Girls On Jane season finale takes place at LezVolley
If you made it to LezVolley this year, you probably remember the Girls On Jane survival kit provided to every single player. What you might not know yet is what Girls On Jane is, and why you must know everything about it.
Girls On Jane is a fictional drama, created by author Zara Barrie, detailing the glittery and gritty lesbian underworld in New York City - and you can decide to read it, or listen to it.
As a member of the Queer community, you’ve of course heard of The L Word - well, Girls On Jane is newer and more relevant to today’s Queer culture. And most importantly, it takes place in New York, which most of us on this side of the coast can relate to better.
The best part of Girls On Jane? The last episode of season 1 just dropped, and takes place at LezVolley - really! For those of you who attended (whether you played or you watched), you get to relive the event through the lens of the intriguing and sexy characters we have gotten to know with the previous 11 episodes.
Check out Chapter 12. Why Are You So Far Away below and read our exclusive interview with Zara Barrie below to know more about her, Girls On Jane, and why she chose to write about LezVolley.
Interview with Zara Barrie, creator of the fictional audio drama Girls On Jane
1. Where did the inspiration for creating Girls on Jane come from?
Zara: Girls On Jane is one of those rare creative projects that just sort of spilled out of me, without any initial strategy or thought! I was on a plane to see my family in Florida, feeling bored and listless about life, when I pulled out my laptop to finish an essay due the following day. Instead of writing the essay, I began writing a short story about a fictionalized lesbian underworld in Manhattan’s West Village. I’ve been a memoirist for ten years and had never even considered fiction and was shocked at how organic and limitless and fun it was to write. Without considering inspiration or impact, I just let myself free write for a few weeks. I couldn’t believe these characters and this story was stewing inside of me!
When I peeled back the layers and began to think about what to do with this impulsive creative project of mine — I realized that Girls On Jane is absolutely inspired by my own experiences in the glittery and gritty lesbian culture of New York City. Girls On Jane takes place in 2007 — right when I was coming out and feverishly frequenting gay bars trying to meet queer girls. Before dating apps, there was such a sense of urgency in lesbian bars. It’s where you locked eyes with your next girlfriend, it’s where you found hookups and best friends and your people. You couldn’t just sit in bed and swipe your life away, you had to slink into your tight jeans and smudge your black eyeliner and take four subways to interact with like-minded people.
Also — I realized upon further reflection — that what makes our culture so utterly unique is that we end up crossing paths with such an eclectic group of people. People we would never know if it wasn’t for the queer bars and events that bring all of us crazy people together. In one night at the lesbian bar, I’ll have a heart to heart with a CEO from the midwest, spill secrets with a firefighter, laugh hysterically with someone thirty years older than me, and give relationship advice to someone ten years younger than me.
The lesbian bar has opened up my world in such a magical way and I think subconsciously that’s what inspired Girls On Jane. The lesbian bar and the fabulous, flawed characters I’ve clinked glasses with inside those sacred four walls. The wild juxtaposition makes for literary gold.
2. Why did you feel compelled to talk about LezVolley in the series?
Zara: I’ve been obsessed with LezVolley for half a decade! Firstly, I love seeing my community on the beach, sparkling in the sunshine. As a creature of the nightlife, I’m used to only seeing everyone in a dimly lit bar. I feel like I get to see a whole new side of everyone at LezVolley and it’s brought me so much closer to my community. Also, even though I don’t participate in the competition, it’s fascinating to watch everyone flex their competitive muscles. A treat, really.
I think I felt compelled to end the first season of Girls On Jane with LezVolley because I selfishly wanted to relive the LezVolley magic through the lens of the characters. Not only that — but to me — LezVolley symbolizes the end of summer. It’s the grand event that closes out one season of our lives before we move on to the next.
Also? Hot lesbians from all across the tri-state playing volleyball in front of the roaring Fire Island ocean? Fabulously hedonistic afterparties overlooking the bay? An iconic event spearheaded by icons of our community? That makes for rich content, babes.
3. Have you always wanted to be a writer and do you always write for the queer community?
Zara: I actually never even thought about writing! I always wanted to be an actor — which is why I think this project is so special to me. Turning Girls On Jane into an audio drama where I can act out all the roles has fulfilled a slew of my creative desires.
To answer your question: I started writing a blog after a devastating breakup ten years ago and became completely consumed with expressing myself through the written word. I realized quickly that it was my calling and I’ve never looked back. I have no education or training in the craft — (outside of my lifelong love of reading and avid presence on LiveJournal when I was an angsty teen in the early aughts) —but I think if you’re meant to do something, you should go for it no matter what. Screw the gatekeepers! Just keep creating, work harder than anyone else and something will eventually stick.
I don’t consciously write for the queer community — I write for messy, creative, open-minded bad bitches who like hanging out in the ~dark side~ (purr) but also appreciate all those beautiful shades of gray and the odd smattering of light. Because sexuality is a driving force behind all of my work and because I’m a lesbian, I think a lot of what I write lands with queers (which I LOVE!) — but I try to write more from a place of raw humanity than identity if that makes sense? Bad girls of all genders and all sexualities make up my audience. (But bad queer girls have a uniquely special place in my heart).