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Filmmaker Jeff Croley, co-producer Bridget
McCormack and editor Gregg Knollmeyer again will introduce their
film and explain its motivation, after which an excerpt of the
film's rough cut will be shown. Croley is a high-school drama and
visual arts teacher in DeWitt, Michigan; McCormack is an attorney
and law professor in Ann Arbor and part-time resident of Douglas;
Knollmeyer is a videographer and businessman in Ann Arbor.
Their documentary looks at why, how and when
local gays and straights together managed to forge a cohesive
community (as opposed to merely gay-tolerant) in an area that is
otherwise traditional or conservative with respect to religious
heritage, partisan representation and small-town values. Audience
participation is welcomed to enliven the discussion with comments
and questions.
This two-year, still unfinished project has been
part of a Historical Society effort to showcase gay history in the
area by providing historical context. The finished film is targeted
to premiere in Saugatuck's SCA Bertha Krueger Reid Theatre next
year. Historical Society Museum Chair Jim Schmiechen, who has worked
on the sidelines with the project, calls it a "major breakthrough in
identifying and documenting the evolving relationship between 'gay'
and 'straight' in this community during the past half century or
more."
This Tuesday Talk encore is repeat-sponsored by
Saugatuck Brewing
Company, Douglas, where some of the documentary's scenes
were filmed, and its founder/president/brewmaster Barry Johnson,
Mayor of Saugatuck.
Tuesday Talks with varying topics and sponsors
will continue throughout the summer, concluding August 31, in the
west exhibit room at The Old School House. Free but limited parking
is available in the Old School House driveway, with more along
Center Street and nearby side streets.
For a full schedule of Tuesday Talks, and more
information about the Historical Society, its Museum and its Old
School House Discovery Center, visit
www.sdhistoricalsociety.org.
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