Our Partnership With The Triangle Rainbow Theatre’s 1st Annual Lgbtq Short Play Festival is now ON DEMAND on Vimeo

The Awards Show is ON DEMAND on Vimeo at www.vimeo.com/ondemand/lgbtqshortplayawardsshow. The TOP 4 BEST PLAYS will be screened and awards will be presented for BEST PLAY, BEST DIRECTOR & BEST ACTOR.

To Buy Tickets in Advance for the AWARDS SHOW visit here:

Tickets are $25

Click Link to see the Video of The JOCUNDA FESTIVAL’S Conversations with Creative Minds:
https://fb.watch/49-W2aDyv3/

The Riant Theatre’s Strawberry One-Act Festival in Partnership with
The Triangle Rainbow Theatre Presents the
1st Annual LGBTQ Short Play Festival of One-Acts
Streaming Live on Zoom and ON DEMAND on Vimeo
February 27th – March 20th

(February 23, 2024) Imagine the delight when Van Dirk Fisher, Founder & Artistic Director of the Riant Theatre and producer of the JOCUNDA FESTIVAL was invited to partner with Riant Theatre/Strawberry One-Act Festival Alumni ANTHONY FUSCO, a very talented playwright and director, to present and host its 1st Annual LGBTQ Short Play Festival. “I immediately jumped at the idea,” says Mr. Fisher. Mr. Fusco has had over 12 plays produced in the Strawberry One-Act Festival since 2009 and has done 3 Play Readings of new plays with us. I’ve seen him grow over the years and have followed his career and plays in other festivals through NYC. In 2013 Anthony won the coveted BEST DIRECTOR AWARD for his play entitled RUSH HOUR MADNESS. Several of his plays have advanced to the semi-finals and the top 4 Finalist in the Strawberry One-Act Festival, including FIXATION, which garnished the BEST ACTOR AWARD for ROBERT STARKS in 2016.

Mr. Fusco has dedicated his life and has been a champion of writing plays that tell the stories of the LGBTQ community. Therefore, it’s only fitting that he has decided to offer the same opportunity to give playwrights a platform to share their stories. He’s had over 300 hundred nationwide submissions for his festival, of which he has selected 20 to compete for the BEST DIRECTOR, BEST ACTOR , BEST ACTRESS and BEST PLAY AWARD, which gives the winning playwright a CASH Prize of $300.

Industry Professionals will Judge all the Nominees in all categories from March 15 - March 17th. The Awards Show will be on Saturday, March 20, 2024 at 5PM EST on Zoom. We will show the top 5 plays and Awards will be given out after each Play is screened on Zoom.

The LGBTQ Short Play Festival is ON DEMAND on Vimeo until Saturday, March 13th at 11:59pm EST / 8:59pm PST.

The ON DEMAND LINKS ARE:

Group A

Group B

Group D

    How people obtain a Voting Ballot:
    They must take a Screenshot of Proof of Purchase and email that to me at RiantTheatre@gmail.com and I will send them a Voting Ballot. They will be asked to select 2 in each categories including:

  • 2 Best Plays;
  • 2 Best Director; and
  • 2 Best Actors, understanding that Actors includes ALL LGBTQ People.
    On Monday, March 15th through Wednesday, March 17th at 11:59pm EST / 8:59 PST we will have ON DEMAND the plays that the NOMINEES appear in. There will be 3 separate ON DEMAND VIDEOS in the following categories:
  1. The NOMINEES’ Plays for BEST PLAY will include 5 Nominees;
  2. The NOMINEES’ Plays for BEST DIRECTOR will include 5 Nominees; and
  3. The NOMINEES’ Plays for BEST ACTOR will include 8 Nominees.

The following 5 JUDGES will review all NOMINEES and then cast their Votes for the BEST PLAY, DIRECTOR & ACTOR. They will select their top 3 in each category. Their Votes will count for 70% of the Vote. The Audience gets to Vote when they see the NOMINEES ON DEMAND too. Their Votes will count for 30% of the Votes.

The 5 JUDGES are:

1. ANTONIO MINIÑO

(Antonio/They/Them)

Genderqueer Dominican director, intimacy consultant, actor, writer, and producer, whose work has been seen in DR, USA, Ireland & Serbia. Writer #PersonOfChange series showcasing BIPOC & LGBTQ+ warriors. Creative Partner Different Translation. Two-time SDCF Observer. MTC Jonathan Alper Directing Fellow. Member of SDC, SAG-AFTRA, Intimacy Coordinators of Color.

NY THEATRE – ASSISTANT DIRECTOR CREDITS:
Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train by Stephen Adly Guirgis, Directed by Mark BrokawSignature Theatre Company –Pershing Square Signature Center

646-683-7628 https://linktr.ee/antoniominino

2. MARGARET EMORY (Agent)

SW ARTISTS

Author of: ASK AN AGENT (Second Edition)
Available at Amazon.com

3. AMY WALKER (ACTRESS)

Recently starred in her short dramatic film Into Light as Inez Milholland, the suffrage martyr. Now available on Amazon Prime. In three feature films due out this year Walker plays key roles: Grace and Grit, alongside Mena Suvari and Frances Fisher and based on the best-selling book; Evan Wood, family drama about addiction; and The Scheme of Things, a family adventure film. Most recently, Amy won two Best Actress awards for her starring role as Lulu in Listen, a powerful short film dealing with domestic partner abuse. Amy has been featured on TEDx, the TODAY Show, NPR, Inside Edition, and as Variety’s Accents Expert, for her chameleon-like ability to instantly switch between authentic characters, accents and singing styles. As a voice actress, Amy has performed voice matches for Disney (Kerry Condon for Iron Man VR - Irish) and Universal (Rebel Wilson for Pitch Perfect III - Australian). Her online videos have garnered over 40 million views on her YouTube Channel from the viral 21 Accents, to beloved characters, songs, and inspirational insights.

4. STANLEY MARTIN Credits:

Aladdin on Broadway. International tour of West Side Story (Indio/Chino u/s), tour of Smokey Joe’s Cafe (Ken, Dance Captain). Regional credits: Aladdin (5th Avenue Theatre), Hairspray (Fulton Opera House), King and I, Show Boat (Sacramento Music Circus), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, White … (read complete bio)

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5. SIMON BOWLER

Is a producer, director, and writer of film, broadcast, and cable television programming and three award-winning plays.
He ran several shows for BBC World Service Television, then went freelance and produced, wrote, and directed feature documentaries for Channel 4, The World Bank, and Friends of the Earth. In the United States, he produced the mockumentary feature ‘Man of the Year’ and has produced, directed, and written for CBS, ABC, PBS, Discovery, Oxygen, Bravo, Channel 4 (UK), Fox, and Cisco Systems, and Global Green.

He has produced hard-hitting investigative documentary features about deforestation, the corruption of international aid money, and the gangs of Los Angeles (Street Apostle - Telly Award). He was a Supervising Producer on several high-profile multi-camera reality shows and has written and produced corporate videos for the World Bank and Cisco Systems.

Simon has collaborated and consulted for filmmakers such as George Hickenlooper (Hearts of Darkness), Michael Phillips (Close Encounters), and Derek Gibson (Platoon, The Last Emperor). Simon is developing a TV drama series and several plays.

Group A

Plays are now available ON DEMAND on Vimeo until March 13th.To see it ON DEMAND.

Bathroom Pep Talk- written & directed by Blanca Del Loco

(2 humans, a bottle of wine, and a whole lot of emotions.) Cast: Blanca Del Loco, Vega Von Wulf.

Chlamydia in The Closet- written by J Myles Hesse, directed by Sami Ginoplos

(Coming out never burned so bad.) Cast: Jo Garcia-Reger, Ethan Perisho, Andrew Kuhlman.

It Ain’t Over Till The Pink Lady Sings- written by Allison Fradkin, directed by Caitlin Lopez

(If you’re a lesbian thespian in a production of Grease, you can think straight. You just can’t Pink straight.) Cast: Jenny Lockwood, Janelle Kester, Caitlin Lopez.

Beautiful F…..G Cars That Don’t Run Properly- written & directed by Cori Christina

(On a late night drive, a gay couple argues over the future of their relationship.) Cast: Jack Venimilia, Kam Kampton.

The Concept of Gender- written & directed by Frankie Eisenhut

(Exploring one’s true self.) Cast: Ezra Joel Pippin, River Coello, Bradley Rabinowitz, Sam Outlaw, Ash Visker, Adrienne Torres.

Group B

Plays are now available ON DEMAND on Vimeo until March 13th. To see it ON DEMAN.

There will be a TALK BACK with the playwrights, directors and actors on 2/27 after the 5pm show moderated by Van Dirk Fisher.

God’s HR- written & directed by Lauren Montes

(Divine Intervention over Zoom.) Cast: Esther Um, Bella Maxwell.

Texas Transit- written & directed by Teddy Alexis Rodriguez

(They are not ready for Texas, nor Texas is not ready for them.) Cast: Gabriella Rafiele, Teddy Alexis Rodriguez.

Sunny Side Up- written & directed by Dana Hall

(Sometimes it’s the small things that matter most.) Cast: Kenisha Morgan, Kristie Ansinn.

Garcon!- written by Felix Racelis, directed by Gera Hermann

(Jon introduces his new young conquest to an older friend, but remember what they say about best laid plans.) Cast: Chad Tyler, Mark Bramhall, Gera Hermann.

Boys to Men- written & directed by Aaron Leventman

(Will a 20-something slacker (Devon) grow up in enough time to support his HIV+ partner (Richard) during the height of the AIDS crisis?) Cast: Richard Patrick Riviere, Devon Doug Brandt.

Red and the Wolf- written & directed by Ingrid Oslund

(Little Red seeks Big Bad Wolf….Let’s play/) Cast: Aislinn Brophy, Sara Kerr.

Group C

ON DEMAND

Fireworks- written & directed by Jai Mohan

(A recipe for a meet-cute.) Cast: Mer Kee, Kieryn Darkwater, Blue Linn.

A Monogamy of Swans- written & directed by John Minigan

(No Swans were harmed in the re-making of this relationship.) Cast: Jacey Rutledge, Jessica Tomer.

Senior Moments- written Pamela Morgan & directed by Padra Crisafulli

(You’re never too old to learn something new.) Cast: Lindsey Monroe-Bougher, Jack Gannon, Alyse Dionne.

A Frank Discussion About Gay Porn- written by Tom Misuraca, directed by Jonathan Levit

(It wasn’t always easy to see a penis.) Cast: Bob Rumnock, Herman Poppe, Lucas Alifano.

Dead Letter- written by Jessica Stahl, directed by Alice Hakvaag

(“Signed. Sealed. Undelivered.”) Cast: Ryan Wolpert, Chris Berbano.

The War on Christmas And Other Bullshit- written & directed by Megan Ann Jacobs

(“Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year…or is it? As Christmas music haunts a college night class, two adults go at it as they fight about the holiday and its segregating factors, but you better watch out…you never know who is listening in.”) Cast: Distinctly Unique, Maverick Schmit, Tracy Herring, James Dorsch.

Oba- written by Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj, directed by Adam Mace, sound design by Paul Wilt

(A queer, Muslim, Nigerian man’s journey to the United States of America in pursuit of the American Dream and the many challenges that he faces in that desire.) Cast: Richard Coleman, Korie Lee Blossey, Siobhan Hunter.

The Awards Show is on Saturday, March 20th live on Zoom at 5pm EST / 2pm PST.We will screen the 4 Best Plays and we will give out the awards after each play for BEST ACTOR, BEST DIRECTOR and BEST PLAY.To get tickets in advance go to:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7V1BVEbRQeWRpR_1MFWDng

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.