Roger Q. Mason's LAVENDER MEN to Receive Reading With About Face Theater This Month

Kilroys List honoree Roger Q. Mason will bring their critically-acclaimed play Lavender Men to About Face Theater in Chicago, following its triumphant World Premiere in Los Angeles. The play will be presented as part of About Face Theatre's Re/Generation Studio, a series of innovative, intergenerational workshops focused on new works and the future of queer theatre, on Saturday, February 18 from 2-5pm at The Den Theatre (1331 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60622). The reading will be directed by Lucky Stiff. The event is FREE and open to the public. To RSVP please visit www.aboutfacetheatre.com.

Lavender Men is a genre-pushing play that courageously re-imagines one of America's most beloved historical icons, President Abraham Lincoln, through a queer person of color's storytelling lens. Taffeta, a self-proclaimed "fabulous queer creation of color," invades Honest Abe's private world to confront issues of visibility, race, and LGBTQ+ inclusion.

"This reading with About Face Theatre brings Lavender Men back to its birthplace - Chicago, the heartland of American Theatre", said playwright Roger Q. Mason. "I started writing the play while living there almost 10 years ago and I'm excited for the next leg of its creative journey to commence where it all began."

The World Premiere of Lavender Men with Skylight Theatre and Playwrights' Arena in Los Angeles was named one of the Best Regional Shows of 2022 by TheaterMania

Black Filipinx playwright Roger Q. Mason was recently acclaimed "a daring theatrical talent" by Charles McNulty of the Los Angeles Times and "a major voice in the theatrical vanguard" by TheaterMania. The Brooklyn Rail said Mason is "quickly becoming one of the most significant playwrights of the decade."

Roger Q. Mason

(Playwright - they/them) is a writer and performer who uses the lens of history to disrupt the biases that divide rather than unite us. Their playwriting has been seen on Broadway (Circle in the Square Reading Series); Off and Off-Off-Broadway; and regionally. Mason's world premiere of Lavender Men was lauded by the Los Angeles Times as "evoking the mingled visions of Suzan-Lori Parks, Jeremy O. Harris and Michael R. Jackson." As a filmmaker, Mason has been recognized by the British Film Institute, Lonely Wolf International Film Festival, SCAD Film Festival, AT&T Film Award and Atlanta International Film Festival. Their films have screened in the US, UK, Poland, Brazil, and Asia. Mason holds degrees from Princeton University, Middlebury College, and Northwestern University. They are a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, Page 73's Interstate 73 Writers Group, and Primary Stages Writing Cohort; the co-host of Sister Roger's Gayborhood podcast; the host of This Way Out Radio's Queerly Yours: Portraits in Courage; and lead mentor of the Shay Foundation Fellowship and the New Visions Fellowship. Instagram: @rogerq.mason

Lucky Stiff

(Director - they/them) is a trans and nonbinary director, writer, and performer working in Chicago and New York. They build original experiences that combine nightclub culture and performance art which have been featured at the Museum of Con­temporary Art Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Blue Man Group Chicago, Boy Friday Dance Company, and Bushwig Festival of Drag, among many others. They hold an MFA in Directing for Theater from Northwestern University and have lectured in performance and directing at UC Santa Cruz, UC Santa Barbara, Northwestern University, University of Illinois at Chicago, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. www.luckystiffdrag.com

About Face Theatre

advances LGBTQ+ equity through community building, education, and performance. AFT envisions an affirming and equitable world in which all LGBTQ+ individuals are thriving and free from prejudice and discrimination. About Face Theatre is also dedicated to being an intentionally and increasingly anti-racist organization. Due to the intersectionality of our identities, we understand our work to advance LGBTQ+ equity as directly connected to movements for racial justice. www.aboutfacetheatre.com