Mad Cow Hosts Reading of Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays, 11/7

Mad Cow Theatre and producers Joan Stein and Richard Frankel (Producers)are pleased to announce that the new theatrical event Standing On Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays, which premieres Off Broadway at the Minetta Lane Theatre in NYC this fall, will join with Tectonic Theater Project (Moisés Kaufman, Artistic Director; Greg Reiner, Executive Director) to help take the play's message of marriage equality across the globe. On Monday, November 7, across America and beyond, curtains will rise on Standing On Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays as participating theaters everywhere present the play to raise awareness and funds in support of marriage equality. Marriage equality is an issue that transcends borders, and it's vital that the message of Standing On Ceremony reaches far and wide.

At Mad Cow Theatre, this special performance of Standing On Ceremony will begin at 8:00PM. Audience members will be able to watch a live streaming introduction before the play, as well as a post performance Q&A, from the Minetta Lane Theatre in NYC, where Standing on Ceremony begins previews that night. Attendees will be able to participate in the Q&A, regardless of their locale, by submitting questions via Twitter in real time. Proceeds from the performance at Mad Cow Theatre will benefit Equality Florida.

The Central Florida Cast of Standing on Ceremony will be directed by Thomas Ouellette and includes such Central Florida notables as Sarah Catherine Barnes, Juan Cantu, Elizabeth Dean, Stephan Jones, Emily Killian, Ame Livingston, Elizabeth Maupin, Peg O'Keef, Robby Piggott, and Eric Zivot.

To date, more than 25 theatres and universities are confirmed to participate, in 19 states across America including: Texas, North Dakota, Florida, Kansas and Michigan, where both gay marriage and civil unions are banned; North Carolina, where the vote on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage was moved up to 2012; California, where gay marriage was legalized and then overturned by the passage of Proposition 8 in 2008; and many states where marriage equality is not yet a reality. Beyond America, theatres as far flung as Sydney, Australia will also participate, making this a truly international event.

Moisés Kaufman, Artistic Director of Tectonic Theater Project and contributing Standing On Ceremony playwright commented, "After the success of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, we are thrilled to partner with Standing On Ceremony to facilitate another national convening with this beautiful collection of plays about a timely and urgent issue."

Tickets for this special performance of Standing On Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays are $10. VIP Packages including a pre-show reception and priority seating are $30, and can be purchased at www.madocwtheatre.com or by calling the Mad Cow Theatre Box Office at 407.297.8788 x1.

ABOUT MAD COW THEATRE
Mad Cow Theatre is one of Orlando's most respected professional theatre companies presenting compelling works of theatre for a wide-range of audiences, with a passion for both classic and contemporary plays and musicals representing the best of American and World literature.
Mad Cow Theatre is founded on the belief that the Theatre is a dynamic and powerful means of social understanding, as well as a hugely entertaining art form. Through the combination of passionate, skillful acting and compelling, insightful writing, nurtured by an attentive and ever-changing process, Mad Cow presents entertaining works of Theatre to an ever-widening audience-promoting, enhancing and celebrating the human condition through art.

ABOUT EQUALITY FLORIDA
Equality Florida is the largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Through lobbying, grassroots organizing, education, and coalition building, we are changing Florida so that no one suffers harassment or discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

ABOUT STANDING ON CEREMONY

Conceived by Brian Shnipper and directed by Stuart Ross, Standing On Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays began as a series of benefit events in Los Angeles, taking on a life of their own as an inspiring theatrical evening. The show begins previews at the Minetta Lane Theatre (18 Minetta Lane, NYC) on Monday, November 7 with an official opening night set for Sunday, November 13. As was established in Los Angeles, a portion of each ticket purchased to every performance of Standing On Ceremony will be donated to marriage equality organizations.

Responding to one of the defining issues of our day -- the on-going battle for marriage equality throughout the United States -- some of America's most illustrious and Award-winning playwrights, including Heideman Award winner Jordan Harrison, Edgar Award winner Jeffrey Hatcher, Tony Award nominee Moisés Kaufman, Emmy and WGA Award winner Joe Keenan, Tony Award nominee Neil LaBute, Sundance Jury Prize winner Wendy MacLeod, Obie Award winner José Rivera, Obie and Outer Critics Circle Award winner Paul Rudnick, and Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Doug Wright, have created a heartfelt, funny and altogether illuminating evening that celebrates the courage to be in a relationship - any relationship.

ABOUT Tectonic Theater Project
Tectonic Theater Project is an award-winning company whose plays have been performed around the world. The company is dedicated to developing innovative works that explore theatrical language and form, fostering an artistic dialogue with our audiences on the social, political and human issues that affect us all. In service to this goal, Tectonic supports readings, workshops, and full theatrical productions, as well as training for students around the country in our play-making techniques. Tectonic Theater Project was founded in 1991 by Moisés Kaufman and Jeffrey LaHoste. Tectonic refers to the art and science of structure and was chosen to emphasize the company's interest in construction-- how things are made, and how they might be made differently.

Its groundbreaking plays, The Laramie Project, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, and I Am My Own Wife, have sparked national discourse about their subjects and have inspired artists and audiences worldwide. In 2009, Tectonic Theater Project brought The Laramie Project to 100 cities across America, when it was performed simultaneously by high schools, universities and professional theatres.

www.standingonceremony.net

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