Billy McEntee Announced as First Recipient of the American Theatre Critics Association Helbing Mentorship Program

The American Theatre Critics Association and Foundation ATCA have announced the first recipient of the ATCA Helbing fellowship for LGBTQ+ theater writers. Members of the Helbing Committee reviewed applications submitted from January through April of this year and selected journalist Billy McEntee of New York City for the program that will begin September 1, 2022 and run for a year. It carries a stipend of $5,000.

McEntee (he/him) is a Brooklyn-based arts journalist and critic and Theater Editor at The Brooklyn Rail. He has also written for publications such as The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, Travel + Leisure, American Theatre, them, Observer, and others.

McEntee has received grants from the Colorado Tourism Office and Queens Arts Council.He also wrote and produced the short film Lindsay Lindsey Lyndsey (coming soon). He has taught with The School of The New York Times, co-hosts the food and cultural podcast "Lasagna Time with Billy and Kyle" alongside cultural critic Kyle Turner, and was a Fellow at the 2018 National Critics Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center.

In making the decision, the committee cited McEntee's commitment to LGBTQ+ journalism, his desire to explore various media in a changing culture, and his passion for elevating LGBTQ+ visibility and telling stories of these individuals.

Named for the late Terry Helbing, a pioneer in Gay Theater during the 1970s and 1980s, the program has been designed to encourage the development of LGBTQ+ theater coverage and to develop and amplify the voices of LGBTQ+ arts writers through scholarship, mentorship, and professional development. In this way, we aim to make arts journalism a more progressive and inclusive profession.

"I am honored and humbled to be the inaugural ATCA Helbing Fellow," McEntee says. "Queer journalists have shaped my career, and so much of my work involves writing about and uplifting the LGBTQ+ communuty. I love that this fellowship provides support for the next generation of queer writers, and I'm excited that it creates an intergenerational bridge between my cohort and those who have long shaped the field and given voice to LGBTQ+ art and issues, just as Terry did. This is a gift, and I hope to see more programs like it."

The Helbing committee includes Christopher Byrne (chair), Martha Wade Steketee, Frank Rizzo, Jay Handelman, Karen Topham, and Richard Oliver.

For more information about the program, visit https://americantheatrecritics.org/helbing-mentorship-program/.

About Terry Helbing

Terry Helbing was born on May 21, 1951, and grew up in East Dubuque, Illinois. He began working and acting in Theater in 1966, and Gay Theater in 1973. He graduated from Emerson College in 1973 with a BA in Dramatic Arts and acted in Boston and New England with the touring company of Jonathan Ned Katz's "Coming Out." Mr. Helbing served as Managing Editor of The Drama Review for four years beginning in 1977 and contributed to many theatrical and gay and lesbian publications, including The Advocate and TheaterWeek. He was theater editor at the New York Native from 1981 until his death, and he contributed a weekly theater news column at Stonewall News. In 1979, he was founder and publisher of the JH Press (named for his father, John Helbing), which became the drama division of the Gay Presses of NY. GPNY was also started by Helbing in conjunction with Felice Picano and Larry Mitchell in 1982. They published Harvey Fierstein's successful Torch Song Trilogy, among others.

In addition, Helbing cofounded the Gay Theatre Alliance, an international organization dedicated to the growth of gay theatre by connecting theater companies and playwrights through a quarterly newsletter. He served as President of the organization and edited the Gay Theatre Alliance Directory of Gay Plays. Helbing co-founded the Meridian Gay Theatre Production Company in 1983 with Terry Miller and together they produced plays and musicals with gay and lesbian themes. The Meridian's most immediate parent was The Glines (founded in 1976 by John Glines), which was an off-off Broadway theater and Production Company. The Glines was turned over to Helbing and Miller and, through a generous grant, they started the Meridian which became the only continuously operating gay theatre with a home base on the East Coast. Helbing became Artistic Director but was largely responsible in all areas. The Company moved into the Shandol Theatre at 137 W. 22nd Street and produced several plays. including Stray Dog Story by Robert Chesley and Last Summer at Bluefish Cove by Jane Chambers. They initiated a Playwrights and Directors Series which featured staged readings of new plays and they sponsored a national gay playwriting contest every year. Helbing also played in a gay bowling league.

Terry Helbing died from complications related to AIDS on March 28, 1994, in New York City.