Jim Provenzano
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Jim Provenzano born James Thomas Provenzano (December 6, 1961- ) is an author, playwright, photographer and editor. Born in Queens, New York City, NY, he was raised in Ashland, Ohio.
He attended Kent State University from 1979-1980 as a theatre major. After transferring to Ohio State University in 1981, he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1985. While a student, he received summer scholarships from the Dayton Ballet and Bill Evans Dance Company at Allegheny College.
In 1985-1986 he lived in Pittsburgh and worked and toured with the Pittsburgh Dance Alloy. After moving to New York City in 1986, he performed with various modern dance choreographers, including Steve Gross and Bill Cratty, touring with Cratty's company for a year, and at The Yard on Martha's Vineyard in 1987.
Creating his own dance and performance works from 1987-1992 in New York, he performed at Franklin Furnace, P.S. 122, Dance Theatre Workshop, and several other venues. In 1988, he directed, wrote and composed a musical, Under the River, set in the World Trade Center's PATH station.
In 1989, he began working as the publisher's assistant for OutWeek magazine, and also contributed his first news and arts stories, including interviews with Bill T. Jones. He became the editor of the publication's offshoot, Hunt, an entertainment weekly, before both publications folded.
During that time, he was a member of both ACT UP (the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power) and Queer Nation, participating in protests for both organizations. He also wrote freelance arts features for Frontiers, The Advocate, High Performance and the San Francisco Sentinel, including interviews with Clive Barker, Chita Rivera, and Paul Bartel. Upon moving to San Francisco in 1992, he worked as an assistant editor for the Bay Area Reporter from 1992-1994. He began his column Sports Complex, covering the GBT athletics movement, in 1996, which continued until 2006. The column was internationally syndicated from 2004-2006. Among the topics were the controversies of the California AIDS Rides, financial controversies and accomplishments of the Gay Games and Outgames, as well as interviews with, and articles about, gay and lesbian athletes, including Esera Tuaolo, Jerry Smith, Glenn Burke, David Kopay, Billie Jean King, Greg Louganis, Matthew Cusick, and several gay and lesbian Olympic athletes.
In 1997, he completed a Master of Arts degree in English/Creative Writing at San Francisco State University.
In 2005, Provenzano guest curated the world's first gay sports exhibit, Sporting Life: GLBT Athletics and Cultural Change from the 1960s to Today, for the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco. The exhibit closed in 2006.
Provenzano again began writing and editing fulltime for the Bay Area Reporter in September 2006 as the publication's assistant arts editor.
He is also the author of two novels, PINS (1999) about gay high school wrestlers, and Monkey Suits (2003) about gay cater-waiters in 1980s Manhattan. Nearly two dozen anthologies include his short stories and essays.
In 2002, San Francisco's New Conservatory Theatre Center commissioned his stage adaptation of his novel PINS.
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--Myrman 05:59, 23 January 2007 (UTC)
