Pride Films & Plays announces Five Finalists in Great Gay Screenplay Contest

Pride Films & Plays (PFP) announces the five screenplays with GLBT themes or characters that have been named finalists in the first Great Gay Screenplay Contest. The five screenplays will be performed as staged readings during the Great Gay Screenplay Weekend, Saturday, Nov. 20 at 5 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 21 at 3 p.m., at the Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted Street. Tickets for each program are $10 or $5 for students or industry professionals. A Screenplay Weekend Pass is available for $15. Tickets may be purchased at brownpapertickets.com or by calling 1 800 838 3006.

In addition to announcing the finalists, Pride Film & Play's Executive Director David Zak says, "It has been a fantastic first year for this contest, and I know audiences will thoroughly enjoy getting to see these works performed live."

The five finalists are:
Bethlehem by Chris French, New York, NY
Detasseling by Tom Hietter, Los Angeles, CA
The Queen of Harts by Gary Polston, Aliso Viejo, CA
Skirt by Chris Mason Johnson and Kate Stayman-London, San Francisco, CA
The Trouble With e by Louise Wadley, Sydney, NSW

The five screenplays have been sent to the panel of judges including Billy Cogan from Here, Anthony Rapp, Billy Masters, Bruce Vilanch and theater and film professionals from across the country who will select a "Juried Winner." Attendees of both programs will be eligible to vote for the "Audience Favorite Award." Both winners will be announced at the conclusion of Sunday night's presentations.

Pride Films & Plays Artistic Associate John Nasca directs the staged readings. The talented ensemble features Christopher Carr, Marie Clawson, Harmony France, Sean Edward Hall, John Highberger, Libby Lane, Joan McGrath, Brian Rooney, Chad Ryan, Patrick Rybarczyk, Teresa Scalise, Mark Smaglinski, Lee Wichman, Michelle McKenzie-Voigt and others.

The performance schedule is:

Program A, Saturday, Nov. 20 at 5 p.m.

The Trouble With e by Louise Wadley, Sydney, NSW
Beautiful, sexy DJ e seems to have it all, but looks are deceiving. Stumbling on a stash of cash, e goes on the run. To stay alive, e has to find the courage to follow her dreams.

Detasseling by Tom Hietter, Los Angeles, CA
In Detasseling, a gay teen's urgent desire to flee his small and stifling Midwestern town sets off a bittersweet and, at times, harrowing journey of self-discovery over the summer of 1985.

Program B, Sunday, Nov. 21 at 3 pm.

Bethlehem by Chris French, New York, NY
With a baby on the way, gay thirty-somethings in New York City struggle to reconcile their definitions of "family" with their Christian upbringings and parents' expectations -- in a modern retelling of the Christmas story.

Skirt by Chris Mason Johnson and Kate Stayman-London, UK and
San Francisco, CA
When idealistic campaign worker Allie agrees to pose as her female boss's girlfriend in order to help promote marriage equality, she soon finds herself in political and romantic hot water.

The Queen of Harts by Gary Polston, Aliso Viejo, CA
Suffering an identity crisis, a famous drag queen returns to his southern roots seeking a more masculine way of life. He discovers the road to acceptance is full of bumps and leads to unexpected places.

Screenwriters:

Chris French (Bethlehem) spends much of the year at high altitudes. He runs the world's largest club for LGBT skiers and snowboarders, exploring terrain from the Alps to the Andes. When he's not in the mountains, he's writing. Originally from rural Illinois, Chris currently lives in New York City.

Tom Hietter (Detasseling) has been working as a freelance Reality Television Writer/Story Producer for over seven years. In 2007, he wrote and produced the feature comedy-mocumentary Fellowship of the Dice that won "Best Professional Film" at GenCon 2007 and a "Spewgie" for Best Geek Film of 2008.
Chris Mason Johnson, Writer-Director (Skirt) freelanced as a script analyst and editor for Miramax, Dimension, Fine Line, ABC Family and Disney, and rose to the position of Head of Development at Open City Films in New York. In addition to Skirt, Johnson is developing Static, a psychological horror-sci-fi set in a small California town. He was a mentor in Film Independent's Project:Involve and has taught screenwriting at Amherst College and Rutgers.

Gary Polson (The Queen of Harts) is an active member of the LGBT community. Raised in the backdrop of small town religious conservatism, coming out was an adventure that continues to bring smiles along with some great writing material. Gary lives in Southern California with his partner and their twenty-pound cat, Monster.
Kate Stayman-London, Writer (Skirt) is a current candidate for an MFA in Writing for Film and Television at USC's School of Cinematic Arts. Her first solo screenplay, a baseball sex comedy called Slump Busters, was awarded the Frank R. Volpe Scholarship and the National Association of Theater Owners Scholarship. Stayman-London has strong roots in playwriting: at Amherst College, she studied with acclaimed playwright Connie Congdon, and she's currently writing the book for the next musical from this year's Ovation Award winner, Erin Kamler.

Writer / Director Louise Wadley (The Trouble with e) attended the National Film and Television School in London. Her short films have played at festivals around the world. Her screenplay She Sells Seashells by the Seashore is a semi-finalist in the 2010 Nicholl Fellowship Competition. She is aiming to shoot The Trouble with e in spring, 2011.

Founded in 2010 to foster excellence in great GLBT writing for the stage and screen, Pride Films & Plays links an international network of writers with professionals working in film and theater.

Through readings, contests, classes, screenings and full Theater Productions, Pride Films & Plays engages artists and audiences in the full developmental process needed to make great artistic experiences.

For more information about the company, including details about the upcoming performances of the five finalists, visit www.pridefilmsandplays.com.

Pride Films & Plays is also conducting The Great Gay Play Contest, which culminates in staged readings at Center on Halsted in March, 2011. They are also hosting a reading series "The Great Plays of Terrence McNally" that continues Sundays through October 24.
Tickets to the staged readings in the Great Gay Screenplay Weekend, Saturday, Nov. 20 at 5 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 21 at 3 p.m., at the Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted Street; are $10 or $5 for students or industry professionals. A Screenplay Weekend Pass are available for $15. Tickets may be purchased at brownpapertickets.com or by calling 1 800 838 3006.