Our Mission

To unite theater-makers everywhere in solidarity for LGBTQ+ rights by creating a network that generates awareness, facilitates conversations, and combats discriminatory legislation.

 

To offer royalty-free access to meaningful and impactful LGBTQ+ plays by established and emerging queer playwrights.  This collection of works — SAY GAY PLAYS — will be used by not-for-profit theater companies, colleges, high schools and community groups as tools for local activism and fundraising.  

 

To take back our narrative through plays of courage, triumph, and pride.

ABOUT US

At its core, SAY GAY PLAYS is theater activism. We provide access to short royalty-free plays by queer playwrights from around the country to use as a tool for change.


These stories are used to organize communities, combat harmful anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and rhetoric, and raise essential funds for local organizations.

The Legislation

On July 1, 2022, the Parental Rights in Education law (HB 1557) went into effect in the state of Florida. Colloquially known as the "Don't Say Gay" law, it states that "classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards."

According to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis "Parents have every right to be informed about services offered to their child at school, and should be protected from schools using classroom instruction to sexualize their kids as young as 5 years old,"  presenting an utterly false and menacing picture of elementary education in Florida.

Queerness is neither a danger nor a perversion - and these ugly fabrications incite dire consequences.

Florida's LGBTQ+ teachers and students are forbidden to discuss their own families at school. Teachers who fail to identify other teachers as potential transgressors can be subject to prosecution.

In November 2023, Florida lawmakers introduced HB 599, which "[prohibits] employees... from being required to use, from providing, and from being asked to provide certain titles and pronouns." In this way, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation has a vicious ripple effect that paves the way for newer, more draconian bills — According to Reuters, as of August 2023, lawmakers in 37 states have introduced at least 142 bills that restrict gender-affirming care.

Violence in the LGBTQ+ community has tripled in 2023 compared to 2021.

We need to act now.

BOARD OF ADVISORS

Rev. Micah Bucey

(They/Them)

Senior Minister at Judson Memorial Church

Gary Garrison

(He/Him)

Managing Director of Provincetown Theater Company, Playwright

Malik Gilani

(He/Him)

Co-Founder and Executive Director of Silk Road Cultural Center

Dean Gray

(He/Him)

Executive Director and Member of the Board of Directors at Merryall Center, Playwright

Tyrone Mitchell Henderson

(He/Him)

Founder and Artistic Director of Quick Silver Theater Company

Moisés Kaufman

(He/Him)

Founder and Artistic Director of Tectonic Theatre Project; Co-Founder of Miami New Drama; Playwright

Jamil Khoury

(He/Him)

Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Silk Road Cultural Center

Stephanie Klapper

(She/Her)

Founder and Owner of Stephanie Klapper Casting

Joseph Megel

(He/Him)

Professor, Performance and Media Production, UNC–Chapel Hill

Michael Ngo

(He/Him)

Executive Producer of Voyage Theater Company

Lisa Rothe

(She/Her)

Senior Lecturer, Theatre at Binghamton University; Adjunct Professor, Theatre at Columbia University; Director

Kathleen Salazar

(They/Them)

Associate Artistic Director of Voyage Theater Company

Statement of Solidarity

Say Gay Plays is an anti-racist organization which strives to create an equitable, diverse, and inclusive environment.


We acknowledge structural inequities that exclude individuals and communities from opportunities based on race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, class, age, and geography, and strive to counter those inequities in our work. We stand in solidarity with BIPOC artists, communities and organizations to work towards collective liberation.


A list of racial equity resources may be found on the New York State Council on the Arts website here. These are some of the resources our company uses.

Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that our initial work and performance is situated on the Lenape island of Manhattan (Mannahatta) and more broadly in Lenapehoking, the Lenape homeland.


Say Gay Plays is an organization working nationally that pays respect to all the Native ancestors past, present, and future whose stolen land we are situated on through colonization.


We strive to create opportunities for Native voices in all aspects of our work and educate ourselves to fight the ongoing erasure of Native people and their history. We encourage all our artistic partners, present and future, to consider our role in working toward justice and dismantling systems that historically have left Indigenous voices and stories out.