Even with the LGBT rights movement’s recent progressions, members of the queer community say the red state of Louisiana can sometimes make them feel like silenced outsiders.
However, the University’s Theatre Lab festival Outworks is carving out a safe space for LGBT-related performance pieces.
Co-coordinators Macy Jones and Nichole Ingalsbe said Outworks is an annual festival featuring new plays with a focus on topics affecting the LGBT community as well as those who identify as heterosexual.
For Outworks’ eighth year, the underlying theme of the plays is relationships — whether they’re romantic, platonic, familial or anything in between.
“We really wanted our plays to just be about homosexual relationships and not necessarily featuring people from the LGBT community as an ‘other.’ So I guess a good word would be to be ‘normalizing’ the experience,” Jones said about the play motifs.
The one-act plays are usually about 20 to 30 minutes long and are evenly divided into separate bills. Bill A, which runs Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, includes “The Blue Djinn,” “I Do Without You” and “Pioneer Women: The Wild Boar.”
“The Blue Djinn” tells the story of a young man named Alex who brings home a mysterious companion, Blue, for the night. Blue is actually a genie of sorts with wish-granting abilities who disappears after he uses his powers. Alex is then faced with a difficult predicament of choosing between his dreams and a man he can love.
Jones said “I Do Without You” is a “Will & Grace”-esque story of the relationship between a gay man, Michael, and his straight best friend, Amelia.
Chase Bouchie, theater performance senior, plays Michael, and said “I Do Without You” primarily focuses on the unique dynamic between Michael and Amelia and how they attempt to define their platonic relationship while battling issues like growing older and finding significant others.
“Pioneer Women: The Wild Boar” unfurls the tale of a lesbian couple living in Texas who discovers a dangerous animal in their yard. Jones said the message of this play is to emphasize that unexpected things will happen in life despite anyone’s sexual orientation.
Bill B of Outworks will run Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, and it includes the plays “July 4, 1969,” “The Slope” and “The Deconstruction of Lee and Darrell.”
“July 4, 1969” is set during the summer of love, and it’s a coming-of-age story about a pair of friends who are both gay and bond over their mutual secret. They begin college together and branch out after finding other gay community members.
Ingalsbe said the plot of “The Slope” tells the saga of Mark and his lesbian sister, who was attacked in a gay bash. Mark vows to avenge his sister, yet he cannot come to terms with her sexual orientation. The final play, “The Deconstruction of Lee and Darrell,” revolves around the relationship between two men who are in the midst of breaking up. The play jumps between the present and happier, earlier points in the relationship to demonstrate how the good parts are hard to remember during turmoil, Ingalsbe elaborated.
Ingalsbe said she hopes the overall message of Outworks depicts a more realistic experience of LGBT people than what the media sometimes portrays.
“We just want to give a voice to this community,” Ingalsbe said. “Especially these people here in this environment who don’t always get a full-rounded voice, you know? We have stereotypes; we have what’s on TV of them, but there’s more to their story, and we really just want to share that.”
Outworks starts at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday with a matinee performance at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Music and Dramatic Arts Building Studio Theatre. Tickets are $10 and can only be purchased at the door.
“We just want to give a voice to this community. Especially these people here in this environment who don’t always get a full-rounded voice, you know? We have stereotypes. We have what’s on TV of them, but there’s more to their story, and we really just want to share that.”
What: Outworks, a festival of new plays focusing on LGBT culture
When: April 30 -May 4 at 7:30 p.m. May 5 at 2 p.m.
(Bill A is on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Bill B is on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday)
Where: Music and Dramatic Arts Building Studio Theatre
How much: $10
