Local writer Spike Gillespie (along with a dozen of her closest friends) has been holding forth on the subject of wookin pa nub in all the wrong places. The Dick Monologues run once a month at Hyde Park Theater. When we walked in, there was a sea of women with tiny plastic cups of red wine. Any trepidation over being surrounded by that many sleeveless tops quickly dissipated as the raucously hilarious women (and two men) took the stage, one by one, to tell their stories. At times harrowing, but mostly just flat out funny, it's like hanging out with a big group of your favorite girlfriends and talking about the time you dated that one guy who was an incredibly dedicated daschund owner. Plus, you get to hear someone say "Spam javelin" on a stage. Austinist was able to catch up with Spike for a couple of questions.

Why the dick? What spurned this particular subject matter?
I actually explain this in the introduction so I don't want to give it away here. Let's just say that I got dicked over, yet again, recently, and that inspired the show.

Who are the talented women involved and how did you go about developing the show?
We have a pretty solid cast but some months people rotate out and in depending on their schedules, menstrual cycles, due dates, and biker rallies. I didn't really develop the show, I just asked the most talented people in Austin to show up and do their thing and they agreed. We have two men in the show — Southpaw Jones (straight!) and Rudy Ramirez (gay!). The women include: Suzi Galletti, Diane Fleming, Sara Hickman, Marrit Ingman, Sarah Barnes, Katherine Tanney, Sarah Bird, Kristine Kovach, Robin Chotzinoff, Genevieve Van Cleve, and Laura Lane.

Your show sells out every month. What kinds of people come to see your production? Do men (ahem) come?
We have men AND women. In fact, that's how I met my current, incredibly hilarious, wildly hot, totally brilliant boyfriend. He came to a show and then he asked me out the next day. I figure the show is a good way to weed out the weak ones — if this guy thought I was hot doing what I do best, then that was a good sign to me. The majority of the audience is women and I'd say they range in age mostly from their thirties to their sixties.

You seem to have held a few of these kinds of by-the-community-for-the-community types of events (the Kickass Awards, Free Sex in Public); what do you like about getting folks together in a public way like this?
I was put on the planet to be President of the Student Council. Of all the jobs, hobbies, and activities I've had in my forty-three years, looking back, that was the one that suited me most. I really was Student Council President at Gateway Regional High School and I just loved throwing these events that somehow managed to get together everyone — jocks, stoners, prisses, you name it. It's just fun to have fun and these ideas just pop in my head and I think, what the hell, let's try to manifest it. I have eighty million incredible friends and they are kind enough to indulge me this sort of thing so I wind up with all this love and support and these events grow, very accidentally, into big annual events.

Do you think Austin needs more, less, or the same amount of dick?
Gosh, I don't know how to answer that. If you asked it regarding me, I'd say I'm getting the perfect amount — see aforementioned hot boyfriend. I'm guessing, based on road rage and grocery store frowns, maybe Austin needs more dick. But there are probably other places in the country that need more dick worse than we do.

Are there any other projects that you're currently working on that you'd like to tell us about?
My new book, "Quilty as Charged," comes out the first week of October (so, like, now), there's the Dick Monologues DVD which is out, I'm working on a documentary about quilting but I ran out of money so I need more of that. I am the President of the Office of Good Deeds which helps good deed doers connect with good deed needers. I'm hoping to do a big arts and crafts workshop for low income kids around Christmastime. I just started doing some life coaching through writing. I'm starting grad school next week to get a degree in spiritual psychology. Oh, and I perform weddings — really — so if anyone is getting married they should hire me. Oh yeah, also Katherine Tanney and I are currently putting together an anthology about grief.

Photo from dickmonologues.com

The Dick Monologues at Hyde Park Theater
October 17th (sold out), November 14th, and December 12th
Doors open at 6:30pm and show starts at 7pm
e-mail spike(@)spikeg.com for tickets