The Lavender Footlights Festival, currently in it’s 6th year and taking place on May 31st and June 1st at the Miami Science Museum has recently announced the creation of the OVATION Award, a recognition for those whose work has contributed to the development of queer theatre arts. The inaugural honor will be presented to Tony Nominated playwright Douglas Carter Beane, whose body of work has celebrated LGBT stories and brought joy and humor to audiences around the world.

Beane’s growing body of work includes As Bees In Honey Drown (Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award), Music From A Sparkling Planet, The Country Club, and The Little Dog Laughed (Tony Nomination, winner GLAAD Media Award). He recently wrote the book to the stage musical adaptation of current Broadway hit Xanadu, and just garnered him a second Tony nomination. As Artistic Director of the New York theater company, Drama Dept. he has produced the works of fellow playwrights Paul Rudnick, David Sedaris, and Wendy Wasserstein among others.

The Lavender Footlights Festival will unfurl across two days at the Miami Science Museum and feature the work of budding playwrights. Commencing at 6pm on Saturday, May 31st with the reading of the full-length play The Lost Art of Conversation by playwright Ted Sod followed by a cocktail reception. The first night of the festival will end with the ever-popular program of short plays, aptly titled Briefs, featuring eight short pieces from U.S. playwrights.

On Sunday, June 1st at 6pm South Florida’s leading theater critic Christine Dolen, of the Miami Herald, will lead a “Conversation with Douglas Carter Beane”. The discussion will navigate through Beane’s body of work, and feature live excerpts from select plays in Beane’s canon. The program will culminate with the presentation of the OVATION Award to Beane followed by a reception with the artist in attendance. The two-day Lavender Footlights Festival will come to a close with a reading of the first act of Beane’s newest play, The Nance, featuring local actors and directed by Lavender Footlights’ Artistic Director Ryan Capiro.

Ticket prices are as follows: $15 individual tickets or $25 for the evening, Festival Pass $50, Donor Pass $100

Contact www.lavenderfootlights.org for more information.

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