Broadway has its fair share of LGBTQ+ representation — think musicals like “& Juliet” and plays like “Oh, Mary!” — but at the Fresh Fruit Festival, there is an abundance of it. From awkward, middle-aged sex scenes to steamy sauna soirees, the weeklong festival, presented by New York nonprofit All Out Arts, honors the work of LGBTQ+ performers, writers and directors and gives a space for representative works to be performed and celebrated.
All Out Arts’ Play Development Week, a part of the Fresh Fruit Festival which ran from March 26 to March 30, included a 10-minute-play contest, in which seven to eight plays are performed each night for a voting audience and a panel of judges. The audience chose the best two shows of each night, and the judges selected a favorite. These top three plays then went on to perform again on the last night of the festival. Other events in the week included staged readings and an additional short play series called “All That Glitters,” which featured several NYU student performers.
One play performed on the first night of the 10-minute-play competition, “The Ball,” was directed by Tisch sophomore Simon Tosenovsky. Though it was not chosen for the final round of performances, the play captured the complex emotions while healing from a breakup, and allowed the main character’s LGBTQ+ identity to just be a part of his story rather than the focal point of the play.
Written by playwright Emily Turner, “The Ball” is about a man named Zak (Eli Lane) who has recently broken up with his boyfriend and adopts a dog to move on from his relationship. The one-man show, accompanied by very minimal staging, is delivered monologue-style as Zak tries to coerce the shy dog out from under a couch.
“My sexuality goes hand in hand with my direction,” Tosenovsky said. “I’m attracted to the inner essence of people and how beauty shines through. When I’m directing actors and finding the ‘why’ of a piece, that goes hand in hand because I’m trying to understand that essence in a piece.”
Being in a space where LGBTQ+ people are celebrated has been a privilege for Tosenovsky, who is grateful for New York City’s extensive queer culture.
“I went to an all-boys private high school that was a bit ruinous for queer culture, and that part of my identity was always stifled,” he said. “Coming to New York, it’s been amazing to see how vibrant and open it is and how anyone can be who they are.”
Lane, a sophomore at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, has acted in several films at NYU, but made his Fresh Fruit Festival debut in “The Ball” as Zak. He said that playing a gay character and getting to be a part of a festival that highlights the LGBTQ+ community is very special to him.
“All Out Arts is a really important organization and it feels really nice to be a part of something like this, especially now,” Tosenovsky said. “It’s an honor really.”
Other plays from the night included “A Planned Spontaneity,” a play about two middle-aged actors who are rehearsing their intimate on-screen scene, and “Hot,” a story of two young gay men battling the tension of a sauna — both of which were chosen by the audience to perform at the final showcase. “THE POEM,” a play about a woman who confesses her romantic feelings for her best friend through a poem, won the Judges’ Choice award.
“It was great to see the other shows,” Tosenovsky said. “We really only got to briefly meet the other people working on the festival in tech runs earlier in the week, so it was cool to watch them.”
For the last 30 years, All Out Arts has been dedicated to bringing together the LGBTQ+ community to fight intolerance, prejudice and homophobia. Through events like the Fresh Fruit Festival, the organization aims to resist hatred and elevate the voices of LGBTQ+ artists, and for Tosenovsky, lifting up LGBTQ+ art is critical now more than ever.
“Right now, in the context of American politics and everything that’s going on, being a part of this is really valuable,” he said. “I’m honored to be a part of the festival.”
Contact Dylan Henschen at [email protected].
