Columbus National Gay & Lesbian

Theatre Festival

About The Festival

The roots of the National Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival can be traced to the seventies when Tony Award-winning producer John Glines hosted the first event in New York City. The festival, which is "World's Fair" in concept usually floats for 4-6 years until a host is found to implement the event. Most recent festivals include Phoenix in 1992 and Los Angeles in 1996. In 2002, the festival was brought to Columbus Ohio by Frank Barnhart Of Act Out Productions where it resided for four years. Beginning in 2002, the Columbus festival was featured as a bi-annual event.

Festival Staff

Frank Barnhart, Festival Director

Frank has served the Columbus theatre community for over twenty years. He has served in Executive/Artistic positions with Reality Theatre, Act Out Productions, Stage 5 Rep and Serendipity Players. He has also directed and produced over 100 productions, including the off-off Broadway award winning Members of the Tribe. He holds an MFA in Theatre from Ohio State and he is the former president of The Central Ohio Theatre Roundtable. Currently Frank is the Executive Director of Actors Theatre In Columbus, Ohio.

Dale Gregory, Festival Coordinator

Dale Gregory has been producing and directing entertainment for over 20 years. With a B.A. in Communications & Theatre, he has worked in live, film and television production all over the country including Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Austin, Dallas, and Nashville. He also has worked in public relations and event management. Most recently, he worked in post-production as a technical writer for Casablanca Continuity on projects such as HBO's Entourage and Flight of the Conchords. In 2003, he co-founded Rogue Theatrics, a theatre production company that started in Columbus, Ohio and moved to Los Angeles, California. Having studied at The Second City in Chicago, he has written over a hundred comedy sketches and numerous comedy revues including The Holiday Princess and The Dick Cranston Show. While in Los Angeles, he wrote and performed with Fred Willard’s comedy troupe and workshop, The Mohos.

Courtney DeCosky, Festival Coordinator

A graduate of Ohio University where she earned her BFA in Acting, Courtney has over nine years experience in theatrical production as performer, director, instructor and producer. With a background in business operations and accounting, Courtney is a founding member of Rogue Theatrics based in Los Angeles, California. Currently she is studying
with the South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California. As a performer in Columbus, Ohio, she has worked with Worthington Theatre, Warehouse Theatre, MadLab Theatre and Columbus Children's Theatre and Rogue Theatrics.

Isaac Nippert, Festival Coordinator

With over nine years experience in theatre production as an actor, director, and
producer, Isaac is an alumnus of Ohio University's Acting BFA program. He
has studied with Anne Bogart of New York’s SITICompany, playwright Charles
Smith and currently with the South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California.
Isaac has also interned in Los Angeles with film production company Trilogy Entertainment. As a performer, Isaac has worked with Curtain Players, The Theatre Lab, Rogue Theatrics and Worthington Theatre.

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