Pride Films & Plays Hosts GREAT GAY PLAY FEST, 3/3-3/6

The schedule for the five new plays featured in the Great Gay Play Fest as staged readings March 3 - 6, 2011, at the Hoover-Leppen Theater at the Center on Halsted in Chicago, has been set. And five esteemed Chicago directors are working to bring these plays to life.

After the final reading on Sunday, Pride Films and Plays will announce both an Audience Favorite Award, and the juried winner, as our reading panel included Marshall W. Mason, Jason Moore, Doug Finlayson, Patricia Kane, Jeremy Cohen, Patrick Trettenero, Brian Fonseca, and theater professionals across the country.

False Reality by Joe Lauderdale

To deal with his difficult family, Trevor has created a fictional identical twin Aidan whose life is much better. But Kyle falls for Aidan and their intense, tender, romantic relationship is full of good intentions and fraught with mistakes. When Trevor's fiction and reality collide, the relationship is tested in a terrifying moment of truth in Joe Lauderdale's new drama.

Joe Lauderdale was The Youth Theatre Director at the Laguna Playhouse for 17 years. He directed or produced more than 70 productions for both adults and youth. His stage adaptation of Cut, the story of a teenage girl dealing with self-injury, received wide acclaim and his production of The Wrestling Season was presented for a GLAAD Los Angeles special event.

Short Expanse by Corinne J. Kawecki

It's 1997 and Chloe's 10th birthday. Lydia, Chloe's swim coach and neighbor, and Colleen, Lydia's partner of 8 years, have thrown a costume party to celebrate. David, their friend, and Star, Chloe's mom, are in attendance. A happy time...or is it? Revelations abound and the past changes the future forever in Kawecki's new drama.

Corinne J. Kawecki's plays, A Bridge to Something, The Moon, the Lake and Fire, Demons and Monsters, Serious, The Interview, Wishes, and Lesbian Nightmare, have been produced in cities across the country including Chicago, New York, Santa Ana, CA, and Baton Rouge, LA. Corinne is a Network Playwright at Chicago Dramatists and a Member of the Dramatists Guild.

Learn To Be Latina by Enrique Urueta

In Enrique Urueta's irreverent new comedy, Hanan Mashalani is beautiful and talented, but she's Lebanese and that just doesn't a pop star make. As she's made over by FAD records to be the next Latin bombshell, she falls in love with an actual Latina. She struggles to maintain the image everyone expects her to be, which ultimately tests her relationship and her own identity.

Enrique Urueta lives in San Francisco and is the author of the plays The Danger of Bleeding Brown, Forever Never Comes, and Get Your Troy On. He has a BA in theatre from The College of William & Mary and a MFA in playwriting from Brown.

Save the Date by Tyler Dean

Today is the biggest day of wedding coordinator Bradford Curtis' career. Not only is he the best man, but the mother of the bride happens to be the editor-in-chief of one of the nation's most prestigious wedding magazines. When someone from the groom's past shows up with intentions of stopping the wedding, it's up to Bradford to make sure everything goes as planned. With mistaken identities, plenty of chases, and double entendres galore, Save the Date is Tyler Dean's modern twist on a classic farce.

Tyler Dean is a Chicago-based playwright, actor, and sketch comedian. He is a Network Playwright at Chicago Dramatists. His newest play Run-of-the-Mill is receiving its world premiere production in Chicago in February.

The Times by Mark S. Watson

Noah is reunited after 10 years with his college sweetheart Christian. But a wedding announcement in the New York Times brings unexpected comedy, drama, and twists of identity and fate.

Mark S. Watson is a North Carolina native who has resided in Key West, Florida for the past 12 years. He received his Bachelors in Dramatic Art and Speech Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mark has performed in regional theatres across the United States as an actor, singer, and dancer. The Times marks his professional debut as a playwright.The schedule for the weekend is as follows:

Thursday, March 3, 7:00 pm
False Reality
by Joe Lauderdale, Los Angeles, CA
Directed By Patrick Rybarczyk

Friday, March 4, 7:00 pm
Short Expanse
by Corinne J. Kawecki, Chicago, IL
Directed by Liz Pazik

Saturday, March 5, 4:00 pm
Learn To Be Latina
by Enrique Urueta, San Francisco, CA
Directed by Eddie Torres

Saturday, March 5, 7:00
Save the Date
by Tyler Dean, Chicago, IL
Directed by John Nasca

Sunday, March 6, 4:00 pm
The Times
by Mark S. Watson, Key West, FL Directed by David Zak

All tickets for the weekend are $10, with student and industry tickets $5. A weekend pass to see all five shows is $25. Tickets may be ordered at Brown Paper Tickets, 1800 838 3006 or www.brownpapertickets.com.

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