Explore every episode of the podcast Gailey Road Audio

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Spanning borders from Colombia to Canada, Germany to England, a grandmother and her granddaughter, both survivors of state violence, search for family and a place to call home.

A novel for anyone who has ever left “home,” has experienced belonging in different communities, or simply has an interest for what makes a “home” for us and our loved ones.

Narrator: Playwright Tara Goldstein
Director: Jenny Salisbury
Musician: Kael Reid
Our Funders

• Social Science and Humanities Research Council Connections Grant
• Jackman Humanities Institute Arts Program Grant, University of Toronto
• New College Initiatives Fund, University of Toronto

Narrator: Playwright Tara Goldstein
Director: Jenny Salisbury
Barbara Gittings: Moynan King
Kay Tobin Lahusen: Mary Ellen MacLean
Dr. Anonymous: Ty Walkland
Musician, singer: Kael Reid
Our Funders

• Social Science and Humanities Research Council Connections Grant
• Jackman Humanities Institute Arts Program Grant, University of Toronto
• New College Initiatives Fund, University of Toronto

Narrator: Playwright Tara Goldstein
Director: Jenny Salisbury
Shirley Chisholm: Lashae Watson
The Advance Men: Ryan Singh, Ty Walkland
Musician, singer: Kael Reid
Our Funders

• Social Science and Humanities Research Council Connections Grant
• Jackman Humanities Institute Arts Program Grant, University of Toronto
• New College Initiatives Fund, University of Toronto

Narrator: Playwright Tara Goldstein
Director: Jenny Salisbury
Beverley Rotter: Beth Anne Cole
Iris De La Cruz: Neta Rose
Musician, singer: Kael Reid
Our Funders

• Social Science and Humanities Research Council Connections Grant
• Jackman Humanities Institute Arts Program Grant, University of Toronto
• New College Initiatives Fund, University of Toronto

Narrator: Playwright Tara Goldstein
Director: Jenny Salisbury
Musician, singer: Kael Reid
Barbara Gittings:  Moynan King
Our Funders

• Social Science and Humanities Research Council Connections Grant
• Jackman Humanities Institute Arts Program Grant, University of Toronto
• New College Initiatives Fund, University of Toronto

Narrator: Playwright Tara Goldstein
Director: Jenny Salisbury
Audre Lorde: Sashoya Simpson
Barbara Smith: Sierra Haynes
Musician, singer: Kael Reid
Our Funders

• Social Science and Humanities Research Council Connections Grant
• Jackman Humanities Institute Arts Program Grant, University of Toronto
• New College Initiatives Fund, University of Toronto

Writing contributions from Jenny Salisbury, Alec Butler
Narrator: Playwright Tara Goldstein
Director: Jenny Salisbury
Chrystos: Alec Butler
Leanne Simpson: Nicole-Joy Fraser
Drummers: Alec Butler, Don Kerr
Musician: Kael Reid
Our Funders

• Social Science and Humanities Research Council Connections Grant
• Jackman Humanities Institute Arts Program Grant, University of Toronto
• New College Initiatives Fund, University of Toronto

Narrator: Playwright Tara Goldstein
Director: Jenny Salisbury
Cheslea Goodwin: Savannah Burton
Sylvia Rivera: Rosalind Goodwin
Musician, singer: Kael Reid

Our Funders

• Social Science and Humanities Research Council Connections Grant
• Jackman Humanities Institute Arts Program Grant, University of Toronto
• New College Initiatives Fund, University of Toronto

Our next project, The Love Booth and Other Plays is a set of seven short plays that share stories of queer lives and queer activism and care in the 1970s and early 1980s.  The title play The Love Booth tells the story of how a group of lesbian and gay activists pushed the American Psychology Association to take homosexuality off its Diagnostic Statistical Manual in 1973 so that homosexuality was no longer considered an illness that needed to be cured.  

Gailey Road is planning to perform The Love Booth and Other Plays (either on stage or virtually) during 2023 Toronto Pride Festival to mark the 50th anniversary of this successful moment of queer activism.  A full list of the seven plays is included at the end of this letter.  The performances will feature the work of a diverse group of White, BIPOC, and queer and trans theatre artists, many of whom have worked with Gailey Road in the past.  They will also feature the music of Kate Reid and the visual art of benjamin lee hicks.

Part 1 of Out at School begins with a scene called “We Still Have to Fight” which introduces one of the major themes of the play:  LGBTQ parents and students have to fight and advocate to make sure their families are recognized and legitimized at school. 

Part 1 ends with Kate Reid’s song Pushing the Envelope which speaks to the ways LGBTQ parents and students have to explain their families and relationships to school principals, teachers and staff. 

To learn more about the LGBTQ Families Speak Out Project, visit our website here.

About Gailey Road Productions:

Gailey Road is an independent theatre company that stages research-based theatre about contemporary human, social, and political issues that affect us all.  Established in January 2007 by Artistic Director, performed ethnographer and playwright Tara Goldstein, Gailey Road has worked with over 60 writers and 80 theatre artists in the last 14 years.

Gailey Road is committed to fostering dialogue around issues of systematic anti-semitism, cisheteronormativity, racism, and settler colonialism, particularly in schooling.  We are also committed to promoting LGBTQ+ voices both on and offstage. 

Part 2 of Out at School features two scenes that discuss the ways Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are celebrated in schools.  It ends with Kate Reid’s song Let Love Be The Way which continues Kate’s reflection on the ways LGBTQ parents and students need to explain themselves at school. 

In the song, Kate talks about how LGBTQ families often need to justify their identities, bodies, and pronouns at school.  The entire song is composed of a set of questions directed to school principals, teachers and staff who identify as heterosexual and cisgender and asks them to think about their answers to these questions.

To learn more about the LGBTQ Families Speak Out Project, visit our website here.

About Gailey Road Productions:

Gailey Road is an independent theatre company that stages research-based theatre about contemporary human, social, and political issues that affect us all.  Established in January 2007 by Artistic Director, performed ethnographer and playwright Tara Goldstein, Gailey Road has worked with over 60 writers and 80 theatre artists in the last 14 years.

Gailey Road is committed to fostering dialogue around issues of systematic anti-semitism, cisheteronormativity, racism, and settler colonialism, particularly in schooling.  We are also committed to promoting LGBTQ+ voices both on and offstage. 

Part 3 of Out at School ends with a scene called “Risk Hope” summarizing another key theme of the play. Although they currently have to fight and advocate to make sure their families are recognized at school, LGBTQ parents and students still maintain hope that schools are capable of change and that one day they won’t need to be pushing the envelope.   

Part 3 ends with Kate Reid’s song Risk Hope which puts out the idea that storytelling, for example the stories and testimonies the families share in Out at School is vital to creating social change both inside and outside of school.

To learn more about the LGBTQ Families Speak Out Project, visit our website here.

About Gailey Road Productions:

Gailey Road is an independent theatre company that stages research-based theatre about contemporary human, social, and political issues that affect us all.  Established in January 2007 by Artistic Director, performed ethnographer and playwright Tara Goldstein, Gailey Road has worked with over 60 writers and 80 theatre artists in the last 14 years.

Gailey Road is committed to fostering dialogue around issues of systematic anti-semitism, cisheteronormativity, racism, and settler colonialism, particularly in schooling.  We are also committed to promoting LGBTQ+ voices both on and offstage. 

Goldstein, Tara and Audarson Gudmundson, Helgi. (Producers). (2018, October 17).

Welcome to Gender. Sexuality. School.

Goldstein, Tara and Audarson Gudmundson, Helgi. (Producers). (2018, October 17). 

​Tara interviews Lee Airton from Queen’s University about their new book Gender Your Guide:  What to Say, What to Know and What to Do in the New Gender Culture.

Goldstein, Tara and Audarson Gudmundson, Helgi. (Producers). (2018, November 1).

Tara interviews musician and research team member Kate Reid about her research on queering high school curriculum through music.

Goldstein, Tara and Audarson Gudmundson, Helgi. (Producers). (2018, December 1).

Tara interviews the team behind the documentary film Gender is Like an Ocean about their work on teaching middle school students about gender with the novel Beautiful Music for Ugly Children written by Kirstin Cronn-Mills in 2012. 

Goldstein, Tara and Audarson Gudmundson, Helgi. (Producers). (2019, January 1). 

Tara shares one of the letters from her new book Teaching Gender and Sexuality at School:  Letters to Teachers.

Goldstein, Tara and Audarson Gudmundson, Helgi  (Producers).  (2019, February 1).

Tara talks to colleagues Tania Ferfolja and Jackie Ullman about their Australian research about parents’ views on gender and sexuality education.

Goldstein, Tara and Friesen, Doug (Producers).  (2019, March 6).

Tara talks to team member Pam Baer about her applied theatre research with young people living in LGBTQ families.

Goldstein, Tara and Friesen, Doug (Producers).  (2019, April 1).

Tara talks to LGBTQ Families Speak Out team member Kate Reid about the music she composed for the project’s verbatim theatre piece Out at School.  

Goldstein, Tara and Friesen, Doug (Producers).  (2019, May 1).

Tara talks to LGBTQ Families Speak Out team member benjamin lee hicks about the illustrations they composed for the project’s verbatim theatre piece Out at School. 

Goldstein, Tara and Friesen, Doug (Producers).  (2019, June 1).

Tara talks to LGBTQ Families Speak Out team member Yasmin Owis​ about her research on ways to queer sex education so that it represents the lives of LGBTQ students.

Goldstein, Tara and Friesen, Doug (Producers).  (2019, Oct 1).  ​

Tara talks to j wallace skelton about j’s work with OISE’s teacher discussion group Queer and Trans Space and the discussions teachers are having about implementing the 2019 sex ed curriculum in their classrooms.

Goldstein, Tara and Friesen, Doug (Producers).  (2019, Nov 1).

Tara talks to Lee Airton about their work with QSEC, a Special Interest Group within the Canadian Society for the Study of Education.