Queens Theatre showcases 50 short LGBTQ plays
BY TAMMY SCILEPPI
Their voices need to
be heard.
And the LGBTQ+
community, which is as
colorful and diverse as the
borough itself, has a lot to say.
Sharing their personal
stories through 50 heartfelt
one-minute plays, 50
LGBTQIA+ playwrights will
be making sure their voices
are heard – in remembrance
of the Stonewall Riots 50th
anniversary – this Saturday at
2 p.m., at the Queens Museum.
Thanks to a joint project
between Queens Theatre, the
One-Minute Play Festival,
and the Museum, this special
happening is now part of an
official city-wide Stonewall
50 celebration of the uprising
that took place back in 1969.
It all started on a June night
in a bar on Christopher Street
where LGBTQ patrons liked
to gather. Laws and attitudes
were very different back then
and when the police started
rounding people up for a crime
they didn’t commit, the bar’s
clientele fought back, and a
revolution was sparked.
“These particular works
written by this group of
playwrights are all drawn from
the LGBTQ+ experience. They
are all incredibly specific and
deeply personal,” Stonewall
50 Plays curator and director
Nathaniel P. Claridad said.
He added: “This one-time
only event is singular and
is rare: Fifty different queer
voices given space and time,
with a cast that reflects
the community that we are
looking to lift up. It is an event
for those seeking community
and for those seeking
to commune.”
As part of a day-long
celebration at the Museum,
these staged readings – which
commemorate the riots that
pushed the LGBTQ+ Rights
Movement to the forefront
– highlight what this day
of activism, reflection,
community conversation and
art really means.
“The audience will
see a spectrum of voices,
bodies, generations, ideas,
experiences, perspectives,
and history that speaks to
Photos courtesy of the 1-Minute Play Festival/Grant McGowen
the queer continuum and
this contemporary moment,“
Queens Theatre’s Director of
Community Engagement and
founder of the One-Minute
Play Festival, Dominic
D’Andrea said.
The Stonewall 50 Plays
are staged by 5 directors and
performed by a company of
over 50 professional actors
and at-large community
members, who all identify as
Queer. Playwrights represent
international, national,
New York City, and Queensbased
voices, which include
local creatives Jonathan
Alexandratos and J. Julian
Christopher.
Every June, LGBTQ+
communities worldwide
celebrate the anniversary with
Pride parades and festivals. It
provides community members
an opportunity to meditate on
where they have come from
and where they still need to
go, according to Claridad
who said, “What’s poignant
about The Stonewall 50 Plays
is that we are making space
for these mediations to be
clearly heard. This is work
made by our community for
our community.”
According to D’Andrea, the
project stems from attempting
to figure out how Queens
Theatre could mark the 50th
anniversary of Stonewall in a
meaningful way.
“During these past 50
years, so much has changed,
and yet so much hasn’t. This
was the perfect moment to hold
space for LGBTQIA+ artists
and invite them to share their
essence, ideas, and their work
with the wider community,”
he said.
“We’ve made this work
in the spirit of celebration,
remembrance, reflection, and
asking some big questions:
Considering these past 50
years, how do we begin
to design the future we
want to live in? What does
intersectionality look like?
What are the contemporary
queer narratives and
conversations that are
important to spotlight? What
is this moment in Queens? In
NYC? Around the world?”
For more information, visit
queenstheatre.org.
Tues. & Wed. $1895
1 1/4 lb. Lobster, Clams, and Mussels
Served with Corn on the Cob
and Baked Potato
with Purchase of 2 Cocktails,
2 Wines or 2 Beers
38 TIMESLEDGER, JUNE 21-27, 2019 QNS.COM
/queenstheatre.org
/QNS.COM
