Q Youth Foundation, Inc

ABOUT
Borracho: Spanish for Drunken Bum by Abe Zapata Jr. has been in the works for about a year, and has been performed with multiple successful staged readings. The one-act play was last read at Ensemble Studio Theatre’s LA Fest in March 2019. People sat down in their gayest (and straightest) get-ups, and let the story unravel before their eyes. The story follows a group of queer friends who are dealing with unresolved issues surrounding race, sexuality, and feelings with each other. People gasped at the drama, laughed their heads off, and the audience understood the issues the characters were going through surrounding queerness and being a person of color.

Shortly after the show, an audience  member messaged Abe on Instagram saying, “I was really touched because I saw a lot of myself or versions of myself in so many of these characters, especially in Don. And what a pleasure it is to see talented queer people of color on stage.” We know this statement will ring true to many queer folks of color whose narratives have yet to be explored in the public eye. We hope that you are able to connect with the characters and the human experience of this story. Help us bring this show to life!


GOALS
We want to accomplish a few goals with your contributions to this production:

-Create a brave space for the LBGTQIA+ community.
- Highlight queer artists of color by allowing them to play roles that are empowering, joyful, and vulnerable.
-Produce invigorating theatre that will inspire other queer artists to tell their story.
-Raise money to pay our actors and theatre technicians a fair wage.
-Widen our network and to welcome other queer folks into our community by sharing a narrative that is relatable and moving.


OUR HISTORY
​        Q Youth Foundation is a non-profit organization that builds partnerships with local nonprofits, community centers, public spaces and businesses by creating safe/brave space programming for the marginalized LGBTQIA+  communities in Los Angeles. ​We celebrate our culture, diversity and community by opening a dialog to humanize our queer experience through storytelling, play writing and community activities.

Q Youth Foundation is best known for their yearly production of Eastside Queer Stories (ESQS), a performing arts festival of one-act plays from the LGBTQIA+ community in  Los Angeles that have been developed through Q Youth Foundation’s writing program.

In 2016, Q Youth Foundation was able to develop a team of writers, actors, theatre technicians, and artists to stage a successful production of Eastside Queer Stories in Boyle Heights.  Each year since then, the ESQS Festival has given emerging artists tools to grow as writers and an opportunity to bring their stories to life on stage.

With three successful and nearly sold out festivals, Q Youth Foundation is already continuing on with their next cohort of ESQS writers while also producing Borracho: Spanish for Drunken Bum.


OUR CAMPAIGN
Our Team is dedicated to bringing quality LGBTQIA+ stories on stage for broader audiences in Los Angeles, along with your contribution it will allow us to fund not only for this play and many other future plays written by LGBTQIA+ community. This is a first time Q Youth Foundation will be producing a play at the Hollywood Fringe Festival 2019.


OUR PRODUCTION
The play is to be directed by Maia Villa, a talented actor, playwright and director.  The one act play takes place in one evening as Miguel prepares for his friend Gerardo’s 35th birthday. With a cast of nine characters there are several through lines happening with the focus on Miguel’s invitation of a jock from high school and his relationship with his best friend Dom. Other subplots include an escort hired for Gerardo’s birthday, a surprise visit from a drag queen, and a love triangle between the characters Hank, Hank’s new boyfriend Leo, and his ex-boyfriend, Bernard. The story culminates with a “gay version” of truth or dare that exposes the characters in different ways but ultimately forces Miguel to face his issues with masculinity and loneliness. The purpose of the production is to bring more inclusive stories on stage.


CONTRIBUTION PERKS
$5 will get you a shout out on our Instagram/Facebook story from one of our cast members or someone from our production team.

$25 will get you a comedic roast or a compliment from our playwright, Abe.

$50 will get you a video message of gratitude from your favorite character of your choosing.

$75 will get you access to our justforfans page which contains funny content with attractive people. Get off on a good laugh.

$100 will get you 2 glasses of fine wine for you and a guest. The more you drink, the prettier we look! Plus, you will get your name in the program.

$250 will get you a drag tutorial. Drag up your life, sis! (must be in Los Angeles to redeem this perk)

$500 will get you a taco truck dinner date with the creative team. (must be in Los Angeles to redeem this perk)

$1000 will get you all perks listed above, plus you will be listed as one of our Associate Producers.

$2500 will get you all perks listed above, plus you will be listed as one of our Producers.

***Perks cannot be received if donation is anonymous.


How does my contribution help? 
No donation is too small! With your contribution, we will be able to pay for the studio space, our actors and theatre technicians, for props and costumes, and to further expand the production value of this show. We are so grateful to be able to have such an amazing community behind us, and your support will also help widen this network!


Other ways you can help 
Q Youth Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that runs on community contributions.  From contributions and fundraising efforts by generous donors like you, Q Youth has developed the Eastside Queer Stories a performing arts festival of one-act plays from the LGBTQIA+ community in Los Angeles that have been developed through Q Youth Foundation’s writing program. ESQS was launched in 2016 as a way to connect the LGBTQIA+ community and assist new and emerging artists the opportunity to create exciting new work. Please visit our website to learn more about Q Youth Foundation and its programs visit http://www.QYouthFoundation.org

You can also follow us on social media platforms:

Facebook - QYouthFoundation

Instagram - @QYouthFDN