Casting has been revealed for the upcoming second annual Say Gay Plays, Voyage Theater Company's festival of staged readings of seven new plays with queer themes. The performance will be held June 30 at Judson Memorial Church.
As with last year's inaugural offering, the works will all become available royalty-free to non-profit theatres, colleges and universities, and community organizations nationwide for use as fundraising events for local LGBTQIA+ groups. The June 30 performance will benefit Judson Commons.
Maya Gibson and Denise Manning will lead Kamilah Bush's Words the Wind Carried Me, directed by Tyrone Mitchell Henderson. Jesse Aaronson and Troy Iwata will star in Vichet Chum's Actor on Actor, with Seonjae Kim directing. Haruna Lee's Let's Sit Down, directed by Kedian Keohan, will feature Ching Valdez-Aran, Drae Campbell, and Ni-Ni. Cameisha Cotton and Sky Stringer will perform Azure D. Osborne-Lee's B R I C K, with Paul A. Notice II directing. Brian Quirk's Trust Faith and Confidence, directed by Wayne Maugans, will feature Marcus McGee and Greig Sargeant. And SMJ's morning routine, directed by Mackenna Goodrich, will feature Mark Blane and Vanessa Vivas.
The festival was originally conceived by Voyage in association with Tectonic Theater Project, Quick Silver Theater Company, and Provincetown Theater following the passage of Florida's Parental Rights in Education bill, commonly referred to as the "Don't Say Gay" bill, in 2022.
Works from last year's offering鈥攑enned by playwrights Fernanda Coppel, Mashuq Mushtaq Deen, Ty Defoe, Marquis D. Gibson, Nina Ki, Derick Edgren Otero, Harrison David Rivers, J. Harvey Stone, Lucy Thurber, and Doug Wright鈥攈ave gone on to be performed at theatres, colleges, and universities from Birmingham, Alabama, to Binghamton, New York; Provincetown, Massachusetts; and Missoula, Montana. A Chicago edition of the performance is planned for September, presented in partnership with Silk Road Cultural Center, About Face Theatre Company, and Northeastern Illinois University.
Tickets are available at .
