The playwright of “A Sissy in Wyoming,” Gregory Hinton, will be in Park City this week for two readings of his play and a community conversation will follow.
There will be a reading at the Kamas Library on Tuesday and the Park City Library on Wednesday. Both are from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Mountain Mediation Center Director Gretchen Lee explains the play is about Larry “Sissy” Goodwin, who was born and raised in rural Wyoming and was a cross dresser.
“It’s about a man who was a resident of Wyoming,” Lee said. “He was a dad, a veteran, a peace activist, and a public speaker wearing women's clothing. Gregory Hinton thought that this would be an interesting story to develop into a play and we are delighted to be bringing it to Utah, and then to have a Q and A and have a community conversation afterwards.”
Hinton developed the play using the oral history records of Goodwin’s wife, Vicki. Her husband was born and raised in Wyoming and was a crossdresser – something that doesn’t go over well in rural Wyoming. The play focuses on the challenge he faced and was able to overcome, until he lost his battle with brain cancer in 2020.
“I think it's important because we need to understand that just because someone dresses differently, doesn't mean that they aren't a valuable human being and a good asset to society, or they look different, or they sound different. I believe that it really helps some people understand better and some people also become more comfortable with being themselves.”
The reading will last about an hour – followed by a short Q and A and a 45-minute community conversation.
Then on Friday, Sept. 29, Lee says the Mountain Mediation Center will be holding its inaugural fundraiser.
“And we're going to have pizza at The Pendry on the 29th from 5 to 7 p.m.,” Lee said. “And one of the primary goals of this fundraiser is to have the community come and learn more about us. We are a small organization and a lot have folks in our community do not know about the work that we're doing. So, this is an opportunity, and the Pendry is providing us a fantastic opportunity, to get the word out to the community.”
The center will have different stations set up for people to learn more about its programming including mediation, landlord-tenant issues, community conversations and a training station. The center has formed a partnership with Park City Leadership Class 29 to continue to offer the three-hour “Let’s Talk” communications training to the community.
“The class addresses four specific modules,” she explained. “The first one is self-awareness. The second one is active listening, the third one is finding common ground. And then the fourth one is communicating to connect. So, it's intended as a basic level communication skills class. And a lot of us, we may already have these skills, but may not be aware, it really brings awareness to some of the skills which we may already have.”
Tickets to the fundraiser are $75 and available at the link here.
