The play Qtopia, inspired by the experiences of queer youth living in Western North Carolina, will be staged at UNC Asheville’s Carol Belk Theatre from Feb. 26-March 1.
Press release from Youth OUTright:
TheatreUNCA will present Qtopia, an original play inspired by the experiences of queer youth living in Western North Carolina, with performances Feb. 26 – March 1 in UNC Asheville’s Carol Belk Theatre. The production is a collaboration between TheatreUNCA and Youth OUTright, a youth advocacy and leadership organization for LGBTQ youth in Western North Carolina.
Directed by Lise Kloeppel, Qtopia is an original, student-devised, community-driven experience that explores the identity and culture of Western North Carolina’s queer youth through performance, song, dance, poetry and sketch-comedy, in a series of vignettes.
“The fantastic and playful fictional world of Qtopia holds the stories and characters together,” said Kloeppel, assistant professor of drama and director of the Key Center for Community Citizenship and Service Learning at UNC Asheville. “We hope our audiences have fun and leave more enlightened and open to the vast diversity of identities that fall under the queer umbrella.”
Qtopia tells the tale of three faeries—Gender Faerie, Sexual Attraction Faerie and Romantic Faerie—as they give the audience an insight into the triumphs and struggles of queer youths today. The faeries highlight the reality of the queer youths’ search for community, identity and love, while they persevere, overcome and connect.
The cast will include UNC Asheville students Coraline Badgett, Elizabeth Collins, Rachel Evensen, Rosemary Fischer, Bjorn Goller-Hagood, Deborah Lawrence, Italo Medelius, Erin Owens, Bailey Peterman, Chris Powell, Thomas Smith, Abi Stephens, Cathy Stephens, Wesley Stroupe and Michelle Troszak. The cast will also feature community members Ezra Campbell, Kayeanna Knoles, Amber Maness and Jason McMinn.
Curtain time for the public performances is 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 26-28, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Mar. 1, and a 10:30 p.m. showing on Friday, Feb. 27. Tickets are $12; $10 for seniors; $7 for students and OLLI members, and are available at drama.unca.edu/theatreunca-2014-2015-mainstage-season. For more information, call 828.251.6610.
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