JIM LAUTENBACH

What characters do you play in SOME MEN?

Xerxes, Alex, Carl, Gary and Kurt.

Briefly tell us a little bit about yourself...

During the day, I work as a graphic designer. I run a volleyball league. I get political from time to time (and think most people should). I love my family and I don’t get to see them often enough. I like art — consuming it and creating it. I struggle with a blank page, work my way through and usually like what I turn up. I believe all the world’s a stage — and the stage is a world in itself.

Have you worked with Theatrical Tendencies before?

I appeared in THE TEMPERAMENTALS and SANTALAND DIARIES in 2014 and CORPUS CHRISTI in 2011.

Tell us about your favorite character that you play in SOME MEN.

I love portraying Joel, one of the patrons at the piano bar across the street from the Stonewall Inn during the time the riots started in 1969. Even though he can dish it out as good as the rest of them and feels “at home” belting out a show tune in front of a catty crowd, he’s not quite ready to join the people outside fighting for their rights. But something tells you he will find the courage to join the fight soon enough.

What is something that you didn't know about “gay life” in the last century that you've learned from SOME MEN?

It’s so easy to intellectualize the idea that people had to fight for their civil rights. It’s easy to forget this wasn’t merely a political exercise. People fought for their rights to be — to be who they are authentically, to be treated with the dignity and respect everyone should receive, to be self-actualized and pursue happiness. Intellectually, I’ve known about this journey, but this show has really helped me see this struggle wasn’t just an option — it was the only option.

Additionally, I learned some show tunes I never knew before. Go figure….

Why should audiences come and see SOME MEN?

Writer Jeff Goins says: “Story is where we came from. Story is where we’re going. Story is what connects us and binds us to each other. It is in the story of humanity, amongst love and fear and failure, that we make meaning of our lives. Story is what defines us and sets us apart. It’s what allows us to connect with each another, to truly know and be known.”

There is power in stories — and the collection of these men’s experiences reveals a trove of what makes life poignant at times and extraordinary at others.

They might be just “some men” — but, in essence, they are all of us.