Help The Baby Monitor perform in Italy

Ciao Beautiful Angels,

 

As artists navigate getting back to healing through our creative works we have been gifted with an opportunity we thought was lost.

 

Last year we received news that our important production of David Stallings' The Baby Monitor was accepted into the OnStage! Festival in Italy. We couldn't believe it and we were so excited to do everything we could to make this happen. The opportunity to take this important work about same-sex parenting, biracial families, surrogacy and equality to another country, after our experiences in Ireland and Serbia, really infused all of us with an extraordinary sense of purpose and discovery.

 

We quickly started thinking of new ways to tell this story while reminiscing on the parts that bring us joy every time. As we received this wonderful news we also received an invitation to perform the play again in Manhattan. We would share it again at home and travel abroad! Some original cast members and designers joined the production, while we welcomed new cast members on this adventure. However, right as we were about to get the ball rolling, COVID happened. Theatre stopped. Travel stopped. Our conduit to express change and heal. Stopped. It also morphed, but we knew this play was not designed to be ZOOMed but experienced in person. There is a happy ending... we promise!

 

WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP

 

The OnStage! Festival returns this November 2021 and The Baby Monitor has been invited to perform in Rome on Nov 15th at the Off Off Theater and in Cagliari on Nov 18th at the Lucido Festival. With Paul Herbig as Josh, Mel House as Shelly, Amanda Jones as Claire, Antonio Miniño as Phillip, Tanya Perez as Soledad, and David Stallings as Damon. Featuring scenic design by Antonio Miniño, costume design by David Stallings, lighting design by Kia Rogers, and sound design by Jacob Subotnick. The production stage manager and company manager is Rachel Denise April, the technical director is Kia Rogers, and the tour manager is Ann Marie Yali. Supertitles Italian translation by Mara Proietti Spila, created in collaboration with the Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures of the Roma Tre University, as part of the innovative teaching project "Translation for the theater".

We are also happy to announce that The Baby Monitor has been awarded a USArtists International grant from Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, which will help cover most airfare to Italy. The festival will also be covering housing, ground transportation, and per-diems while in Italy for some of our artists.

 

However we still need your help in covering:

 

 

As you can see it is quite the undertaking! We are so moved by the fact that you have decided to help us spread the message of The Baby Monitor, and that you are helping artists get back on stage. Thank you for believing in our message of equality, acceptance, and love.

 

TIERS OF GIVING

 

In appreciation we have created some tiers of giving to celebrate your involvement:

 

Cafe con Leche ($20-$49)

A thank you on our website.

 

Moonchild ($50-$99)

The above plus a shout out on social media.

 

Close Cousin ($100-$149)

All of the above plus a video of us dancing in your honor on social media.

 

Ally ($150-$299)

All of the above plus a drawing from "Caleb".

 

Advocate ($300-$499)

All of the above plus a video thanking you from NYC.

 

Egg Donor ($500-$999)

All of the above plus a video thanking you from Italy.

 

Surrogate ($1,000-$4,999)

All of the above plus an invitation to a Work-In-Progress rehearsal in NYC

 

Co-Producer ($5,000+)

All of the above plus Co-Producing Credit

 

 

Thank you for your contribution!

 

With Appreciation,

 

The Different Translation Creative Partners: Rachel Denise April, Antonio Miniño, David Stallings, and Ann Marie Yali.

 

To learn more about The Baby Monitor visit our site .

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A finalist for the 2014 National New Play Network, ​The Baby Monitor was presented as part of the inaugural International Belgrade Pride Theater Festival in Serbia; at the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival in Ireland (where it received four IDGTF Gala Award nominations, including the Doric Wilson Award for Intercultural Dialogue); in New York it received a workshop production at the Theater at the 14th Street Y as part of their season of War & Peace. Developmental readings at New York's Duo Multicultural Arts Center's Pride Week Festival and in Hollywood at The Blank Theatre's Living Room Series. Originally a short play, it received presentations at Planet Connections Theatre Festivity's Playwrights for A Cause and at Original Binding Productions' Naked Theater Festival.

 

"The Baby Monitor asks courageous questions about gay parenting, race and discrimination from loved ones – And this tight-knit cast really do feel like a family, each performance echoing and bouncing off the others with a skill that makes the relationships depicted appear hauntingly real... Some in the LGBT+ community who have suffered discrimination from loved ones still love who have discriminated against them. We try to give people second chances, but it puts our safety at risk – and The Baby Monitor shows that, when we ask ourselves whether we should stop trying, there’s sometimes no easy answer."

-Cassia Gaden Gilmartin, Gay City News (Dublin, Ireland)

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"If we learned anything from Ireland’s marriage referendum it is that many people still have misgivings about gay parents. Children were frequently used as a stick to beat the yes side with and the amount of misunderstanding and ignorance around the issue was shocking. This makes this play perhaps rather timely for Irish audiences as same sex couples are still fighting for equal rights when it comes to parenting... Extremely thought provoking this will no doubt reopen debates amongst some audience members about same sex parental rights and the complications of surrogacy. At 75 minutes it doesn’t out stay its welcome and for those not familiar with the complexities and prejudices that often accompany same sex parenting this will prove a very educational piece." -No More Work Horse (Dublin, Ireland)

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"Even in an era with an explosion of visibility for LGBTQ people in the media, few of those portraits have gone beyond “skin deep”. The Baby Monitor is unafraid to navigate into previously uncharted territory, particularly when it comes to tackling the issue of the deeply ingrained prejudices still faced by LGBTQ people– even as we enter 2019, even in “progressive” cities like the play’s setting of Boston, and even when it comes from people who call themselves our allies. Just as Stallings’ drama boldly taps into the feelings of its well-written, multi-faceted characters, it challenges the audience to do the same." -Jed Ryan, Lavender After Dark (New York City)

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“The Baby Monitor by David Stallings is a fascinating examination of how quickly our intimates resort to self-serving, backstabbing deception just when their loyalty is most needed. That it involves the relatively new phenomenon of gay parenthood gives it an added impact. That it is written with a thorough understanding of the complexities of gay parenthood vs. conservatives-in-liberal-clothing keeps it constantly edgy… Antonio Miniño’s direction not only keeps things flowing, but almost makes up for the lack of a set. He understands just how to bring out passions and uneasy silences when necessary.” -Joel Benjamin, Theater Scene (New York City)

 

“5 Stars! Holiday gifts came early to the East Village this year... we were treated to a 5-star performance of Different Translation's The Baby Monitor at The Theater at The 14th Street Y... Although billed as a “workshop” of the play, the production is over-qualified to be called such. So check it out now, while it’s still priced accordingly" -Opplaud New York (New York City)

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“The plot centers around the suspicions a woman harbors concerning her gay cousin’s treatment of the toddler son he shares with his husband. By fleshing out this nightmare scenario with all-too-common misunderstandings stemming from distinctions in race, class and religion, playwright David Stallings has delivered something far richer than an issues play. It is a thoughtful examination of the ways in which simply tolerating differences rather than embracing them can cause irreparable damage to our societal fabric… Direction by Stallings’ husband Antonio Miniño is skillful, with an engaging blend of quiet touching moments and palpable strain.” -Cathy Hammer, The Unforgettable Line (New York City)