Formation | 1993 |
---|---|
Type | Theatre group |
Location |
|
Coordinates | 37°33′55″N77°28′19″W / 37.56528°N 77.47194°W |
Artistic director(s) | Lucian Restivo |
Website | rtriangle |
Richmond Triangle Players (RTP) is a nonprofit, professional theatre company located in Richmond, Virginia that produces programming rooted in queer experiences and supports the development of queer artistry. [1] [2]
It is the only professional theatre company in Central Virginia and the longest continually operating theatre in the Mid-Atlantic region which serves the LGBTQ+ community. [3] [4]
The company originated from a benefit performance in 1992, where they performed a trio of one-act-plays by Harvey Fierstein. [5] [3] In the following year the Richmond Triangle Players launched its first season with four plays. For the first fifteen years the company was located at the Fieldens Cabaret Theatre and in 2010 the organization opened the Robert B. Moss Theatre, a 90-seat theater located in the Scott’s Addition neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia. [6] [7] [4]
In 2014 Richmond Triangle Players partnered with artists from the local TheatreLAB to create Spectrum, a theatre arts education program for LGBTQ+ youth and allies in grades 8-12. [8]
Notable productions have included The Laramie Project and A Chorus Line .
In 2020 the Richmond Triangle Players launched the So.Queer Playwriting Festival, a biennial festival of LGBTQ+ works by a selected playwright. The company collaborates with the playwright through a series of salon readings, staged readings, and minimalized productions, as well as consultations with local artists, mentorship from theatre professionals, and the provision of other creative supports. The idea for the festival came from former Richmond Triangle Players Artistic Director John Knapp and his husband Tom Gillham. [9]
Richmond Triangle Players has received praise from local press and has been nominated for several awards. It was nominated for the inaugural People’s Choice Award from the Richmond Theatre Critics Circle and has both praise and awards for its 2018 production of The Laramie Project. [10] [11] [12]
In 2016 Playbill.com named Richmond Triangle Players as "one of the 15 most important theaters of its kind in the nation". [13] Richmond Triangle Players has also been named one of the year’s “OUTstanding Virginians” at the 2018 statewide Equality Virginia dinner [14] and was named a 2019 “Richmond History Maker” by the Valentine Museum and Capital Region Collaborative. [15]
Harvey Forbes Fierstein is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter, known for his distinctive gravelly voice. He is best known for his theater work in Torch Song Trilogy and Hairspray and film roles in Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, and as the voice of Yao in Mulan and Mulan II. Fierstein won two Tony Awards, Best Actor in a Play and Best Play, for Torch Song Trilogy. He received his third Tony Award, Best Book of a Musical, for the musical La Cage aux Folles and his fourth, the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, for playing Edna Turnblad in Hairspray, a role he revived in its live television event, Hairspray Live! Fierstein also wrote the books for the Tony Award-winning musicals Kinky Boots, Newsies, and Tony Award-nominated, Drama League Award-winner A Catered Affair. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2007.
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Matthew López is an American playwright, director and screenwriter.
Donja R. Love is an American playwright. Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Love identifies himself as an Afro-Queer, HIV positive playwright and filmmaker. His work has been produced in multiple states around the United States, but he is mainly based in New York City and Philadelphia. He is best known for his 2019 play one in two based on the 2017 CDC study that found that one in two black gay or bisexual men will be diagnosed with HIV at some point in their life.
Biello & Martin are a songwriting duo working in dance, theatre, and film. Independently, Michael Biello is a lyricist, performance artist, and ceramic sculptor. Dan Martin is a composer and music producer. They are best known for creating performance works which promote love, spirituality, and self-expression through a Queer lens. As LGBTQ+ cultural activists, they also founded Outmusic, an LGBTQ+ music organization, and have been romantic life-partners for over 40 years.