National Queer Theater Hosts WE'RE HERE TO STAY STAGING PRIDE: QUEER YOUTH THEATER FINAL SHARING, April 19

National Queer Theater presents We're Here to Stay, Staging Pride: Queer Youth Theater Final Sharing.

With the support of the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, Staging Pride is a free after-school theater education program in New York City for LGBTQ+ youth ages 12-18 that focuses on fostering community, teaching LGBTQ+ history through artistic engagement, developing leadership skills, and promoting positive self-esteem. The Final Sharing is a free event that will feature an original show titled We're Here to Stay about LGBTQ youth issues written and performed by the Staging Pride students. The show will feature monologues and songs written and performed by LGBTQ+ youth, followed by a Q+A with the students.

In the last few years, states across the U.S. have advanced a record number of bills that attack LGBTQ rights, especially transgender youth. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 354 anti-LGBTQ have been advanced in state legislatures, and 24 have been passed into law. Notably, Tennessee's new law, which made it illegal to perform drag shows in public or in locations where it can be viewed by minors, was blocked by a federal judge on March 31 following a lawsuit filed by LGBTQ theater group Friends of George's, Inc. Staging Pride offers a positive alternative to anti-LGBTQ and transgender legislation, by supporting LGBTQ+ teens through community engagement, artistic expression, and mentorship.

Staging Pride performance is presented under the direction of NQT's expert teaching artists, Kevin Smith Kirkwood and Amy Ackerman. Kirkwood (he/him) was most recently seen in the Off-Broadway return of Kinky Boots the Musical as the Referee Angel. He made his Broadway debut in the Tony Award-winning musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and earned a 2005 New York Innovative Theater Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor for It's Karate, Kid! Kirkwood went on to receive a New Hampshire Theater Alliance Award Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor for Violet and won the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor for his performance in RENT. After performing in the entire Broadway run of the Tony Award-winning musical Kinky Boots, he went on to play the role of the Scarecrow in the Broadway at Sacramento Music Circus production of The Wiz, which received rave reviews.

Ackerman (they/them) is a Brooklyn-based creative capacity builder, cabaret artist, art model, and body advocate. Their one-person show, Big Kitty in the Big City, explores body liberation and navigating the theatrical industry as a person of size (the Tank, Club Cumming). As a member of Honest Accomplice Theatre, they have devised and performed numerous plays, including ReconFIGUREd (the tank, University Settlement, college tours), Engineers not found, Unmuted, and the Trans Literacy Project (YouTube, College tours).

Wednesday, April 19, from 5:00-6:00 pm EST at The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (The Center) at 208 W 13th St, New York, NY 10011. Room 310. Tickets are free to the public, and spots can be reserved through Eventbrite.Venue is wheelchair accessible.

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