The 2014 Left Out Festival
Stage Left Studio
Offers Something From EVERY letter in LGBTQ
Produced by Cheryl King
This annual festival features the work of LGBTQ artists and benefits
Bailey House, which provides housing and support to people living with
HIV and AIDS.
This year’s festival features award-winning playwrights and performers, with a special focus on transgender issues.
Ms. King, artistic director, says, “I’m delighted that this year we have plays from all five of the letters in LGBTQ.
We have performances featuring gay experience, lesbians trying to get
green cards, queer identity in teens, T-gurls in NYC, gay questions and
bigotry in Shakespeare, gay identity in classic literature, marriage
equality, and both male-to-female and female-to-male transgender issues.
It’s a rich soup and a stellar group of talented playwrights and performers.”
In the 7 years since the Left Out Festival began, Stage Left has donated
nearly $10,000 to Bailey House and produced over 200 plays and solo
shows by LGBTQ artists.
Friday, April 18th @ 7:30 and Wednesday, April 23rd @ 7:30 pm
Selected Short Subjects – three short plays
The evening’s performance opens with Yesterday was Dramatic, written by Alex Beck, the director of William LoCasto’s brilliant NY/XY
in the 2009 Left Out Festival. Cassandra Sandberg directs this premiere
of the play, performed by Mr. Beck, who plays Charlie, a casually
neurotic New Yorker. We are allowed entry into the mind of Charlie, who
speaks his stream of consciousness aloud on three subway rides to and
from dates with the same boy. Moments of clarity punctuate the
serio-comic storytelling, and Charlie finds himself stronger by
processing the events of yesterday’s drama. Today is going to be OK!
Old Man In Sorrow, the second show on the bill,
is written by William LoCasto, a perennial favorite playwright in the
Left Out Festival. Inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s painting of the same
name, it is performed by Desmond Dutcher and KC Weakley. In this
beautifully distilled study of a relationship, Gregory and Jeff, a gay
couple, are about to embark on a journey to visit Gregory's dying
father, during which Gregory’s long-standing resentments towards his
father rise to the surface.
Rounding out the evening is Sherilyn Fenn at the Hamburger Hamlet,
a 25-minute play written and performed by award-winning playwright and
actor Joe Hutcheson, and directed by Cheryl King. After moving to Los
Angeles to pursue his career goal to work at a better restaurant, Joe
finds himself face to face with the Hollywood starlet of his dreams. In
this one-man show, his fourth to appear in the Left Out Festival,
Hutcheson explores themes of hope and disillusionment while trying not
to forget the mustard.
Running time – 60 minutes
Wednesday, April 16th at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 19th at 7:30 p.m.
NSA
In Manuel Igrejas’ new play, NSA, Monty and Luis have had a happy romantic partnership for ten years. Their only issue seems
to be whether or not to get married. A chance encounter with Stefan, a
sexy, mysterious waiter, disrupts their cozy lives: both Monty and Luis
have a secret connection to him. Monty comes from a happy Italian
family; Luis was raised over a bar by his shady Grandma. Stefan has
trouble pinning down exactly where he came from, though parts of his
past are on display all over the internet. The three men’s lives
intertwine in a number of surprising, romantic and potentially
devastating ways. The cast features Casey Burden as Monty, Afrim
Gjonbalaj as Luis and Kevin Perez as Stefan.
Running time – 90 minutes
Saturday, April 19 at 2:00 pm
Death in Venice in First Person
is written and performed by Rory Lance, and directed by Robert Ellman.
This theatrical presentation of the classic tale by Thomas Mann won Best
Period Piece at the 2012 United Solo Theatre Festival. Join Aschenbach
on his summer holiday and watch as his brief vacation quickly becomes a
journey of self-discovery and an exploration of the very depths of
loneliness and obsession. Of the 2012 performance, Troupe Theatre Blog
writes, “The play’s success hinges on the duality of the incredibly
detailed inner monologue spoken aloud and the moments of silence in
which Lance’s physicality drives the narrative. The ease in which Lance
slinks back and forth between protagonist and supporting characters is
both charming and endearing.”
Running time – 80 minutes
Saturday, April 26 at 1:30 pm and Sunday, April 27 at 7:30 pm
A Kiss in the Dream House,
written by Ashley Lauren Rogers, an outspoken transwoman, is the world
premiere of this five-act play. It’s the story of a Vietnamese
engagement ceremony in crisis because of one partner's transition. This
poignant and funny story intimately explores young romance and the
transitions we all make falling in love. Two actual real-life sisters,
Keeko and Aki Nakadai, play sisters in this drama, which also features
Niki Buchanan, Peche Di and Noah Parks.
Running time – 120 minutes
Tuesday, April 15 and Thursday, April 24 at 7:30 pm
No River Between Us
is a staged reading of a new play written by Michelle Ramoni, and
directed by Kate Holland, featuring Jeffrey Coyne, Cheryl King, Maria
Payramaure, Shawn McLaughlin, Jessica Solce and Renee Erikson-Wong. It’s
a story about true love, and the restrictions on freedom imposed by
restrictive immigration law and the state’s refusal to sanction same-sex
marriage. Ariana is an illegal immigrant, Shannon is her lover, and
Steve is their gay best friend. In a scenario all too common in the US,
Steve and Ariana marry, so that she can get a green card and stay with
Shannon. After a dicey INS interview, Steve’s redoubtable mother pays
them a visit, and the sparks fly. Will true love find a way? Or will the
forces of repression allow the “river between them” to grow into an
ocean?
Running time – 60 minutes
Tuesday, April 22 and Friday, April 25 at 7:30 pm
The Pink Unicorn, written and performed by Elise Forier Edie
Based on real events, "The Pink Unicorn"
is an award-winning solo theatre piece. It tells the story of a Trisha
Lee, a Christian widow, living in a small, conservative Texas town,
whose life is thrown into turmoil when her teen-aged daughter announces
she is "gender queer" and starting a chapter of the Gay and Straight
Alliance at the local high school. When violence erupts in her
community, Trisha must reluctantly embark on a journey from ignorance to
advocacy, trying to make sense of what is right and what is safe for
her daughter, with persecution and prejudice closing in on all sides.
www.eliseforieredie.com <http://www.eliseforieredie.com>
REVIEW: http://www.robinmayberry.com/why-you-cant-wait-to-see-the-play-pink-unicorn/ <http://www.robinmayberry.com/why-you-cant-wait-to-see-the-play-pink-unicorn/>
Running time – 90 minutes
Monday, April 21 at 7:30 pm
T-Party
Cheryl King presents
the results of her ongoing workshops with Bailey House transgender
clients. It’s a riotous combination of audio and video clips, with live
commentary by Ms. King, an in-depth conversation with the “T” part of
the Left Out Festival’s featured demographic – LGBTQ citizens of our
fine city. Topics include make-up and moms, fantasies and fetishes, and
the hopes and dreams of T-gurls in NYC in 2014.
Running time – 60 minutes, plus reception.
Thursday, April 17 and Monday, April 28 at 7:30 pm
Antonio and Shylock: Monsters
A work in progress
based on Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice by Dikran Tulaine, this
exploration of hatred of the “other” explores anti-Jewish and anti-gay
bigotry. Was Antonio gay? Scholars differ on this important issue, but
it’s clear that his love for Bassanio was so profound that he was
willing to sign a bond to Shylock for a “pound of flesh”. Two live video
feeds add a touch of contemporary “media feeding frenzy” to the making
of the deal and the trial. Directed by Dikran Tulaine, this one-hour
adaptation features Mr. Tulaine as Shylock, KC Weakley as Antonio, plus
Liam Bobersky, TC Corwin, Cheryl King, and Karen Sklaire as other
dramatis personae. Karin Kearns and Cheryl King are the videographers. A
brief audience conversation with the cast is planned after the
performance.
Running time – 60 minutes.
All performances are at Stage Left Studio
214 West 30th Street, 6th floor, NYC.
www.stageleftstudio.net
Tickets $22 (includes $2 ticketing surcharge) and $25 at the door.
Discount codes STUDENT and SENIOR get $5 off (ID required at box office)
FISH GOTTA SWIM, RUBBER CHICKENS GOTTA FLY
4 years ago
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