BRATTLEBORO — Jennifer Grossi wants a place where people can express the feminine in a powerful way, a bit like what Virginia Woolf had envisioned for women almost a century ago.
But Woolf might blush when she discovers what Grossi and her friends have in mind for a room of one's own.
Under her stage name, Jelly Nora, Grossi is part of a new band dedicated to spreading the message of sexual diversity, feminine strength, and joy: Chasing Macie, billed as rock, blues, and bawd for the free and the brave.
The group will be presenting its first sexual awareness event, “Wake Up!” at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 6, at Hooker-Dunham Theater & Gallery in Brattleboro.
Fronting Chasing Macie are female singers Jacky Rose, Alexandria “Red Shorts,” and Jelly Nora Macie (who are usually joined by several surprise “guest Macies”), backed by a four-piece (and male) rock-and roll band, the Eager Beavers.
Grossi says that “Wake Up!” features suggestive vocals, sexy costumes, and hilarious audience participation in an evening of music, comedy and games. The two-set show showcases an eclectic mix of original songs, covers, and hilarious takeoffs of familiar favorites that run the musical gamut from rock to jazz and blues.
Each set will include onstage games with audience volunteers for fun and prizes. Members of the Elm City Derby Damez roller derby team from New Hampshire will be participating in the second onstage games.
Chasing Macie has also invited some local groups dedicated to issues of sexual diversity to join “Wake Up!” in its effort to help spread the message of positive sexuality for women. These partners include LGBTQ community organizations Green Mountain Crossroads and Homo Promo, which will have information tables in the theater lobby.
“This evening of rock, blues, and bawd will be a roller coaster ride of naughty songs,” Grossi says. “In fact, one of our originals is even called 'The Naughty Song.' Honestly, if 'Wake Up!' were in a movie, our material may be no more than PG-13, but live on stage, let me tell you, 'Chasing Macie really packs a punch.'”
According to Grossi, “Wake Up!” is all about having fun.
“We are mostly about the music. But this sexual awareness event does have a serious message. We may not be out to educate our audiences in a didactic, boring way, but we are proponents of healthy sexuality and, of course, safe sex,” she says.
The idea of forming Chasing Macie originated a few years ago when Jackie Rose was taking lessons in voice and guitar with Grossi's husband, who is also in Eager Beavers.
“Jackie began explaining to us the imperative of celebrating women and their sexuality,” Grossi says. “And it was from those discussions that we all decided we needed to form a band dedicated to that very premise.”
Now Gossi wants everyone to share their “inner Macie.” But who is Macie?
“She is an idea, an attitude, a character,” says Grossi. “Anyone can be a Macie. We are all chasing our own Macie. A Macie is any person who honors sexuality and feminine power. And that person can be either a female or a male, if they release their feminine side. The biological sex of a Macie in the end doesn't really matter. A man also can find his Macie if he is willing to explore his feminine nature within, whether that means defining himself as woman, cross-dressing as a woman, or simply promoting aspects of his personality, like sensitivity, which are often labeled feminine,” she says.
Grossi says the name Macie came out of the blue, and had no prior meaning.
“Nonetheless, we saw the concept developing until it became an ideal for each of us in the band to struggle to attain, but at the same time it was one that meant something different to each of us separately because of our values and unique life experiences.”
Yet if Macie began as an abstract concept, it transformed into a character with a life of her own.
“I see Macie as a specific person, an exaggeratedly sexy creature who is willing, if not eager, to champion her omnisexuality,” says Grossi. “She fights against sexual repression and struggles for sexual liberation for everyone.”
Grossi says she believes that a celebration of sexuality is needed these days.
“I live in Vermont, which may have a lot less sexual prejudice and more tolerance than in other areas of the country, but even here, a positive attitude of sexuality is desperately important to cultivate. I have teenage daughters, and I want them to find a world free from inhibitions and ignorance.
“Things were different when I was younger. I grew up in the suburbs of Connecticut. Although by and large my family was supportive and open about issues of sexuality, I don't think this was true of our larger community. When I was a teenager in the 1980s, I was not aware of a lot of stuff about sexual diversity, such as homosexuality. Only later did I understand that each person has a journey to explore a sexuality that might not be just like my own, but one that is equally valid.
“As I have gotten older I have come to realize that I have been suppressing parts of myself, including sexuality, and in general have failed to live up to my dreams. In order to reverse that trend of negativity, I created the character of Jelly Nora, before I even became a Macie. This was a persona to bring out these parts of myself in a strong, even exaggerated way. Becoming a Macie was only a fulfillment of a process I was already on.”
But Grossi want to emphasize that she is only speaking for herself.
“I am not a spokesperson for these issues,” she insists. “I am only talking about myself. The same is true of everyone in the band. Each person has the unique ability to choose what is right for him or her. We may be all chasing Macies, but in the end they just might turn out to be very different creatures from each other.”