DERICK DANIELSrocky comes to the shell

CLUB UEeverybody's talking 'bout it

FAVES THIS MONTHmy guardian angels

FEATURE ISSUE

N o v e m b e r2 0 1 0ISSUE 1

Table of ContentsNov. 2010

Issue 1

3 Derek Daniels Productions Derek Daniels Brings Rocky to the Shell

5 Club UE You don’t want to join this club

13 Faves This Month My Featured Photos

16 Here’s the Deal by Twan Matthews

CREATOR, PRODUCTION, WRITER, TECHNICAL, MULTIMEDIA, PHOTOGRAPHER, ETC. (UNLESS OTHERWISE MENTIONED)Jeanne Wynne Herring

PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANTSErich Steinwandt, Stefani Roberts and Scott Cozza

LOGO DESIGNChad Burch

T

Excellence Happens through

endurance, perseverance, hope, love and blessings.

Excellence isn’t given to you, you have to fight for it.

MODELSSeen Here - Twan Matthews, Erich Steinwandt, Anthony Acosta, Jr., Jeanne Wynne HerringBattle of the Minions - Bradon Agena, Danny Shin, and Kevin WonAngel of Rebirth - Cheryl Bartlett

DEREK DANIELS GIVES BIRTH TO ROCKY AT THE WAIKIKI SHELL

During the depression, the Ziegfeld Follies fi lled the people with joy with his spectacular performances. Like Ziegfeld, Derek Daniels brings happiness to this generation’s struggles. With his outrageous fashions, and laugh a minute antics, Derek gives his audience a couple hours of joy that will last in their hearts for days. This year’s fi rst annual The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Waikiki Shell was just another way to remind Hawaii that life is fun after all.

“It as been a good ride,” Derek smiles as he refl ex on his glorious years as a performer.

Derek Daniels Production has been in Hawaii for over 11 years delighting audiences. “We perform at all the catastrophic entertainment. Now to be in the fi rst annual Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Waikiki Shell is honorable and very prestigious.”

“Derek is the bomb!” Sole of Sole Productions decided to produce Rocky at the Shell after her friends, Steve and Denise, planted the idea in her head. “I came to Derek, and said, ‘can we do this in four weeks’ and he said ‘yes!’ Oh my God! Of course, yes!”

“We had reservations about doing it on Halloween,” Derek remembers, “but there really was nothing going on between the time of 5:30 PM and 10 PM. From here, they go straight to the party, and they’re all revved up you know...rrrrrreved up.” He laughs. He was right on. The audience was wound up!

The audience was shocked to see live actors

on stage. “That was very cool!” Jennifer was one of the fans in the crowd. She was dressed like her favorite character, Magenta. “I went to the live show at Manoa Valley Theatre, I went to one at Bar 35 in Chinatown, but I’ve never seen it with live actors performing with the movie. The choreography stuck with the movie but he (Derek) made it his own.”

“This was a dream come true.” Lymari Graciano is the biggest fans of Rocky She was cast as one of the dancers in the show, but she isn’t a dancer. “I think it’s because I showed up to auditions, and I knew every word (of the show). I was perky, and I tried to keep up. It was fun.”

Don Richards have been with Derek for around fi ve years. It wasn’t a surprise to see Don in one of the favorite rolls of Rocky. “It was a great honor being Riffraff. I loved it. It’s an honor to be a part of the fi rst cast.”

The Rocky Horror Picture Show truly was spectacular! “I’m super happy with everyone and the show. We are going to do it again next year” Sole tells me, full of excitement.

Derek beams, “We will have a bigger cast, have more elaborate costumes, and add more numbers to the show.”

“It was just fun and exciting,” Jennifer giggled, “it really was. It made you want to jump up and down and scream, and we did!”

To book Derek Daniels Productions email Derek at derekderekaol.com his web site www.derekdanielsproductions.com

Hearing a person is unemployed is not much of a shock today. It is not uncommon to walk into the unemployment offi ce and see a friend or two holding a ticket waiting to be called.

I recently lost my job one week after a good friend of mine lost his. I went to the unemployment offi ce, a few days later, and hung out with another friend of mine. That wasn’t the only time I ran into a friend there. I made new friends and listened to their stories; I watched people reunite with friends and family they hadn’t seen in a long time and I listened as the ladies at the counter welcomed returning claimants.

My friend and I joked that the offi ce was a “club”. (I even had a remarkably good-looking guy try to pick me up after seeing me across the crowded room.)

Sadly you can say it is a “club”. These are the times. Everyone is joining this “club” of struggle and despair. It doesn’t have to be this way in your heart. If it isn’t in your heart, then it will not sit in your mind. You can move beyond this depression and fi nd hope and opportunity.

I spoke with Tony, Christopher and Beth. All who, through endurance and perseverance, are pushing their way through this recession with determination, relentlessness and silliness.

Tony

Tony, his boyfriend and I took his two dogs to the dog park to discuss his recent termination. He was let go one week before I. We had been spending some time together playing with his animals trying to keep our spirits up.

As he watches his dogs run wildly through the park, Tony draws from his straw trying to get that last bit of blended coffee from the bottom of his cup. “I’m 26, and since I started working at age 15, I have never been unemployed. I worked retail, I managed a photography company, a coffee shop, and I bartended for a couple of years. I lost my job as a bartender at a gay bar on August 16th, and I have had trouble finding work since.

“I was denied unemployment insurance, so I have no income. I’ve been spending my time searching. I’m finding that there are no jobs out there that will pay my expenses, but at this point,” he shrugs, “I don’t care. I just want a job, but too many people tell me I’m over qualified. If the job is in my price range, they say I’m under qualified because I have no college.

“I go out on plenty interviews,” he chuckles ironically. “In fact, I went to a second interview for Maui Divers

today, and they had me do a third one while I was there. So,” he shrugs, “we will see.” He smiles at me as if to say “everything will be fine” though I knew that wasn’t what he was thinking.

“In the mean time I take odd jobs. Like I painted someones ceiling for $100 for 10 hours.” He rolls his eyes remembering the hell. “Uhg! It was so hot and the paint kept dripping on me! I didn’t like that too much,” he laughs. I bartended for someone’s gallery opening for $300 which wasn’t bad, but I think I should have gotten more since the time he quoted me was for two hours one day and three hours the next. I ended up staying four and six!

“Let’s see...I took a couple of beds from next door that they didn’t want and sold it on Craig’s list. Um...I’m at home playing with the animals,” he giggles. “I have two dogs and two cats.

“My dad and my friends help me get by, but I’m using the rest of my savings to pay rent. If I don’t get a job by next month’s rent I’m going to have to hook,” he laughs.

Tony did get that job with Maui Divers Jewelry just in time to pay rent. So, he didn’t have to become a hooker.

Christopher and I relaxed on the lanai of the world-famous Hulas Bar and Lei Stand in Waikiki. We chatted about how “lucky we lived Hawaii” as we watched the ocean crash against the sand. Hard to be sad about losing our jobs in such beautiful surroundings. With his think British accent, he begins telling me what gets him through his current situation.

“Sometimes I have to lie down and give myself a good lecture, and remember things that are very important to me about life and living. When things come unexpected like getting a call one day from your employer. You love your job, it’s your dream job, you’re doing well, you’re getting paid well, you’re paying your bills, you’re paying off your student loans...I even had money to spare. All of sudden they call you up and say, ‘well, we love your work, you are a great employee, but we are going to have to lay you off because of the economy’ and such. With no warning at all.

“If I were in my 20s, it would have devastated me because I didn’t have much experience. But now my gut feeling is that it is horrible. In my mind, I say ‘well you know, alright, I’ll make lemonade out of lemons’ to use the phrase ‘and I work at that’ and I just lie down and concentrate. I give

myself a lecture about getting up and having courage.

“One time I was touring Europe, and I had been in the Middle East. I landed in Greece, and I was going back to England and I lost my ticket.” He grabs his head remembering the horror. “I don’t know how I did it. I lost my bloody ticket! I was stuck in Athens I had no money for a ticket. But some how, I don’t know why, the bus driver let me back on the bus to go from Athens back to Victoria Station.”

“I was petrified the whole time, and I remember, when we crossed the English channel, and the bus trip to Victoria was over, I kept seeing these signs on the road, and they said ‘take courage, take courage...’ It was all along the way to London. What it really was, was a beer advertisement for Courage Beer. ‘Take courage, Take Courage Beer.’ But I took it as my motto, and I never forgot that I need to get up, take courage, and just move on. That compels me to go forward ...that insists me to go forward.

“When I lost my job, I found another for 16 hours a week, so I thought, ‘huh, I’ve never been on unemployment before. I’m going to go down and apply for unemployment’ and I did. Then I started looking for work, and I thought, ‘what a grand opportunity’!

“I decided to go back to school and study Hawaiian. I always wanted to study the Hawaiian language. I was raised here but I never had the opportunity, so I’m doing that now.

“I’m looking for work that interests me, and I have confi dence that I will fi nd something that stimulates my mind my heart and my spirit. I have that belief and I’m feeling great about that.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Christopher currently works on a job where he enjoys doing what he is best: going above and beyond to bring joy to others.

Not only is he learning the Hawaiian language but he also dances Hula and is learning belly dancing.

Christopher

Beth and I chatted over coffee at a shop in a noisy shopping mall. An expressive actor, she goes right into her nightmarish experience with unemployment.

“ While I was laying in bed sick with MRSA, I got a knock on the door at my house. I opened the door and there was a guy with a certifi ed letter saying I have two weeks then I’m done. Now, this (job) was something I always wanted to do so I was okay with the possibility the job would last only six months, or a year because I was taking the place of a guy who went to serve overseas. But I assumed I was going to know with more advance warning, and the people I worked for had told me earlier not to worry about being laid off because there was a job that was in the works for me.” She started shaking her head and scoffed remembering. “I’m not going to have a job, which means my insurance is going and I’m in bed with MRSA taking eight pills a day trying to kill this thing. I’ve never been in such a scary position in my life.

“I had no idea how the system was going to work with unemployment. So, I started calling people. ‘It’s going to take 4-6 weeks before you get your fi rst check for unemployment.’ But how am I going to pay rent. ‘Course you get scared, and the shit hits the fan, and you’re like, ‘what the hell.’ Then I couldn’t just jump up and do stuff because of the MRSA. It was just horrible.

“The very month I went to unemployment and gave them my paperwork is when the jam up started happening. I’d talk to one person; they’d tell me one thing. I’d wait a week and nothing would happen. I’d go back. They’d look at my stuff on the screen. ‘Oh they put that in wrong. You really are this. We fi xed it now, and everything should be okay.’ I’d go home and a week would go by. No check. Go back again. ‘Oh maybe this is the problem.’ The one hang up was that personel said I was fi red and not just terminated, as if I did something wrong and got kicked off the job, and that wasn’t the case. Three, four, or fi ve people were always looking at my fi le and doing different things.

“Finally it was two days before I had to pay my rent, and I had no money. I swear, if I didn’t pray and believe in God, I wouldn’t be here because that was the only thing that kept me going. I was thinking ‘what did I do wrong, what are you trying to teach me? I can’t do this without you.’ I’m a 45-year-old person with a master’s degree in teaching. Why am I broke? Why am I

Beth

What is Mrsa - WebMD

This tiny cluster of bacteria is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aure-us (MRSA), seen under a microscope. This strain of the common “staph” bacteria causes infections in different parts of the body - including the skin, lungs, and other areas. MRSA is sometimes called a “superbug” because it is resistant to many antibiotics. Though most MRSA infections aren’t serious, some can be life-threatening

Bethunemployed, you know? So, I fi nally was at the end of my rope and I just went in and up to the counter! They started doing the usual song and dance. I just said, ‘I wanna talk to your supervisor!’ They tried to not let me talk to her. ‘I owe my rent in two days and I have zero money! I have done everything right! I have done the paperwork right! I have gone through the system the way I was supposed to. I have been kind, I have been nice and I’m still getting screwed.’

“So fi nally the supervisor came to the counter. She saw me. She knew I wasn’t full of shit. She went through the computer and just started shaking her head. She told me ‘I will call your landlord for you if this check doesn’t get to you by the fi rst of the month.’ She gave me her number and direct line. I was, like, in tears. I knew I was going to break down in there cuz I was so, you know...you just get to the point where you just can’t take one more thing. It was just shear perseverance, and that’s when I realized that God was Number One.

“Finally I got the check and I paid my rent on time. I did what I was told to do. I did the process. As it were, I was applying for jobs. I got in touch with the school I worked fi ve years ago and they needed part-time help and that’s where I’ve been for the past year. If they needed subs I’d come in. Full-time, part-time, whatever they needed. I’m back on my feet. I’m still struggling. I’m working pay check to pay check. But I am back on my feet. I just can’t go out and spend money hangin out in bars-n-stuff. I’ve appreciated the hang-out-with-a-six-pack-with-my-friends life style,” she smiles. “Oooohh yeah! It’s on sale for $6.99. Let’s get that one.” She throws her head back and laughs.

Beth continues to teach and make extra cash by following her passion as an actress and singer. Often you will see her on the Honolulu stage, in the opera or on/in the TV/fi lms that roll through the islands.

The past year has been touch and go for me as it has been for us all. What am I thankful for this year? I am thankful for getting through it all with the help of my family, friends and people I don’t even know. People God has blessed me with. We all have guardian angels, and they probably are not sent to us dressed in white wearing wings. This Thanksgiving think about those who have been your Guardian Angels and take time to thank them.

The Angel Minionsfrom “The Battle of the

Faves this Month!My Guardian Angels

Angel of Rebirth

Selections from my Soul Saviour series which were shot for Jeff Katts’ The Soul Saviors.

Who are these freaks?

H E R E ’ S T H E D E A L by Twan MatthewsWhen I was first asked to write this article. I was so excited and honored. I was finally given a platform to dispense some advice and wisdom to my generation.

This month’s issue is about the survivors of the jobless. I am here to let everyone know that you are not alone in this situation. I will tell you a bit about the situation that I am in at the moment. I cannot believe that I am actually giving the world an inside look, as to what Twan Matthews is all about.

I was working at an exceptionally high-end boutique two years ago. My life was fabulous. I had a bit of money, no real responsibilities and friends all around the world. I guess you could call me a man about town, if you will.

I had paid off my car, and I was living at home. Which to say in your thirties is a sad case within itself but more on that later. Then on December 24th, 2008 everything cha

nged. I made a grave mistake within the company, unbeknownst to me. My walking papers were given to me on December 28th, 2008. I received unemployment until the State found out that I was fired for, what was categorized by the company as, “employee misconduct.” My benefits stopped, and I had no money coming in, and let me tell you I could not get a job if they were giving them away. Like they say, “WHEN ONE DOOR CLOSES ANOTHER ONE OPENS” But the question I had to pose to myself was: “ WHAT AM I GOING TO DO FOR MONEY” and “how am I going to pay my f$%$#^* bills?” Trust you can

be quite inventive and creative, when it comes to making money.

Now before all you freaks go off the deep end. I did not do porn or do some sort of fetish video. I decided, by a friend’s suggestion to pose nude for the art students at the University of Hawaii. I know it is not the total ideal; but, hey, Mama has got to get her cocktail money somehow.

I know those who are probably going to have a field day with this. I would take my recyclables, and my neighbor’s down to the Reynold Recycling Station, and get money that way, as well. It’s not going to pay your cell phone bill, but you will have a hell of a weekend.

Yes, these things sound strange to the normal human being. However, I am not your normal human being. I am Twan Matthews and I NEED A COCKTAIL! It is true. Where there’s a will there’s a way. Well in my case a GAYWAY!! See you around.

aren't we all just sweet transvestites from

Transsexual, Transylvania?

Derek Danielsas Dr. Frank-N-Furter

Sole - The Producer of Rocky at the

Shadiya as Magenta

Don Richards as Riff raff

I’m just a sweet transvestite

Twan! Of course!

Let’s do the time warp again!!

Best Fans ever!The Birth of Rocky

Hulas Bar and Lei Stand’s 2010 Hulaween’s Costume Contest ~ Trueblood ~ Winners!

Theme CategoryLady Gaga

Non-theme CategoryGay Unicorn

Group CategoryAlice in Wonderland

The Warehouse Killed it Halloween! Killed It!!!

Be sure to check out the March issure on my favorite djs of Hawaii

Service men and women! I want to see your family photos! The family you have become so close to while serving your country. The folks in your company, on your ship, in your platoon...

Send your family photos, along with your family history in 100 words or less, by Nov. 20th to excellencedec@gmail.com. The best 10 will be featured in the December issue. Be as creative as you’d like to be without being nasty!

Whether you are still serving or not, please participate. All ages are encouraged and appreciated.

This was all made possible by the good Lord.

To hire Jeanne for photography services, go to her website! Jeanne Wynne Herring Photography

jeannewynne.comVisit me on FaceBook: Jeanne Wynne Herring Photography