May 2019 Archives

Xena: Warrior Princess, the spin off from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, was the best spin-off in our opinion! TV Line looks at the best spinoffs!

XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS
Outlast its parent show, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys? Make a household name of Lucy Lawless? Rock a leather-studded skirt? Dance the line between affecting drama and good ol’ fantasy fun? Continue to have fan conventions more than a decade after the last episode aired? Your fave could never.

See the rest of the list here

New Documentary Examines 'Xena: Warrior Princess' As Lesbian Icon For The Ages

"Queering the Script" takes an up-close (and critical) look at how LGBTQ representation on TV can have a generation-defining impact.

Given its portrayal of a strong female protagonist who enjoys intimate friendships with other women, “Xena: Warrior Princess” courted a massive LGBTQ following during its six-season run. Though 18 years have passed since the show went off the air, many continue to hail the titular character as a lesbian icon, though her sexuality was never formally clarified.

As a new documentary, “Queering the Script,” reveals, there was one person initially oblivious to the queer appeal of the fantasy series-turned-pop culture phenomenon: Xena herself ? or, rather, Lucy Lawless, who played the role.

When Lawless and co-star Renee O’Connor learned of their LGBTQ fans, “we just thought it was really kind of amusing,” she said, as seen in the above clip. “A huge part of this fandom, which had never been seen in the history of the world before, was that it was born at the same time as the internet.”

The “Xena” cult is one of many examined in “Queering the Script,” which debuted this weekend at the 2019 Inside Out Film Festival in Toronto and will continue to play additional festivals over the course of the year. Canadian filmmaker Gabrielle Zilkha told HuffPost she wanted to examine how queer audiences have embraced “Xena: Warrior Princess” and many other TV shows ? including “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and, more recently, “One Day at a Time” ? and, by doing so, “straddle an interesting line” between fans and activists.

“When they haven’t seen themselves represented on TV, they wrote themselves back into the narrative with fan fiction and other transformative works,” Zilkha said. “Today, with LGBTQ representation becoming more popular, this fanbase is the first to champion representation done right, but also the first to critique, pick apart and demand something better.”

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Coming October 2019, Renee will be producing an intimate and intense version of Macbeth, portraying the role of ‘Lady Macbeth’ along side her husband, Jed Sura as ‘Macbeth’. This theatrical production will be presented at the Grand Annex, in San Pedro, California, guided by visionary guest director, Michael Ritchie, (Southern Shakespeare’s director of Romeo and Juliet).

“I am thrilled to reprise the role of Lady M, after playing this role with Shakespeare By The Sea in 2002. I never could have imagined I would have the opportunity to play this intense part with my husband!” Renee O’Connor

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OCTOBER 2019

ROC Productions presents MACBETH, with Renee O’Connor as ‘Lady Macbeth’ and husband, Jed Sura as ‘Macbeth’.

“I am thrilled to reprise the role of Lady M, after playing this role with Shakespeare By The Sea in 2002. I never could have imagined I would have the opportunity to play this intense part with my husband! It will be a thrilling ride for us, and I am grateful for the visionary guidance of professional director, Michael Ritchie, whom I met on Southern Shakespeare Company’s production of Romeo and Juliet last year.” Renee O’Connor

Tickets will be on sale beginning in May. Check back for updates.

COMING SOON

“ROC MACBETH” merchandise and Macbeth inspired artwork by Renee O’Connor, will be available in May. All proceeds contribute to the production.

Check the MACBETH page on our website, www.rocpictures.com, for updates.

Steven Sears posted the following photo of himself with the gorgeous Renee (as the Queen of the Fairies!)

For those without facebook...

TheMarySue has an interesting article about the new Xena Comic!

The Return of Xena: Warrior Princess Gives Us the Hero We’ve Been Crying Out For

For many young women and queer kids around the globe, Xena was one of their awakening moments. Whether it was the relationship between Xena/Gabrielle or the sight of Lucy Lawless in all that leather, despite being off the air for almost twenty years, the fanbase it built is still as strong as ever, which is why seeing it continued once more in comic form is such an immense pleasure.

Dynamite Comics has brought back Xena: Warrior Princess, written by Vita Ayala (Chandra, Livewire), with art by Olympia Sweetman, colors by Rebecca Nalty, and letters by Ariana Maher, so it’s a ladies and non-binary team bringing this first issue together. In the issue, Xena and Gabrielle have been called to the village of Sideros because the goddess Discord (guess what she does) has threatened to pull a pied piper and steal the children of the village.

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At the recent Xenite Retreat, Xenites got their first look at the upcoming Xena: Their Courage Changed Our World book set - a three volume set - which will be released on September 04, 2020 - Xena's 25th Anniversary.

I'm pleased to announce that the official site for the book has now been updated with information from the guide. If you were at the Sunday panel I conducted at the Retreat, you will have received a full colour 16 page booklet, including artwork created by Arkie Ring and Linda "Calli" Callahan which were exclusive to the booklet. I will be posting the artwork to the site in addition to all the other images.

The official site can be found on http://xena25years.ausxip.com

Pages Updated

• About Xena: Their Courage Changed Our World

New Pages Added

• Contributor List
• Chapter Breakdown and Contributor Writing it

Message from Renee O'Connor about the Xenites suggesting names for her Theater Company.

We stopped accepting submissions yesterday and sent Renee about 100 of them to go through! Thank you, everyone!

"These are fantastic! I am going to take my favorites then discuss it. Please let everyone know that the ideas are thoughtful and mystical and witty. I appreciate the creativity involved and will get back to you! Macbeth is up first but I'll make the list for future projects."

- Renee O'Connor

Renee O'Connor needs your help. For those of you who enjoy theater and are interested in supporting Renee O'Connor in future productions she is looking for suggestions for a name for a non-profit theater company she is forming. Renee was so impressed with the support she received from Xenites, attending the Xenite Retreat, who took time out to go see her in the Little Fish Theatre production of Uncle Vanya. Renee is looking for Xenite input on her new project.

Renee said: "It was their support for theater and the arts which really helped me finally clarify what my vision is for my theater company ? My company is producing Shakespeare, classical literature for the stage; to cultivate an appreciation of the classics in high schools by offering professional productions they can see."

In addition to Macbeth this October, Renee is looking to produce "The Outsiders" in 2020.

GO TO: http://ausxip.com/news/name-roc-theater/and make your suggestion. READ the rules first!

This video needs some backstory. Renee posted a thank you to Xenites who supported Encore South Bay Theatre https://www.encoresouthbay.org/ by raising $10K at the Xenite Retreat.

She also thanked Xenites for raising $2500 for the Little Fish Theatre. I saw Renee perform in the Little Fish Theatre in Uncle Vanya. BLOWN. AWAY. by her performance. Will have a more indepth review of the play in the next few days.

#ReneeOConnor posted a thank you to Xenites who supported Encore South Bay Theatre https://t.co/SIhxuI05lI by raising $10K at the Xenite Retreat. She also thanked Xenites for raising $2500 for the Little Fish Theatre. The following video was posted on Renee's Instagram account. pic.twitter.com/PoJY9axpSu

— AUSXIP Network (@ausxip) May 1, 2019