The shows and companies of 2006

Does This Monologue Make Me Look Fat?
Awkward Moment Productions/Amy Salloway Minneapolis, MN

Thanks for the Scabies, Jerkface!
Dan Bernitt, Lexington, KY

Meet Dan. He met his boyfriend at an audition for a reality TV show, his first roommate in college turns out to be homophobic, and the entire check out aisle at Wal-Mart knows he has scabies. After moving out of his parents’ house, will this gay kid from Kentucky grow to find a home?  

BAIT
David Sisco, New York, NY

Best friends Justin and Charlie attend a "Gay Bait" singles event hoping to find their match. As the evening unfolds, however, they realize the dating pool is very shallow.  Two actors inhabit 30 desperate men in a series of hilarious encounters that puncture stereotypes and tip sacred cows.

The story of Princess Diana, better known as 1970’s liberal feminist super heroine, Wonder Woman. In this campy cabaret, Diana chats with her audience during the last leg of her Magic Lasso Comeback Tour. She generously shares her fan letters and sings unique karaoke covers of standards, ranging from I’m Wonder Woman, Hear Me Roar to Stand By Your Butch.

Solo performer, Jade Esteban Estrada portrays several icons of the gay community in this follow up the 2004 festival favorite.


None of the Above
Many Horses Productions/Jennifer Lanier,Pahoa, Hawaii

More like “stand-up story-telling” than a traditional theater show, the show is one part performance poetry, one part story-telling, one part interactive and all parts political.  And yes, there are stories about strippers – strippers and lesbians, strippers and waitresses, strippers and soldiers, and an evening of intimate theater.  

The Casual Sex Diary
Matthew Crehan Higgins, Buffalo, NY

The Casual Sex Diary follows a young man’s journey from prudent gay teenager to sex positive adult, taking him from his first time to the first time he did not know the other man’s name and beyond. With candid humor and unabashed candor, The Casual Sex Diary is the story of people who touch one’s life… briefly.

They Must Be Felt
The Puppet-Queers, Columbus, OH

Take some Broadway show tunes. . .  add a heaping dose of filthy lyrics . . . mix-in some life-sized puppets . . . bake with some queer puppeteers   . . . then sit back and enjoy the Puppet Queers latest concoction --THEY MUST BE FELT. It's a non-stop performance of songs,
silliness and smut!  

Somebody Else’s Life
Ragged Blade, St. Louis, MO

Three vignettes explore the actors’ relationships with and effects on a gay rodeo cowboy, a shy gay bagboy, a gay marriage, if legal, in Oklahoma.

The Stops

Richmond Triangle Players, Richmond, VA
A fundamentally fabulous musical comedy that follows three ladies of NALOG – The North American Lady Organists Guild – as they spread the gospel on tour where they kibbutz, schmooze, and regale congregations with church songs such as “A Bossa Nova for Jehovah”, “It’s Raining Amen

What Happens When the Screen Door Breaks
Ryka Aoki de la Cruz, Los Angeles, CA

“What Happens When the Screen Door Breaks” uses poetry, music, recollections, and movement to tell a story about negotiating life as an transgendered  Asian-American woman. My image of God and self have changed as I try to realize my status as trans, queer,
and abuse survivor.

Sunrize: The Musical
Sunrize Productions, Upper Darby, PA

Ms. Sunrize Highway (a loving satire on the great divas of contemporary musical theater, created by Joseph Ritsch) in her all new show SUNRIZE: The Musical, an autobiography of Ms Highway’s “rags to riches” story.  The production features unique renditions of showstoppers from Broadway and beyond, interspersed with Ms. Highway’s whimsical reflections, winsome musings, sage advice, cautionary tales and insightful showbiz stories.

Color Me Naked Vol. 2, Big, Black and Sassy
Les Kurkendaal, Hollywood, CA

This monologue, written and performed by Les Kurkendaal, is a mixture of storytelling and stand-up comedy, that talks about racism and homophobia and shows how stupid ignorance really is. 

Will Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Will Davis, Dayton, OH

Will Doesn't Live Here Anymore is an offbeat, darkly funny lounge act which blends off kilter arrangements of popular songs with autobiographical vignettes and biting political and social commentary.

Quick Facts & Quotes About the Festival

“Let’s hear it for the Columbus National Gay & Lesbian Theatre Festival!  Who doesn't’t love gays
and lesbians and theatre?  Buy your tickets now and don’t forget to bring all of your friends!" -Craig Lucas (playwright & screenwriter, Prelude To A Kiss, Longtime Companion)

Playwright Doric Wilson, who pioneered the Off-Off-Broadway movement at the Caffe Cino, is serving on the advisory board for the Columbus National Gay & Lesbian Theatre Festival. "In an era when gay history disappears even faster than it happens," says Wilson, "an event like this...is essential to the survival of our culture -- a chance for us to meet each other, explore new works, and celebrate gay and lesbian theater in all its diversity."

In 2005, the Theatre Festival was honored with a 2005 Lesbian Theatre Award from Curve Magazine.

“A gay and lesbian theatre festival in Columbus, Ohio? Fabulous!  And with the talent of Frank Barnhart envisioning it, I’m certain that the festival will not only be a tremendous source of
empowerment, enlightenment, and entertainment for the state’s queer community, but also a major contribution to the heartland’s culture at large.”-David Drake (The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me)

Act Out Productions is the host company for the festival. 

"The festival offers plays that reflect a diverse mix of experiences and voices. After all, not every GLBT (gay/lesbian/ bisexual/transgender) experience is the same, and tastes vary from region to region."-Frank Barnhart, Festival Director

A seven-judge panel attended performances throughout the festival - at least three per show - and award another best-of-festival prize, along with 20 other recognitions, ranging from best comedy, drama, musical, and socio-political play to best director, actress and actor. Audience members also had an opportunity to vote for their choice for best drama and comedy.

"The Columbus National Gay & Lesbian Theatre Festival showcases the newest gay works from around the country. "Columbus is the perfect city for an event like this," said Frank Barnhart, festival director. "We have an established theatre scene here with an appreciative and supportive audience." -Frank Barnhart, Festival Director

Columbus has the second largest Gay Pride celebration of its kind in the Midwest and one of the top 10 in the country. Held each June since 1981, the event includes a march, festival and rally with more than 100,000 people in attendance. Pride Holiday is a fundraiser for Stonewall Columbus, to support their pursuit of equality, fairness and safety for the entire GLBT community. In addition to the parade and festival, the celebration includes an art exhibit, a GLBT history panel, a GLBT theatre shorts festival, diverse entertainment, a Poker Run for motorcycle enthusiasts, an antique car show and a 5K race. A more recent addition is an area featuring family entertainment. 

The word is out on Columbus. Andrew Collins' blog on About.com: Gay & Lesbian Travel labeled Columbus as "one of the nation's most underrated gay cities." In addition, The Advocate rated Columbus one of the best places in the country for gays and lesbians to live (March 2007).