Virginia Avenue Project in Los Angeles this weekend!

Join us for a free show this weekend - 8 short original plays, each featuring a kid, an adult, and a dessert!

2011 One-On-Ones: JUST DESSERTS

This weekend: August 26 - 27. Friday - 7:30pm. Saturday - 3:00 and 7:30pm.

Miles Playhouse: 1130 Lincoln Blvd, in Santa Monica. (Just north of Wilshire Blvd. in Reed Park.)

Reservations/Info.: (310) 264-4224

Free / Pay-what-you-can! ($5 suggested donation)

The talented adult volunteer actors, writers, designers and staff for Just Desserts include Mickey Birnbaum, Bob Blesser, Weslie Brown, Cameron Cash, Bryan Davidson, Donna DuBain, Kyle Heffener, Danny Jacobs, Phyllis Katz, Sulai Lopez, Emmett Loverde, Jennifer Maisel, Jonas Oppenheim, Jordana Oberman, Erin Pineda, Kenneth Rudnicki, Ryan Tresser, Steven Wolfson, Evan Bartoletti, Rachel Manija Brown, Jessica Gerhardt, Lisa Lechuga, Tony Palermo, Johnny Rymen

Free ice cream after the 3pm matinee in front of the theater - generously provided by Damon Kronsberg's Real Estate Roller!!!

Just Desserts is from our One-on-One program, an extension of our Creative Dramatics class that enables Project kids to work one-on-one with professional writers and actors/actresses to produce original short plays. During a week at camp in Ojai, the kids rehearse their plays while learning the values of discipline, hard work, compassion, support, and respect.

Thank you for your support and attendance. You make all the difference. Onward!

Project Kids: Faviola Carrillo, Aaron Cornejo, Emerson Flores-Cieto, Isabella Gonzalez, Julian Graves, Frank Gress, Edward Hernandez, Sarah Horowitz, Kourtney Murphy, Melodee Piper, and Brian Santiago.

(310) 264-4224 - www.VirginiaAvenueProject.org

Diane Duane contemplates The Door Into Starlight

Apropos of my several recent posts complaining about a lack of LGBTQ characters in fantasy (who aren't evil and don't all die), Diane Duane is once again thinking of completing her "Door" series. (Annoyingly, it seems to be impossible to comment on that post, even when I click the "post comment" button.)

Diane Duane's "Door" series is an old favorite of mine. Though it's that annoying thing, the unfinished series, the three existing books all have individual arcs with satisfying conclusions, and don't end on cliffhangers.

It's a charming swords-and-sorcery series with very likable characters in a "everyone is bisexual" world. There are important gay, straight, lesbian, and poly romances. Also dragons, a snarky shapeshifting fire elemental, angst, a fascinating magic system, and a non-sappy Goddess. Warning for non-gratuitous and plot-important but fairly graphic rape flashback scene in book two.

These are comfort books for me, which I re-read with undiminished enjoyment every year or so. In one sense, they're of their time: there was a sadly brief period when a lot of people were writing gender-equal worlds, including some where everyone is bisexual and there's a friendly Goddess. But fantasy drifted in different directions, and I see very little of that now. I have to say, I like that a lot better than "everyone is a total bastard and women are for raping."

If this sounds like something you might possibly like, check out her e-book site, where they are all available. If you decide to do this, use the discount code STARLIGHTGUILT when you check out: it’ll give you a 15% discount on your total purchase and also mark you as someone to be notified should something start happening with Starlight in 2012.