Gregory Montagnino: No matter what else is happening in your life, take the time for your craft

“He knew she was right, but didn’t care to relate his own life to her very egocentric observations. Her life had already become quite disenchanted, and Charlotte knew that for Teddy, it was only a matter of time; she hated that he got to be away, but loved the freedom he had.”

~from “Teddy Madison”
by Gregory Montagnino

Gregory Montagnino wears many hats, some of which he’s designed himself. As an author, clothing designer, teacher, event planner and host, this week’s Portrait is a jack of all trades, with a Master’s degree to boot.

PGN: I love your name, it sounds very Shakespearian. What is the origin?

GM: It’s Sicilian. It means Little Mountain. I’m 100 percent Italian on both sides.

PGN: Tell me something about your Italian mother.

GM: Well, like most Italian mothers, she’s an excellent cook.

PGN: Has that talent extended to you?

GM: [Laughing] Absolutely not. I have a lot of creative outlets, but that’s not one of them. I was a spectator in the kitchen for a lot of meals, but never picked it up. I have about three things that I can cook well.

PGN: What was the dish that made you say, “I can’t wait for college break so I can have my mom’s…”

GM: That’s so hard! Everything she makes is good. Penne alla vodka, if I can only pick one.

PGN: Did your mom work when you were growing up?

GM: She worked part-time as a preschool teacher and when I was about 10, my parents opened up their own business. But no matter what, she was always home by 3 o’clock when we got home from school.

PGN: What was the family business?

GM: They have a car company.

PGN: [Laughing] Ah, I saw Ron’s Auto World on your resume and wondered how that snuck in there among all the artsy jobs.

And like your mother, you also did some teaching, correct?

GM: I did, but not young kids like she did. I was an education major and taught high school as a substitute teacher.

PGN: Where did your creative side come from?

GM: I was very shy, and I was always making things, building with blocks, putting things together. I loved to read and didn’t care to go outside. I was very sensitive.

PGN: So you were interested in the arts both in front of and behind the scenes, what did you study in college?

GM: In college I took a different path. I was an English major with a double in education. Throughout college I had the privilege of being the student-body vice president and the diversity chair on the student activities board. I was also the president of the LGBT society, so I got to plan lots of events and programs.

PGN: You had an interesting name for your Gay Straight Alliance, the “All Lifestyles Included” club.

GM: It was called that when I got to the school; basically the school insisted that in order to be inclusive, the club’s name had to reflect that everyone was welcome.

PGN: Tell me about your writing.

GM: I wrote a novel about four years ago and self-published it. Now I’m working on the sequel. It’s called “Teddy Madison,” and it started as a short story that I wrote for a creative-writing class in college in 2008, and developed from there. It’s sort of a story within a story. The protagonist, Teddy, decides to have his memoir written so it’s told in a way that, as the person writing the memoir gets to know him and the people around him, so does the reader. It takes place from around 1916 to 1930 and she uses letters written back and forth between Teddy and other people. His diary, as well as interviews with people from his life tell the story. I tried to recreate the roaring 1920s with a realistic setting, but depicting a society without sanctions or labels on gender roles or sexuality. It’s historical fiction, so in this, Teddy marries a man, Admiral Harrison Archibald Jr., in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Their parents arranged the marriage. Something that wouldn’t happen even today, but in fiction it becomes normative when you take out the heteronormativity.

PGN: I enjoyed the way you had supporting materials on the website: maps, pictures of the clothing, breakdowns of each character, etc. Even down to the colors used.

GM: Yes, I wanted to make his world as real as possible. I often used real locations and events. But I also liked the symbolism of different colors attached to different characters. Teddy has monochromatic colorblindness, and his favorite color (what he feels is a color) is white. Others are tinted with lavender or saffron and other colors.

PGN: What advice would you give a budding writer wanting to make their first American novel?

GM: I’d say no matter what else is happening in your life, take the time to put in to the craft. You may spend years trying to get something accomplished that you may never see come to any public fruition, but in order to make it real and important to yourself, you have to make the time to do it, somehow, some way.

PGN: Speaking of telling your story, when did you come out?

GM: [Laughs] Oh ho! Let’s see. It was right before I turned 18, I’d just started my senior year and I told my closest friends and my one sister. And most people’s responses were, “Duh.” As I got more comfortable I told more people but I didn’t make a big deal about it. If someone asked me I would have said yes, but I didn’t announce it. This was 10 years ago, and it wasn’t something openly discussed just yet. I then told my parents and my dad was much more accepting than my mom. It was not the image that she had for me.

PGN: Before you said something, who did you expect to be more receptive, Mom or Dad?

GM: Mom, definitely. Because we were very close and I expected her to be more understanding. But that was not the case.

PGN: I ask because I often hear that the person you least expect to be the ally is the one who comes through. I interviewed Chaz Bono and he told me that his dad was much more accepting in the beginning than Cher, and that when he transitioned it was the Republican side of the family that was much more approachable.

GM: You’re absolutely correct, and it was funny because my dad saw how much my mother and I had in common — we cooked and shopped and gardened and decorated together, things I never did with him — so we both thought she would have been the one to realize, but maybe because he was a little on the outside he was able to see it clearer. It wasn’t until two years later that my mom and I reconciled and now it’s all good. She came around when some friends who they’d known for years had a son who was gay. He had come out before me and his mom told my mom, “That’s your son, you have to accept it. It’s who he is, how could you not love him still? You’ve always loved him, what’s the difference now?” That’s when it clicked for her that it was going to be OK.

PGN: Good to hear. As a substitute teacher, did you experience any homophobia?

GM: No, and it was interesting. I did a sub job that lasted a few months in the same district where I went to school, and it was amazing how in just 10 years it had become a whole new place. In that sense, there were booming high-school GSAs and openly gay and gender-fluid kids. Students who we were so casual about, “Hmm, today I feel like wearing boys’ clothes but tomorrow I may wear a skirt.” It was normative for them. It was so nice to see.

PGN: And let’s talk about what you’re doing now. I met you at National Mechanics during the Mx. Everything competition.

GM: Yes, I’m the office and events manager for National Mechanics. Mx is over but we still have a drag show once a month and various burlesque shows, etc.

PGN: How did you get involved with the restaurant?

GM: I’d been laid off from my job and took about six months off to see what I wanted to do. I saw an ad for someone who could do event planning and was a self-starter, I looked up the place and it looked cool so I applied. I had no idea it would fit so well, honestly. But I have an incredible boss who gave me a shot and it’s been great. I’ve been here over a year now.

PGN: What makes it so much fun?

GM: I love the private events that we do. For example, we had a couple who met here on karaoke night about four years ago. They wanted to have the rehearsal dinner here and I met with the groom’s party who were throwing the party. Such nice people, and it turned out they were from the same area in NJ where I grew up. So we had a great connection. And it’s nice to know I was a part of something that they were going to remember for the rest of their lives. I love that and things like the drag show that Josh Schonewolf and I have put together; it’s been about eight months and each month grows and gets better. It’s a great thing for the neighborhood and people have been very receptive to it.

PGN: I see that you’re single, so how would someone woo you?

GM: Ha! I read your column and was wondering when you would catch me with an off-guard question! Let’s see, I want someone who can see me in my office attire one day and walking around in a pink ballgown the next and still see me as just me and all my facets. It would be nice for someone to approach me and talk about art or music or  do something clever to surprise me.

PGN: What’s the best concert experience you’ve had?

GM: I’m going to be clichéd and say a Cher concert, without a doubt. I was 13, it was at Madison Square Garden and I was one of 50,000 in the crowd cheering when she said, “I’m a gay man’s best friend.” I already knew she was speaking to me. I’ll never forget it as long as I live.

PGN: [Laughing] And that wasn’t a clue for your mom that you were gay?

GM: You’d think so! Especially since it was a present for graduating from middle school!

PGN: What time in fashion would you like to go back to?

GM: Rococo, for sure. That whole Marie Antoinette era. I would have been so happy dressing up back then.

PGN: What’s your middle name?

GM: Laurence.

PGN: How did you get into designing?

GM: I started dabbling with making costumes when I was 18, 19. College was a very creative time for me. I started doing costumes for Halloween and then over the years I started making all my own clothes out of recycled materials. Old clothes that my mother had from the ’70’s. I’d cut them up and make new pieces. Now I mostly just make costumes. I’ll go to Philly AIDS Thrift and get a dress and alter it, add beads or embellishments. It’s fun because I always have something new or different to wear.

PGN: Were you self-taught?

GM: My grandmother taught me and my best friend’s mother, who is also my sister’s mother-in-law, showed me how to use the sewing machine my mom got me for Christmas. Up until then, I hand-sewed everything, it took hours!

PGN: Favorite fabric?

GM: Probably tulle. I like goofy things, so I use it in most of my costumes. It creates layers and fun dimensions.

PGN: What was your favorite creation?

GM: I made a Mary, Queen of Scots gown for Halloween once. It was made of a thick, deep-red fabric for the bodice and the lines of the corset had gold accents. The bottom was a big goofy skirt with shiny metallic and big pearls sewn in.

PGN: Has your mom seen you in drag?

GM: Yes! And the first time was when I was a sophomore in college. I’d asked her and my sister to come to a drag ball show they did once a year. I thought she’d go straight to her seat but she decided to come up and say hi first, not expecting to find me in this ridiculous big pink puffy ballgown. She stopped in the doorframe and just looked at me and then said, “Holy shit! You look just like me!” I look like her as a boy, so when I put makeup and a dress on, it’s uncanny. Then she said something about me needing more rouge and that was it. We were good. And she’s come to my shows ever since.

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