"I was walking in the mall and this guy comes up
and goes, 'Hey! I know you, you're that guy from the TV show," explains one of the
most active members of Sacramento's LGBT community. "I always get that. Someone
always recognizes me from somewhere, but they always call me 'that guy.'"
They may not remember his name, but most everyone knows Tom Swanner from one place or
another. The thick moustache spanning the width of his smiling mouth and branching out
over his cheeks as well as the hundreds of hours of volunteer work he has given to our
community make him an unforgettable face.
Since returning to Sacramento nine years ago after an eight-year absence in Los Angeles,
struggling to make it as an actor, Swanner has found himself continuously on the run with
volunteer work for a number of local organizations including the Gay and Lesbian Film
Festival, the Sacramento Pride Fair, Being Gay Today and the Sacramento Valley
Bears.
"Tom works all week and still finds time to chair committees, volunteer with a number
of different groups and is always ready to help out however he can," says Ken Day,
President of the Sacramento Valley Bears and local civil rights activist. "I wish
more people in our community had half the commitment he does."
Now Swanner has tapped into a new outlet for his abundance of social and creative energy:
play writing. His first offering is a two scene play called Opening Lines, which
was chosen to be one of three plays presented by the Lambda Players in their annual
Readers Theater productions.
"I was really nervous," says Swanner about submitting his work. But his life
philosophy has always been one of taking risks. "It's like in the movie Defending
Your Life with Albert Brooks. The character was judged on the risks he took in life
and overcoming being afraid. I think of that whenever I feel afraid of taking a
risk."
"I didn't hear back right away," he continues. "I thought, 'Oh my god they
hate it.' Then I got an E-mail from Michael Jackson, the artistic director, and he said he
wanted to use it in Readers Theater and I was just thrilled! I read a book on play writing
and it says if you can get anyone to respond other than a 'thank you,' you're doing well
and for the Lambda Players to say 'we'd like to do it,' it was a thrill."
"When I read Tom's play it was one of the few plays that have made me laugh out loud
just visualizing it." says Charles Peer, member of the Lambda Players Board.
"It's a very funny script and we're glad we have a chance to present it."
The play is a straightforward romantic comedy with a few twists and turns and many laughs.
It is divided into two acts, requires one set and only four characters.
"I'm very much a purist when it comes to theater," says Swanner. "I like no
more than three acts, two preferably. Only one set, or one set per act and the transition
should be simple."
The first act features the main character, Chris, a rather plain-looking, neurotic, but
nevertheless likable gay man in his 30s, who finds himself on a blind date with the other
main character, Richard. The careful dialogue and realistic interplay between both
characters captures the thrill as well as awkwardness of a first date gone right.
"I wanted something romantic and sweet, and the first scene just poured out of my
fingertips," says Swanner.
The fun and romantic pace of the first act is left behind as the second half of the play
begins. In this act, Chris and Richard face the traumatic experience of moving in
together. And as if moving day wasn't bad enough, Swanner throws in a new element: Jack
and Rose, Chris' parents. They have come to tell Chris they know he's gay.
"Mom, Richard is just my roommate," says a surprised Chris.
Jack, shoots a surprised look at Rose. "He doesn't know he's gay?"
Rose chimes in without missing a beat, "At the country club we belong to, there's a
group called Parents of Gay Children. PGC." She leans closer to Richard. "We go,
we understand."
The scene escalates into a full-blown family riot.
"It's a romantic comedy that goes wild," Swanner smiles proudly.
The character of Chris has aspects of both Swanner and a childhood friend. "In the
play there's a reference to Chris having a David Cassidy shrine behind his dresser,"
explains Swanner, "and my friend actually did have the Shawn and David Cassidy
Shrine, hidden in his room behind a stand-up dresser."
"Richard," he continues, "is that down-to-earth, average, but still
too-good-to-be-true guy we all look for."
Swanner prefers to work on several projects at once to keep his interest in each fresh.
The idea for Opening Lines came just after he completed a rough draft of another in
which Chris is a main character.
"In the other play, Chris mentions his first date with Richard, who is never seen in
that play, and I loved the idea of how he would handle a blind date. Next thing I know I
have a whole play."
Swanner has several newer plays in the works as well as a script for a short film he hopes
to begin shooting next year with local film maker Jolene Jessie. Film making seems a
natural progression for Swanner, as he is co-chair of the selection committee of the
Sacramento Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
"I have some selfish reasons and some noble reasons for being part of the film
festival," Swanner reflects. "I got to see pretty much every gay and lesbian
film released the last several years some before they hit theaters. I love it because so
many of them such as the short films, some of which are phenomenal don't get theatrical
releases. It's amazing the effort people put into these tiny little pieces that will never
be seen outside of a film festival. So, for those reasons, it's a selfish motivation.
"But on the noble side, there is the fact that if we don't have the film festivals,
these astounding projects are never going to get seen and then they're going to stop being
made. If you look at the gay film makers of today, most of them started either in shooting
commercials or making short films. If they don't have an outlet to have their films shown,
then they're not going to get seen and be able to progress into making feature films. So
it's important, that they are both seen and given a venue to be seen. The film festival
does that."
Swanner equates the same line of thought to the Lambda Players. "It's our one place
in Sacramento where we can see gay and lesbian plays. And it's important we are able to
continue to see works of art that continue to reinforce that we gay people are 'OK.' There
are still far too many adults that are closeted. And I just don't understand it in this
day and age."
According to Peer, the Lambda Players looks for scripts from local playwrights for the
annual Readers Theater series each year and is fortunate to find one new presentation each
year.
"If local writers would submit quality plays it would be tremendous," says
Swanner. "Think how much fun the Lambda Players would be if they had a whole season
with all local, original work? And this would be the first place they would be played. It
would be amazing!"
Opening Lines will play Friday, Jan. 28 at the Geery Theater, 2130 L Street, for one night
only. It is one of three plays being presented in this year's Readers' Theater which runs
Jan. 28 - 30. Also being presented is Tinsel Town, by Jason Shaeffer, author of Trick,
and Front Woman, by Australian playwright Lorae Parry. |
