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Join performers, theatre critics, and community members for an open discussion of Chicago's GLBT theatre scene LGBT Theater in Chicago: Looking Back and Looking Forward. Panelists include Lawrence Bommer, Megan Carney, David Cerda, Scott Bradley, John Nasca, with PFP's Executive Director David Zak moderating.
With both prepared questions and an opportunity for questions from the audience, this panel will examine the history of GLBT plays in Chicago, what's happening now, and take a look at what's next. The free panel will be held on Sunday, March 6, at 2 pm in the Hoover-Leppen Theater of the Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted on the final day of performances of The Great Gay Play Fest. The panelists are:Lawrence Bommer is a founder of WINDY CITY TIMES where he was theater editor until becoming the same at CHICAGO FREE PRESS. He also wrote for GAY LIFE and THE ADVOCATE, and has reviewed extensively for THE READER, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, STAGE STYLE CHICAGO, CHICAGO THEATER BEAT, CURTAINUP.COM, PLAYS INTERNATIONAL and SHERIDAN ROAD MAGAZINE. As a playwright, his works have been done by Organic Theater (Jonathan Wild, Poe, Gulliver's Last Travels) and Lionheart Gay Theatre (Gunsel, The Tyrannicides, Killers and Comrades, and many other). Bailiwick Repertory gave him a Trailblazer Award in 2000.
Megan Carney is a director, playwright and educator. She recently co-directed Stupid Kids and was a founding director of the About Face Youth Theatre for LGBTQ youth and their allies and her work resulted in nine years of plays including Up Until Now and On the Record both at The Goodman Theatre and The Home Project at Victory Gardens. Other recent credits include Pittsburgh Project Remix, an oral history exploration of the legacy of steel staged in the Pump House of the now razed Homestead Mill, [CLASSIFIED] a project about diversity and intervention at Virginia Tech (multiple sites), and Turning Corners, addressing race and racism through stories of 100 students from 15 Chicago area schools, (Gallery 37, two regional tours, and the Illinois Theatre Festival).David Cerda is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Hell In A Handbag Productions, as well as the resident playwright. His writing credits include SuperPussy Vixens, Go Faster! Kill!, SCARRIE - The Musical, Rudolph the Red-Hosed Reindeer, and more. His shows have been produced throughout the country and has been dubbed 'the Charles Ludlam of the Midwest' by the Chicago Tribune, which is not a bad thing.
Scott Bradley is part of the duo Scooty and JoJo. From Seattle to New York with stops in Des Moines and Washington, DC, Scooty & JoJo have been honing their style of cabaret in theaters, pubs, clubs, and churches. Credits include Carpenter's Halloween, Tran: The Atari Musical, Mollywood, Alien Queen, and more.John Nasca is the co-founder of Glitterati Productions and a Artistic Associate for Pride Films and Plays. John's directing credits include Gypsy, Beautiful Thing, No, No, Nanette, Moon Over Buffalo and The Ritz. He is also a 3 time Jeff Recommended costumer for Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, Anyone Can Whistle, and Die! Mommie, Die! John's latest project is Mr. Shaw Goes to Hollywood which he will be producing and directing. David Zak produced and directed many GLBT plays and musicals in Chicago with Bailiwick's Pride Series. He recently directed the London premiere of the Off-Broadway hit The Irish Curse, and this year is adjunct faculty at Roosevelt University in Chicago, and Korea National Unversity of Art in Seoul.
