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2009-03-19T16:28:00.001-07:00

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VIDEO INTERVIEW with BACKSTAGE MAGAZINE

2009-03-16T17:59:00.000-07:00

Cathy DeBuono & Jill Bennett talk to Backstage Magazine about their new web series. "We Have to Stop Now"

CHERRYGRRL.COM INTERVIEW with Cathy DeBuono & Jill Bennett

2009-03-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

“We Have to Stop Now” Takes a Funny and Unique Look at a Complex Couple

March 2, 2009 · Print This Article

“We Have to Stop Now” is a brand new web series about two lesbian therapists who are struggling to keep their romantic relationship together under some unique and challenging circumstances. The series stars two of the most popular out lesbian actors in entertainment today - Jill Bennett as “Kit” and Cathy DeBuono as “Dyna” - and brings viewers a truly original examination of what happens when you write a book with your partner about keeping a marriage together, then decide to get divorced, and then find out that the book became a best seller and a film crew wants to come into your home and document how perfect your relationship is. Combine all that with the high quality writing of Ann Noble, the superb directing of Robyn Dettman, a guest appearance by the hilarious Suzanne Westenhoefer, and the combined efforts of all the women behind Dynakit Productions (which includes the leading ladies), and you have the next best thing to hit the web.

Jill and Cathy recently took their time to talk to Cherry Grrl and fill us in on the production of their new series, their feelings about lesbians in Hollywood, their personal relationship with one another, and where we can find them next.

Cherry Grrl (CG): What can you tell us about your individual characters, Dyna and Kit?
Jill Bennett (JB): Kit is the more emotional of the two. She’s more open in some ways, more likely to forgive a social gaffe, more energetically based, a little more unpredictable.

Cathy DeBuono (CD): Dyna and Kit are good examples of opposites attracting. Yes, they are both therapists, which at first glance seems as if they may approach the world in similar ways. But they don’t, not at all… Dyna has set up more solid boundaries for herself in terms of what’s appropriate, which we all know actually means what she finds comfortable and the least scary. More grounded in the practical and the physical world than Kit, Dyna finds rules and protocol is the way to approach things. It keeps her safe on the inside. Kit is more likely to cry, more likely to approach things from her emotional “humanistic” center.Dyna finds this dangerous.

CG: What are the main issues within their relationship that brought them to the point of considering divorce when the series begins?
JB: They’ve reached that point in the relationship where their differences aren’t so charming and exciting anymore.

CD: I’d say it has a lot to do with what I described [about the characters]. In the beginning of a relationship polar opposite organizations can really draw people towards one another. Then there comes a time where you begin to encounter true challenges and each person is going to default to their comfort zone, their “safe” place. This can then make life with that polar opposite partner feel like you’re looking at a stranger. So what do you do? You realize that not everyone operates the way you do and loving them requires acceptance of that. Acceptance requires understanding, understanding requires communication… and this requires the willingness to expand outside of your comfort zone. Kit and Dyna have reached such an impasse.

CG: What attracted you each to the series and to the characters that you play?
CD: Jill and I love acting together, we have so much fun and truly spark parts of each other that make things interesting and different each time – so we always knew we wanted to do more ever since we filmed “And Then Came Lola.” Then there was the fact that Robyn Dettman (Director) and Ann Noble (creator/writer) were going to round out the team that we’d coagulate with and I admire both of their talents immensely.

When we all sat down to expand on Ann’s original premise, we decided to play with the actual dynamic of our real life selves. Essentially, Kit (played by Jill) is more organized psychologically like I am and Dyna (played by myself) is more like Jill. It was very interesting to adopt words I’ve heard Jill say and make them my own - as well as watch her have to do the same with mine. There is more to each character than just that one concept of course, and there is plenty about them that is neither Jill nor myself. But taking on such an opposite perspective to relationships than your instinct leads you to do is exciting.

JB: It was very simple for me – I wanted to work with this group of women and the story was interesting.

CG: What were the benefits of taking We Have to Stop Now to the web as opposed to television?
JB: Television is fantastic – if you can convince a network to do it. I had spent the previous year pitching projects to the networks, and they simply take forever to do anything. Months and months pass between meetings, and they are more reluctant than ever to do scripted programming because it’s more expensive than reality. They don’t want to take chances anymore, which frankly is why there is a dearth of programming for us. They’d rather turn out low quality cheaply made reality shows and turn a modest profit than take the plunge and create the next “Cheers.” It’s really too bad and very short-sided.Taking it to the web allows us to have control and to get it out there for everyone to see.

CD: That’s easy. We got to say yes to ourselves. We could see clearly our vision for these characters as well as what this show can do in terms of breaking the stereotypical mold of gay entertainment. The business of creating programming for television requires a lot of convincing, and a lot of waiting for someone else to give you the permission to move forward. When you truly have something to offer that you believe in, at some point, you reach the day when you say – let’s just do this thing.

CG: There are several hysterical videos on jillbennett.com that give us behind the scenes glimpses during filming. What was the atmosphere like on set?
JB: Frantic but fun.We took on an enormous job and still managed to enjoy the process. I’m hoping we’ll have a proper crew next time…it would make it even more enjoyable. Worrying about your props, costumes, and continuity is difficult enough, but trying to act and produce on top of all that is next to impossible!

CD: Fantastic.We (the folks of Dynakit Productions) have a great amount of admiration for each other’s talents. This yields an environment where no one is trying to control outcomes. Everyone was very open to allowing the talent around them to have room to do what it does and to offer its originality. Also, we are a company made up of four women who are truly friends as well as creative partners and we allow space to be human, and wrap our attentions around that when required. That goes an immensely long way to creating a safe environment to take risks in. We had phenomenal guest actors too! Every single one of them delightfully impressed us. It was like an actor’s amusement park!

CG: You have both had success in the world of lesbian entertainment but many still feel that there are few roles for lesbian actors and even fewer shows and movies portraying LGBT individuals. How do you each feel about this issue and the current atmosphere in the industry as it pertains to the gay and lesbian community?
JB: My previous answer about the gay networks applies here…All I will add to it is that I’m going to keep making content myself. Hopefully, more funding will come through and the production quality will improve, but either way, I plan to keep going. Hopefully one day someone will have the courage and foresight to roll the dice on another scripted gay series.

CD: This is a question that comes up a lot. I think I’ve reached a place where I don’t feel too much about it at all. It doesn’t surprise me anymore. I am astounded that there hasn’t been more ground breaking more profound programming made that involves gay characters – especially since there are more gay people than ever producing it. But that’s greatly what’s inspired us to just do it ourselves.We may lack the most optimum sound quality in some moments or the lighting could have been better at times – but I honestly feel the content we are offering makes up for our lack of big budget beauty. And I believe most viewers will feel the same way.

CG: When did you each realize that you wanted to get into acting?
JB: When I was 16. I considered other careers, but realized this path was what I truly wanted.

CD: When I was a child. My sisters and cousins and I would do “plays of the week,” which really only happened every once in a while but I loved it.

CG: Did either of you ever conceal that you were gay because of a fear that it would prevent you from succeeding in the industry and if so what changed that for you?
JB: I never concealed anything, against the advice of my managers and agents! Interesting that most of them have since left the industry and I’m still here…which leads me to believe that being true to who you are is always the best path to take.

CD: I don’t recall ever concealing it honestly. I didn’t walk around announcing it, but I was always open about it whenever the subject of dating or a significant other would come up.Was I concerned it may limit my opportunities? Sure, but I have never been willing to compromise my humanity for business, life is too short.

CG: Do each of you have a favorite role that you have played so far in your career or a particular project that has been special to you?
JB: My favorite role was actually in a staged production of Shakespeare’s “Timon of Athens.” It’s one of his more obscure plays, but I did a really successful run at a small theatre here in Los Angeles about 10 years ago. I played the role of Apemantus, a role that was originally written for a man.We won a million awards for it and my friend Jon Hamm (of Mad Men fame) was one of the other leads. I was really proud of the show and my work in it.I love Shakespeare and actually feel like I’m much better on stage than on screen.

CD: I really loved playing Risa in Out at the Wedding. Risa was a character that’s gay – but the story isn’t about her coming out, or being the big ole dyke, or making lesbo jokes. Risa’s story was about being human and falling in love when she least expected it. But honestly, I can not wait to get deeper into Dyna’s world.

CG: You have great chemistry on screen together. Are you now or were you ever a real life couple?
CD: Yes, we are a real life couple. We don’t train a spotlight on it, but it’s not a secret.

CG: Aside from acting and producing, what are some of your hobbies and other areas of interest?
JB: I’m a poker fiend. I would play every day if I could get my friends to join! I also love cooking and travelling.

CD: Crocheting, baking pies, and flower arrangement… AH ha! Just kidding…. Could you picture any of that? Actually – if I had the patience to clean my kitchen I would bake more pies…

I love riding my motorcycle, cuddling with my animals, and being silly with my girlfriend… Seriously, we do hand puppet lip synching, muppet re-enactments, we laugh a lot. Human contact in that authentic and vulnerable way is very important to me, so any time spent celebrating those relationships in my life is where I like to be. It makes the difference between life in theory and life in practice.

CG: It has been reported that neither of you are natives of the LA area – that Jill you are from Indiana and Cathy from New York – how have you each acclimated to LA and the Hollywood scene?
JB: I love it here for the weather and the liberal state of mind. It’s a bit cut throat on the Hollywood side of things, and there seems to be a high concentration of sociopaths here, but I’ve found a good solid group of friends that keep me out of the craziness.

CD: I love the mountains, the beach, the city, the sunshine… I have lived here for almost 14 years and I love it. The Hollywood “scene”…I can appreciate it for what it’s worth, have fun with it at times – but your real life isn’t going to happen there at all. The sooner one realizes that, the better.

CG: What are some other projects that you are each working on? Where can fans see you next?
CD: Well, the feature we did together, And Then Came Lola, will be released at festivals this year. The romantic comedy I did, Out at the Wedding was just released on DVD this week. We both do video blogs. Mine is called “What’s Your Problem?” and combines the fact that I have a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology with my being an actor. It’s a fun on camera advice show where a guest and myself will drink glass of wine and give advice to viewers on the letters they’ve written me. Visit www.CathyDeBuono.com for more info about any of this stuff.

JB: My vlog is called “The Violet Underground” and I cover pretty much anything that interests me or is timely. The best place to keep up is at my website where the series lives – www.jillbennett.com.

CG: We are now a few episodes into We Have to Stop Now - is there anything you can tell us about the upcoming episodes and what to expect?
JB: I’m really looking forward to seeing the season unfold.We have some funny moments, and some painful moments too. I think people will be surprised…

CD: Hmmm, I referain from answering this question on the grounds that my partners of Dynakit Productions might kick my ass. I’ll just say I can’t wait to see ‘em!

CG: Will there be a season 2?
JB: We are planning for one.

CD: When there is money for it, absolutely. And folks can help us make that happen by donating through the PayPal they can easily click at the site. But yeah, Dyna and Kit have a lot more life to live out. We can hardly contain ourselves when we brainstorm about their character arches and experiences.

CURVE MAGAZINE: Article 12/08 issue

2009-02-22T21:31:00.000-08:00

Vlogging Killed the TV Star - These vlogs are sure to cut in on your reality shows.

By Kyra Thomson

I remember my maiden voyage into the World Wide Web. It's difficult now to imagine, but in 1997 the Internet didn't have graphics and the term "blog" had yet to be coined. Yet, I was amazed by the new blogging technology that allowed me instant access to anonymous discussion groups and free guitar tabs. The digital revolution had only just begun. Over the next decade, the proliferation of personal commentary through text-based blogs would explode. These were followed quickly by vlogs, and many lesbians leapt on the new format.

Although YouTube is synonymous with the Internet's vlog revolution, a more fruitful search for lesbian voices would be through AfterEllen, where the cornucopia of online video fare has been harvested into a unique collection of female vlogs.

From Kate Clinton to Mombian.com's Dana and Helen, and with various weekly contributors in between, the vlogs at AfterEllen cover a multitude of topics. But one common interest among all the vloggers-even the girls who review video games-is providing commentary on the latest episode of The L Word. L Word fans can also satisfy their needs through OurChart, which features episode discussions, exclusive vlog footage and video contributions from cast members such as Leisha Hailey, who says OurChart is a way to "reach out from the alienation of modern life in order to make connections."

Delivering content through video rather than text helps to diminish the distance associated with blogging. For this reason, Exes and Ohs actor Cathy DeBuono decided to use her degree in telecommunications to create the What's YOUR Problem? vlog for AfterEllen. She has since moved the vlog to SheWired.com. DeBuono's background in acting has attracted an impressive list of guest stars, but it is her master's degree in clinical psychology that gives her a unique credibility when offering advice to viewers. Her massage therapy credentials have yet to be used on the vlog, but her suave flirting with each guest and wine-induced silliness is undeniably entertaining.

DeBuono's first crossover from actor to psychologist occurred while answering listeners' questions as a guest host on The Frank DeCaro Show. "I liked the idea of being able to 'look' at the people I was talking to, so to speak," DeBuono explains. "There is a personal connection felt with video blogs that you can't replicate with written blog or even on radio."

The visual aspect is also rewarding for an actor because vlogs provide unlimited exposure and publicity. Rosie O'Donnell was one of the first celebrities to innovatively use Rosie.com to interact with fans and voice her opinions. Her stark blog entries are simple and honest, as are her answers to online questions. She uses vlogging to film her family, promote her books and record live answers to fan and hate mail. Rather than fret that vlogs will kill the TV star, perhaps it's time to embrace this digital revolution.

SHEWIRED'S TOP TEN LIST

2009-02-22T21:21:00.000-08:00

SHEWIRED'S TOP TEN LIST

WOMEN WHO LOVE WOMEN

December 2008

For SheWired's final Top 10 Women We Love of 2008, we decided that in light of recent political events, we would pay homage to those real life lesbian, gay or bi women who enter into middle America's homes via the small or big screens or the airwaves making it virtually impossible for the average Joe to say he or she doesn't know any gay people.

Typically, we here at SheWired love to honor and ogle Hollywood's hottest starlets -- gay, straight or otherwise inclined -- as long as they are LGBT friendly, play gay once or twice in their career, look good in fetish clothing like a cop uniform or a breastplate or admit to even a one-off best on-screen kiss with another woman.

But in the wake of Prop. 8, at a time when visibility is key, we offer SheWired's Top 10 Real Women Who Love Women. So vote often for the queen of daytime, Ellen Degeneres, her real-life Princess Portia de Rossi, recently out wickedly funny woman Wanda Sykes or SheWired's own celebrity vloggers Jill Bennett and Cathy DeBuono, who aren't only funny and easy on the eyes but they've been in the trenches fighting Prop. 8.

You voted throughout the month! And here are the results.

10. Cherry Jones
Two-time Tony Winner Cherry Jones made history in 1995 when she thanked her female partner in her acceptance speech for her award for The Heiress. A decade later she and her partner, actress Sarah Paulson, kissed during the live Tony's broadcast when Cherry picked up another award for Doubt. In 2001, the very sexy Cherry played a lesbian opposite Brooke Shields in the television film about a groundbreaking gay adoption case in Florida in What Makes a Family. These days, Cherry's rocking a power suit as President Allison Taylor in 24 and that's reason enough to tune in.

9. Cynthia Nixon
Sex and the City's producers gave the porcelain-skinned Cynthia Nixon'scharacter Miranda the gayest, butchest storylines of the bunch for six seasons. But while Miranda never came out, Cynthia did. A Tony winner for Rabbit Hole, Cynthia kissed her partner Christine Marinoni on national television when she was announced as the winner. The talented thespian is slated to star as Penny Arcade in An Englishman in New York, the upcoming Quentin Crisp biopic.

8. Missy Higgins
Openly bisexual Aussie hit maker, Missy Higgins, wowed listeners with her 2004 album The Sound of White, which spawned the infectiously catchy "Scar." She's released On a Clear Night, garnering more attention a slew of ARIA Awards and plenty of titillation about her sexuality. And Missy just keeps saying the right thing in interviews. The adorable Missy threw her fans a bone when she admitted to AfterEllen.com in 2007 that her song "Secret" was indeed written for an ex-girlfriend.

7. Portia de Rossi
The Aussie beauty is often known for being married to America's favorite talk show host Ellen Degeneres, but Portia de Rossi had already made a name for herself as a smokin' ice queen attorney on Ally McBeal. She followed that up with her turn as the self-involved hot mess Lindsay Bluth on the all-too short-lived series Arrested Development. With her August marriage to Ellen, Portia's one half of the most famous lesbian married couple on the planet.

6. Wanda Sykes
While she's never really denied it, wickedly funny Wanda Sykes made waves when she recently announced at the Join the Impact Prop. 8 rally in Las Vegas, that not only is she gay, but she's married. Adorable and outspoken Wanda has locked lips, albeit as a joke, with Julia Louis-Dreyfus on The New Adventures of Old Christine and she absolutely killed with her comedy on Cyndi Lauper's True Colors tour this summer.

5. Rachel Maddow
This out and proud media darling has a face for radio and TV as it turns out. The Advocate's recent Rachel Maddow cover asserted that she is the "smartest woman on TV," and that's pretty accurate. A voice of sanity on the airwaves during the primaries and the election season, The Rachel Maddow Show radio show airs on Air America, while she's tearing up the television on MSNBC. The big-brained babe, who happened to top the Out 100 for 2008, was the first openly gay person to become a Rhodes' Scholar. Hot and brilliant!

4. Leisha Hailey
The eat-her-with-a-spoon adorable L Word star Leisha Hailey -- the show's one avowed lesbian cast member since its inception -- has proven she's got enough star power for her own spin-off. Leisha's Alice heads to London to shoot a pilot this month. Meanwhile, the multi-talented Leisha's been out touring with her wildly successful band Uh Huh Her.

3. Ellen Degeneres
A decade ago, Ellen Degeneres uttered three little words -- on the cover of Time magazine anyway -- heard round the world. With a simple "Yep I'm gay," the beloved sitcom star became the first openly gay character in a lead role on television. A few years later she resurfaced as the queen of daytime bringing an unprecedented level of visibility into homes throughout the country. This summer she married her love, the stunning Portia de Rossi, also giving a face to the gay marriage movement.

2. Jill Bennett
SheWired.com's Jill Bennett has been a fiercely out actress from day one. The dark-haired, blue-eyed gorgeous Jill has played gay repeatedly including in here! Network's In Her Line of Fire, in which she tangles with lesbian icon Mariel Hemingway. She also heats things up on Dante's Cove and on the break-out lesbian web series 3-Way. True to her gay fans, she became a darling on the Web on AfterEllen.com's We're Getting Nowhere. Now, Jill's found a web home on SheWired, where she's been challenging the status quo with her vlog, The Violet Underground.

1. Cathy DeBuono
Another out actress from the get-go, tall drink of water with the great shoulders, Cathy DeBuono made a big splash when she starred as Risa, the hot love interest in Lee Friedlander's Out at the Wedding. Cathy's also appeared in Exes and Ohs and as a hilarious therapist in 3Way. With several projects in the works, Cathy's found a spot on SheWired.com for What's Your Problem, a vlog she originated on AfterEllen.com. But beyond her standard vlog, she and Jill Bennett have joined forces to protest Prop. 8 and to document it in their series of protests vlogs. Protesting is hot but it's even hotter when the ones doing it look like Cathy and Jill.

AFTERELLEN PROFILE: Cathy DeBuono

2009-02-22T21:08:00.000-08:00

AFTERELLEN profile:

Cathy DeBuono Gets Back in the Game

by Suzanne Corson, Contributing Writer
October 1, 2007

Lesbians and bisexual women have been fond of Ashley Judd ever since she kissed Salma Hayek in Frida, but now we have another reason to like her: She's the one who encouraged Out at the Wedding's Cathy DeBuono to become an actor. This fall DeBuono is part of the new comedy series Exes & Ohs that premieres on Logo (AfterEllen.com's parent company) on Oct. 8.

But let's get back to Ashley Judd. DeBuono played volleyball for the University of Kentucky Division I team and spent most of her nonacademic time on athletic pursuits, but she did appear in a student-directed play created by classmate Ashley Judd.

"I didn't know who she was when I met her," DeBuono recalled. "I grew up in New York, on Madonna and Pat Benatar and The Who. ... I had heard of the Judds, but I wasn't really tuned in."

The two kept in touch, and at a party a few years later, Judd told DeBuono that she should be an actor. "She was such an advocate and said such encouraging things to me," DeBuono said. "I really admired her; she's a very smart woman. And when someone you admire gives you advice, you tend to remember it."

DeBuono won gold medals in the United States Olympic Festivals in 1991 and 1992, but a knee injury in her senior year at Kentucky ended DeBuono's volleyball career. While recuperating from her injury, she took Judd's advice to heart and enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.

Like many other hopeful actors, she moved to Los Angeles after graduation, but unlike most of her thespian siblings, she landed a part on a prime-time series within weeks of her arrival, without the benefit of an agent.

A friend of a friend was a second A.D. on Chicago Hope and got DeBuono a job working background. "I was puppy-sitting for her and was bringing her puppy back to her on set one day, and [Chicago Hope star] Adam Arkin saw me in the parking lot. He was directing the next episode and asked me to audition for a guest star role on that show."

Though the role called for a volleyball player type of actor - perfect for DeBuono - the producers were reluctant to cast someone with no experience as a guest star. Instead, they gave her a smaller role as a paramedic, a part she returned to play several times.

Yet another chance meeting led to her next break in Hollywood. While working as a stand-in for the similarly tall Camryn Manheim on Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, DeBuono met someone from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Those producers were looking for a photo double for Terry Farrell, who played Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax. DeBuono won that part and subsequently played several different aliens on later episodes.

"They could use the same actor for stuff like that, because of all the makeup; you never knew if it was the same person," she explained. Eventually she earned a recurring role as Dabo girl M'Pella. "That was such a fun job, going to work and playing in space all day."

During her tenure at Deep Space Nine, DeBuono became inadvertently involved in a real-life drama, one that NBC's Dateline has documented in the oft-repeated episode "Death in the Hollywood Hills."

A man claiming to be "Brian from Disney" approached her at the mall in Century City and told her she'd be perfect for the new Bond film's poster. "I knew he was full of s--- from the beginning," DeBuono said. "The Bond film was already out, the posters were out, it was done. I knew a bit too much to fall for it."

She was inspired to try to catch him in a lie, so she sat and talked with him for 40 minutes, suggesting that he call her agent to set up an appointment, but he wanted her to leave the mall with him to go to a photo shoot. Instead, she set up an appointment with him for a later date.

"I brought a friend of mine, one of the stunt men from Deep Space Nine, with me. I still didn't know what I was going to do, but I wanted to catch this guy at his own game." DeBuono and her friend parked in the designated spot and waited, but the guy never showed, presumably not wanting to deal with her friend.

In 2003, DeBuono caught a newscast about the disappearance of actress Kristi Johnson. "It was weird, because you hear stories like this all the time, but for some reason, I was particularly tuned in following her story," she recalled. "Something had me paying attention." When the picture of suspect Victor Paleologus appeared on the screen, DeBuono realized it was "Brian from Disney."

She testified at the trial and afterward met the other women, who all had similar experiences to DeBuono's, following Kristi Johnson's story on the news.

"I'm proud that I testified at his trial," DeBuono said. "By the time they found her body, all the scientific evidence had been washed away by rain. The thing that actually got him was that three or four other women and I came forward. He had originally entered a not guilty plea, but after our testimony, he had to change his plea. He was caught at that point."

A welcome relief from that drama was provided by DeBuono's appearances in J.D. Disalvatore's Gay Propaganda, a series of shorts which queered classic Hollywood films. DeBuono appeared in the spoofs of Goodfellas and From Here to Eternity.

She was also scheduled to appear in a takeoff of Rocky, to be directed by Lee Friedlander (Girl Play), but Friedlander got a job with a major studio to work on Wasabi Tuna (starring Anna Nicole Smith), and the queer Rocky clip never was made.

Friedlander remembered DeBuono four years later when she was casting Out at the Wedding. By that time, DeBuono had stopped acting, earned a master's degree in clinical psychology and had her own private therapy practice. Friedlander was able to track her down and encouraged her to audition for the part of Risa, the rent-a-dyke hired by Andrea Marcellus' character, Alex, who is pretending to be gay.

"Apparently when [Friedlander] read the script, she kept seeing me in that role," DeBuono said. "I was hesitant because I didn't want to get derailed from what I was doing. She emailed me the script, and I let it sit on the desktop of my computer for two weeks. I didn't want to look at it."

Fortunately Friedlander was persistent. DeBuono read the script at her urging, loved it, and wanted to play Risa.

The bar scene in Out at the Wedding is particularly amusing. Risa meets Alex at a lesbian bar so that Alex can drink in the atmosphere and become more convincing as a dyke. Alex tries to dyke up her wardrobe, and the look on DeBuono's face as Risa when she spots Alex is priceless.

"Andrea is wearing my boots in that scene," DeBuono said, laughing. "They were like, 'We need some dyke clothes; Cathy, do you have any boots?'"

DeBuono participated in some of the promo work for the film, including a screening at San Francisco's Frameline this past June. "It was at the Castro Theatre, which was packed, and the audience really got it. They got all the jokes and enjoyed themselves. We had such fun making it, so it was fun to sit in a room full of people enjoying it."

This month you can see DeBuono on Exes & Ohs, the new comedy series from creator Michelle Paradise (The Ten Rules), who also stars in the series. DeBuono's character, Becca, is dating Marnie Alton's Sam, one of the main group of five friends. (Exes & Ohs also stars Heather Matarazzo, Angela Featherstone and Megan Cavanagh.)

And DeBuono has more projects on the horizon, too. This fall she'll be shooting two films: Tremble & Spark, Kelly Burkhardt's Philadelphia-based film noir short which co-stars Jessica Graham, and AfterEllen.com writer Ellen Seidler's next film with Megan Siler, And Then Came Lola, along with Ashleigh Sumner and Jill Bennett.

She is also co-creating a show with some business partners. "It's coming together in a way that is very exciting for me and my partners," she said.

When she left acting several years ago, DeBuono noted, these kinds of gay-themed roles were not as common, but now that they are more plentiful, she's glad to be back in the game.

The experience of working on Exes & Ohs was quite a contrast from the mainstream series DeBuono has worked on, such as Chicago Hopeand Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Those shows had bigger budgets and fancier soundstages, but she is grateful to be part of a project that more closely reflects her own experience.

"Exes & Ohs is culturally specific, and it was specific to my culture, which made it different and wonderful to be a part of," she said. "And I do love that Michelle Paradise, a woman and a lesbian, created it against all odds and saw it through. I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to be part of the manifestation of that."

OUT AT THE WEDDING: The Seattle Gay News

2009-02-22T20:57:00.001-08:00

THE SEATTLE GAY NEWS REVIEWS Out at the Wedding

Out at the Wedding

Rating: Excellent

excerpt:...

Alex needs someone to fill the role of her fictional lover Dana; soon Risa, an athletic Lesbian contractor (portrayed by the stunningly beautiful Cathy DeBuono in her first feature film appearance) with a mesmerizing face and deep piercing eyes is hired by Alex to play the role. Unfortunately for Alex, when Jeannie meets Risa things don? turn out quite the way she planned, the result is a comedy of errors and nonstop laughter of the highest magnitude.

DeBuono really shines with her fantastic and impressive screen performance as the love starved Jewish Lesbian. This situational comedy of lies by a wacky woman is a marvelous and clever romp that is certainly shouldn? be missed. Expected to be released in the fall watch for it. It is one of the funniest films of SIFF 2007.

Photo: Cathy DeBuono, Desi Lydic and Andrea Marcellus.

"Out at the Wedding" World premeirre at The Seattle International Film Festival 2007.