Your Host(ess) AMY MATHENY
Joined Weekly by Guest Hosts - Mitchell Fain, Deb Pearce, Stephen Rader, and Colman Domingo
Follow Amy on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/amymatheny

Originally from East Tennessee, Amy began her radio career as the "What's Happening?" gal of LesBiGay radio telling folks what not to miss in the community. Then one day she was called into the studio to chat live on the air and, after her quick witty banter, the rest is herstory. From 1998 - 2001 Amy was the lesbian host of LesBiGay Radio, Chicago's GLAAD media award-winning daily GLBT program on WSBC-AM Chicago. In 2001 when Windy City Media acquired LesBiGay Radio, she became the lesbian voice of Windy City Radio, The Voice of Chicago's GLBT community on WCKG 105.9FM and a Senior Account Manager for Windy City Media Group creating multi-media campaigns in the GLBT community for corporations such as Diageo, MillerCoors, Anheuser Busch, Future Brands, American Airlines, IBM, Volkswagen, Fiat, Volvo, Subaru, Broadway In Chicago and many major arts organizations in Chicago including The Joffrey Ballet, Steppenwolf Theatre and Goodman Theatre and more. Amy has emceed/hosted numerous events around Chicago over the past 15 years including over 90 Windy City Gay Idol events.

From 2001-2003 she co-hosted Aware Talk Radio, the nationally syndicated Health and Well-Being program, and Life OUTside, the nationally syndicated half hour newsmagazine for the GLBT community. And over the past nine years in radio, she has interviewed over 4500 guests, entertainers, and politicians including Cyndi Lauper, Lily Tomlin, Megan Mullally, Patti LaBelle, Margaret Cho, Eddie Izzard, Sharon Gless, Sandra Bernhard, Rep. Barney Frank, Senator Paul Simon, Martina Navritalova, Rep. Tammy Baldwin, Col. Margarethe Cammermeyer, kd lang, and national organizations such as GLAAD, NGLTF, HRC, GLAD, GLMA and more.

As an actress and theatre producer, Amy was an Artistic Associate for ten years at About Face Theatre, Chicago's award winning gay theatre company where she appeared in FLOAT, EXECUTION OF JUSTICE, WHITMAN, SEVEN MOVES, LATE: a cowboy song, FASCINATION, THE GIFT, and the cult hits XENA LIVE! Episode One and XENA LIVE! Episode Two: XENA LIVES! The Musical - both of which she conceived, produced and starred in as Gabrielle. Other Chicago Theatre credits include ENRON (TimeLine Theatre), APPLE (Profiles Theatre), MEASURE FOR MEASURE (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), THE PEOPLE'S TEMPLE (American Theatre Company) and playing heterosexual quite convincingly in the popular musical comedy I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT (Royal George Theatre)

Amy also has performed in benefit concerts around the city in addition to singing with Alexandra Billings in their cabaret shows, "Duo-licious" and Elaine Dame in the acoustic duo, "Sweet Accord".

Look for Amy to appear as well in the upcoming gay holiday film SCROOGE & MARLEY.

A founding member of greasy joan & co., a classical text based theatre company, she produced over 13 productions garnering multiple Joseph Jefferson Theatre award nominations and acted in 11 of those same productions such as THERESE RAQUIN, PERICLES and IPHENGINIA AND OTHER DAUGHTERS.

Before Chicago, Amy was a resident company member of Playhouse on the Square in Memphis, trained at The Shakespeare Theatre in DC, and worked regionally at American Stage, Utah Musical Theatre, and Pennsylvania Centre Stage, in such shows as LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, INTO THE WOODS, OUR COUNTRY'S GOOD, and PUMPBOYS AND DINETTES.

A graduate of Rhodes College in Memphis TN, Amy has a BA in Theatre and English Literature.

GUEST HOSTS
DEB PEARCE
Deb Pearce keeps the Windy City Queercast connected to the GLBT scene with our neighbors to the North. She's Queer, Quick and anything but Quiet! Deb got her first job in radio years ago and took to it like a dyke to water! She has been entertaining and educating audiences all over North America as an emcee, a drag king and a comic. And she is also known to break out into song for no apparent reason!!!

Deb worked on-air as a co-host on the Big JACK morning show on 92.5 Jack FM in Toronto. When Toronto was launching their all gay radio station, Deb was a natural fit and enjoyed being both Mid-day and Morning Show Host on Proud FM. If you are visiting Toronto and hanging out on Church Street in the Gayborhood, more than likely Deb is hosting some major Queer event.

Deb's infectious laugh and love of music has been a great addition to our Queercast famly. Plus she and Amy truly are the butch/femme version of the same person. A Queercast first for any podcast!
STEPHEN RADER
Stephen has received three After Dark Awards – the 1999 Outstanding Cabaret Performance Award, a 2000 Outstanding Performance Award for his work in Pegasus Player’s SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM and 2001 Outstanding Direction Award for CORPUS CHRISTI at Bailiwick Repertory.

Other directing credits include Ulysses Theatre’s THE NORMAL HEART, the 2001 production of HANS BRINKER for Theatre Building Chicago, Alanda Coon’s debut cabaret show I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW and Alexandra Billings’ live concert cd THE STORY GOES ON which also features his live recording of John Bacchino’s SWEET DREAMS.

Acting credits include Richard in TimeLine’s THE LION IN WINTER, The Soldier in Chicago Shakespeare’s SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, Henry in Visions and Voice’s ARRANGEMENT FOR TWO VIOLAS, and various roles in Philip Dawkin’s play UGLY BABY. His cabaret show DOLLY WOULD!: THE MUSIC OF DOLLY PARTON was recognized as the Best Cabaret Show of 2003.

Stephen most recently played Hector P. Valenti in LYLE, LYLE CROCODILE at Lifeline Theatre and last year, he was The Cat in the Hat in Emerald City’s SEUSSICAL. For Porchlight Music Theatre, he has played Michael in ELEGIES, Gordo in A NEW BRAIN, Whizzer in their 27-week run of FALSETTOS and Charley in MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, for which he received a Jeff Nomination for Best Actor.

Stephen made his Goodman Theatre debut in Adam Guettel’s Tony Award Winning musical THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA. Check out his blog at stephenrader.blogspot.com.
COLMAN DOMINGO
Colman Domingo keeps us connected with New York City. He is currently making his Broadway debut in the critically acclaimed rock musical PASSING STRANGE as “Mr. Franklin The Reverend’s Piano Banging Son and Mr. Venus of Berlin.” The New York Times called his performance “Priceless”. Newsday said he is “outlandishly gifted.” Colman is also a series regular on the LOGO/MTV Networks series THE BIG GAY SKETCH SHOW produced by Rosie O’Donnell, portraying hilarious iconic characters Maya Angelou, Morgan Freeman, Oprah Winfrey and more.

He recently worked with Spike Lee on the film, MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA. He starred in the film, KING OF THE BINGO GAME, an adaptation of a Ralph Ellison story for PBS, starred with Eric Mabius (UGLY BETTY and THE L WORD), Tara Reid and Devon Sawa in AROUND THE FIRE and has had supporting roles in FREEDOMLAND with Julianne Moore and TRUE CRIME directed by Clint Eastwood.

A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Colman has thrived in the theater working at world renowned institutions such as The Public Theater, The Guthrie, American Conservatory Theater, The Huntington Theater, Berkeley Rep, Sundance Institute, The O’Neill, and California Shakespeare Theater.
SCOTT DUFF
Scott Duff, a graduate of Northwestern University, is an Artistic Associate and founding member of Chicago's About Face Theatre with whom he helped to create over a dozen original works including Eleven Rooms of Proust, Dream Boy, Fascination, Whitman, as well as his one man show, Alone, which premiered at Chicago's Museum of Modern Art and transferred to IO, formerly Improv Olympic.

Scott was one of the original creators of the About Face Youth Theatre and worked as a collaborator for its first three productions. In Chicago, Scott has performed with Steppenwolf, The Goodman, Chicago Shakespeare, Lookingglass, and ATC and has trained at the Second City Conservatory.

Regional/touring credits include The Glory of Living, Inventing van Gogh, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Film credits include Scrooge & Marley, Walk the Line, Send in the Clown, and Streaker. Scott is also an award-winning theatre educator, food blogger (www.theimprovisedkitchen.blogspot.com), and part-time martini enthusiast.

MITCHELL FAIN
Mitchell Fain was born in Providence, Rhode Island but moved to Chicago at 25 y.o. to grow up. Since being here, he has danced naked at Dance Chicago, played three dead gay poets, a Shakespearean king, joined a circus, performed the words of James Joyce and Anne Frank and David Sedaris, played a dying Dalmatian, a petulant dictator and most importantly...a killer cheerleader named Pepper. He has worked with many wonderful theater companies and extraordinary people. He is an artistic associate of Chicago's Midnight Circus...where he flips, flops and flies...and directs sometimes too. He spent 3 years as the head counselor at Circus Smirkus; the world's largest touring youth circus. Most recently he spent 4 months doing improv/sketch comedy for the famed Second City as a member of the cast on the lovely Norwegian Jade...visiting every country on the Mediterranean Sea...plus England, Ireland, Scotland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Norway. Up next he will again play the disgruntled elf in The Santaland Diaries for Theatre Wit followed by a role in a film as a Russian Mafioso. Mitchell loves being Amy and Kelli's mother-in-law.
CLEO (a/k/a Y. Cleomili Harris)
Best known for her catch phrase "Call me now!" from her late night infomercials, Ms. Cleo is a Mambo (spiritual advisor/practitioner of ancient West African & North African ritual and belief) and maintains a private practice in South Florida. She is also a published author, playwright, poet and social activist. Cleo came out publicly in October 2006 (the Advocate) and was named one of the OUT100 for 2006.

In 2007, L2H Limited and Wahgwaan Entertainment released Cleo's debut spoken word CD, "Convicted for My Beliefs" which has been described as provocative, controversial and raw. It addressed spiritual, cultural and social issues. More specifically, it addressed Florida's anti-Gay marriage amendment campaign of 2008. In March 2008, Cleo was Grand Marshall for Pride of the Palm Beaches. Since "coming out", Cleo has become actively involved in the GLBT community and the many challenges facing it - including bringing light to domestic abuse in the GLBT community and the need to address this very serious issue. Cleo is a healed victor of domestic abuse.

Cleo is the President and Founder of Wahgwaan Entertainment Inc. and is a proud resident of Lake Worth, Florida. Vee Radio (talk radio podcast) was launched in September 2008 offering humorous, political and spiritual talk radio featuring special interviews, workshops and live audience shows. Vee Radio only features indie musical artists and Cleo has participated in two indie film projects. She is currently working on her second CD and a new one-act play to debut in November 2009. Cleo finds her greatest joy in the journey, the laughter and the love of her family and friends!



 
 


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