PROUD THEATER TO CELEBRATE 15^th ANNIVERSARY WITH BIG SHOW IN DECEMBER

Proud Theater: Anthology

Celebrating 15 years of Proud Theater

DATES: December 5, 2014 – 730PM; December 6, 2014 – 2PM & 730PM
WHERE: Overture Center – Promenade Hall, 201 State Street, Madison, WI  53703

Tickets on Sale November 7, 2014 through the Overture Center – 608-258-4141, or by visiting the Overture Center website atwww.overturecenter.org/events/proud-anthology-celebrating-15-years

Madison, Wisconsin – Tuesday, November 4, 2014 – Proud Theater is gearing up to celebrate 15 years with an anniversary extravaganza highlighting the best of their work over the years from all three existing Proud Theater chapters in the state of Wisconsin. The show, ‘Proud Theater: Anthology – Celebrating 15 years of Proud Theater’, will open on December 5, 2014and run for two nights at 730PM and a special Saturday afternoon matinee at 2pm on December 6. The event will be presented at the Overture Center, 201 State Street in Downtown Madison on December 5^th and 6^th, 2014.

“It’s been tough deciding which pieces from our 15 year history we wanted to bring back to the stage,” Proud Theater Executive Director Brian Wild said in a recent statement. “There are so many great works to choose from, and we’re already receiving requests from fans and former Proud Theater members since we initially announced the anniversary show on Facebook and in our newsletter.”

In conjunction with the shows, present and former Proud Theater members and volunteers are being invited to the December 6^th, 2PM matinee for a special alumni celebration, to be followed by a reception at the Overture center before the 730PM show that evening.  Community supporters, activists and sponsors are also invited.

Proud Theater is an award-winning, exciting and innovative theater program and is open to youth ages 13 to 19 that identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning or who are allied with the queer community (LGBTQIA).  The organization has been growing in size over the years, and has three current chapters around the state including Madison, Wausau, and Milwaukee.  There are plans to add chapters in Sun Prairie, Stevens Point and Kenosha in the near future. A new version of the group, Proud Theater Beyond, started in Madison May of 2014 and targets young adults between the ages of 18 and 24, an underserved part of the LGBTQI and allied community.  Proud Theater Beyond will be making their debut at the 15^th anniversary show as part of the celebration.

Proud Theater is a program of Art and Soul Innovations (artandsoulinnovations.org), and enjoys generous financial support from the Mukti Fund (muktifund.com),  the PFund Foundation (www.pfundonline.org) and the New Harvest Foundation (newharvestfoundation.org), as well as the support of many community organizations from around the state.

Tickets go on sale November 7, 2014 through the Overture Center – 608-258-4141, or by visiting their website atwww.overturecenter.org/events/proud-anthology-celebrating-15-years. Proud Theater is also actively seeking sponsors to help support the show.  For more information, contact Executive Director Brian Wild at [email protected], or call Proud Theater 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.