The Other Side of Silence (TOSOS continues to honor our community’s history this summer, bringing Merril Mushroom’s long-lost play, “Bar Dykes” to The Flea Theater, 20 Thomas Street, between Duane and Worth Streets, for its New York stage premiere. Follow 11 bar dykes as they drink, dance, date, duke it out, and grab a few undisturbed moments, under Virgina Baeta and Mark Finley’s direction. The audience will be immersed in a very distinct world of butches and femmes, eavesdropping on a girls’ night out.
TOSOS is also very happy to welcome Ben Philipp as Costume Designer for the company. Ben is currently an Assistant Costume Designer for Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” and formerly for Netflix’s “The Get Down” and Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman.”  Ben has also worked as a New York City based costume shopper for CBS’s “Bull,” TBS’s “The Alienist,” and the upcoming “Star Wars” Episode IX.
In the early 1980s, Merril Mushroom wrote “Bar Dykes,” a one -act play about the gay bar culture of the 1950s. A longtime resident of Dowelltown, Tennessee, Merril has an enduringly rich herstory both locally within her neighborhood and the larger world, as a prolific writer and a “back to the land” lesbian. Drawing on her experiences as a lesbian in the Deep South and in New York City in the pre-Stonewall era, playwright Mushroom transports us into the hidden subculture of lesbian society in mid-century America, and into the women and their relationships in a precarious time. The area in which she has spent the last 40 years has an extensive history of collective land projects established specifically for gays/queers/gender nonconforming people. Merril is an iconic fixture with her sharp wit and casual no nonsense attitude—a respected elder, she is an inspiration to many, both residents of Tennessee and its yearly visitors. While influenced by the radical culture of the 1960s-1970s, Merril and her work remain a timeless and formidable force to be reckoned with. With this play, we preserve not only the cultural legacy of Merril's work but share her herstory with a larger audience. Contemporary conversations surrounding queerness and gender nonconformity have made massive strides towards breaking down ignorance, intolerance, and hate. These advancements have been wrought with persecution, police brutality, and death.
When Pegacorn Press published “Bar Dykes,” it celebrated the life and work of Merril Mushroom and also honored those who have fought to live freely, love whom they want, and make the world a safer, more accepting, and interesting place. TOSOS is proud to produce this amazing work, and honor its author, her life and vision. We recognize that, though there is still a long way to go, “Bar Dykes” offers new perspectives on our past, acting as a catalyst for progression into the future.
Merril Mushroom (Playwright) came out in the fifties as a bar dyke. Her writing has appeared over the years in a wide variety of anthologies and periodicals. Her stories about the fifties' bar scene in Florida were first published in Common Lives/Lesbian Lives magazine, and she was a frequent contributor to early issues of Maize magazine. Her out-of-print lesbian sci-fi novel, “Daughters of Khaton,” is looking for a new home. She lives on a rural Tennessee hill farm and is grateful for her gardens, friends, families, and her activist life. She is a member of Womonwrites, OLOC, and several rural grassroots organizations. She is still the butch.
Virginia Baeta (Director) is an actor, singer, playwright, director, and (occasional) bass player. Her first play, “Damaged Goods,” was produced by TOSOS as part of the Emerging Artists Theatre Festival of New Work in 2017. Other than ongoing work with TOSOS, her most recent stage work has been as Associate Producer for The Queen’s Company, an all­female classical theatre company, playing male characters from fops and fools to ill­fated kings. Through her work with The Queen’s Company and TOSOS, she found inspiration to create theatrical experiences that challenge gender expectations and put strong female and queer characters on stage. She continues to act and direct with The Queen’s Company, TOSOS, and other indie companies in NYC and in independent films.
Mark Finley (Director) is the artistic director of TOSOS and has directed many of its acclaimed productions including Doric Wilson’s “Street Theater”—2016 IT Award Winner for Best Revival. He made his Off-Broadway directorial debut with Chris Weikel’s “Penny Penniworth.” He most recently directed the TOSOS productions of the Byron Loyd's “Rebel Boy Fireworks,” which premiered at the United Solo Arts Festival, and Virginia Baeta’s “Damaged Goods” (Emerging Artists). Mark is also an author, an actor and a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
TOSOS (The Other Side of Silence) is New York City’s oldest professional LGBTQ theater. In 1974, Off-Off- Broadway veteran Doric Wilson (1939-2011), cabaret star Billy Blackwell, and director Peter dell Valle, started the first professional gay theatre company in NYC. It was called The Other Side of Silence; TOSOS for short. In 2002, directors Mark Finley and Barry Childs and playwright Wilson resurrected TOSOS. The company has produced over 30 mainstage shows and so many readings of new plays and works in progress we have trouble counting them all (www.tososnyc.org).
“Bar Dykes” has a 70 minute run time and runs from July 11 to August 3, with performances at 7 p.m., at the Flea NYC. Tickets are priced at $30.