Sometimes you get to work on a dream project, and Sort Of has definitely been that for me. It can be rare to find yourself on a gig where multiple aspects of your identity are seen as relevant to the material of a show, but that was absolutely the case here. And it also doesn’t…
Category: lgbt
Heritage Minute: Jackie Shane!
Bucket, meet list. I grew up in front of my parents’ old television set, watching hours upon hours of shows and commercials — to be honest, this largely informed my desire to write television. I regret nothing. It was hard to make friends when you were a gay biracial kid in the suburbs. But mixed…
Sort Of: Winner of 2022 Peabody!
Feeling tremendously grateful to be a part of the second season of CBC/HBO Max’s hit series Sort Of. It is very rare to write on a show where multiple aspects of your identity are folded into the lived experiences of the characters, so to have the opportunity to bring some of that into incredible universe…
Toronto Star: “On Nina Arsenault.”
I wrote a piece for The Star on playwright, performance artist, journalist, and local LGBTQ+ legend Nina Arsenault — and how she is transforming the recent social media rumours of her death into art. “Artist Nina Arsenault says she learned of her own death second hand. “Oh, I heard it was a beautiful funeral,” she laughs….
Toronto Star: “Alone in the Crowd.”
One of the chief pleasures of pre-pandemic life was the ability to move through urban space — freely and with a certain degree of anonymity. Oh, to go into any old dive bar, take a seat at a table, and just watch the rhythms of life occur around you. It was a simple thing, but one…
Toronto Star: “On Losing Queer Spaces.”
Losing The Beaver has been hard for so many of us in Toronto’s LGBTQ+ community, as it was a space that really helped redefine what it means to be queer in the city beyond any one specific neighbourhood. I have countless memories of sweaty nights, dancing on the cramped dance floor, and meeting new friends…
Toronto Star: “Pride and the Impact of COVID-19.”
I wrote a piece for today’s Toronto Star on the annual Pride celebrations and the impact of COVID-19 on the city’s LGBTQ+ community. I appreciate Dean Odorico (of popular bar Woody’s) and Jaymie Sampa of The 519 taking the time to discuss the Church-Wellesley community, the challenges the neighbourhood is currently navigating, and some of…
TPL Panel: “Art & Artists During COVID-19.”
Next week! I’ll be participating in a panel for Toronto Public Library as part of their virtual Pride programming, talking about queerness, community, and art with fellow screenwriter writer Sarah Dollard (Dr. Who, A Discovery of Witches, Being Human, Bridgerton) and moderated by Nancy-Anne Davies. I’ll be donating my honorarium to Supporting Our Youth, an organization doing incredible work…
Toronto Star: “The Legacy of the Bruce McArthur Case.”
I wrote a piece in today’s The Toronto Star on the Bruce McArthur serial killer case, and the impact it had on the city’s LGBTQ+ communities, as well as systemic and grass-roots programs that have since been implemented in the hopes of addressing a legacy of neglect by those in power. You can read it…
Toronto Star: “Meet Me Under the Clock!”
Inspired by a film project I’ve been working on the last little while, I wrote a piece for The Toronto Star on the old clock tower on Yonge Street, and its (rather infamous) role in local queer history. This has been a subject very close to my heart! You can find the article here.
JP Larocque 