DIVERSIONARY THEATRE PRODUCTIONS INC
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Mission Statement
Diversionary Theatre was founded in 1986 to provide quality theatre for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. The mission of the theatre is to provide an inspiring and thought provoking theatrical platform to explore complex and diverse LGBT stories, which influence the larger cultural discussion. Our vision is to foster and amplify the next generation of LGBT voices providing live entertainment in a dynamic, inclusive and provocative environment that celebrates and preserves our unique culture.
About This Cause
Founded in 1986, Diversionary Theatre produces plays and musicals and develops new works that explore the issues, characters and stories of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in all its complexity and diversity. We are the 3rd oldest continuously producing LGBT theatre in the United States and a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. In the 28 years since we were founded, Diversionary is proud of the reputation we have established by producing 137 quality mainstage productions and dozens of other arts events, nurturing new works of LGBT theatre, providing a home to some of San Diego's most talented established and up-and coming artists, regularly collaborating with local arts and LGBT organizations, providing contextualization to and fostering conversations sparked by our productions, and involving the wider community in our mission. We proudly continue building on that solid foundation. Diversionary Theatre's primary activity is the Mainstage Season of five plays or musicals in our 106-seat theatre. We continually look for a variety of plays that exemplify the issues and challenges of the varied LGBT community while being accessible and entertaining to an audience from the community at large. In the 2014 season these will include a modern, layered exploration of gay and lesbian parenting (Boys and Girls), a musical that explores a dark and fascinating pair of gay historical figures (Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story), a pop opera set in a Catholic high school that speaks directly to youth about sexuality, spirituality, and identity (bare), a one man show about one of the great literary figures of the twentieth century, Truman Capote (Tru), and a blistering comedy of manners that tackles the timely topic of marriage equality (Regrets Only).We strive to foster conversation in the community through student and youth outreach, contextual materials, and opportunities to interact with artists and staff. Our Diversionary Cabaret series of performances from a wide spectrum of performing arts disciplines continues to thrive. These acts - from San Diego and beyond - allow us to expand our programing to present short-run entertainment featuring dance, comedy, and traditional cabaret. Diversionary Cabaret gives a wider roster of artists a place to perform and gives audiences additional reasons to visit our theatre. Recent hits from this series include two contemporary dance concerts under the Hot Guys Dancing banner, an original musical cabaret (Miss Kitty's Wild West Revue), and Señor Phil's Casa del Ha-Ha, which is a showcase of locally-grown sketch comedy. Our Open Mondays program is a successful, free monthly programming series that presents staged readings of new LGBT themed works, exciting new interpretations of works in the popular canon, and musical theatre concert events. This reading gives authors a chance to hear complete drafts of new and developing plays or musicals read by actors in front of an invited audience. The series has included Bleed Like Me, which explores how people deal with the emotional ramifications of falling in love with someone who is HIV positive, a new play called Plumbing, which tackles the subject of a young gay man in the South who comes out to his boyfriend and family as a transgender woman, and a new musical retelling of Washington Irving’s “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” from a gay perspective called Tarrytown. This series helps to curate LGBT playwrights and gives them the chance to develop work in front of a discerning audience excited to play a part in the process of creating new work. Our New Work Development Program continues to expand. To give playwrights - both professional and amateur - an opportunity to further develop their work, we host Wordplay Tuesdays in conjunction with Playwrights Project. This is a weekly, free, and informal reading series in which writers have an opportunity to hear portions of their developing work - plays, screenplays, poems, novels, songs, or any performed story - read by volunteer actors in a collegial, open-mic style setting. After over a year, the program continues to be a testing ground for new works, with several continuing on to have a further life both at Diversionary and elsewhere.