Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011

A Sordid Life

Chris Rudisill.

 

“I did have an uncle who had two wooden legs,” Del Shores, the man behind the comedic plays “Sordid Lives,” “Daddy’s Dyin’ (Who’s Got the Will?)” and “Southern Baptist Sissies” told me in a recent interview. Shores will bring his one-man comedy show, “ Del Shores: My Sordid Life” to the Myrtle Beach area for benefit performances on Jan. 7-8 at Main Street Theater in Conway. The show features the real life stories that inspired his writing and 100 percent of the proceeds will benefit Careteam, the non-profit organization established in 1993 to empower men, women and children infected or affected by HIV/AIDS within the Waccamaw District, which includes Horry, Georgetown and Williamsburg Counties.

I had a chance to talk with Shores last week about the show, Careteam and some other projects in the works. “ My Sordid Life” has played in 35 cities and was technically “put to bed,” said Shores, but will be brought back for this special 36th performance. Shores’ other major touring stage production, “ Southern Baptist Sissies” has been subject to regular protests from religious organizations who blast Shores not only for his depiction of the Baptist Church, but also his homosexuality and relationships. The decision to perform “ My Sordid Life” locally was done because “the production was more of a theatrical show and a little ‘tamer’ that would be suited better for Myrtle Beach and for a benefit performance,” said Shores. “I’m excited to return it.” Following a successful Kickstarter.com campaign, the one-man show was filmed for DVD and is now also available at www.shopdelshores.com.

I asked Shores more about the production and what it means to him. It’s the “stories behind the stories of my work,” said Shores. I told him how I personally had connections with the movie “ Sordid Lives” referenced, of course, in the title. Half of my mother’s casserole dishes to this day still have stickers on them that say “Rudisill Family” or simply her name written neatly and permanently adhered to their bottoms. The church that serves as the stage for Peggy’s funeral reminds me of the Methodist church I spent my Sundays trying to stay awake in as a child. I asked Shores if there were any specific stories that stand out more than normal? “You know I love that you used that word ‘normal’,” said Shores. “People call my characters eccentrics, but honestly, in my hometown of Winters, Texas we were ‘normal’.” Shores goes on to recall details like the open casket and a flower arrangement labeled “Jesus Called, Peggy Answered”. “So much fodder for story telling,” recalls Shores.

I also asked Shores about any stories people may be surprised to hear are based on reality. In other words – did someone really die from tripping over his uncle’s wooden legs? “That I made up,” said Shores. “I explain this in the show – how my twisted mind goes to town when I remember an ‘image’. My Aunt Sissy did kill the neighbor’s billy goat, though.” Shores spent his early childhood in Winters and then his family moved to Zapata in Southern Texas where his dad was the pastor of the First Baptist Church and his mom was the high school drama teacher.

Beyond the comedy aspect of Shore’s “ Sordid Lives,” the film and stage production present a coming-of-age story, especially for those of us raised in small Southern towns. The issues faced with family, coming out and religion’s persecution of homosexuals all find their way into his writing. However, Shores came out “pathetically late,” as he put it in his mid-30s. “I was married to a woman and had two little girls, 3 and 5-years-old,” said Shores.

Throughout his successful career, Shores has written, directed and produced studio and independent films, network and cable television and regional and national touring theater. It really took off with the play “ Daddy’s Dyin’ (Who’s Got the Will?)” in 1987, which ran two years in Los Angeles, before being produced in more than 2,500 theaters worldwide. The film version of the play was released in 1990 starring Beau Bridges and Tess Harper. “ Sordid Lives,” his fourth play opened in Los Angeles in 1996 and ran for 13 sold-out months. In 2000, Shores wrote and directed the film version also starring Bridges along with Delta Burke, Olivia Newton-John and Leslie Jordan. The film only opened in eight theaters across the country and was dubbed the “little film that could,” taking in nearly $2 million in its limited release and becoming a cult phenomenon. In 2002, Twentieth Century Fox released the DVD/Video, which has sold more than 200,000 copies. The film would later lead to a television series prequel to the film, created, written, directed and produced by Shores, which ran on Viacom’s LOGO network in 2008.

Now, Shores is working on adapting his play “ Southern Baptist Sissies” to film. The play, along with “ Sordid Lives” and “ The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife,” which became Shores’ most critically acclaimed, was revived in 2006 in Los Angeles before going on the road for a successful six-city national tour. He decided to film the play in a church – a perfect setting for the show’s history and influence. Shores is working on bringing back Leslie Jordan for the production, along with Dale Dickey, Newell Alexander, Rosemary Alexander and other “Del Shores players,” as he calls them.

In addition, the movie version of “ The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife” is in post-production and will soon play the film festival circuit. Shores also has another movie, co-written by Jordan, called “The Happy Hollisters,” a mockumentary with a huge cast and promises to be “twisted as anything I’ve ever written,” according to Shores. Finally, he’s also writing a new play and adapting his play “ Yellow” for the screen – meanwhile filming the one-man stand-up show “ Del Shores: Sordid Confession.” He’s definitely a busy man.

You’re probably asking yourselves how Shores even has time to make this appearance in Conway, all for charity? He put it simply, “I love giving back to organizations like Careteam. It’s my pleasure,” said Shores.

OUT & ABOUT

Saturday, Jan. 7 & Sunday, Jan. 8 – Del Shores will perform his one man comedy show, “My Sordid Life” at Main Street Theater in Conway for two performances. The Saturday performance will start at 8 p.m. and general admission tickets are available for $20. Sunday’s performance will start at 3 p.m. with general admission tickets also available for $20. In addition, VIP Tickets are available for either performance , including a Meet & Greet with Shores, hors d’oeuvres and wine. All proceeds from the performances will benefit Careteam and those in the community infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. For tickets visit www.theateroftherepublic.com and for more information about Careteam and its services visit www.careteamsc.org.

A Sordid Life

Have a thought, comment or Out & About event? Send Chris Rudisill an e-mail to SouthernGayWriter@gmail.com. You can also follow along on Facebook.com @SouthernGayWriter for more news and events.