PrideArts today announced the lineup for LESBIAN SHORTS – a program of readings of five short plays to be performed live online on February 16th at 7 pm. Amber Mandley will direct these readings of the five two-handers, which follow lovers, besties and ex’es as they examine friendship, relationships, love, homophobia, systemic racism, and intimacy; in settings that range from a doctor’s office to a church, two living rooms, and a pizza parlor. A cast of four – Shellie DiSalvo, Katherine Dalin, Kristen McCabe, and Jasmine Robertson – will play all ten roles in the five plays.
Top Row L-R: Katherine Dalin, Kristen McCabe.
Lower Row L-R: Jasmine Robertson, Shellie DiSalvo.
In ARE YOU MARRIED?, one of two plays in the program by Joan Lipkin, Ann, a white woman, is being interviewed by a nurse of color for a medical exam that is likely to identify breast cancer. Ann is hesitant to tell the nurse she’s married to a woman for fear the medical team will compromise their level of care. At the same time, the nurse worries that Ann’s reticence toward her stems from racism. In BEA AND MAY, by Edwin Sánchez, a fifty-year old Bea and her younger ex-lover May gain some closure on their past relationship in the minutes just before May is to walk down a church aisle and marry a man. Pete Blatchford’s NOT IN OUR BACKYARD concerns a lesbian couple trying to plan dinner and a quiet evening at home in the face of abuse from the neighbors in their new community.
READY, the program’s other play by Joan Lipkin, looks in on a pair of former lovers who are now best friends. The now-partnered Joanna is consoling Stephanie over Stephanie’s recent breakup with her girlfriend. The two ponder the merits of living as a couple versus single life. In Carolyn Gage’s THE CLARITY OF PIZZA, Jordy and her straight best friend Miranda have a talk about the nature of intimacy after it comes out that Miranda has never eaten pizza in front of her fiancé for fear he’ll be turned off by her sloppy cheese-eating habits.
Other upcoming live virtual readings announced by PrideArts include Shakespeare’s TWELFTH NIGHT on February 2 and the World Premiere Lesbian-themed comedy SHUT UP KISS ME on February 9. Tickets are $10.00 for each reading and are available at www.pridearts.com or by phone at 773-857-0222.
LISTING INFORMATION
LESBIAN SHORTS
Plays by Carolyn Gage, Joan Lipkin, Edwin Sanchez, and Pete Blatchford
Directed by Amber Mandley
Tuesday, February 16, 7:00 pm
Tickets $10.00 available at pridearts.org or by phone at 773-857-0222
Five short two-character plays by Carolyn Gage, Joan Lipkin, Edwin Sánchez, and Pete Blatchford, follow lovers, besties and ex’es as they examine friendship, relationships, love, homophobia, systemic racism, and intimacy; in settings that range from a doctor’s office to a church, two living rooms, and a pizza parlor.
BIOS
Amber Mandley (Director) - Amber has most recently worked with Violet Fest and Clock Productions both acting and directing. Other directing experiences include school productions for CICS-Bucktown, City Lit Adaptation Festival, Abbie Hoffman Festival, Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival, On the Spot Theatre Company, and Hass Ben Productions. Amber believes in a collaborative process of directing and finding the heart of a piece with the cast.
Carolyn Gage (Writer, THE CLARITY OF PIZZA) is a playwright, performer, director, and activist. The author of nine collections of lesbian and feminist themed plays and eighty-three plays, musicals, and one-woman shows, she specializes in non-traditional roles for women, especially those reclaiming famous lesbians whose stories have been distorted or erased from history. In 2020, her play THE SECOND COMING OF JOAN OF ARC was scheduled to open Off-Broadway.
Joan Lipkin (Writer, ARE YOU MARRIED? and READY) Known for her mastery of the short play form, Joan Lipkin’s work has been published and performed throughout the US and internationally. Just prior to the pandemic, she wrote and directed THE QUEER CAFE: HEAR OUR VOICES FROM THE BALKANS in both Sarajevo and Belgrade, where it won the prize for Best Radio Drama in Serbia.
Her work can be found in numerous anthologies including BEST AMERICAN SHORT PLAYS, SCENES FROM A DIVERSE WORLD, CLIMATE CHANGE THEATRE ACTION, AMAZON ALL STARS: 13 LESBIAN PLAYS, EVERY 28 HOURS, AFTER ORLANDO and more. Also known as an actor, director, educator, and social activist, some of her awards include Arts Innovator of the Year, Ethical Humanist of the Year, Visionary, Woman of Achievement and more. See www.Uppityco.com
Edwin Sánchez (Writer, BEA AND MAY) Winner of the National Latino Playwriting Award for LA BELLA FAMILIA, recent productions include UNMERCIFUL GOOD FORTUNE and TRAFFICKING IN BROKEN HEARTS, both in Los Angeles, as well as the world premiere of the romantic comedy I’LL TAKE ROMANCE at the Evolution Theatre in Ohio. Other productions include: DIOSA, produced by Hartford Stage after a successful workshop by New York Stage and Film, TRAFFICKING IN BROKEN HEARTS at the Bank Street Theater in New York, UNMERCIFUL GOOD FORTUNE at the Intar Theater in New York, for which he received the Princess Grace Playwriting Award in 1994, and BAREFOOT BOY WITH SHOES ON at Primary Stages in New York. www.edwinsanchez-writer.com. Edwin is on the playwriting faculty at Primary Stages in New York City.
Pete Blatchford (Writer, NOT IN OUR BACKYARD). Pete Blatchford’s original plays include adaptations of THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, and a collection of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories titled THREE IN A ROE BY POE. His original works include THE NIGHT CHICAGO DIED, THE WARTHOGS OF WARTONIA, THE OPEN WINDOW, AROUND AND AROUND WE GO, and MISSING PERSON. (2020), Pete has been an actor for nearly 40 years and is also the author of the book WICKED IMMORAL UTTERLY BAD: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF CHICAGO THEATRE 1837-1974.
ABOUT PRIDEARTS
PrideArts is working to produce year-round theater and film projects that change lives in normal (non-COVID) times, the company produces a season of full play and musical productions, as well as events including dance, cabaret, film, and more. It was recently honored with seven Jeff award nominations for the 2019-20 season. Events can be one-night or limited run productions or feature national treasures like Charles Busch. PAC occupies The Broadway at 4139 N. Broadway, which has 85 seats, and The Buena, which has 50 seats at 4147 N Broadway.
PrideArts is supported by The MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at The Richard Driehaus Foundation, The Illinois Arts Council, City of Chicago’s City Arts Fund, the Elliott Fredland Charitable Trust, Proud to Run, The Pauls Foundation, The Heath Fund, The Service Club of Chicago, the AmazonSmile Foundation, Arts and Business Foundation, Tap Root Foundation, Arts and Business Council, and Alphawood Foundation.
PrideArts is a member of the Smart Growth Program of the Chicago Community Trust. PrideArts is a member of the LGBT Chamber of Commerce of Illinois, Northalsted Business Association, Uptown United, and The League of Chicago Theatres.
For more information and to donate, visit www.pridearts.org or call 1.773 857 0222.