Behind the Rainbow Flag: Lauren Patten Shares the Story of Her First Pride Parade as an Openly Queer Person

BroadwayWorld is celebrating Pride Month with Behind the Rainbow Flag. This series will feature theatre artists, who are members of the LGTBQ+ community sharing their stories, advice, or other pieces related to their identity.

Lauren Patten shared the story of her first Pride Parade as an openly queer person, as well as some photos of herself with Jagged Little Pill cast members at the event.

Read Lauren's story below!

The first Pride Parade I walked in as an openly queer person was in Boston, June 2018. Jagged Little Pill was in its out-of-town tryout at American Repertory Theatre, and we miraculously didn't have a show on the day of the parade. The cast and crew took to the streets with our very own scrappy JLP float/truck. I had participated in Pride before, but never as a person who understood myself as queer, as a person who was unafraid to say that to the world. The elation and communion I felt that day was bursting out of my body. I also got to hug both Elizabeth Warren and Melissa Etheridge -- I mean, come on.

One of the things I remember vividly about that day was how many children I saw lining the streets, cheering us on and waving flags. I was incredibly moved to see young children participating in the joy, and learning that it is joyful to celebrate queer people. It filled me with so much hope.