Staged Reading Of DOCTOR ANONYMOUS To Take Place 3/20

Homosexuality was once considered a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association (APA).  This began to change in 1972, when a gay psychiatrist donned a mask to conceal his identify and addressed the APA’s annual meeting, arguing for his colleagues to understand.

This event is dramatized in Guy Fredrick Glass’ new play Doctor Anonymous, being given a staged reading March 20 at 8 p.m. by the Actors’ NET of Bucks County.  Mort Paterson directs a cast of six in the script in hand production with minimal set and props. The cast includes (alphabetically) Brian Bara, Brian Campbell, Chuck Donnelly, Scott Fishman, John Helmke and Tom Orr.  Mr. Glass, the playwright, will be in attendance.  A discussion of the play will take place immediately following the performance.
 
“Like Tennessee Williams’ great American masterpiece, The Glass Menagerie, Mr. Glass’ play is a memory play,” Mort Paterson explained . “Told in flashbacks and set in Philadelphia both in 1972 and in 2002, his play tells the very personal story of a fictional gay psychiatrist named John, his friendships, loves and his struggle to come to grips with his homosexuality and his profession and society. At a time when his own profession considered homosexuality a mental disorder, John’s story is one of conflict and courage as he eventually summons the strength to become the eponymous Doctor Anonymous.”

The playwright is a Board-certified psychiatrist; a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and a faculty member of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.  He maintains private practices in Manhattan and in Stockton, NJ.  His play Healing was recently performed at Rose Bruford College in England.  Healing and The Therapeutic Hour have also been produced in New Jersey and in New York City, and were published by Smith and Kraus in their “Best Ten-Minute Plays” series.  In 2007, A Night at the Opera or a Boy and His Diva was featured in the playlab at the Great Plains Theatre Conference in Omaha.  In 2008, Doctor Anonymous had readings in New York by the Woodstock Fringe Festival, and in Washington, D.C. by Ganymede Arts, while another full-length play, The Last Castrato, had a reading at Luna Stage in New Jersey. 
 
Performed at the Heritage Center., 635 N. Delmorr Ave. (Route 32), Morrisville – near the Calhoun Street Bridge – Doctor Anonymous will have one reading only at 8 p.m. on March 20.  Suggested donation is $10.  Due to mature subject matter, this production is not suggested for youngsters.  For reservations or information, call the nonprofit Actors’ NET at 215-295-3694 or email actorsnet@aol.com.

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