Hey, campers! We're just about to head into our second weekend of Ex-Gays: Not a Str8 Remount and here's what the crowds are saying:

Fittingly for a show staged in a church, Ex-Gays is a little miracle. It works as a comedy, it works as a drama. It also works as an act of protest against not just the extreme (though very real) sites of "conversion therapy," but against more common microaggressions and exclusionary assumptions. It's a polished production that hits a raw nerve, and it's a powerful experience.
    - Jay Gabler, City Pages

I don’t think I’ve ever started a review by stating that a play is too good at what it does. [...] From the time you enter Springhouse Ministry Center and grab your tickets you are sucked into the campiest of camps, Camp Str8-N-Arrow, and treated to one of the most solid casts I’ve seen in a long time.
    - Cassandra Snow, The Column

Potent - hilarious - breathtaking in its forthright honesty on the brutality of 'conversion therapy.' Congratulations to cast & creative team.
    - Audience Member

[The] Savage Umbrella ensemble is defiantly enjoying themselves.  And that's important. Especially when this piece reminds us that one of most subversive things someone can tell you is that you're worthy just as you are.
    - Rachel Teagle, Minnesota Playlist

We came to the show on Saturday evening and enjoyed it so much, we convinced some of our friends to join us this coming Sunday afternoon! Can't wait to see it again!
    - Audience Member

Thank you for using this platform to engage in such an important conversation!
    - Audience Member

... but you don't have to take their words for it. You can see for yourself! We have 7 performances left, including tonight:
 
Thursday, September 21 at 7:30 PM
Friday, September 22 at 7:30 PM (ASL)
Saturday, September 23 at 7:30 PM (ASL)
Sunday, September 24 at 2:00 PM
 
Thursday, September 28 at 7:30 PM
Friday, September 29 at 7:30 PM (ASL)
Saturday, September 30 at 7:30 PM (ASL)

At SpringHouse Ministry Center, Minneapolis, MN
​Tickets: $15 - $25, Pick Your Own Price
No one turned away for lack of funds at the door.
***** Space is limited, so reserve your tickets today! *****

​It's CAMP. It's SATIRE. It's a CAMP SATIRE. Set in fictional Camp Str8-N-Arrow, Ex-Gays: Not a Str8 Remount follows Pastor Brian and the rest of the camp staff as they help campers turn off their homosexual feelings and turn on their love of the heterosexual life. Through the lens of satire, Savage Umbrella takes a humorous and thoughtful look at the devastating effects of homophobia and religious zealotry.
 
CONTENT WARNING: Ex-Gays: Not a Str8 Remount is satire. While Camp Str8-N-Arrow is not real, many of the themes discussed during the show are very real. And very harmful. These themes include homophobia, transphobia, sexism, and religious zealotry. The production also contains frank sexual language. Also, cake. Recommended for audiences 16+.
 
Also, check out our Indiegogo campaign to support the show! (And many more new works in the future!)

*Special Note: Camp Str8-N-Arrow is camp in the way that Richard Simmons is camp.

Hey, cuties! We're getting ready to birth this little baby called Ex-Gays: Not a Str8 Remount so, so soon. (omg, so sorry for that terrible joke -- wait, no, sorry not sorry.) In case you haven't heard, we've got a cute little Indiegogo campaign rolling right now and we could use your help THIS WEEK with a social media share or a few dollars to support this complicated, campy, queer creature.

This week, as part of our ongoing blog series to answer the big questions: Why this? Why now?, cast member Alyssa Davis shares some thoughts on her journey to Ex-Gays:

Three summers ago I sat in a Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) meeting as a paid community organizer. During introductions, to explain what brought each of us to this Unitarian Universalist church on a Wednesday evening in July, I stumbled over my reason for coming. Some garbled form of “Oh, you know, I’m not g-g-gay... BUT I support people who are” came out of my mouth in front of the circle of smiling middle-aged North Carolinians. It was odd that I felt embarrassed articulating what I was or how I identified in a space that was designed for the purpose of reflection and inclusion. I realized then that regardless of my gung-ho solidarity with and for LGBTQIA rights in North Carolina, I still couldn’t verbalize my identity without shame in the mix.  

Although I strongly opposed Amendment One (that's the NC gay marriage ban, for you life-long Minnesotans) my first year in school, and often voiced my support for same-sex marriage, when it came down to expressly identifying as queer or gay or lesbian, I froze. Some force stopped me —  was it internalized shame? Fear of what my family would say? Fear that maybe I wasn’t gay enough to own any of those terms?

Two summers ago I moved back home after college. Settling into the suburban landscape of Dallas, Texas, I quickly recalled what it was like to grow up in the conservative South. Hearing “ma’am” and “honey” every other interaction, being patronized for my politics, and generally feeling suffocated by good ol’ boy politics (guns, football, and anti-immigrant sentiment) that permeated most public spaces. 

My privilege as a straight-passing person made it easier for me to live and work at home, but consequently left me without much of a social scene. I longed for my last months in college, when I felt most fully aligned with my sexuality and sexual identity; when I flew with the queer femme crowd and we flocked periodically to the only lesbian bar in Durham. But alas, I was in Texas, deflecting questions from my family about what boys I thought were cute at work. 

​One summer ago I journeyed up I-35 from Texas to Minneapolis, passing the “fly-over” part of the country unknown to me. Before leaving for Minneapolis, I conducted thorough LGBT research on the Twin Cities (thanks, Autostraddle!), excited for the opportunity to participate in a fully fleshed out “gay scene” for the first time. The expectations I envisioned for my future social life grew wildly out of control and included, but were not limited to: me dancing at the most hip lesbian bars every weekend, me starting a drag career, and me drinking espresso from overtly queer-populated cafes like “The Planet” in the L-Word. While that fantasy quickly unraveled, I have carved out a semblance of a queer community in the Twin Cities, one that luckily keeps expanding.

A big part of that community has emerged in the form of Savage Umbrella and the people who cross the theater company’s path. All of this has led to this summer and my first official (re: paid; thank you!!!) theater role as Camp Counselor Virginia in Ex-Gays: Not a Str8 Remount. I’m grateful that I get to work with Savage Umbrella on this project. I’m grateful for the amazing queer actors and crew members I get to collaborate with at every rehearsal. I’m grateful that what once used to be a source of shame, is now something I get to celebrate. On stage. With the word “CAMP” blazing across my chest in rainbow print. While I still have phases of doubt and my family is still waiting for me to come home with that “cute boy,” I’m forever grateful for the opportunity to explore and uplift queer identities and voices with Savage Umbrella. With that being said, please support Savage Umbrella's production of Ex-Gays and their future work for LGBTQIA-identified people.

September 14 - 30, 2017

at SpringHouse Ministry Center
610 West 28th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55408

Written by Eric F. Avery
Directed by Laura Leffler
Created with Savage Umbrella and the ensembles

It's CAMP. It's SATIRE. It's a CAMP SATIRE.