Gay and Lesbian Theater Artists to "Act Out" in Columbus Festival, September 9-18

Theater artists from across the country will converge on Columbus, Ohio for the 2nd Columbus National Gay & Lesbian Theatre Festival, September 9-18. Hosted by Act Out Productions, the event will have participants from such cities as New York, Chicago, Orlando, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Cleveland.

According to festival director Frank Barnhart, “Columbus is the perfect city for an event like this. We have an established theater scene here with an appreciative and supportive audience.” Barnhart, whose New York City production Members of the Tribe recently won an OOBR Award for Outstanding Production, is the founder and executive director of Act Out Productions.

Jade Esteban Estrada, a New York City-based writer and performer who debuted his one-person show ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of the World at the first festival in 2002, has announced plans to present a new work in Columbus this year. Other festival participants will include standup comic Karen Williams of Cleveland; solo performer Marjorie Conn of Conn Artists, Inc., Provincetown; and actor/writer Jeffrey Solomon of Philadelphia.

Playwright Doric Wilson, who pioneered the Off-Off-Broadway movement at the Caffe Cino, is serving on the advisory board for the Columbus National Gay & Lesbian Theatre Festival. “In an era when gay history disappears even faster than it happens,” says Wilson, “an event like this…is essential to the survival of our culture — a chance for us to meet each other, explore new works, and celebrate gay and lesbian theater in all its diversity.”

For more information, visit www.columbustheatrefestival.com or phone Act Out Productions at 614-263-9448.