The Year I Was Gifted

The year is 1969. A 16 year old girl from Nebraska meets her first gay friend, and has to decide which is more important; keeping her scholarship to a prestigious boarding school for the arts, or honoring her conscience and speaking out against an anti-gay administration? Who are we willing to betray to stay “gifted”?

A true story, written and performed by award-winning playwright Monica Bauer, who plays several roles, including Young Monica (desperate to find her tribe in the arts), Present Day Monica (the narrator with a wry sense of humor), and Bill Sherwood (a 17 year old composition major who teaches his friend about the hazards of being gay in the 1960’s).

Each performance of The Year I Was Gifted is dedicated to the memory of Bill Sherwood, writer & director of the very first feature film about gay men with AIDS, Parting Glances.