Nat Gold Players ask Las Vegans to Listen Please

by Birdie Jaworski

A class of nervous middle school students sat in a large circle on the United World College campus, their eyes focused on four speakers. Jeremiah Stevens, UWC Director of Alumni Relations, leaned forward, elbows on knees, and gently addressed the group.

"Today is National Coming Out Day. I'm here with members of Spectrum, an alliance of students and faculty who promote tolerance, respect, and understanding of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgendered issues. You might never have had a discussion like this in your family or with your friends."

The young students listened, rapt, as one-by-one the young adults shared stories of sliding one foot, then another outside a protective closet.

"We're not asking you for anything but a willingness to listen," said Stevens. "The more we share our stories, the more real we become to each other."

This weekend, October 25 - 28, Las Vegas residents are invited to join the dialogue when the Nat Gold Players present "Listen Please," three original plays about gay and lesbian lives, at NMHU's Sala de Madrid.

A little over a year ago, Maggie Romigh of the local community theatre guild applied for a grant from the Santa Fe Community Foundation Gay and Lesbian Partnership. To the group's surprise, they received the largest award.

"We issued the community a call for play submissions and received quite a few. It was difficult making our final decisions. We wanted to put together the show in October to coincide with National Coming Out Month," said current Nat Gold Player president Cynthia Riley. "The response from the community has been extremely supportive. We didn't know what to expect, but we were hoping we'd get some dialogue stimulated. This community seems pretty accepting."

Riley laughed as she described the actors' auditions.

"Some of the student actors were giddy and nervous. If they were straight, they didn't know if they could play a gay character. They became educated about gay and lesbian lives by participating. Our youngest cast member is 17 and oldest is 80. We have a blend of high school students, Highland students and a professor, community members, all coming together to create this. We have Hispanic students as well as Anglo students, plus an African America student on the set crew. It's a wonderful and diverse group."

"Listen Please" consists of three half-hour to forty-five minute plays written by Las Vegas residents. The first, Juan Diego's "Secret Among Friends," directed by Kayt Peck, is a light-hearted look at the secrets we all hold. A young man discovers that his sexual orientation isn't the biggest secret in the room. The second play, "Phone Call" by Kayt Peck and directed by Karyl Lynne, deals with the issue of gays in the military and parents coming to terms with a gay child. The final play, Maggie Romigh's "Only a Dream," directed by Cynthia Riley, portrays a lesbian in a loving relationship who is plagued by a recurring nightmare she worries might be prophetic.

"The theme of the evening is moving from isolation into community. We're hoping to reflect this through our production, but we're also trying to accomplish this in our town. Our project has become a hub to bring together various entities who support gay and lesbian issues," explains Riley. "The entire community is welcome to attend. The plays are appropriate for mature middle school children and older."

Interspersed between the plays, invited guests will take the stage to tell coming out stories in a segment called "Hear Me Out."  Sunday's performance will conclude with an open panel discussion headed by Jeremiah Stevens. Robertson High student, Cody Romero, will sit on the panel and speak about his efforts to start a Gay-Straight Alliance at the school.

"Cody is an incredible person," said Riley. "We're gathering together as many people as we can to help support his efforts." Her words echoed those of Steven's at the UWC circle. "The more people we can educate, the stronger a community we will be."

The Nat Gold Players "Listen Please" at the NMHU Sala de Madrid, Oct. 25, 26, 27 and 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 28 at 3 p.m. General Admission $10, Seniors $8, students with ID free.