Skylight Theatre to Spotlight HIV/AIDS with SHADES OF DISCLOSURE

Skylight Theatre Company kicks off their new season with the World Premiere of SHADES OF DISCLOSURE, created and performed by the revolutionary voice of QueerWise.

Widower, Best Friend, Outsider, Confidant. Who are you? Everyone has history. Do we disclose it? Do we learn from it? QueerWise illuminates an emotionally charged landscape from the perspective of HIV/AIDS survivors. The AIDS epidemic continues to resonate, posing a host of social justice issues that we all must face: Homophobia, Racism, Immigration Rights, Healthcare, and the Rights of Transpersons.

"As honestly as we can do it, we are committed in telling our stories and we hope that it encourages others to do the same. Ultimately, we know that honesty about ones SELF is a beautiful, unifying, and galvanizing force that we need to carry into 2017 if we are to survive, thrive, and maintain Who We Are" - Michael Kearns; Director

QueerWise (Playwrights) is a Los Angeles based group of LGBTQ writers and spoken word artists, creating performance pieces. Beginning with Late Awakenings, part of the Skylight Theatre Company's INKubator series, in 2011, the collective returns to lead Skylight's 2017 season with more than a dozen theatrical works, some individually presented at Beyond Baroque, the LA Gay & Lesbian Center, Akbar Highways Performance Space, Spirit Studio, One Institute Art Gallery, Noho's Lit Crawl and the Silver Lake Library. Utilizing history, humor, and honesty, QueerWise explores the shifting cultural realities of being queer in Twenty-First Century America.

Director Michael Kearns has devoted himself to the illumination of HIV/AIDS in artistic terms. From his internationally acclaimed solo work to his local activist involvement, Kearns' voice-as a director, writer, producer, and actor -has never abated. In 1986, Michael helped conceive and directed AIDS/US, a revolutionary piece of theater that dared to present real-life stories told by PWAs (People With AIDS), produced by Gary Grossman three decades ago.

"We need to question not only our own personal commitment to end bigotry, racism, and gender inequality but the commitment of every American. This needs to happen in our actions as well as our words. Skylight Theatre Company has been working with Queerwise since 2011 and we are proud to give these voices a home to tell their personal stories, and to ask "who are we?" - Gary Grossman (Producing Artistic Director)

Gary Grossman (Producer) is the recipient of Stage Raw's 2016 "Career Achievement Award," and he is the Producing Artistic Director for Skylight Theatre Company. He started his career in New York owning two theaters and a theatrical lighting company by the age of 23. Gary worked at The Public Theatre, Café La Mama, and Sheraton Square Playhouse before traveling west in the 70's to join up with the emerging theatre moment in Los Angeles. He has produced over 300 stage plays, including more than 50 world premieres. Among his celebrated productions are the World Premieres of Church & State (deputing Off-Broadway on March 3rd), Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea (Steinberg/National Theatre Critics Citation), El Grande CIRCUS de Coca-Cola , Wrong Man (3 Ovation Awards), Pray To Ball (1 Ovation Award), Years to the Day, Hermetically Sealed, Bullrusher, Sexsting, Mad Women (LA Weekly Award), Romeo and Juliet directed by Milton Katselas (3 LADCC Awards), Dylan (3 LADCC Awards), Influence, Open House, Dream Man, Lone Star, Balm in Gilead, Visions and Lovers, Rabbit Hole, Beautified and La Ronde de Lunch.

Skylight Theatre Company discovers, develops and produces new, exhilarating works that expand mainstream theatre while nurturing and educating the people who create them. A recipient of the prestigious Steinberg National Theatre Critics Citation (Dontrell, Who Kissed The Sea - Nathan Alan Davis), Skylight's resident PlayLAb writers have been recognized with productions nationwide, a national 2014 USA Ford Fellowship in Theater and Performance (Sigrid Gilmer), and locally as a winner in the 2015 Humanitas/CTG Playwriting Prize (Louisa Hill). Skylight won 4 Ovation Awards in 2014 for The Wrong Man and Pray To Ball (the most of any intimate theatre in LA). LA Weekly included the Skylight's productions of Years To The Day, Open House and Sexsting on their Top Ten list of plays for 2013. Skylight's first year as a company dedicated to developing new plays was 2011; their production of Hermetically Sealed made the LA Times annual list of Top Ten Plays, and Mad Women moved from Los Angeles to La MaMa in New York. Since then, plays developed by Skylight have been performed in Chicago, New York, Washington D.C., Oregon, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Kansas City, and internationally in Scotland and France. For more information, script submission policy and production history go to skylighttheatrecompany.com

Ensemble cast features Albert Auben, Gil Feroli, Cheri Gaulke, Randy (Joe) Gravelle, John Glenn Harding, Jessie Jacobson, Sophie Kim, Darrell Larson, Timothy Mack, Mason Mahoney, Jen O'Connor, Roland Palencia, Christine Papalexis, Jim Pentecost, Ken Pienkos, David Trudell

An award-winning production team includes Jonathan Munoz-Proulx (Associate Producer), Stephanie Kerley Schwartz (Scenic Design), Derrick McDaniel (Lighting Design), Christopher Moscatiello (Sound Design), Nicholas Santiago (Projection Design)

Shades of Disclosure opens at 8:00pm on Saturday, January 28th and runs at 8:00pm Saturdays, and 3:00pm on Sundays through February 25, 2017. Skylight Theatre is located at 1816 1/2 N. Vermont Ave, LA, 90027. Tickets are $15 - $40. Reservations: 213-761-7061 or online at SkylightTix.com.

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