Elizabeth McCain is once again gracing the stage performing “A Lesbian Belle Tells” her autobiographical one-woman play. McCain first shared her play in 2013 as a fundraiser for The Mautner Project. Then in 2014 she performed in the Capital Fringe Festival in Washington, D.C. where she was awarded “Best Solo Show” from DC Broadway World. The show contains comedy and drama, which McCain calls a “dramedy”.
Settle back and hear McCain’s true stories about growing up in the deep South, sipping cocktails with aunties and other eccentric characters, coming out in D.C., and experiencing family estrangement, love, and healing. This award winning play encourages hope from the comfort of a rocking chair, with captivating moments of comedy and triumph over tragedy, as only a lesbian belle can tell. McCain believes that being vulnerable on stage encourages her audiences, especially the LGBTQ community to share and reframe their own personal stories with one another. We are not alone when we share our stories in community. McCain believes that story is medicine for the soul.
While McCain has ten years of professional storytelling experience, she comes from a small town in Okolona, Missisippi, where she grew up hearing stories from her family as a way of connecting the past to the present. She adopts storytelling as a way to connect with other people. Solo performance “provides an intimate and soulful connection between the performer and the audience that is very authentic. To me, this is more satisfying than acting. It is one of my passions.”
McCain is bringing back her revealing tale of growth and healing for three performances at The Corner Store and at the Metropolitan Community Church of Washington, D.C. McCain gives vibrant descriptions of her coming out stories as a rite of passage. She shares her stories of finding lesbian culture and meeting her soulmate, Marie. She uses her keen ear for various accents to bring her characters to life. The audience feels her story as she opens up and touches hearts with her vulnerability in sharing about her family’s rejection of her after she came out, and in sharing about the stories of her parents’ deaths. Family estrangement and loss are common themes for LGBTQ people. McCain reveals her pain and her transformation.
Apart from storytelling, McCain also provides energy therapy and spiritual healing sessions in her private practice in Takoma Park, MD. She is also an interfaith minister and officiates for gay and lesbian weddings through the Unitarian Universalist Society of DC.
Whether performing, coaching, or providing energy therapy, story is the heart of her work. In her private practice, called “Story Matters”, McCain helps the LGBTQ community let go of the pain of the past, and be more fully alive in the present. She also leads workshops and retreats at The Metropolitan Community Church of Washington D.C. on forgiveness, loss, and other spiritual practices to encourage joy and peace.
UPCOMING SHOWS
November 14, 2015 at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
The Corner Store
900 South Carolina Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tickets $20 in advance; $25 at the door
Purchase tickets at www.cornerstorearts.org
Nov. 21, 2015 at 7:00pm
Metropolitan Community Church of Washington, DC
474 Ridge Street, NW
Washington, DC. 20001
Tickets $20 in advance; $25 at the door
Purchase tickets at www.elizabethmccain.com
