fooling.  He knew how Michael got down.  He had a girl and Derrick was the other lover.  But it wasn’t enough.  He wanted more.  Yeah he was falling for Michael.  Who wouldn’t?  LL Cool J didn’t have anything on Michael.  But Derrick knew he didn’t have anything on him either, cause he would always be to Michael what he was afraid of being… just another FUCK.  There goes that word again.  FUCK.  As Donna Summer’s song rang out loud in the background.  I LOVE TO LOVE YOU BABY.  The truth rang out loud and clear as we both stood there naked.  Then everything came to a quiet halt for a quick second as Michael turned the music off.

This play resonates on so many levels.  So many questions are raised about MAKING LOVE as oppose to FUCKING.  Being on the down low as oppose to being out.  Being a thug as oppose to being a corporate man.  It brings up some very important issues about how men see themselves and how they want to be perceived by their communities, by their friends, their boys, and sometimes their women.  Yeah, I said their women.  How many men, whether married or not have you met that have their issues or their covers, meaning their girlfriend that they wear on their arm for the world to see so no one suspects that what they really want is a man?  Yeah, they can be hard hard hard on the outside, but to be vulnerable, sometimes that’s a place that too few are afraid to venture.  Too scared to suck on that Tootsie Pop long enough to get to the chocolate gooey inside . . . called love.

I highly recommend this play to everyone to see.  The acting is superb.  Michael Huffnagle, who plays the Thug also named Michael, won the Best Actor Award when the play was performed in the Riant Theatre’s Strawberry One-Act Festival at Symphony Space in New York City.  The play was also nominated for Best Play.



Nisha Beech, a woman, who wrote the play, said she had so many men, yeah, gay men, who came up to her and thanked her after the show, saying “Thank you sister.  Thank you.  Somebody needed to put that story out there that way and tell it like it is.  The issues . . . the shit that goes down.  The things we need to talk about as men, so we can get through this shit.”  Nisha said she was moved to tears and felt proud that she had done the subject justice.  She attributed most of her research to conversations she had with her gay friends.  It was important for her to hear everyone’s point of view to really get into the character’s head and understand what made them tick.  Their desires, their fears, their needs in society and amongst their friends and family.  And there you have it:  SESSIONS 2.  I’m very excited that the Riant Theatre videotaped the play and has made the show available online on the Riant TV (RTV) at www.therianttheatre.com/video where you can see SESSIONS 2, along with several other gay themed plays and other plays on various topics.  There is a fee to view the plays but it’s worth it.  You get unlimited viewing for 30 days and you can see 120 one-act plays and interviews with artists for just $8.99.

Okay, enough of the plugs.  I would like to do something a little different here.  I want to have a conversation with you, my guests.  So I want to invite you send me your thoughts and comments on this subject and I will post them.  If you can see the play online and then write-in great.  If not, still write in and share your views.  I think this is an important subject.  You can write to me at HansensCornerEnt@aol.com.

The Question for the day:

Black Men On The Down Low: Thugs vs. Buppies, who has a better chance coming out?

In the dynamic one-act play SESSIONS 2, a Black down low couple almost comes to blows when Derrick, a corporate executive, wants to take their relationship to the next level.  Michael, who's more like a thug, and never graduated from high school, says he can't be gay.  His boys in the hood would never accept him or his family for that matter.  His biggest fear is rejection in the community that he embraces.  He's afraid to be out or to fully accept his feelings for a man, because he can't accept being subjected to the ramifications of what it means to be a man who has a sexual relationship with a man he's in love with and the possible backlash that he will receive within his community.  He feels that Derrick who has a cushy corporate job has more choices and faces a lesser chance of rejection from his community because he's considered to be a successful Black man and his family will probably accept him regardless of his sexual orientation for the same reasons -- he has a good job and makes plenty of money.  Whereas he, Michael, works as a janitor and feels that he can't escape his community if he's rejected.  It's a powerful dilemma.  For appearances sake he has a girlfriend on the side, but the person he really wants to be with is Derrick.  Another issue that creates tension is that while they were having sex, Derrick tried to kiss him and that's a no no.  He taunts Derrick by asking him, "Nicca are you getting FEELINGS for me?  Shit!  I ain't no GAY."  To which Derrick abruptly replies, "Well if you're not then why aren't you home fucking your girl tonight?"  To which Michael dryly says, "I fucked her this morning."  But what I would like to know is what are your thoughts, your experiences?  Is it easier for a Black man who's on the DL to come out if he's got prestige and money than if he's a regular working man or just one of your boys in the hood?

And what are your thoughts on guys who are on the DL?  Is it more exciting to be with a guy who’s on the DL or is it too much trouble?  Do they have too many issues?  Or just enough to make it do what it do?

Email me at HansensCornerEnt@aol.com.  All materials sent will become the property of Hansen’s Entertainment Corner, thus giving us permission to print it if it is selected.

The Sessions by Nisha Beech and Directed by Khary Wilson, will also be performed in New York City from June 6th through June 10th.

When:
Wednesday June 6th through Sunday, June 10th
Wednesday through Sunday at 8pm, Saturday & Sunday at 4pm


Where:
The Independent Theater
52A West 8th Street, NYC 10011
between 6th & MacDougal Avenues

For tickets contact Smartix at www.smartix.cm or call 212-868-4444

To see Session online go to www.therianttheatre.com/video.

Hansen’s Entertainment Corner © 2007 All Rights Reserved.