Chance Theater Presents A Staged Reading Of B.J. Tindal's THE QUEER COUCH

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, will present a staged reading of their 2021 Resident Playwright, B.J. Tindal's new play, The Queer Couch as part of the 2021 OTR New Works Series. This staged reading will be presented on Thursday, August 19 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, August 22 at 3:00 p.m.

The Queer Couch tells the complex story of three friends, Zayn, Nola, and Tia who are at Kennedy College and are each having trouble moving past the misery and humiliation of their high school experience. When the three get together and recount their own unresolved pain they decide to enact their revenge by returning to high school and situating themselves at the top of the food chain. However, when their differing objectives and desires start to run into each other, a power struggle ensues within the group itself.

"The idea of going back to high school for 'revenge' is both empowering and terrifying," B.J. Tindal said reflecting on their own high school experience, and where the roots of the play stem from. "A lot of us who grew up queer in high school (out or not) end up spending a lot of our time post-high school unpacking and unlearning the things we experienced at that time.. Now, as being queer in high school starts to look different, we reflect on that time differently, wondering how things would be different if we were to come out in high school now. I wrote and am writing this play to explore what that difference really is."

Tindal explains, "My friends had a designated couch in college called 'The Queer Couch.' We had a joke where we would point out a straight person we thought was cool and say, 'That person would be so much cooler if they were queer. We should invite them sometime.' I thought about what it would look like if this was a formal organization - it turned into a play about three college students who are still getting over their high school pain and wish queerness was the thing everyone aspired to be."

Chance's On the Radar New Works Program consists of a new script reading series, a playwright's residency, and a commissioning program all geared towards supporting the creation of diverse new stories by emerging U.S. playwrights. The goal of OTR is to create a deep and long-term commitment to playwrights by offering them access to a community of artists and audiences, a supportive environment, and the freedom to explore their own boundaries and interests. Past Resident Playwrights include Krista Knight, Jessica Huang, Joanna Garner, Ted Malawer, Jenny Connell Davis, Lauren Yee, Nick Jones, Marshall Pailet, Zayd Dohrn, and Adam Szymkowicz. Our 2021 Resident Playwright is B.J. Tindal.

Call (888) 455-4212 or visit www.ChanceTheater.com to learn more.

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