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| For Immediate Release: July 28, 2006 |
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Top U.S. Military Advisor's Remarks Impetus for Featured Play in Diverse City Theater's Equality Playwrights Festival Season  NEW YORK - Today Diverse City Theater Company ("DCT") announced that a featured play in its Equality Playwrights Festival ("EPF") was inspired by a 2005 quote by U.S. General Peter Pace which appeared in an article in the highly respected Wharton Business School's Wharton Journal. The play - entitled CLEAN LIVING, written by Robert Askins and directed by Steven Ditmyer, offers an absurdist twist on the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. The Wharton Journal article made reference to a comment made by General Pace while speaking at the school. In response to a student's question about the military's discrimination against gay soldiers, Pace is quoted as saying: "The U.S. military mission fundamentally rests on the trust, confidence and cooperation amongst its members. And the homosexual lifestyle does not comport with that kind of trust and confidence and therefore is not supported within the U.S. Military." Linda Faigao-Hall, DCT's Associate Artistic Director & Festival Curator, commented: "The plays in our festival are meant to reflect the real challenges surrounding issues of sexual orientation that still exist in 21st century America. It is not surprising, though rather sad, that one of our plays was inspired by a real-life example of discrimination based on ignorance and misinformation at the highest level of government. At the same time, it is inspiring that The Festival offers an artistic platform that can serve as a driver of social change and understanding." EPF is a month-long theater festival of original one-act plays that tackle gender identity issues of the 21st century. It will also present Joe Byers's VEILS, Stuart Harris's ONNA FIELD and Jorshinelle Taleon-Sonza's COLD FLESH. The festival opens on August 11, 2006 at Theatre Row's Clurman Theatre located at 410 West 42nd Street in New York City. Tickets can be purchased by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or www.ticketcentral.com. DCT's Equality Playwrights Festival is made possible due, in part, to the generous support from Disney Foundation's Cast Community Fund, The Guild Family Foundation and strong commitment from CD101.9FM, Interep National Radio Sales, Inc. and Scharff Weisberg. |
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Diverse City Theater Company
Diverse City Theater Co. Inc., is an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization-run by artist playwrights, directors and actors - that focuses on promoting diversity in the theater arts. Its mission is to commission, develop and produce original plays that explore and examine diversity issues in our national culture thereby creating multiculturally fluent theater audiences, as well as advocate the non-traditional casting of actors. Formed in 2003, Diverse City Theater Co., Inc. is based in New York City. For more information, visit the organization's website at www.diversecitytheater.org. |
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Contact
Janet Appel Public Relations |
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Copyright ©2006 Diverse City Theater Company, Inc.. All rights
reserved. |