Theatre for Change: Speaking Up - Standing OUT

DATE: Wednesday, April 28, 2010
TIME: 9:00 pm
LOCATION: San Francisco, CA

ACT 3:

"So what exactly does Queer mean?" my friends and I asked ourselves as we sat at our favorite sushi restaurant, dipping our chopsticks into wasabi and soy sauce.
"Why not just say, Gay?"
"or Lesbian"
"Trans-gender"
"Cross-dresser"
"Wait, what's the difference?"

We had just seen our friend JL's performance and it was causing quite a stir in all of us - gay and straight alike. It was a beautiful thing...having such an open dialog and it was thanks to Theatre for Change.

Theatre for Change is a project of the Drama Therapy program at CIIS (California Institute of Integral Studies). Created in 2003, the theatre's aim is "to use theater to raise consciousness about diversity at CIIS and beyond—in ways that reach (the audiences’) hearts as well as minds." Every performance has a different theme, and this time it was about the queer experience.

"Speaking Up- Standing OUT" is an ensemble piece addressing and expressing the wide spectrum of queer experience. Theatre for Change uses drama therapy methods- including "self-revelatory performance"- to explore and enjoy the complexities of being queer in the 21st century.

Seven performers share their personal experiences, strengths, and humor, looking at coming out, coming to San Francisco, coming to CIIS, queer rights, bisexuality, transsexuality, identity, addiction, gender expression and non-conformity, family relationships, shame and stigmatization, and being an ally. This piece is about searching for community, love, and acceptance.

Thank you, JL and Theatre for Change...

THE END