Gadfly Theatre Productions, an intersectional queer and feminist performing arts company, is reprising its Final Frontier festival in 2015 with a horror theme at Nimbus Theatre starting July 10.
The 2014 Final Frontier festival brought fans a queer take on one-act science fiction performance.
Gadfly Theatre Productions to bring queer geek fest to the stage
The festival “takes recent conversations about the way marginalized people are treated in geek culture and puts a progressive but still wildly entertaining response on stage.”
2015’s run promises “ghosts, gore, and glitter” with six one-act performances. “All shows are one acts between 20 and 40 minutes that are guaranteed to thrill, chill, and keep you up at night,” festival organizers wrote on the company blog.
This year’s acts include:
Lace Curtain Irish by Carolyn Gage
Directed by Cassandra Snow
This one-woman show starring Gina Sauer is told from the point of view of Lizzie Borden’s maid during the gruesome 19th century Borden murders. Bridget Sullivan and Lizzie Borden’s relationship is unclear, but Borden herself has long been hailed as a secret lesbian icon. Famed playwright Gage imagines her as she most likely was–a rescuing butch trying to make it through life as a closeted queer woman, and imagines Bridget as she likely was–a woman struggling with PTSD and repressed memories, who may or may not have a guilty cross to bear.
Belong Dead by Andrew Rosdail
Directed by Immanuel Elliott
Dr. Frankenstein made a monster. Later, the monster desired a mate. Now, it is the 21st century and both monster and bride struggle with their borrowed immortality and what we leave behind. This show is a feminist retelling of a woman created for a man, and the fragility of modern relationships. Starring Sarah Parker and Daniel Flohr.
Abscission by Eric LaRocca
Directed by Paul Von Stoetzel
In the fourth quadrant of an unnamed country rampant with civil unrest the government has issued a mandate in which all civilians who openly identify as homosexual are ordered to work camps or executed. In an abandoned cellar and operating theatre of a well-known surgeon and biochemist who has since been executed a young woman crosses paths with a soldier of this regime. This show, starring Adri Mehra and Hannah Jo Stein, features a transgender character fighting for her right to exist.
Dragula by Darrin Hagen and Trevor Schmidt
Directed by Rye Gentleman
You’ll scream . . . with laughter. You’ll gasp . . . at the fabulous wigs. From the wickedly witty pens of Darrin Hagen and Trevor Schmidt, DRAGULA blends familiar elements of gothic thrillers with insightful commentary gender politics in a madcap comedy that will have you on the edge of your seat . . . with terror! Dragula’s feature cast includes Anthony Michaels, Felix Tomlinson,Shelley Johnson, and Ian Donahue
Gone by Cody Daigle
Directed by Chava Curland
A young gay college student, Harris, played by Denzel Belin, witnesses something horrifying at his job at a porn video store: a man disappears into thin air. He soon discovers from his best friend, Jen, portrayed by Kira Pontiff, that people are “blinking” everywhere, and no one knows how to stop it. As Harris and Jen figure out what to do as the human race is slowly erased, a terrible secret that binds them together comes bubbling to the surface. They must cope with it, before one — or both — are gone.
Hell’s Bed and Breakfast by Kim Carney
Directed by MadelineKarita Fleming
A two-character comedy that tells the story of a queer couple who — while exploring old houses for a possible bed ‘n’ breakfast site — make a chilling and gruesome discovery. The show, which stars Hannah Jo Stein and Quinn Villagomaex, brings subconscious fears about queerness and commitment to the surface.
Dates for performances include:
Set A
7/10 7:30 PM
7/12 7:30 PM
7/18 3:00 PM
Gone
Hell’s Bed ‘N’ Breakfast
Belong Dead
Set B
7/11 7:30 PM
7/17 7:30 PM
7/19 3:00 PM
Lace Curtain Irish
Abscission
Dragula
Nimbus Theatre is located at 1517 Central Ave NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413. More information and tickets available at GadflyTheatre.org.