Final Schedule and Directors Set for Pride Films and Plays' 2013 GAY FILM WEEKEND, Now thru 11/17

Pride Films and Plays announces directors and final schedule for the 4th Annual Gay Film Weekend at Center on Halsted's Hoover-Leppen Theatre this weekend, November 15 to 17.

Gay Film Weekend features enhanced staged readings of the finalists in the 2013 Great Gay Screenplay Contest. The announcement of the winner of the Great Gay Screenplay Contest will happen on Sunday, November 17 at 4:30pm at Pride Films and Plays Community Night at Marty's Martini Bar, 1511 W Balmoral. The event will be a fundraiser for and celebration of our 2013-2014 Season.

All performances for the weekend are at Center on Halsted's Hoover-Leppen Theater, at 3656 North Halsted. Tickets are $10 for each reading, or $5 each for theater or film professionals with headshots or business cards. Tickets are also $10 for the short film screenings. Tickets can be purchased at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/472832.

The performance schedule is:

Friday, November 15 at 6pm - Kickoff Reception

Friday, November 15 at 7pm - Boys in Summer by Dennis Shinners

Saturday, November 16 at 2pm - Buddy Booth by Edward Yaeger, Jr.

Saturday, November 16 at 5pm - Screening of Short Films

Saturday, November 16 at 7pm - The Starfish Scream by Brent Hartinger

Sunday, November 17 at 11am - The Passion Child by Amir Sade

Sunday, November 17 at 2pm - Saguaro by Brandon Yarns

Sunday, November 17 at 4:30pm - Announcement of GGSC13 Winner (at Marty's Martini Bar)

Here is information on the screenplays, the authors, and the directors:

Boys in Summer by Dennis Shinners; directed by Charlie McGrath

A shy American college boy travels to Paris to reconnect with a French exchange student from his High School years and finds himself in battle for his affections with a bold, brash and aggressive Jersey girl.

Dennis Shinners is an NYC filmmaker that produces TV spots for Nickelodeon during The Day and writes his own movies at night. His most recent short "Barrio Boy" (adapted from a previous Pride Films & Plays screenplay finalist) hits the road this fall.

Charlie Marie McGrath, Associate Member SDC, graduate of AMDA and Northwestern University, has directed for Proud Kate, Open Door Rep, Dead Writers, Appetite, Polarity, City Lit, Prologue, etc. www.charliemariemcgrath.com

Buddy Booth by Edward Yaeger, Jr.; directed by Sonita Surratt

A young man and a mysterious woman befriend each other under unorthodox circumstances. Their chemistry is so unique and infectious that the two soon find themselves cast in an indie film by a famous director who wants no-name actors starring in his art-house foray. The two new stars grapple with their demons both on and off screen, interfusing reality with celluloid.

Edward J. Yaeger Jr. is a digital marketer and short story writer based in Baltimore, Maryland. His short story, Gifting, is currently being produced as an animated short film. Edward is a contributing writer and guest blogger for Huffington Post and has written for a variety of LGBT publications, including Advocate.com and Outsports.

Sonita L. Surratt is an award winning classically trained vocalist, playwright, actor, director, sound designer and 'voice for the actor' professor at Columbia College. Other credits include Women's Work Weekend.

The Starfish Scream by Brent Hartinger; directed by Raphael Schwartzman

Unable to accept that his best friend has committed suicide, a teenage boy searches his memories of their past together for an explanation that makes it make sense.

Brent Hartinger's many plays have been produced around the country, twice in New York. He's also the author of nine novels, all from major publishers; his 2003 gay teen novel Geography Club has now been adapted into a feature film co-starring Scott Bakula and Ana Gasteyer and is set for release in early 2014. In 1990, Brent helped found one of the world's first GSAs, in his hometown of Tacoma, Washington, and he is also the co-founder of AfterElton.com, which was sold to Viacom/Logo in 2006. www.brenthartinger.com

Raphael Schwartzman is an artistic ensemble member with Pride Films and Plays. He has previously directed with Royal Nonsuch Presents, Tabula Rasa Theatre, and SINS Theatre.

The Passion Child by Amir Sade; directed by Michael Graham

A 52-year old passionate man must reveal long hidden, painful secrets to a 21-year old young man who comes to seek the truth about his father-- 21 years after his father's vague and mysterious death.

Born in Iran, living in exile in the U.S., Amir Sade is a playwright, screenwriter, and astronomer, and has written several shorts, plays and seven screenplays. The Passion Child took 35 years to develop and transform from an Iranian concept, to a profound American classic drama... Created HEAVENS, and, THE IMAGINATARIUM, the first 3-D Space Art Gallery, and The Live Cosmic Show.

Michael D. Graham most recently directed The Mystery of Irma Vep for Piccolo Theater. He has worked as a director, actor, playwright, and producer.

Saguaro by Brandon Yarns; directed by Juan Castañeda

In Saguaro, two best friends of different races embark on separate quests for love after one leaves their remote Indian-village home to care for his ailing father.

Brandon Yarns won several national and international awards as a clarinetist and performed on National Public Radio before turning to a career in medicine. He is now a resident physician and has been published in the prestigious scientific journal Psychosomatics. Brandon sought a new challenge in writing his first screenplay and found inspiration in a trip to the Arizona desert and the love for his partner and muse, Johnny.

Juan Castañeda is the Literary Manager for UrbanTheater Company. Other credits include companies such as Steep Theatre, Halcyon Theatre, Teatro Vista, Clockwise Theatre, and Colectivo El Pozo.

About Pride Films and Plays: Utilizing stories with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender characters or themes, Pride Films and Plays develops powerful theatrics that speak for the community and are essential viewing for all audiences.

Pride Films and Plays fosters excellence in writing for the stage and screen by connecting our Writers Network with our Artistic Ensemble and accelerating the process of moving important scripts from development to full production. When ready, these excellent works are then offered to theaters across the country.

Our season consists of three full productions - a world premiere, a Chicago premiere, and a reinvigorated classic - along with three weekend festivals of new 'enhanced staged readings.'

Writers are invited to join our Writers Network when they are named a finalist in our contests - the Great Gay Play Contest, Women's Work (for plays and screenplays with lesbian characters or themes, written by women), and the Great Gay Screenplay Contest. The finalists earn cash prizes, and their plays performed as "enhanced staged readings" which include movement, blocking, and technical elements in the 150 Hoover-Leppen Theater in Center on Halsted.

The 2011 Great Gay Play Contest winner, Learn To Be Latina by Enrique Ureata, has had multiple regional productions, and the 2012 winner At The Flash by Sean Chandler and David Leeper was Jeff-recommended in Chicago, a hit in LA, and will be seen in Dublin next spring. Under A Rainbow Flag by Leo Schwartz, a finalist in last year's contest, had its world premiere in Chicago this spring and won the Jeff Award for Best New Work and Best Musical Production. It has undergone a further revision and - now called Honor - will be remounted in Chicago in 2014. And the 2013 contest winner Directions for Restoring the Apparently Dead by Martin Casella had a successful run in the 150 seat thrust stage at Stage 773.

In addition to our forward thinking play development, we feel strongly that we without knowledge of our past, we cannot truly know our way. Thus we have produced 20th Anniversary productions of The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me by David Drake and Beautiful Thing by Jonathan Harvey and in 2014 will present Lillian Hellman's great drama The Children's Hour.

For more information on contests or productions, visit www.pridefilmsandplays.com.