Bruce RoBert Harris and Jack W. Batman, producers of GAYFEST NYC, and Jason Dottley are pleased to announce two special New York City performances of Del Shores' one-man show Del ShoresvThe Storyteller to benefit NYC's Harvey Milk High School. Legendary TV icon Rue McClanahan will make a special guest appearance on Saturday, June 6, 2009 at 7:30 PM and 10:30 PM.
The award-winning playwright, TV and film writer, director, and producer steps back on stage in his unscripted one-man show Del Shores The Storyteller for one night only at GAYFEST NYC's Manhattan home, the TBG Arts Center, 312 West 36th Street, New York, NY 10036.
Shores is best known for his 2001 cult classic film Sordid Lives which originated on the stage at Theatre/Theater's 64-seat house in Hollywood in 1996. Last year, the play turned film was adapted by Shores for the small screen and premiered to rave reviews on MTV/LOGO, becoming their biggest hit to date. The series is currently syndicated internationally in over a dozen countries.
Other plays by Shores include his GLAAD award-winning Southern Baptist Sissies; the Ovation and Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle award-winning The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife; and the now classic Daddy's Dyin' (Who's Got The Will?) for which Shores executive produced and adapted the screenplay for the 1990 MGM film.
Shores will share the real life stories that have inspired his writing and more in Del Shores The Storyteller. Yes, there was a man with two wooden legs. But did his grandmother trip over them and die while having a sordid affair? And did his mother really ask, "What exactly do you do.when you're gay?" If so, what was the acclaimed writer's response (Sordid Lives)? Yes, prayers were answered and a matching vein was found in a vein bank over in Baton Rogue to replace his Uncle Humpty's collapsed vein. But did Humpty lose the leg after all those prayers (Southern Baptist Sissies)? And what relative really shot a policeman in the "saliva gland" and shoulder (Trailer
Trash Housewife)? Truth and fiction are finally separated in Del Shores The Storyteller.
"It's a dream come true to perform my new show in New York City, and I'm thrilled that the show is benefiting Harvey Milk High School," Shores said.
The first season of Sordid Lives: The Series premiered on Canada's Superchannel in the summer of 2008, followed shortly thereafter on MTV/LOGO, garnering rave reviews for Shores and the all-star cast (Rue McClanahan, Olivia Newton-John, Caroline Rhea, Leslie Jordan and Beth Grant). Shores has also written and produced for many TV shows, most notably Dharma & Greg and Queer as Folk.
Storyteller is produced by Jason Dottley who stars as "Ty" in Sordid Lives: The Series. Other producing credits include the 2006 national tour of Sordid Lives and Southern Baptist Sissies headlined by Leslie Jordan and Delta Burke; A Season of Shores at the Zephyr Theatre in Hollywood for which his revival of Trailer Trash Housewife earned him an Ovation nomination; and An Intimate Evening with Debby Holiday, also at the Zephyr. Dottley and Shores have been married for over six years, and are proud to be a part of the 18,000 legally married same-sex couples in California.
GAYFEST NYC, Inc., a NYS 501 (c) (3) non-for-profit corporation, is a year-round, not-for-profit play development organization that develops new LGBT works for world stages and film and television production and presents an annual festival showcasing those works most ready for production.
GAYFEST NYC is committed to sharing its gifts and its dollars with the next generation of LGBT Americans. To this end, monies raised through ticket sales and other specialized fundraising efforts are used to provide in-school elective programs and scholarships for students of The Harvey Milk High School, flagship program of the Hetrick-Martin Institute. Founded in 1985 in collaboration with the New York City Department of Education, The Harvey Milk High School is a fully-accredited, inclusive, voluntary public high school focusing on the educational needs of students who are in crisis or at risk of physical violence and/or emotional harm in a traditional educational environment. 95% of HMHS students graduate (well above the NYC average) and over 60% of its students go on to advanced programs or college. Harvey Milk High School students work as Festival interns and, since June 2007, GAYFEST NYC has presented seventeen scholarships to graduating seniors of the school.
