The Philadelphia Gay & Lesbian Theatre Festival

Building community ‘One Act’ at a time!

The Philadelphia Gay & Lesbian Theatre Festival was founded by Matthew Cloran (Artistic Director) and Bill Esher (Managing Director) in 2003. Discovering there are few theatre festivals of this kind in the country - a comprehensive festival addressing this community utilizing multiple venues for production - only made the mission of the PGLTF clearer.

It is our mission to produce and present theatre that affirms and reflects the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience in order to enlighten, empower and entertain. To that end we strive to:

• Discover, nurture, present and produce full-length plays, musicals, one-acts, and monologues, one-person shows, young audience plays and cabarets reflective of our mission.
• Support the writers of these plays, especially of new works, by providing a yearly event where their plays might be work-shopped or produced for future presentation.
• Promote Philadelphia as one of the few cities to have such a yearly Festival and as a city where plays with GLTB themes are celebrated.
• Expand the evolving cultural horizon of the city pioneered by the Philadelphia Gay & Lesbian Film Festival and the Philadelphia Fringe Festival which showcase and celebrate the creative wealth of their respective mediums.
• Provide positive theatre experiences for young audiences and their families by presenting plays that entertain, enlighten, and foster tolerance and compassion.
• Involve and employ as many individuals as possible through artistic, committee and volunteer positions.

While we are called the Philadelphia Gay & Lesbian Theatre Festival, we welcome all to experience and support this special event in order to gain greater understanding of who we are. We believe the most profound theatrical event has the power to unify, not separate.