SAY GAY PLAYS to be Presented by About Face Theatre and Silk Road Cultural Center

Chicago's About Face Theatre and Silk Road Cultural Center will present SAY GAY PLAYS on Saturday, September 20.

The goal of SAY GAY PLAYS is two-fold: to raise awareness for LGBTQ+ equality and offer financial support to potentially hundreds of not-for-profit organizations across the country.

SAY GAY PLAYS will feature staged readings from 6 plays, four of which are newly commissioned from Chicago-based playwrights: Hannah li-Epstein (AFT), Emilio Williams (AFT), Esho Rasho (SRCC) and Lani Montreal (SRCC). Plays by previously-commissioned playwrights Mashuq Mushtaq Deen and Brian Quirk round out the event. All of these plays, and a back catalogue of nearly 20 additional short plays, are available royalty-free to not-for-profit theaters, colleges and universities, and community organizations across the nation for use to present their own awareness and fundraising events on behalf of LGBTQ+ organizations in their communities.

Jamil Khoury, Silk Road Cultural Center's Founding Executive Artistic Director stated, "In an era of state censorship, word policing, and criminalized identities, SAY GAY PLAYS is a perfect antidote. A bold, unapologetic short plays initiative developed by NYC's Voyage Theater that champions Queer joy, collective resilience, and personal triumph. It is an honor and privilege to partner with About Face Theatre and Northeastern Illinois University to bring to life stories that offer hope and healing in turbulent times. Florida's Governor and state legislature be damned. We at Silk Road Cultural Center most definitely say gay!"

SAY GAY PLAYS was conceived by Voyage Theater Company in association with Tectonic Theater Project, Quick Silver Theater Company and Provincetown Theater and it is part of Goodman Theatre's Free Acts of Theatre sponsored by DCASE. It was created in response to the 2022 passage of the Parental Rights in Education bill in Florida, commonly known as the "Don't Say Gay" bill. In 2023, more than 520 state bills attacking LGBTQ+ rights were introduced, with more than 75 becoming law. The Human Rights Campaign officially declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the United States for the first time in history. SAY GAY PLAYS is about sharing queer stories of courage, triumph, and joy to counter the harmful narratives used as justification for the passage of these discriminatory bills. The project's website, SayGayPlays.org, serve as a hub for applicants and participants, while tracking the project's impact nationwide.