Presenters: Brian Phillips and Brandi Eaton
This will be a roundtable discussion that will be led by a working director/actor and a working playwright about the process of taking an LGBTQIA+ show from a germ of an idea (through different actors, venues and personalities) all the way to opening night. A conversation about how a show can take years to get just right but, when sticking with it, can be a boon to the community and all of the people and personalities involved. A special focus will be put on the difficulties (and successes) that can happen in a red state community theatre, as well as the search to find appropriate LGBTQIA+ actors to portray certain parts.
An LGBTQIA+ director, Brian Westerley has lived and worked in Ohio, Los Angeles and New York. While in L.A., Brian directed and starred in the world premieres of The Day I Said Goodbye and Shark Tank, as well as writing and directing Denial is Not a River in Egypt.He has won several local, regional and state awards for his acting and directing.
Brandi Eaton is a playwright, director,
and actress. Her ten minute play A Telegram in the World of Smartphones is a multiple award-winner which has been produced both in the United States and internationally. Her full-length play Matt's First (Real) Thanksgiving has recently finished its third production, and she has several other full-length plays at different stages of development.