Read the letter below from our Founding Artistic Director and Managing Director.
Dear Friends,
National Queer Theater turned three years old last week and we are blown away by how far we've come together. In three short years, we've produced new LGBTQ plays from 10 countries and hired over a hundred directors, designers, stage managers, playwrights, and actors to perform for thousands of audiences in NYC and across the country. We've performed in leather bars, block parties, Zoom parties, and theaters of all shapes and sizes. Next month, we take on our most ambitious project to date, staging our third annual Criminal Queerness Festival on the streets of New York City and at Lincoln Center outdoors through their incredible Restart Stages program. Creating theater outdoors is challenging, but we know our work is urgent. As conservative forces push anti-LGBTQ+ legislation across the country, we fight back using art as a powerful tool for social justice and political activism. We are singing and dancing our way to equality. This week, we will announce our brilliant New Visions Fellowship awardees in partnership with The Dramatists Guild and Roger Q. Mason supporting Black trans and gender non-conforming playwrights. On June 22-26, we introduce three incredible new plays from Iraq, Mexico, and Lebanon to the United States with a rockstar team of queer and trans artists. Please support our work by buying a ticket to see a performance or a Festival Pass to the whole program. If you're not in NYC, please consider donating $30 to sponsor a ticket for one of our community partners. We also welcome volunteers both in-person this month and virtual. More than anything, keep fighting for queer liberation and queer art. We need your voice in this fight. Happy birthday to National Queer Theater and Happy Pride to all of you. Let's take this time to reflect on the Stonewall Riots that inspired Pride marches around the world and gave us the opportunity to celebrate and advocate together. Much love, Adam Odsess-Rubin Founding Artistic Director Douglas Dubois-Card Sebamala Managing Director