Dave Barton is known for directing bloody, violent, sexually explicit "in yer face" plays. Given that he was a Christian fundamentalist who began questioning those teachings and became a gay activist with ACT-UP, it's not surprising that the Rude Guerrilla Theater Company's artistic director and members of his troupe would weigh in against Prop. 8, the initiative to overturn California's recent recognition of same-sex marriages.

What might surprise some is the reverent and tender approach Barton takes in directing "Love Poem," a two-minute video urging a "no" vote that would preserve gay marriage. The text is from the New Testament -- Chapter 13 of the apostle Paul's first letter to the Corinthians -- delivered in multiple voices by more than 15 members and supporters of Rude Guerrilla. The unspoken irony is that some of Paul's other writings have formed the basis for religious arguments that homosexuality is sinful and gay marriage wrong.

-- Mike Boehm