The series will open with LIGHT SWITCH, the hilarious and heartbreaking story of an autistic gay man's journey toward love and acceptance over the span of twenty years. LIGHT SWITCH is by Dave Osmundsen, an autistic gay writer. It premiered in 2022 at the Spectrum Theatre Ensemble, a Providence, Rhode Island company with a mission to serve neurodiverse actors and playwrights and audiences, including those with sensory concerns. Michael D. Graham (director of Open Space Arts’ ROSENBERG) will return to direct LIGHT SWITCH.
LIGHT SWITCH will open to the public and the press on Friday, September 13 and extended through October 13, 2024.
The series will continue in November with PLOT POINTS IN OUR SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT, by Miranda Rose Hall. The play, which premiered in 2018 in New York City at Lincoln Center’s LCT3, is a two-character play about the breakup of a love affair between a cisgender lesbian and a self-described “genderqueer trans person who is not a woman and is not a man, but is kind of a man, who loves lesbian jokes.” THE NEW YORK TIMES’ Jesse Green said it was “never less than intriguing… Transgender people deserve to see that joy onstage. And lots of other people can share the feeling by analogy.”
PLOT POINTS IN OUR SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT will be directed by Teri Talo.
Date of opening night TBA.
The third play in the series will be the dark comedy MERCY KILLING, by Alandra Heilman. The play, which premiered in 2018 at the Awesome Theatre Company of Oakland, California, concerns Mercy, a barista who is also a serial killer, and her girlfriend. Greta Zandstra will direct.
MERCY KILLING will open to the public and the press on Friday, November 1, and play through November 17, 2024.
QUEER EXPRESSION will conclude its 2024-25 series with a 40th Anniversary production of William Hoffman’s AS IS. AS IS portrays the effect that AIDS, a relatively new epidemic at the time in the 1980s, has on a group of friends living in New York City. It was one of the early plays and subsequent TV movies depicting how the epidemic was affecting gay Americans.
AS IS opened on Broadway in March 1985, shortly before Larry Kramer's play THE NORMAL HEART opened. It ran for eight months on Broadway and was later produced as a television film. It won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play. Michael D. Graham will direct the Open Space Arts production.
Date of opening night TBA.
When you join Open Space Arts for $10 a month, you become a vital part of our team supporting theater artists in Chicago and filmmakers worldwide.
As a valued member, you'll enjoy exclusive benefits:
What is the QUEER EXPRESSION Film and Theater Festival?
OSA's QUEER EXPRESSION (QE) program celebrates both films and plays, offering a diverse array of performances, in person screenings, and streaming on-line films throughout the year
QE Theater Fest 2024-25:
Running from September 13 to June, our theater season will include four full productions of plays, from cutting edge to classic. On occasion there are readings of new works, historic gay plays. The season of plays will be announced soon.
QE Film Fest:
This hybrid festival runs throughout the year has three components for both in-person and streaming events.
*QE Best of the Fest showcases brand-new films—shorts, mid-length, and features—on a quarterly basis - in programs that can be streamed from anywhere.
**QIS programs highlight acclaimed international shorts from film festivals around the globe. These streaming programs can be viewed from anywhere.
***Additionally, live screenings of new queer features are held at FACETS in Lincoln Park on the last Wednesday of each month from January through June.
I look forward to seeing you soon!
David Zak, Director
Copyright © 2024 Open Space Arts - All Rights Reserved.
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