LGBTQ Seniors Perform Virtually In New Stages' SECRET LIVES

Pride Month celebrates the progress of the LGBTQ+ community in their journey toward liberation. But many elders in the community experienced periods of their lives where they had to keep their lives and loves secret and hidden.

New Stages, a Los Angeles-based arts program for seniors will present Secret Lives, four episodes of stories, creative writing and music during June. Each Tuesday, starting June 1, a new episode will be released with a watch party scheduled for 7:00PM Pacific Time each week.

"This year's production has been unique" says Mark Salyer, the director of NewStages. "The performers were given the choice of telling a story from their own lives or creating an original piece based on a notable figure from history who might have lived their own secret life."

Students from the LA LGBT Center have been meeting online, twice a week, for the past six weeks, working with Salyer, co-director Kay Cole and musical director Debbie Lawrence. Katy Hall, a recent graduate of Elon University's Film Department is editing, with sound mixing by Sashi Peterson and additional photography by Conner Wharton.

Secret Lives is supported by a grant from the City of West Hollywood's Arts Division as part of the City's One City One Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival (May 22 - June 30). More info at www.weho.org/pride or @wehoarts."

"This is our tenth year being a part of LA Pride and the City's innovative festival," says Salyer. "I've always felt like the projects that the city curates each year reflect what Pride should be about - diverse voices, reflective of our city and our community. We are proud to have been a part of One City One Pride."

NewStages has produced a full season of virtual programming in 2021 with a New Year's show sponsored by LA County Department of Cultural Affairs and the launch of a workshop series exploring theater and film artists and their contribution to the arts.

"While we are hoping to be back in person teaching soon, we were thrilled to see as much interest in our online programming like the Tennessee Williams workshop we just did this Spring," says Salyer. "We will absolutely be incorporating online learning into our seasons."

The Los Angeles LGBT Center co-sponsors the Pride show each year. The performers are part of the Center's Senior Services program which provides more than 100 events monthly to LGBT older adults at the Village and Triangle Square apartments.

New Stages is a program of Oasis Theater Company, a Los Angeles based non-profit dedicated to cultivating creative communities. Since 2012, New Stages has provided dynamic arts experiences to senior centers, senior housing programs and to seniors across the country. Upcoming projects include a lecture series looking at the life and work of Stephen Sondheim and Kay Cole's Musical Theater Conservatory in the fall.

For more information about contributing to or joining New Stages' workshops, please visit www.newstages.org.