Before there was Showtime’s The L Word, before Mariel Hemingway planted a big, wet one on Roseanne, before Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly got down and dirty in Bound, and even before Ellen DeGeneres, there was lesbian Pulp fiction. The lesbian Pulp fiction of the 1950s and 1960s was a thriving business for such publishers as Pocket Books, Fawcett, and Gold Medal [see Marie Kuda’s article in the Jan. 28, 2004 WCT]. These books often featured ‘coded’ covers and cover copy to help lesbians pick them out from amongst a drugstore rack filled with similar, often lurid, titles. For example, a cover might feature a brunette towering over a blonde, with a man in the background. Titles employed words like ‘strange,’ ‘odd,’ and ‘shadows’ in them. The world of women loving women was often referred to as ‘twilight.’ The popularity of the Pulps made them available to women nationwide, and, especially for closeted lesbians in smaller towns, provided a sense of inclusion, despite the books’ propensity for punishing the women for their lesbianism and finding a way out of the ‘shadows’ through the device of a man. About Face is celebrating the Pulps with the world premiere of—what else—Pulp, by artist in residence Pat Kane. I had a chance to catch up with Kane before the show premiered and to gain insight into what inspired her to write the play, among other things. RR: About Face is producing your new play Pulp and its slated to open Jan. 29, at Victory Gardens. The advertising says it features ‘a bar full of booze, broads, and drag kings.’ Elaborate, please. PK: Pulp is a romantic comedy based on lesbian pulp fiction of the 1950s and is set in 1956 at a bar for ‘people of a certain ilk.’ The bar’s entertainment includes performances of women doing varying forms of drag and singing some great jazzy/lounge songs of the day. We are graced with a cast of five terrific actresses (and might I add … babes): Julia Neary, Amy Warren, Lesley Bevan, Jane Blass and Hanna Dworkin. RR: What’s the history of lesbian pulp fiction, briefly? How did it get its start? When was it most popular? PK: It started in the 1940s then really kicked off around 1950 with the publication of Tereska Torres’ Women’s Barracks (‘the frank autobiography of a French soldier girl’), which was scrutinized by the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Current Pornographic Materials, so naturally it became a bestseller. The next big hit was Spring Fire by Vin Packer (alias Marijane Meaker), which sold several million copies, and it was one of the first to be pressured by its editors (due to the Congressional inquiries) to make the lesbian pay for her ‘deviance’ in some way: by dying, being institutionalized, going straight … you get the picture. These books were targeted at a male audience, but lesbians quickly learned to decipher the codes in the titles or cover art. Even though the portrayals were rarely positive or ended happily, they were a lifeline to knowing you weren’t alone in the world with your feelings during an extremely closeted time. In the 1960s, the pulps became more and more sleazy, and faded with the advent of the sexual revolution. But, they certainly paved the way for today’s feminist and lesbian literature, and there were some great authors writing pulps, such as Ann Bannon and Patricia Highsmith. RR: To what do you attribute the interest in lesbian fiction back in a time when lesbians were much, much more in the closet than they are today? PK: You know, I’m not an historian or a sociologist, so I can only speak about what attracts me. And that is the cover art, which is sexy and beautiful and campy and extremely fun. The style of writing sounds to me like some of the great melodramatic movies of the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s, which I also love. Reading the pulps also shows me how far we’ve come … thank god. RR: Why is forbidden lust so much fun? PK: Oh, boy, that’s a loaded question. It’s titillating. It gets your juices flowing, so to speak. And it’s also a way to poke at the status quo, isn’t it? RR: This is the first I’ve heard of using lesbian pulp fiction for theatrical purposes. What made you want to write a play using the covers of the books and their stories as a springboard for your own creation? PK: I think for all of the reasons I’ve said already. They’re fun and sexy and a part of our history, all of which sounded like a great starting place for a play to me. I’d been mulling over the idea for several years, and at an About Face Theatre company meeting in 2002, Eric Rosen (About Face’s Artistic Director) said he wanted the company to do a lesbian pulp piece. So, I jumped at the chance to take the reins. There have actually been some really campy plays written about lesbian pulp, but that wasn’t what I wanted to do. I wanted to enjoy the style, but not make fun of it. I call Pulp a revisionist homage. That’s what we are shooting for. RR: How do you think PULP has relevance for gay viewers today? Or do you think of PULP as more of a historical piece? PK: Oh, I hope it has a lot of relevance for folks—gay and straight—today. It’s a story about searching for love and trying to find your place in the world. I think most folks can relate to that. RR: You use a lot of female cross-dressing and performing in Pulp. What attracted you to this aspect of entertainment as a backdrop? PK: I’m interested in the different personas people create to either hide from or cope with the world. I thought varying degrees of cross-dressing would be an interesting way to explore this idea. And, I have to admit, that I myself never miss the opportunity to wear white tie and tails. RR: Barbara Stanwyck comes in for quite a bit of mention in Pulp. Why her? PK: Number one, because I just love her. Ever since I saw my first Big Valley. I mean, you can’t beat Victoria Barkley. And I think Stanwyck embodies what a lot of these pulps are: scrappy, defiant, a little campy, beautiful and underestimated. RR: If you could cast Pulp from movie idols of the 20th Century, who would you choose and why? PK: Keeping around the period of the play, I would choose any of the following because of their wit and/or style—Stanwyck, Greer Garson, Deborah Kerr, Dorothy Malone, Thelma Ritter, Anne Baxter, Bette Davis, and Myrna Loy. Oh, I could go on and on. I’d love to fit Garbo in there somehow, too … maybe the next play. RR: As a playwright, who would you say are your greatest influences? Who do you admire? Why? PK: Eric Rosen, Jessica Thebus (the director of Pulp and Seven Moves [Pat’s other About Face play], Jim Grimsley (novelist and playwright) and my partner, Kim Osgood. All of these people have been tremendous influences in encouraging me to write and showing me the way. I was lucky enough to be part of the writer’s workshop a few years ago that Jim led at About Face, and have learned a huge amount just by having the opportunity to work on various plays with Eric and Jessica. And, Kim’s fingerprints are all over everything I do; her contributions are immeasurable. All of them are extremely intelligent, funny and generous, qualities I greatly admire. RR: You’re active both in front of the curtain and behind it. Tell us a little more about Patricia Kane, the playwright. PK: Gee, I’m not sure there’s much more to tell. I’m just enjoying myself, and I feel incredibly lucky to be part of a theatre company that really encourages me to challenge myself and try new things. RR: How do you compare writing and acting? Do you have a preference for one over the other? What similarities are there? What differences? PK: You know, it’s tough for me to compare; I really enjoy both. They’re both scary and exhilarating. The one difference I’m finding is that as an actor you become more and more immersed in the world of the play all the way through to the end of the run. As a playwright, I’m finding that I have been totally immersed, but now I have to wean myself away so that the actors, designers and director can inhabit this world. Come opening night, it basically belongs to the actors and crew. It’s a fascinating and somewhat wrenching evolution. RR: What’s next for Patricia Kane, the playwright? Patricia Kane, the actor? Patricia Kane, the person? PK: Pat Kane, the playwright, will be drinking a lot of Bombay Sapphire martinis from now until the day after opening. Other than that, I have a few script ideas marinating, which I’ll probably start exploring post-Pulp. I’m not sure what’s on the horizon otherwise. Hopefully more surprises and a lot more fun. Pulp runs through March 7 at Victory Gardens Theatre, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave. Call (773) 871-3000.
Pictured Patricia Kane and two cast members from her new play Pulp.