Portland company’s anthology of LGBTQ performance pieces claims award (video)

I last wrote about Add Verb Productions, an educational theater outfit based out of the University of New England, in mid-March, when the company’s one-man domestic violence play was slated for performance in Dexter, the site of a tragic triple murder-suicide last year.

Actor Nate Speckman of Cape Elizabeth performs "Tough Guys Wear Pink" by Stephen M. Feest, from Add Verb Productions' Out & Allied Anthology at a 2012 Religious Coalition Against Discrimination Conference. (Photo courtesy of Add Verb Productions)

Well, to catch up with Add Verb now, the company this week announced its first publication, “Out & Allied: An Anthology of Performance Pieces,” claimed a Maine Literary Award at a Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance ceremony recently.

Here’s a description of the anthology as provided by Add Verb:

Add Verb’s Anthology includes thirty-four monologues, short plays and poems that were selected from well over 100 submissions from youth in Maine and across the country. The material focuses on the experiences of LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning) youth and the importance of allies. Included is a guide for directing, producing, and writing original pieces and other resources.

The creation of the ‘Out & Allied Anthology’ was youth-powered, from the writing and development of the performance pieces to the directing of productions and preparation of the manuscript. Represented in the book are stories of life, love and acceptance: a mother and son reveal the complexity of family and generational stories; a sharp, short poem captures the fear of being in a school hallway; and a high school girl humorously recounts her experience of coming out to accepting parents.

The anthology can be found at Longfellow Books in the Portland downtown, the University of Southern Maine campus bookstore and online at Amazon.com. The youth writing project that paved the way for the anthology was featured in a short 2008 MTV documentary.

For a little bit more on the Add Verb project, watch their video here:

Seth Koenig

About Seth Koenig

Seth has nearly a decade of professional journalism experience and writes about the greater Portland region.