One of the keys to gay pride (or pride for any group) is unity, so what better title for a compilation of gay one-act plays than The Unity Fest? And what better time for Off-Off-Broadway's Fourth Unity Theatre Company to mount those plays than in June, Gay Pride Month.
Fifteen one-acts will comprise the Fest, including New York premieres by Edwin Sanchez and Linda Eisenstein. Performances take place in two programs at the Altered Stages space on West 29th St., June 4-July 2.
Here's the Unity Fest line-up:
Program A (dubbed "Not Older, Just Wiser"):
The Road, by Edwin Sanchez, author ofTrafficking in Broken Hearts, which played at the Atlantic Theatre. The Road tells of the effects of AIDS on a New York family.
The Wedding Banned, by David Mills, a San Francisco performance artist. The non-linear piece looks at a gay man's struggle with marriage.
Vanilla Sex Saves The World by Thomas Klocke, looks at censorship and sexual politics. The Competent Heart, by Patricia Montley, was a finalist in the Actors Theatre of Louisville Ten-Minute Play contest.
Overanalysis by Gabriel Jeffrey Shanks.
Poetry by G. William Zorn.
Program B (dubbed "Transitions"):
Marla's Devotion, by Linda Eisenstein, shows how Druid religious practices can help a person grow within a relationship.
Out of the Blue by Tony Howarth.
Breach (an interruption or an opening made by or as if breaking through) by Daphne R. Hull, about a pregnant lesbian confronting her mother.
The Date by Joan Lipkin, tells of dating in the age of AIDS. Lipkin serves as artistic director of St. Louis' That Uppity Theatre Company.
Betty The Buddy by Helaine Michaels-Klein, based on her own experiences as a caregiver to AIDS patients.
Killer Smile by Lee Raines.
Untouched by David Rush. The play is a monologue, commissioned by the Southern Illionis Region Effort for AIDS.
First You Howl by David Valdes Greenwood, satirizes American stereotypes.
Transmittable by Kim Yaged.
Program A opens June 4; Program B opens June 6. For tickets ($20) and information on Unity Fest 98 call (212) 841-0115.
-- By David Lefkowitz
