| A theatre festival for the Gay Community? Finally! |
Montreal, February 23, 2004: There will be an international theatre festival for the gay and lesbian community of |
Montreal commencing in November 2005.The festival, to include both comedy-drama and dance theatre, is spear- |
headed by Village Scene Productions' (V.S.P.) Artistic Director Davyn Ryall. This unique festival for Montréal and the |
province of Québec will be produced on a smaller scale this November 2004 to include local companies in order to help |
launch and promote the annual international event. Further details on the exact dates and location (currently under |
negotiations) of this event will follow in subsequent communications. |
| Local companies, producers and writers are invited to submit plays for consideration for this years' festival. They may |
| submit up to two plays and they should be relevant to this years' theme 'Now and Then' and may be in French, English |
| or both languages. There is a $50.00 non-refundable fee for each play submitted. All submissions must be received no |
| ater than 18h00 Friday, April 30, 2004, and results will be announced by June 13th. There will be a separate selection |
| lprocess for dance companies wishing to participate. For further details on submitting and the selection process contact |
| V.S.P. |
| The festival currently has no name and in keeping with the philosophy to include the community in the creation of this a |
| event, V.S.P. will hold a contest, open to the public, to enter suggestions for a name for the festival. A panel of notable |
| community communication experts will evaluate the public appeal and marketability of the names submitted and select |
| name for the festival from those suggestions. The winner will get two festival passes and souvenir T-shirts ($150. |
| value). To submit your entries go to the V.S.P. E-mail at info@villagescene.com |
| The winning name will be announced at a fundraising event planned for Saturday, April 3, 8pm at the historical |
| Mystique bar, 1424 Stanley (metro Peel). This event is called ' Queer Quickies' An evening of quirky words and |
| music . A limited number of tickets are available at $10.00 in advance and $15.00 at the door. Performers, writers and |
| community personalities are invited to read their own work or a personal favorite selection, and there will be some live |
| musical performances. Get tickets in advance at Mystique 514 844-5711 or V.S.P. 514 526-9842 . |
Festival organizers are currently recruiting community spirited individuals to get involved in the creation of this festival |
| and to contribute to our mutual success from the ground up. Active organizers are sought for the positions of: Site- |
| Manager/Volunteer Coordinator, Box Office, Off-Festival Events, Finance/Accounting, Communications, and |
| Publicity Coordinators. Also, seeking help with translation services and looking for selection jury committee members. |
Village Scene Productions', established in 2000, mission is to utilize drama as a social weapon to promote reform in our |
| diverse society. It's time for our community to get behind the initiative to create an annual international gay theatre |
| festival in Montréal. What a novel queer idea? ! We need to encourage the development of original work and promote |
| new talent from within our community. By inviting other national and international queer touring companies to |
| participate we will create a cultural exchange and the audience will have access to entertainment they can relate to at an |
| affordable cost. This cultural exchange will have a positive impact on the socio-economic growth of our community |
| and continue to present the Montreal gay and lesbian community in a positive light as leaders of innovation of our |
| diverse cultural. |
Davyn Ryall, Artistic Director of Village Scene Productions has been involved for over ten years in the entertainment |
| industry as producer, director, playwright and actor on stage and in film. Most notably with Just For Laughs; Fringe |
| theatre festival; Festival du theatre amateur de Montreal. And, in the gay community as an active volunteer and |
| organizer with Gay Line, Image&Nation, and Diver/Cité. V.S.P. produces in both French and English and has |
| participated regularly at the Fringe theatre festival and was the first invited international company to attend the Gay and |
| Lesbian theatre festival in Columbus, Ohio in 2002. |