Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Wednesday, July 12, 2016 — Art & Soul Innovations, in collaboration with the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, presents ‘Proud Theater Milwaukee: Gay-ly Forward’ – a fun and exciting evening of theater and spoken word written by and starring the talented youth of Milwaukee’s premier Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Bisexual, Queer/Questioning and Allied youth theater troupe, Proud Theater.

‘Gay-ly Forward’ opens on Saturday, August 6, 2016, at 7 p.m. in the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center – 1110 North Market Street, 2nd floor – located in Downtown Milwaukee.  There will also be a special matinee showing on August 7 at 2 p.m.  Doors open 45 minutes before each show, and a suggested donation of $5 can be paid at the door.  Seating is limited, so reservations can be made via email at [email protected] or by calling the Proud Theater Hotline at 608-222-9086.  Reservations will be held until 15 minutes before each show and will be opened to anyone on the waiting list after that time.

Proud Theater is an award-winning, exciting and innovative youth theater program whose mission is ‘to change the world through the power of theater and the theater arts, and to make a positive difference in the lives of LGBTQ and allied youth through the tenets of art, heart, and activism’. Founded in 1999 in Madison, Wisconsin, the Milwaukee troupe is one of 4 chapters in the state and is open to youth ages 13 to 19 who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning or who are allied with the queer community (LGBTQA).  Empowering and creative, Proud Theater encourages young people to share their own stories through original theatrical works which they then present to the community at large throughout the school year.

The Proud Theater Milwaukee chapter started in April of 2013. Their first-ever full length show, ‘Proud Theater Milwaukee: Gay-ly Forward’ tackles many of the issues affecting Milwaukee youth today and does so with humor, heart, and honesty.  Sometimes outrageous, sometimes profound, the youth share their voices with the community in a no-holds barred and uncensored way.  This year the youth take a look at coming out, racism, religion, and the world at large.

Proud Theater is a program of Art and Soul Innovations (artandsoulinnovations.org), and enjoys generous financial support from the Mukti Fund (muktifund.com), the Pride Youth theater Alliance, UW Credit Union, and through the support of many community organizations from around the state including the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center.

For more info on Proud Theater Milwaukee or ‘Gay-ly Forward’, please contact Art and Soul Executive Director Brian Wild or Milwaukee Artistic Director Callen Harty at [email protected], or at 608-222-9086.  Tax-deductible donations to the organization can be sent to: Proud Theater, P.O. Box 6306, Monona WI, 53716, or via PayPal at www.proudtheater.org. Unless otherwise specified, all donations from Milwaukee will be earmarked solely for the development and growth of the Milwaukee chapter.