AND THE WINNER IS....
Congratulations to Richmond Weems whose script Wandering the Elysian Fields was named the winner in the 2011 Great Gay Screenplay Contest.
"We had a great weekend of readings," PFP Executive Director David Zak said. "From the comedy Easy on the Eyes by Kevin Michael West to the dark comedy of Howard Casner's Welcome to L.A., we made quite a journey. Throw in the sci-fi epic Bre'gan's Fist by Tom Emerick and the teen intersex comedy The Way Shim Likes It by James Palmer, and we saw a diverse group of writers producing an amazing array of material."
Thanks to those who participated in the Great Gay Screenplay Finale Weekend. Directors Rebecca Kling, Derek Bertelsen, Andrew Souders, and Brian Rooney did a great job bringing these scripts to life. I think my reading went pretty well, too!
Our thanks also go to all the actors who helped bring these screenplays to life. And our thanks, as always, to audiences, donors, sponsors, and friends who attended to support our work. David Zak Executive Director |
Final Days to Enter the Great Gay Play and Musical Contest
Entries will be accepted in the Great Gay Play and Musical Contest through October 31. Please spread the word to interested writers. Prizes include $400 cash and a staged reading of the work in 2012 in Chicago. More information and the application can be found here. |
| Save The Date!
Monday,
November 14
at Hoover-Leppen Theater of Center on Halsted will be
Simply Sensational!
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About
PRIDE FILMS AND PLAYS
Pride Films and Plays, based in Chicago, links an international network of writers with professionals working in film and theater.
PFP fosters excellent writing for the stage and screen that speaks not only to the LGBT community, but is essential viewing for our friends, family, and co-workers. Using stories with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender characters or themes, Pride Films and Plays develops human stories that become a cultural bridge to understanding.
Through readings, contests, classes, screenings, and full theater productions, PFP engages artists and audiences in the full developmental process needed to make great artistic experiences.
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PRIDE FILMS AND PLAYS
3023 N Clark 327,
Chicago, IL 60657
www.pridefilmsandplays.com
David Zak
Executive Director
John Nasca, Andrew Souders
Artistic Associates
Allison Fradkin
Literary Coordinator,
Women's Work
Artistic Ensemble
Derek Van Barham,
Charles A. Berglund, Tom Chiola,
Brian Grey, Sean-Edward Hall,
Jude Hansen, Valerie Heckman, John Highberger, Kris Hyland, Kelley Keough, Michael Lasswell, Joan McGrath,
Michelle McKenzie-Voigt,
Tiffany Nasca, Cyra K. Polizzi,
Brian Rooney, Chad Ryan,
Patrick Rybarczyk,
Mark Smaglinski, Jake Szczepaniak, Kelli Walker,
Kevin Webb, Honey West,
Lee Wichman
Pride Films and Plays is a member of the
League of Chicago Theaters,
Central Lakeview Merchants Association and the
Chicago Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce |
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Make plans now to see the hilarious award-wining comedy LOVE SUCKS! by Rob Mersola,
a Pride Films and Plays Production at Hydrate
at 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays November 3 to 26. For tickets go here. |
On Sunday, Nov. 13 at 2 p.m., the Auditorium Theater of Roosevelt University will present a screening of the award-winning landmark film Brokeback Mountain, followed by two events: a panel discussion with film experts, and Beyond Brokeback, a staged reading of messages, essays, poetry, and music inspired by the film.
Tickets for the entire afternoon are $25, $20 and $15, and can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com or at the box office of the Auditorium Theater, 50 E. Congress Parkway, Chicago. For information, call 312-922-2110.
"Beyond Brokeback is a comprehensive oral history of the rural gay West," said playwright Gregory Hinton. "Brokeback Mountain eloquently teaches us what not to do. Beyond Brokeback leads us out of our isolation and into the open - to communities many crave and all deserve."
"It has been a little more than five years since Brokeback Mountain captured our nation's conscience and imagination. With this production of Beyond Brokeback, we are not only remembering the movie, but we are also embracing its impact and a desire to be inclusive, which is in keeping with Roosevelt University's historic mission of social justice," said Brett Batterson, executive director of the Auditorium Theater of Roosevelt University.
The cast features Darryl Stephens, Liz Pazik, Mary Gearen, Amanda Batterson, Rob Kessler, and Ryan Harrison. Music director is composer Shawn Kirchner.
Beyond Brokeback is directed by David Zak, an instructor in the Theatre Conservatory at Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts, and the executive director of Pride Films and Plays.
The day-long program begins with the movie at 2 p.m. The panel discussion is at 4:35 p.m. and Beyond Brokeback is at 5:35 p.m. Attendees are invited to come and go as they like.
Hinton adapted Beyond Brokeback from the book Beyond Brokeback: The Impact of a Film, written by members of The Ultimate Brokeback Forum. The book was drawn from the website "The Ultimate Brokeback Forum," which received more than 500,000 posts in the year following the release of the film. Beyond Brokeback includes excerpts of poignant and humorous messages, essays, and poetry by writers who are young and old, male and female, gay and straight.
The panel discussion to be held before Beyond Brokeback will feature the following experts: Jean de St. Aubin, executive director of the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; Bruce Jenkins, professor in the Department of Film, Video and New Media at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; and Lawrence Howe, professor of English in the Department of Language and Literature at Roosevelt University. Chris Chulos, associate professor of history at Roosevelt University, will moderate the panel discussion.
Beyond Brokeback was first developed and performed at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles last December as part of its acclaimed Out West at the Autry series and in commemoration of the fifth anniversary of Brokeback Mountain.
Beyond Brokeback was most recently performed by the Theatre and Dance Department of the University of Wyoming, Laramie for the Shepard Symposium of Social Justice in April, the City of West Hollywood's One City/One Pride Culture Series in June, and most recently, in October in Bozeman, Montana.
After Chicago, Beyond Brokeback heads to Las Vegas in February 2012.
Tickets are available here.
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 Don't miss Jeremy Rill's new cabaret show
All My Tomorrows!Come to the brand-new cabaret space at the newly renovated Stage 773 for a night of great songs that have shaped Jeremy's life.
Directed by David Zak, Music Direction by Robert Ollis,
with A Special Secret Guest!
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The Unity Event is the partnership created by Carnegie Arts Center, Highland High School, and South Shore Orchestra and features professional, community, and student actors, dancers, and musicians in a "one-night-only" event!
Evita -the iconic musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice - will be performed with a featured ensemble of 25 actors, including Sheree Wheeler-Gudeman as Evita and David Schlumpf as Che.
The ensemble is supported by a 60-member student chorus, 65 members of the Southlake Children's Choir, dancers from the Southlake Dance Alliance, accompanied by the South Shore Orchestra under the direction of Troy Webdell. PFP's Executive Director David Zak directs.
You may have seen Evita before - but never like this!
The performance is on Friday, November 11, in the Highland High School Auditorium, in Highland, IN.
Purchase tickets on-line here.
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 MidTangent Productions Presents Pig Tale, a new comedy by Chris Weikel, at National Pastime Theater running November 4 to 26
on Fridays and Saturdays at 10 pm.
Purchase tickets at www.tix.com. |
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