KIPPY-Pray For The Dead AND Fight Like Hell For The Living!

KIPPY PRAY FOR THE DEAD AND FIGHT LIKE HELL FOR THE LIVING!

A CONVERSATION WITH THE LATE KIP TIERNAN

A one-woman imagining of Kip Tiernan, social justice hero. Kippy was an extraordinary character and a force of nature who changed the face of social justice in Boston. Passionate and salty-tongued, she engendered outrage and empathy for the plight of poor and homeless women. She founded Rosie’s Place in 1974, the first-ever homeless sanctuary for women in the US.  An Imagining / A monologue / A conversation

Written and performed by Gail Phaneuf.

Funded by a grant from the National Endowment the Humanities (NEH) initiative Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan (SHARP) as part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan of 2021 and support from Lakes Region Recovery Center

Facilitated discussion with Lake Region Recovery Center follows performance

WHO WAS KIP TIERNAN (KIPPY)?

A child of the Depression who ate supper with destitute strangers at her grandmother’s kitchen table, Kippy becomes an urban advocate in men’s trousers and a fishing hat, with a street-level view of poverty’s toll.
Gay before it was tolerated and closeted in order to pursue her interests, she joins a band of radical priests who burn draft cards and protest the Vietnam War. Upon seeing homeless women disguised as men on the streets of Boston, Kip finds her life’s calling, and a deep compassion for society’s forgotten. She begins Rosie’s Place with a passion and a paltry 250 donated bucks in 1974.

 “Justice is not three hots and a cot.  Justice is having your own key.” – Kip Tiernan

While fighting to comfort women with nowhere to go, Kip faces her own demons at midlife and the cold indifference of a city unwilling to see the suffering in its shadows. The challenges come brutally fast. When serving coffee isn’t enough Kip begins hunting for beds, saving lives, and battling neighbors who want to shut Rosie’s down. Luckily, Kip is endowed with unmatched charm, wicked Boston humor and a keen sense of justice. Kippy was a friend to many (including Lily Tomlin, Tyne Daly and Lucille Ball) and to others she was known as a “troublemaker”. Kippy liked that term because she believed that we should all make trouble when there is a problem that is hurting people. She was the constant gardener of social justice. She later went on to found The Greater Boston Food Bank in 1978 and The Poor People’s United Fund in 1980. People were drawn to Kippy by her sheer energy and her love that was spread without ego. I met Kippy as a friend sitting on a small beach outside her tiny apartment over a garage in Provincetown. She was unforgettable and beautifully intense, warm and funny. We bonded over playing piano and writing plays. She loved animals and she was a tireless advocate for poor and homeless women. Kippy is an inspiration and a heroic, colorful spirit who never gave up her quest for justice. Kippy passed away in 2011 and a striking memorial to honor her was erected in Boston in 2018.

   “Who gets the condo and who gets the cardboard box?”   – Kip Tiernan

Gail Phaneuf

is an award-winning playwright, composer and actor who hails from Boston Massachusetts.  Her teen show The Love Note Musical enjoyed an Off Broadway run and continues to have countless productions at schools and theatres around the world.  www.thelovenote.com.   MONSTERS! A Midlife Musical Meltdown, is a raucous comic collaboration with composer and Broadway lyricist Ernie Lijoi.  www.monstersthemusical.com.   Gail’s latest musical work is a song cycle entitled Memorize You.   Gail is the founder of G.P. Technologies in Boston, and a former president of The Playwrights’ Platform.  As an actor she garnered critical acclaim from the New York Times for her role as Leona Dawson in Tennessee William’s Small Craft Warnings.  She holds a Master’s degree from Emerson College, and was the Playwright in Residence, Senior Lecturer and theatre director at Curry College for a decade.  www.gailphaneuf.com

“Justice is not three hots and a cot.  Justice is having your own key.” – Kip Tiernan

COVID PROTOCOL

SUBJECT TO CHANGE BASED ON CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES

• Masks are optional when Oxford County, ME, Community COVID levels are Low/Medium. Masks are available at the door. DAC will follow all CDC and Maine safety guidelines. Please take additional precautions should you be at higher risk.
• Please do not to attend if you’ve been in close contact with someone who is suspected or confirmed to have had COVID-19, or had symptoms of illness (including fever, respiratory symptoms, runny nose, sore throat, cough, muscle aches, change in taste or smell, tiredness or chills) in the 5 days prior to performance. Choose to protect yourself and others.
• DAC has HEPA air purifiers, hand sanitizers and incorporates traffic flow (enter front door, exit side door). Doors ajar for additional air circulation.
• DAC strongly suggests online reservations to reduce contact, interaction, and wait time at ticket booth.