CapitalQ Theatre Festival

media release: Join us for our annual Pride Month celebration when StageQ takes over both Bartell Theatre stages for one weekend to present brand new play readings, 10-minute shorts, and one-act plays by up-and-coming queer playwrights from around the country.

A single festival pass will get you access to one of the Showcases: Chances, Family, Whimsy, or Modern Love. Each Showcase presents 3-4 shows. If you wish to see more than one Showcase, please purchase a Two-Show pass or more. Two and Three Show passes are good for any of the four Showcases (you do not have to see two or three in a row).

Along with FREE workshops and masterclasses where you can learn about all aspects of theatre, we will celebrate Pride the best way we know how: highlighting new, queer voices telling their stories.

ALL MASTERCLASSES & WORKSHOPS ARE FREE!!! – NO TICKET NEEDED

Festival Passes required for Festival Showcase Performances. Single Showcase pass: $15; Two Showcase pass: $20; Three Showcase pass: $25; Four Showcase pass: $30

Schedule:

Chances:   ​Drury Theatre – Friday 06/21 @ 7:30pm AND Sunday 06/23 @ 2pm

A Little Bit Vacant: “Nora runs into her best friend in the sketchiest of places. Will either of them tell the truth about their reason for being there?”

Stars and Stripes: “Chase and Danny are on diverging paths. One is going to college and the other is joining the Army. They contemplate their next steps in both life and friendship under a starry sky.”

Boy Meets Lesbian: “What’s a lesbian playwright doing at a conservative theater in Florida? Trying to make a living of course! Controversy ensues when her show is deemed too gay and the best solution is to try and ‘straighten’ it out.”

Randos: “Two people, one gregariously awkward, the other a standoffish bookworm, meet on a bus and almost make a connection.”

Family: Evjue Theatre – Friday 06/21 @ 7:30pm AND Sunday 06/23 @ 2pm

Brothers in Arms: “Two twin brothers must defend the house while parents are away-- little do they know that something may already be inside. In this sweet comedy, watch as brothers learn how to protect what matters most.”

A Blue Hydrangea: “It's springtime in the Great Gardener Carole's backyard and the flowers are just starting to come into bloom. As a hydrangea bush wakes up from its winter slumber, what has always been a fully pink hydrangea bush suddenly has a head of flowers that is blue. The flowers explore the concepts of identity, acceptance, and vulnerability as they wait in fear of Carole's judgment.”

Which Way to the Beach: “George and Marjorie come all the way from Minnesota to South Beach to meet the man their son Steve is going to marry. Confusion and hilarity ensues.”

Whimsy: Drury Theatre – Saturday 06/22 @ 2pm AND 7:30pm

Odd Songs for Odd Birds: “Emily runs a second-hand store (and Airbnb) out of an old church parsonage on an insular island with an aging population, where nothing ever changes—until an odd new guest arrives and begins asking strange questions about the local folklore. Odd Songs for Odd Birds is a queer fairytale about finding home in unexpected places, including your own skin.”

Thanks for the Mammaries: “After years of wrestling with the decision, Bailey faces the challenge of having to fire their worst employees -- their boobs. And these breasts, who act like two vaudevillian old men, won't go down without a fight.”

Midwest Goodbye: “At a Supper Club in Northern Wisconsin, Tess finds Mikey passed out drunk at his own bar on a cold January day, and asks him-- and herself-- what keeps them from leaving their small town. "Midwest Goodbye" explores themes of loss and loneliness, rurality, and queer identity.”

Modern Love: Evjue Theatre – Saturday 06/22 @ 2pm AND 7:30pm

Heard: “When two college friends confront the ambiguous intimacy they once shared, what was left unsaid might finally be said.”

No Faces Allowed: “The night before moving out of his childhood home and across the country to live with his long-term girlfriend, a still closeted Charlie is anxiously anticipating his last ever secret Grindr hook-up. However, as the cellar lights begin to flicker and doorknobs grow slippery, Charlie finds himself caught in a nightmarish limbo with only one way out.”

Subbing for God: “Religion, sex, and devotion intersect as two women from very different walks of life talk about their similarities and differences. More simply: A nun and a dominatrix meet at the DMV.”

Creases (or the irreversible damage of folding): “When Ethan shows up at Gary’s doorstep late one night for a photoshoot, the two men spar over Annie Leibowitz. However, as truths come to light and exposure takes on a whole new meaning, they find more common ground than they ever thought possible.”

ALSO:

Kickoff night 1 of the CapitalQ Theatre Festival with a FREE Party at 9 pm, following the showcase! FREE Drag Bingo hosted by Adelaide! @addy_onsocial Drinks! Prizes! Support your local drag performers (Venmo: @banderson526) and queer theater!

WORKSHOPS:

Saturday 6/22, 12pm - 1pm ​

Drury Theatre: Character Development for Actors & Writers with Simone Ever wonder how actors develop such three-dimensional characters? Maybe you want to hone your own skills to find the perfect character for your next book or play... Or maybe you have a character you've already been working on and looking to flush them out, make them more honest, clear or real? This is the workshop for you!

Evjue Theatre: Backstage Roles in Theatre Lu and Kassidy Want to learn about backstage roles in a theatre production? Finally discern what the different roles are all about? And, most importantly, how to get involved! Then this workshop run by some of StageQ's premiere production-side leaders is right for you!

Sunday 6/23 12pm - 1pm

Drury Theatre: Drag 101 with Ben and Kai

Evjue Theatre: Intro to Intimacy Direction with Kailey Whether you're an inspiring intimacy director or just a curious actor, come learn the basic tools and vocabulary to build a consent-based space, communicate boundaries, and choreograph a scene.