RI Theaters Collaborate with National Gay Marriage Plays Event

Friday, November 04, 2011

GoLocalProv Features Team

Rhode Island joins a national theater event this Monday

This Monday, a group of Rhode Island theaters will come together in a unique staging of one-act plays as part of a nationwide event.

The topic? Marriage equality.

Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays, will be taking place simultaneously at theaters and universities across the country on November 7 at 8pm. Here in Rhode Island, Trinity Repertory Company, the Theatre Arts and Performance Arts Studies department at Brown (TAPS) 2nd Story Theatre and Rhode Island College Department of Theatre, Music and Dance will take part in the production.

The moments before "I do."

The plays deal with marriage equality, and Rhode Island's event is the only one taking place in New England. The plays are by American playwrights and all deal with gay marriage. Billed as an A-list lineup of writers boasting 2 Pulitzer Prizes 4 Obies, 1 Emmy and 3 Tony nominations, this is a unique take on the moments before, during and after the fateful words, "I do."

Co-produced by TAPS and Trinity Repertory Company, these productions will play far and wide to raise awareness and funds in support of marriage equality, according to a release from national producers Joan Stein and Richard Frankel of the Minetta Lane Theatre in New York. Audience members in more than 50 theaters and universities will be able to watch a live streaming introduction before the play, as well as a post-performance Q&A, from the Minetta Lane Theatre, where Standing on Ceremony begins previews that night. Attendees will be able to participate in the Q&A, regardless of their locale, by submitting questions via Twitter in real time.

A special plum for Brown's TAPS

According to Emily Bruce, department manager for TAPS, Moises Kaufman’s company, Tectonic, which is producing the national event, approached TAPS about participating in the event. “We thought it was a perfect opportunity to bring in the rest of the Rhode Island theater community, because this is an issue that affects all of us,” said Bruce.

Trinity Rep Associate Artistic Director Tyler Dobrowsky, who will direct both Trinity Rep resident acting company members alongside Brown/Trinity Rep MFA students in the project, concurred, stating that “Trinity Rep is extremely proud to participate in what should be a historic evening of theater to benefit and bring light to such an important human rights issue.”

Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays, 8pm, Stuart Theatre, Brown University, Providence. Tickets are FREE and will be distributed beginning at 7pm the night of the show.