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Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson Hosts Intimate Chats w/ Global LGBTQ Leaders & Their Allies
Episodes
Tuesday Oct 26, 2021
Tuesday Oct 26, 2021
Omar Sharif Jr. talks with Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ about his new memoir “A Tale of Two Omars: A Memoir of Family, Revolution and Coming Out During the Arab Spring” published by Counterpoint Press. In this must-read memoir Omar shares intimate details of his personal story along with the lessons he inherited from his family that have helped prepare him to become a global leader in our fight for LGBTQ equality. He writes with brutal honesty about his upbringing and adolescence as well as the traumas and heartbreaks of his adult life. From bullying and sexual assault to being unable to return to Egypt after announcing he was gay this is a powerful and highly readable personal story from a writer with such a diverse background. The grandson of Hollywood royalty Omar Sharif on his father’s side and Holocaust survivors on his mother’s, Sharif learned early on how to move between worlds from the Montreal suburbs to the glamorous orbit of his grandparents’ Cairo. His famous name always protected him wherever he went. Then in the wake of the Arab Spring he made the difficult decision to come out in the pages of The Advocate in 2012 that changed his life forever. “A Tale of Two Omars” also provides lots of Hollywood insider stories and intriguing gossip over the decades. We talked to Omar about his inspiration for writing “A Tale of Two Omars: A Memoir of Family, Revolution and Coming Out During the Arab Spring” and his spin on our LGBTQ issues.
Omar Sharif Jr. is an Egyptian Canadian actor, model, author and LGBTQ activist who currently lives in the United States. He is the grandson of actor Omar Sharif and actress Faten Hamama. He appeared in the 2017 short film “11th Hour” at the Tribeca Film Festival and was the face of Coca-Cola for the Arabic world and appeared in a major Calvin Klein print campaign in Egypt. Currently, he is appearing in Assi Azar’s hit TV Series “The Baker and The Beauty” that’s airing on Keshet in Israel and on Amazon Prime globally. “A Tale of Two Omars: A Memoir of Family, Revolution and Coming Out During the Arab Spring” is available on Counterpoint Press.
Monday Oct 18, 2021
Monday Oct 18, 2021
Activist Robin J. Schwartz talks to Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ about receiving the 2021 Eddy McIntyre Community Service Award at the 25th edition of the National LGBTQ Task Force Gala in Miami, Florida on Saturday October 23rd. The Eddy McIntyre Community Service Award is named after the late activist and founding board member of the Dade Human Rights Foundation. Robin is an activist and community leader who has served the LGBTQ community in multiple capacities over the past 20 years. Throughout her professional life whether it be for profit or non-profit Robin takes great pride in being proactive and driven to achieve results all with a big heart and a strong voice. Robin founded Aqua Foundation for Women where she served from 2010 to 2019. Currently she is the Donor Relations and Program Manager at Equality Florida and serves on the LGBTQ Advisory Committee for the City of Miami Beach. Also being honored will be activist and entertainer Billy Eichner who will be awarded the 2021 National Leadership Award. The Task Force Gala will be held in-person at the newly renovated Grand Ballroom at the Miami Beach Convention Center. This fundraising event promises great company, delicious food and drinks, a silent auction, live entertainment, the awards ceremony and an after-party. All guests will be required to submit proof of COVID-19 vaccination or proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of the event, sign a liability waiver prior to check-in and will be temperature checked upon arrival. We talked to Robin about what it means to her to be honored at the National LGBTQ Task Force Gala and her spin on our LGBTQ issues.
Robin J. Schwartz has been an outspoken advocate for marginalized communities lobbying LGBTQ leaders and organizations to give them a seat at the table for decades. The many causes she has championed include the advancement of LGBTQ women, support for young people who find themselves homeless and racial justice. Proceeds from the 2021 National LGBTQ Task Force Gala will support The Miami Foundation’s LGBTQ Community Fund where like-minded community service organizations are funded through a grant-making process and The Task Force’s “All of Me, All the Time” campaign a nationwide effort to educate elected officials and the general public about the urgent need for federal non-discrimination protections.
Friday Oct 01, 2021
Friday Oct 01, 2021
Leslie Cohen talks about her new must-read memoir “The Audacity of a Kiss: Love, Art and Liberation” with Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ that's published by Rutgers University Press. This is an important read that tells the historic love story of a gay woman who broke through the oppressive roles expected for women in the 1950’s and 1960’s and came out on top in the 1970’s. Not only for women but remember in the 1950’s being LGBTQ was illegal and listed as an illness by the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). It was not until 1973 that the American Psychiatric Association (APA) finally removed the diagnosis of “homosexuality” from the second edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). It was at this time that Cohen with three of her friends Michelle Florea, Linda Goldfarb and Barbara Russo created New York City’s first upscale women’s club Sahara that showcased women in art, politics and music. From May of 1976 to December of 1979 on Manhattan’s fashionable Upper East Side Sahara was the first club fronted by lesbian women instead of being controlled by Mafia Bosses. Creating a safe space for women attracted many celebrities and luminaries of the era including Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, Pat Benatar, Ntozake Shange, Rita Mae Brown, Adrienne Rich, Patti Smith, Bella Abzug, Jane Fonda to name a few who performed and held special events at Sahara. This led to Leslie and her partner Beth Suskin becoming the models in 1979 for the iconic sculpture “Gay Liberation” in Greenwich Village that commemorates the Stonewall Riots and was declared a national monument by President Obama in 2016. We talked to Leslie about how Sahara changed the course of her life and her spin on the future of our LGBTQ civil rights.
Leslie Cohen has been a museum curator, a nightclub owner and promoter, a limousine driver and a lawyer, as well as a writer whose work has appeared in such publications as Curve and The New York Times Style Magazine. Now retired she and her wife Beth live in Miami, Florida with their cat Birdie.
Wednesday Sep 15, 2021
Wednesday Sep 15, 2021
Mariah Hanson, founder and producer of the legendary Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend talks with Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ about celebrating The Dinah's 30th anniversary that takes place September 29th through October 3rd in Palm Springs, CA. The Dinah is back on track for an exceptional 5-day event with an epic slate of Top Ten Billboard headliners, rising pop stars and celebrities. In compliance with the City of Palm Springs COVID safety protocol, all attendees, entertainers and staff are required to show proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test result or proof of full vaccinations to attend the festival. That said headlining The Dinah is Grammy-award winner Macy Gray on Saturday October 2nd at the Palm Springs Convention Center. Gray’s unmistakable rasp, unshakable grasp on soul and funky spirit has ensured Macy’s status as a 21st century icon since her arrival with the triple-platinum How Life Is in 1999. Selling over 25 million total albums globally, winning a GRAMMY® Award and two BRIT Awards and collaborating with everyone from Ariana Grande to Galactic her voice has consistently resounded throughout pop culture. Sharing the stage with Gray is another Grammy-award winner, Yung Baby Tate. Tate may have inherited some of her mother’s musical gift with her mother, Dionne Farris best known for being a member of Arrested Development but she’s built her own path to pop stardom using her own creativity and talent. Making a splash at the Girl Spot Pool Party on Friday, October 1st is leading non-binary artist and actor Kat Cunning with a traffic-stopping voice and powerful presence. The Dinah has discovered so many emerging talents and is now excited to present two bands to watch in 2021 including Boi Band and Smeared Lipstick who will respectively headline the opening and closing parties at AsiaSF Palm Springs. Both bands are part of The Dinah's “Emerging Artist Contest” created as a commitment to the community to offer women and non-binary talents coveted stage time and exposure. We talked to Hanson about what she hopes to accomplish with The Dinah in these difficult times and her spin on our LGBTQ issues.
Mariah Hanson has continuously utilized The Dinah as a platform to mobilize our LGBTQ community around humanitarian projects and social issues. An exemplary community leader she has single-handedly revolutionized her industry, overturned tradition and raised the bar on female achievement with an event that is entirely produced by women for women. OUTTAKE MEDIA has been a proud Media Sponsor of The Dinah for the last 5 years.
Monday Aug 09, 2021
Monday Aug 09, 2021
Author Sarah F. Pearlman talks about “Bar Time: A Lesbian Rite of Passage: Bar Stories by Older Lesbians” with Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™. "Bar Time" is a new collection of writings by twenty-six older lesbians telling their not-to-be-erased lesbian history through stories, poetry, a play and a collection of beloved disco songs. “Bar Time” is produced by the Boston OLOC (Old Lesbians Organizing for Change) editorial team including Alice Fisher, Sarah F. Pearlman and Sue Reamer. The stories mostly come from the Boston area but also include contributors from New Hampshire, Connecticut, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Minnesota, California, Washington and Melbourne, Australia. Pearlman stated, “Some of our writers were adolescents when they entered their first lesbian bar. To our generation, lesbian bars were a part of our lives and an opportunity to meet women different than ourselves. Where lesbian-feminists met bar dykes.” For most lesbians of our older LGBTQ generation bars were the only place to go to connect with other women to have their first meeting of other lesbians and connect with a lesbian social world. Before Stonewall since it was illegal to be LGBTQ, bar owners had to pay off the police to keep bars from being raided because selling liquor to gay men and lesbians was also illegal. After Stonewall things slowly changed for our LGBTQ community and by 1987 there were an estimated two hundred lesbian bars nationwide. That number has dwindled to a mere fifteen lesbian bars left in 2021. We talked to Sarah about what she hopes to accomplish with “Bar Time: A Lesbian Rite of Passage” and her spin on our LGBTQ issues.
Sarah F. Pearlman is a teacher, writer and lesbian-feminist activist, nationally recognized for her pioneering role in establishing a psychology of lesbians. She was a founder and the primary coordinator of Boston OLOC (Old Lesbians Organizing for Change), coordinated the Boston-based conference “To Bed or Not to Bed: Sex and the Older Lesbian” and was a member of the OLOC editing team that produced the booklet of the same name along with subsequent booklets of writings by older lesbians including “Erasing Lesbians and Virus Time”. She is the author of “Mother-Talk: Conversations with Mothers of Lesbian Daughters and FTM Transgender Children” (2012), “The Lesbian Erotic: Bad Girl Persona and Other Poems” (2013) and must-read novel about pre-historic lesbians “Where There Are Mountains” (2019). The booklet for “Bar Time: A Lesbian Rite of Passage” will be released in a few week but you can request a PDF.
Saturday Jul 24, 2021
Saturday Jul 24, 2021
Ann Hampton Callaway one of America’s most gifted artists in pop and jazz talks with Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ about her upcoming live performances as COVID restrictions continue to be lifted. First up Ann will be performing her very popular one woman show "The Streisand Songbook" on July 13th at 8P at a new venue on Cape Cod, The Music Room Gallery & Wine Bar in West Yarmouth, MA. With over 100 Symphony performances to rave reviews, this show is 90 minutes of soaring, sizzling hits and gems of the diva of divas so definitely check it out. Then it’s on to the Patio Stage at Strathmore in Bethesda, MD where she will be joined by Billy Stritch to perform “The Linda Ronstadt Songbook” on July 16th. Ann will then be traveling across the country to Costa Mesa, CA to perform “The Linda Ronstadt Songbook” on July 25th at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. On July 29th she will perform at the Vail Jazz Festival and finish the month with her popular virtual show Callaway Hideaway live stream "Ann Hampton Callaway Sings The 70's" on July 31st. Continuing her national tour on August 13th and 14th she will be performing "Ann Hampton Callaway - Broadway Classics" at the Arts Garage in Delray, FL and will end the month virtually with Callaway Hideaway live stream on August 29th presenting "Ann Hampton Callaway - Songs I Wish I'd Written". Then if COVID restrictions continue to lift globally she will be off to the UK to perform “The Judy Garland Songbook" and "Ann Hampton Callaway - Cinematic Serenade" in London. We talked to Ann about what she hopes to accomplish with her work and her spin on our LGBTQ issues.
Ann Hampton Callaway is a leading champion of the Great American Songbook. She’s made her mark as a singer, pianist, composer, lyricist, arranger, actress, educator, TV host and producer. Voted by Broadway World as “Performer of the Year” and two years in a row as “Best Jazz Vocalist” Ann is a born entertainer. She is best known for her Tony-nominated performance in the hit Broadway musical “Swing!” and for writing and singing the theme song to the hit TV series “The Nanny.” Callaway’s performances and recordings have garnered her The Theater World Award, 15 MAC Awards, several Bistro Awards, The Mabel Mercer Award, The Johnny Mercer Award for Songwriting and The Blanton Peale Award for Positive Thinking.
Monday Jul 05, 2021
Monday Jul 05, 2021
Marc Smolowitz a multi-award-winning independent filmmaker based in San Francisco talks with Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ about his company 13TH GEN. 13TH GEN is an entrepreneurial boutique company with a current slate of some 10-15 high quality projects both fiction and nonfiction all at different stages. 13TH GEN works with a dynamic range of independent film partners to oversee the financing, production, post-production, marketing, sales and distribution efforts of a vibrant portfolio of films and filmmakers. Recently his documentary “Being BeBe” directed by Emily Branham was showcased at the Tribeca Film Festival and will be the closing film at the Provincetown International Film Festival on June 24th. “Being BeBe” is about Marshall Ngwa (a.k.a. renowned drag performer BeBe Zahara Benet) who travels to the United States from homophobic Cameroon with dreams of a better life and became the first winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2009. With over 15 years of unfettered and intimate access to Marshall’s story, the film presents his unique love affair with performance alongside his unstoppable sense of persistence and purpose, offering an unprecedented portrait of an artist who chooses to live a creative life against all odds. Smolowitz's career focuses on powerful social issue films and filmmaking across all genres. We talked to Marc about what he hopes to accomplish with his company 13TH GEN and his commitment to our LGBTQ issues.
Marc Smolowitz is a director, producer and executive producer who has been significantly involved in 50+ successful independent films wearing many hats across the entertainment industry. The combined footprint of his works has touched 200+ film festivals and markets on 5 continents, yielding substantial worldwide sales to theatrical, television and VOD outlets, notable box office receipts and numerous awards and nominations. His long list of credits includes films that have screened at top-tier festivals including Sundance, Berlin, Tribeca, Venice, Chicago, SF FILM, Palm Springs to name a few. In 2016 he received one of the prestigious IFP Fellowships to attend the Cannes Film Festival's Producers Network and Marche du Film marking him as one of the USA's most influential independent film producers. 13TH GEN believes strongly in the power and potential of beautifully produced social issue films to speak to every generation.
Monday Jun 21, 2021
Monday Jun 21, 2021
Lisa Viola, Artistic Director for the Provincetown International Film Festival talks to Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ about the 23rd PIFF that takes place June 16th to 25th both virtually and in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The newly re-envisioned hybrid festival came together with the ingenuity and sheer determination of a world-class team of programmers including Andrew Peterson, Heidi Zwicker and Valérie Déus. Celebrating its 23rd year Richard Linklater will be this year’s Filmmaker on the Edge recipient in conversation with resident artist John Waters. Riz Ahmed, Academy Award Best Actor nominee for “Sound Of Metal” will receive this year’s Excellence in Acting Award in conversation with Vanity Fair Chief Critic Richard Lawson and queer actor/filmmaker Natalie Morales PIFF will receive the Next Wave Award in conversation with musician Holly Miranda. The hybrid festival will open with Jon M. Chu’s “In The Heights” at the Wellfleet Drive-In on June 16th and the festival will close with Emily Branham’s BeBe Zahara Benet documentary “Being BeBe” with guests of honor including director Emily Branham, producer Marc Smolowitz and the film’s subject and star BeBe Zahara Benet, the winner of the very first RuPaul’s Drag Race. Some other highlights will include a Filmmaker Celebration at Truro Vineyards with Christine Vachon who co-founded the impactful independent film and television production company Killer Films joined by director and writer Daniel Minahan on June 19th from 6P to 7:30. We talked to Lisa about what she hopes to accomplish at this year’s Provincetown International Film Festival and her spin on our LGBTQ issues.
Lisa Viola is the Artistic Director for the Provincetown International Film Festival and has been affiliated with the festival since its inception in 1999. Lisa also serves as the Director of Programming for the GlobeDocs Film Festival produced by The Boston Globe. Through January 2020 she was a Programming Associate for the Sundance Film Festival and has been programming there since 1992. Lisa graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Communication Arts and has consulted for other film festivals including the Nantucket Film Festival, True/False and served as a documentary juror at SXSW. The Provincetown Film Society (PFS) is an advocate for diverse representation in film, providing year-round programming and platforms that allow voices of all kinds to be heard via film. Through PFS’s work they have an ability to better understand and appreciate human struggles and triumphs by showcasing our similarities and differences in today’s diverse culture. Provincetown International Film Festival will be closely monitoring federal, state and local COVID-19 safety guidelines and will continue to adjust safety policies accordingly throughout the festival.
Monday Jun 07, 2021
Monday Jun 07, 2021
Filmmaker Jen Rainin and Curve magazine founder Franco Stevens talk about their new documentary “Ahead Of The Curve” with Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™. The film was release on digital platforms and Wolfe Video DVD on June 1st. The award-winning documentary features Melissa Etheridge, Lea DeLaria, Jewelle Gomez and Franco Stevens. “Ahead Of The Curve” tells the story of how Franco launched Curve, the best-selling lesbian magazine ever published with a fist full of credit cards, a lucky run at the horse track and chutzpah for days. The film tracks the power of lesbian visibility and community from the early ‘90s to the present day through the story of Stevens founding of the magazine. Decades later in the wake of a disabling injury Franco learns that Curve will fold within the year and questions the relevance of the magazine in the face of accelerating threats to our LGBTQ+ community. To forge a path forward Franco reaches out to women working in today’s queer spaces to understand what queer women need today and how Curve can continue to serve the community. “Ahead of the Curve” is directed and produced by Jen Rainin and Rivkah Beth Medow on behalf of Frankly Speaking Films and executive produced by Lindsey Dryden. We talked to Jen Rainin and Franco Stevens about what they hope to accomplish with “Ahead Of The Curve” and their spin on our LGBTQ issues.
Franco Stevens is the founder of Curve magazine that created the lesbian market for advertisers, helped the lesbian community accept femme-identifying lesbians, changed the way lesbians are seen by the mainstream, highlighted the transgender experience, brought attention to lesbian families, raised awareness of attacks on LGBTQ rights and amplified the work of lesbian activists. Her wife Jen Rainin founded Frankly Speaking Films with Rivkah Beth Medow in 2020 focusing filmmaking on building community, deepening understanding of social justice issues and telling great stories. Currently Curve has launched The Curve Foundation whose mission is to empower lesbian, queer women, trans women and non-binary people to share our culture and our stories, connect with each other and raise visibility. "Ahead Of The Curve" is now showing in select theaters and on Starz, Apple, Amazon and everywhere you watch movies in time for Pride Month.
Monday May 24, 2021
Monday May 24, 2021
Stephanie Battaglino talks with Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ about her new memoir “Reflections From Both Sides of the Glass Ceiling: Finding My True Self in Corporate America” published by L’Oste Vineyard Press. After many years in the corporate world struggling to find her true self Battaglino went on to become New York Life’s first transgender officer. Her memoir delves into her journey to fulfillment both personally and professionally highlighting her efforts in fighting for gender equality and calling to attention the work that still needs to be accomplished. Stephanie now leads Diversity & Inclusion workshops, presentations and trainings sharing over 40 years of professional experience working with and within Fortune 100 companies. Retiring in 2019 from her position as Corporate Vice President at New York Life Insurance Company she is well versed in the ways of corporate America and has become a leader in the conversation surrounding workplace equality for transgender and non-binary people. Unfortunately the reality still remains that many of our LGBTQ community must make a choice between coming out in the workplace and assuring their job security. “Reflections From Both Sides of the Glass Ceiling: Finding My Authentic Self in Corporate America” is part memoir and also part cautionary tale of what it is like to experience a career on both sides of the gender divide. Stephanie's honest and vulnerable storytelling paints a vivid picture of what the intersection of gender and gender identity looks like from a decidedly unique point of view. We talked to Stephanie about her inspiration for writing this book and her spin on our LGBTQ issues.
Stephanie Battaglino is a major voice in the LGBTQ workplace equality movement focusing specifically on transgender and non-binary individuals. She currently sits on the Board of PFLAG National and is the Chair of their Business Advisory Council. Actually Brian K. Bond PFLAG National Executive Director wrote the forward to “Reflections From Both Sides of the Glass Ceiling: Finding My Authentic Self in Corporate America”. Battaglino has proudly served on the boards of the LGBT Community Center of New York and the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF). She is also a past member of the Transgender Advisory Committee of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates. Stephanie resides in Palm Desert, California with her wife Mari.