MBLGTACC09 Blog!

When you think one of the most prolific character actors, who’s also an outrageous openly gay stand-up comedian, one name comes to mind…. Jason Stuart.  Stuart has been making people laugh out loud with his hysterical performances all over the country since coming out in 1993. He has accomplished what few other gay comics have ever achieved: brutal honesty with humor in a world that’s not always kind.  Not only is Stuart an all-out crowd pleaser, but he transcends the boundaries of race, gender and sexual orientation with his edgy comedic style. Stuart’s material about his experiences as a single Jewish gay man living in Hollywood is original, cutting edge and just plain funny. Stuart has performed at all of the top comedy clubs & comedy festivals and hundred‘s of gay events & prides, colleges & universities, and even on Broadway. Since Stuart makes such a strong connection with his audience, he is in high demand by corporate programs with his lecture, Coming Out In Hollywood, on being openly gay in the workplace.

Although his semi-celebrity came via stand-up, Stuart is also well-known for his work as an actor playing gay & straight roles on over forty popular television shows.  Stuart has wowed audiences on the TV screen with guest roles in hits such shows as Will & Grace, George Lopez, Everybody Hates Chris, House, M.D. and Charmed, to name a few. He will always be best know playing “Dr. Thomas”, the gay family therapist on My Wife and Kids.

As a character actor, filmmakers say his talent is a cross between the depth of Philip Seymour Hoffman, the comedy timing of John Ritter and the quirkiness of Steve Buscemi.  He has worked with heavy hitters George Clooney, Faye Dunaway, Angelina Jolie, Damon Wayans, Drew Carey, George Lopez, David Spade and even Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Stuart was featured in the comedy hit A Day Without a Mexican, and the HBO award winning drama Gia.  Among the big studio pictures he appeared in, Kindergarten Cop and Vegas Vacation are favorites among TV fans.

Stuart has become a major player in the independent film world after being nominated for a Gay International Film Award for best supporting actor in Coffee Date.  Proving that he is more than just an actor and comedian, Stuart also produced and starred in his own totally improvised independent film 10 Attitudes. This award winning romantic comedy proved to be a huge success both in the U.S. and abroad.

Stuart uses his talents as an openly gay actor and comedian to support the community by performing at countless benefits for issues from AIDS to the homeless.  He is the Chairman of the first ever Screen Actors Guild LGBT Committee, and also chairs the comedy shows for Lifeworks Mentoring Program.

Stuart released his stand-up comedy CD, Jason Stuart: Gay Comedy Without A Dress with great success.  Now he has just completed his very first standup comedy special, Jason Stuart: Making It To The Middle for Here! TV, with a Hollywood benefit premiere for the Lifework Mentoring Program, a non-profit organization that mentors gay kids between the ages of 14-24.

His groundbreaking stand up comedy and his versatility as an actor make his career an amazing ride.

From http://www.outmedia.org/comedy/JasonStuart.htm

Vidur Kapur was selected in Nov.’07 as a finalist in NYC by NBC’s “Stand Up for Diversity” initiative. He was also one of the top four Asian comics to perform at the prestigious “Montreal Comedy Festival”. Vidur was the subject of a film called “Laughing Out Loud: A Comic Journey” shown on Spielberg’s “On The Lot” on FOX tv. He’s co-starred with Margaret Cho in MTV LOGO’s “Outlaugh Festival”. Vidur has toured internationally including Canada, Mexico, India, the UK, Ireland, the Caribbean and South Africa. Vidur is featured in a documentary on leading US comedians called “Making Funny”, is part of a recent DVD called “The Indian Invasion” and was seen in a feature on ‘HinJew Hysteria’ which has been televised by AVStv from Jersey City, to Jaipur, to Johannesburg.

Vidur Kapur has become an international sensation with his edgy, urban, groundbreaking comedy which focuses on his experiences as a gay, Indian immigrant. Vidur wows global audiences at clubs, colleges and festivals, and was an original “Guru of Comedy” with Russell Peters. Catch him on myspace and Facebook and join the phenomenon!

Vidur was recently featured in a Reuters Television piece around the world on ” Prominent South Asians in the Media” where they are interviewing Vidur and showing clips of his stand up comedy act, along with internationally known celebrities such as Mira Nair, Director of “Monsoon Wedding” and “The Namesake”, Naveen Andrews of ABC’s “LOST” and “ER” and “Bend it Like Beckham’s star Parminder Nagra and Suketu Mehta, the Pulitzer Prize Finalist author. Vidur has been seen in international media and television including, NBC, CBC in Canada, NPR, AVStv, New Delhi TV, MTV Desi and PBS’s Asian America.

Vidur was nominated in the category of “Favorite South Asian Comedian” for the South Asian Media Awards. He has been given his own show at NYC’s celebrated Gotham Comedy Club. On January 9th at Gotham, Stanford Pride invites you to “Diversity Gone Wild Starring Vidur Kapur.” He’s received raves at colleges including U. of Louisville, Montana St. U., Rutgers, Yale, Stanford, Campus Pride Leadership Camp at Towson University, Haverford, Washington St. U., U. of Chicago, Loyola University and Davidson. He’s been brought to campuses by collaborations between queer organizations, Asian and South Asian organizations and by student activities boards. He will be showcasing mainstage at the prestigious National Association for Campus Activities National Conference in St. Louis on 2/16.

Vidur Kapur’s stand-up comedy is based on the social commentary of a one-man culture clash. A South Asian raised in a conservative upper middle class family in New Delhi, an overachiever with a degree from The London School of Economics and Ph.D. coursework from the University of Chicago, a misfit in a family focused on arranged marriages and social status, a chic urban trend-crazy gay fashion victim in West Hollywood and Manhattan, a corporate executive from blue chip international firms, an immigrant to the US and a person horrified at being mistaken for a terrorist in a post 9/11 America.

Vidur’s act incorporates multiple colorful characters that range from traditional Indian to outrageous and funky. Vidur comically shares his experiences with issues including homophobia, racism, classism, cultural sensitivities and gender identity in a performance that is personal, vulnerable, irreverent and brutally honest.

From http://www.outmedia.org/comedy/VidurKapur.htm

Kand holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University in Inquiry Methodology and currently teaches statistics in the College of Education at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana. Kand’s research interests include assessing attitudes toward the atypically gendered and deconstructing the two-and-only-two sex/two gender paradigm. Kand has conducted presentations and workshops concerning gender identity and transgenderism at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) at Chicago, Illinois, Come Together Kentucky Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Conference at Bowling Green, Kentucky, the Translating Identity Conference at Burlington, Vermont, the National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA) at Pheasant Run, Illinois, the University of West Georgia, Carrollton, Georgia, for the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) in Indianapolis, Indiana, and at the Indiana University Incidents Team Retreat at Bloomington, Indiana.

For years, comedian and actor Julie Goldman has been winning over audiences - gay and straight alike - with her charmingly deviant brand of humor. Goldman may be best known as an ensemble member of LOGO’s The Big Gay Sketch Show, the world’s first ever comedy sketch show with an LGBT slant. This year Julie presents a live, monthly all-female comedy review, appropriately named Julie Goldman’s Offensive Women. Being the very busy woman that she is, you can also find Julie in a number of films and see her standup act, Live at Gotham, on Comedy Central.

Don’t miss your chance to see Julie Goldman live at MBLGTACC09.

Welcome to the Official Blog of the 2009 Midwest Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Ally College Conference! MBLGTACC is an annual conference on queer issues, designed to promote leadership, activism, networking, and empowerment among gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and allied members of the academic community.

The MBLGTACC09, aside from encouraging success professionally, personally, and academically, wants you to have a good time. Come see the Kinsey Sicks, America’s favorite dragapella beautyshop quartet, sing, shimmy and shake for your viewing pleasure.

Make next year’s Valentine’s Day weekend a Big Gay weekend to remember.

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