Major Contributors to Out & Allied, Volume 2
Dreams of Hope
Out & Allied Vol. 2 is pleased and grateful to have permission to reprint a number of pieces from Dreams of Hope (DOH), a Pittsburgh, PA based arts organization which has been providing creative outlets and positive role models and messages for LGBTQ youth a welcoming environment to grow in confidence, express themselves, and develop as leaders. The DOH songs, poems, and skits were written by youth (ages 13-21) in collaboration with local artists to convey the youth’s own experiences. The collected materials from DOH’s first 10 years have been anthologized and can be purchased at: dreamsofhope.org/antholog
The New Conservatory Theatre Center: YouthAware Out & Allied (Y.O.U.)
For over 30 years Ed Decker, the Founding Artistic Director has been working to provide the San Francisco community with high quality youth education programming, Queer & Allied theatre, children’s theatre, and new play development with emerging artists’ residencies to support local and national artists. For over two decades, NCTC’s YouthAware Educational Theatre program has produced plays for young people that entertain, illuminate social issues, inspire and encourage healthier life choices.
[Un]spoken Maine
A Man Defined; Grampy; The Rules, and Him, Her & Me, were created as a result of collaboration between the theatre department and campus safety project at the University of Southern Maine, under direction of Meghan Brodie with some consultation by Add Verb. [Un]spoken Maine has helped foster student and community conversations around shaping safe, healthy relationships and offering support to those who might be struggling to escape abusive ones.
The Waterville Inclusive Community Project (WICP)
Founded in 2013, WICP brings together organizations and individuals who are invested in creating welcoming and safe spaces for LGBTQ youth in Waterville, Maine and neighboring communities. The WICP works to empower Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, and Questioning (LGBTQ) youth and their allies to be leaders and change agents in their schools and communities.
LGBTQ & ALLIED PLACES, SPACES & FACES
Pride Youth Theater Alliance (PYTA)
PYTA connects and supports queer youth theater organizations, programs, and professionals committed to empowering lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and allied (GBTQA) youth in North America.
www.prideyouththeateralliance.org
PYTA Member Organizations
About Face Theater
About Face is an identity affirming theatre activism program based at Chicago, Illinois.
www.aboutfacetheatre.com
Add Verb Productions/University of New England
Out & Allied is a youth writing project which uses the power of performance to communicate and educate.
www.addverbproductions.org/programs/outallied
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre: Queer Youth Arts Program
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre creates theatre by developing and presenting voices that question sexual and cultural norms. Built on the political and social principles of queer liberation, Buddies supports artists and works that reflect and advance these values.
buddiesinbadtimes.com/youth
Creative Action: Outside the Lines Youth Theatre Ensemble
Outside the Lines is part of a Creative Action partnership with Out Youth and the University of Texas Department of Theatre and Dance. Out Youth’s mission is to promote the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and social well-being of sexual and gender minority youth so that they can openly and safely explore and affirm their identities.
creativeaction.org/programs/youth-ensembles
Dreams of Hope
Formed in 2003 to develop LGBTQ youth leaders who educate audiences about issues they face, each performance includes a youth-led discussion.
www.dreamsofhope.org/programs
Fringe Benefits
Fringe Benefits is a groundbreaking educational theatre company whose workshops and productions have earned the commendations of youth, educators, parents and community leaders.
www.cootieshots.org/
Gay and Lesbian Service Organization (GSO): Company Q
Company Q is a unique performance/social justice theatre troupe for young people focusing on queer issues. It is based at the Gay and Lesbian Service Organization in Lexington, Kentucky.
www.facebook.com/companyqlexington
Lifeworks, LA Gay & Lesbian Center: Outset Theatre
LifeWorks and Outfest, two independent non-profit organizations working together nurtures and inspires aspiring young filmmakers. OutSet provides participants with access to and guidance by working professional mentors from the film and television industries.
lifeworksla.org/outset/index.html
The Neutral Zone: Riot Youth
Riot Youth, a program for LGBTQ teens operates out of The Neutral Zone in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Through leadership skill building, community organizing, networking, and socializing, Riot Youth connects youth to build an inclusive community. Teens also engage in social justice through theater, dialogue, lobbying and other advocacy efforts.
www.neutral-zone.org
The New Conservatory Theatre Center: YouthAware Out & United (Y.O.U.)
Y.O.U. provides LBGTQI teens and their allies an empowered voice through theater, as well as provides a safe and welcoming venue for sharing their stories, triumphs, and concerns about being a lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, questioning, or straight allied teen in the Bay Area.
www.nctcsf.org/you.htm
New Orleans Queer Youth Theater Project
The New Orleans Queer Youth Theater is a space where youth can explore varied and fluid performances of queerness, harness their voice and power through theater making techniques, and hang out with other queer and allied youth.
www.facebook.com/pages/New-Orleans-Queer-Youth-Theatre/145327728986491
Oakland Center for the Arts: YOUnify Theatre Company
Developed through a Mukti Fund grant, YOUnify provides the place for all Queer Youth of the Mahoning Valley to tell their stories through theatre, music, and art.
Oaklandcenter.com
Omaha Theater Company at the Rose: Pride Players
Pride Players uses improvisation to create songs, poetry, monologues, and skits that explore what it means to be a gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, or straight-allied teen in Omaha
www.rosetheater.org/classes-program/2013-14-teen-season/pride-players-project-15
Proud Theater
Proud Theater is open to 13-19 year-old LGBTQ youth, children of LGBTQ parents, or allies of the LGBTQ community. This innovative theatre program allows the youth to tell their own stories and is designed to foster self-expression and self-empowerment for youth around the state of Wisconsin.
www.proudtheater.org
Rainbow Pride Youth Alliance: FIERCE (RPYA)
RPYA provides a safe, healthy, and enriching environment for LGBTQI youth in Ontario, Riverside, and San Bernardino in Southern California. RPYA is a safe haven where youth are supported and challenged to engage fully in their own personal, social, and artistic development. FIERCE is a peer-led wellness strategy designed to introduce youth and their families to the power of art, enhancing communication across generations and building a stronger community and neighborhood. Theater is used as a tool for enhancing self-esteem, developing language and communication skills, strengthening cultural identity, increasing academic and vocational skill sets, and promoting literacy.
www.rpya-ie.org
The Coterie Theatre: Project Pride
LGBTQ and straight allied teens creates theatre that gives voice to their experiences, culminating in a production that challenges the assumptions and celebrates the diversity of the participants and audience. Project Pride is guided by: Love, Generosity, Beauty, Truth.
thecoterie.org
The Queer Youth Theater at The Door (QYT)
Based in New York City, The Queer Youth Theater creates original pieces using the ideas and concerns of young people in the group. QYT meets at The Door, a comprehensive youth services organization in Manhattan. The group is primarily intended for LGBTQIA youth, but includes straight allies.
www.facebook.com/pages/The-Queer-Youth-Theater/244446522294077
The GLBT Community Center of Colorado: Rainbow Alley Theater Program
This program teaches youth to perform scripted and self-scripted theatrical works for the greater community. The philosophy of the program is to support youth in the development of amplifying their voice and refining their craft, while addressing the serious issues that LGBTQ youth face, including bullying, rejection by families, homelessness, discrimination, violence, depression, and suicide.
www.glbtcolorado.org/rainbow-alley/rainbow-alley-programs-and-services
The Theater Offensive: True Colors: Out Youth Theater
Provides year-round theater programming for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth and their straight allies (LBGTQQA), ages 14 to 22. Dedicated to presenting an honest portrayal of the lives of LGBTQQA youth through group playwriting, production, performance and theater training intensives.
www.thetheateroffensive.org/?page_id=2970
Theater Askew Youth Performance Experience (TAYPE)
An educational theatre program that empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth and their allies in the New York area by nurturing and developing their unique theatrical voices.
www.theatreaskew.com/taype.htm
Theatre UCF and Zebra Coalition: InterACTionZ
An all-nclusive youth theatre partnership between Orlando Repertory Theatre, Theatre UCF, and the Zebra Coalition in Orlando, Florida. This hands-on and thought-provoking program is designed for LGBTQ+ youth and youth whoidentify as straight advocates for the LGBTQ+ community, interACTionZ focuses on using theatre for social change techniues in order to build community, creatively explore conflict-resolution, and develop youth leadership skills.
facebook.com/interACTionZ
Waterville Inclusive Community Project: Out & Allied Youth Theatre
Established through Mukti’s Queer Youth Theater Incubator Fund, a core of LBGTQ youth and their allies will perform, direct and write original performance pieces to create change in their schools and communities.
wicpme.wordpress.com/2013/07/06/pride-youth-theater-alliance-grant/
Camps
This is not a comprehensive list and includes only camps located in the United States.
Camp Hawkeye (NH)
The mission at Camp Hawkeye is to bring together a diverse community of individuals that include campers, aged 8-16, and staff from a variety of geographic, socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds.
781-315-1297
617-960-6740
www.camphawkeye.com
Camp Highlight (NY)
Overnight camp for youth aged 8-15 who have a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender parent
646.5335.2267
camphighlight.com/wp
Camp It Up! (CA)
Camp It Up is known for one-of-a-kind gay family vacations. They respect and celebrate all unique families and welcome you to find out more and join them this summer.
www.campitup.org
Camp Lightbulb (MA)
Overnight summer camp for LGBT youth aged 14-18 in Provincetown. Four different sessions to pick from.
508-237-7651
www.camplightbulb.org/p/camp.html
CampOUT (MA)
CampOUT at Open View Farm is a unique farm/camp where young people from LGBTQ families are productive members of the farm community and share in the fun of summer camp activities. It is a place where difference and diversity are celebrated and children can be themselves. Young people have the opportunity to talk openly about their families and their experiences of LGBT families.
413-369-0240
www.openviewfarm.org/campout
CampOUTdoors! (AZ)
OUTdoors! Camp is dedicated to helping Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer youth develop leadership skills, work in collaborative ways, and develop a strong sense of self and community.
602-909-9956
kado@onenten.org
outdoorsgaycamp.com
CampOUTMaine (ME)
CampOUT is a social and educational retreat for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, and Allied youth 14-22 years old. It is a space designed for young people to connect, learn, and share ideas. CampOUT empowers youth to explore issues of social justice and develop strong community.
207-200-GLBT
campoutmaine@gamil.com
www.campoutmaine.com
Camp Outright and Common Ground Center (VT)
Camp Outright is a six-day/five-night residential summer camp program for LGBTQQA youth, ages thirteen and older, from throughout USA. The program will be a traditional summer camp experience and campers will participate in a wide variety of daily activities based upon their interests, as well as special topical workshops to address needs stated by LGBTQQA youth.
1-800-430-2667
www.campoutright.org
Camp Ten Trees (WA)
Camp Ten Trees is a nonprofit organization offering summer camp sessions in the Pacific Northwest, featuring a week for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and allied (LGBTQA) youth, and a week for children and youth of LGBTQ and/or non-traditional families.
207-288-9568
info@camptentrees.org
www.camptentrees.org
Pushing Margins (CA)
Pushing Margins is an organization designed to empower LGBTQQIAA youth from across the Bay Area through arts education. The annual summer camp and workshops bring youth together to paint, draw, write, and otherwise create a new youth art culture.
info@pushingmargins.org
pushingmargins.org/camp
DREAMS OF HOPE (WV)
Dreams of Hope hosts an overnight arts camp every summer at the Emma Kaufmann Camp near Morgantown, West Virginia, for LGBTQ youth ages 13-19. Each camp day includes arts, games, educational workshops, and traditional camp activities.
412-361-2065
www.dreamsofhope.org/camp
The following camps are not specifically directed toward LGTQ youth and families but they put special emphasis on inclusivity, all types of diversity, and social justice. Again, this list is not exhaustive and only covers the United States.
Camp Celo (NC)
Camp Celo is born out of the Quaker values of non-violence, simplicity, and environmental awareness. The central belief is that the Light of God exists in each person. There is a spiritual element to life at camp that focuses on the universal principles of compassion, cooperation, integrity, responsibility, and service common to all major religions. The program stresses cooperation and minimizes competition and regimentation.
828-675-4323
www.campcelo.com
Camp Nashoba North (ME)
Camp Nashoba creates an atmosphere that enables our campers to make good decisions and fosters personal growth through the achievement of goals and supportive community living. They want their campers to develop an appreciation and sense of stewardship towards the environment and the outdoors.
207-655-7170
campnashoba.com
Camp Onas Quaker Camp (PA)
The Quaker camp for all kids ages 8 to 13. Camp Onas strives to create a fun environment and a feeling of community among our campers that lasts for years.
610-847-5858
www.camponas.org
Circle Pines Center (MI)
The mission of Circle Pines is to teach peace, social justice, environmental stewardship and cooperation. The Center aims to demonstrate cooperative alternatives for economic and social issues and to teach cooperation as a way of life.
269-623-5555
www.circlepinescenter.org
Summer Fenn (MA)
Summer Fenn is committed to guiding and celebrating our campers as they make choices about how to participate in our many programs. They challenge each camper to take responsibility for his or her own actions and attitudes, making the experience a positive one for everyone. The Summer Fenn Way is about seeking out ways to treat each other well and helping to make someone else’s day better.
978-318-3614
www.fenn.org/podiumdefault.aspx?t-130002