series of Happy Accidents. Born in Dolton, Illinois on July 14, 1960, Lynch was like many other young Midwestern- ers, who upon seeing the lights of the big city, was en- thralled and wanted more. Though perhaps in her case, it’s more accurate to reference footlights, the one’s on the many stages she would come to occupy. Beginning with her first role as a candle in her school’s third grade production.
bia, Lynch searched for artistic outlets, though as she admitted, her choices were few. Singing in her high school choir and doing plays there fed the itch, but it was never enough for this budding entertainer. She had a secret too, like many young LGBT people from the not- so-tolerant ‘70s. Because of it, she preferred to stay in the shadows and not stand out. A dichotomy when you consider the direction in which she was headed, would work tirelessly for and ultimately arrive at—her place in the glow of those fabulous lights.
So Jane, tell me a little about what growing up was like for you? I grew up in a suburb, I don’t know if you know
much about them, but they are kind of a concrete wasteland—not much culture. It was a kind of a man- ifest destiny for the people of my parent’s generation who grew up in the city—moving out to the suburbs and all of that. We were in a kind of an unincorporated area, at least for the first five or six years. There wasn’t much going on culturally, so going to
the big city, which was Chicago for me, was a really big deal. We would head up there pretty often. I must say though growing up there, that there are truly lovely people who I love and still have contact with. I grew up in Wisconsin and would escape to Minneapolis whenever I could, as well. I’m really grateful it was there; otherwise being gay would have been even more of a challenge. Oh man, that is so true. Minneapolis is such a great
city. Though Minnesota isn’t all that happy with gay people is it? Well, you know it really actually is. I guess I think that because of people like Michele Bachmann—a woman who is hardly an example of a tolerant Minnesotan (laughs)! Isn’t that the truth? It’s so different now then when I was a young kid in Wisconsin in my 20s. It was pretty liberal legislatively and fairly tolerant. Now, it’s like the state has been hijacked. That’s right, unions began there (Wisconsin was the first state to grant public-sector unions the right
to negotiate contracts, Gov. Gaylord Nelson signed that into law in 1959) and Russ Feingold, the Democratic Senator, was from there as well. Madison is kind of a stalwart island that retains its liberal stronghold. At what point did you begin to figure out your sexuality? I guess when I first heard
the word, I thought, “Oh my god, that’s me!” I was about 12 when I heard someone use the word “gay” and I remember thinking, “Oh my god, I have the girl version of that (laughs)!” I didn’t really act on it, but of course being in the theatre, there were a lot of gay people who I encountered. Most of us were in the closet up through college, but eventually everybody must come out. Especially when you’re involved with theatre, which is all about expression. It’s about being true to who you are and plumbing the depths of your own person, you even- tually have to run into that part of yourself (laughs). Was there a pivotal moment for you that made you decide to come out? I really had two “coming outs.” When I came out to
myself, I was in my senior year in college… let’s just say I acted on it (laughs). I didn’t officially come out or tell my parents until I was 31. That was really a turning
point. I was freshly sober and involved in AA, where you kind of dig deep. You do this thing called the Fourth Step and come clean with everybody. Coming out wasn’t necessarily a formal part of my Fourth Step, but it was definitely something that I had to do if I wanted to continue to move forward. I wanted to have a relationship with my family and
I had started to feel myself pulling away from them. I decided that I would rather take the chance and let them know, then not do it. It’s kind of the same as how you have to be as an actor, sort of like the Stanislavski system [the inventor of Method Acting]. It’s also what is inscribed at the top of the temple at Delphi, “Know Thyself.” You’ve managed to pack a lot into the last few years, are there moments that in particular stand out for you? I guess there are many moments, though not all of
OCTOBER 2014 | OCTOBER 2014 | RAGE monthly monthly 31 Like many “geeks” who herald from small town subur-
As the title of her book says, Jane Lynch’s life has been a
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