Gay artists tackle anti-gay issues with laughter in "Gay Camp" at NY Fringe

Gay comedic actors Christian Mansfield (Broadway Bares, National Tour of 42nd Street), Ken Urso, and Philip Mutz (also co-author) will star in the upcoming production of Gay Camp in this year’s New York International Fringe Festival, running from August 11 – August 22.

With Mansfield, Urso, and Mutz playing more than a dozen different zany characters, Gay Camp is a quick-change farce that follows the stories of several young campers at a gay reform camp. They have been sent away by their parents to be ‘fixed’. Instead, they learn how to love – themselves and one another.

Partners Philip Mutz (co-author) and Phillip Fazio (director) find the project particularly near and dear to their hearts. Believing laughter is sometimes the best medicine, this production leaves no (comedy) stone unturned. While successfully dissecting stereotypes and sending a powerful message about tolerance and acceptance, Mutz and Fazio still find a way to inject every moment with humor.

Start with a deliciously evil headmaster and a closeted lesbian guidance counselor, throw in a few electrified fences, disco balls, boy-boy love, girl-girl love, gay Twister, Rick Santorum surprises, slow-motion fantasies, whips, handcuffs, flannel, and more innuendos than you can shake a dildo at, and you've got Gay Camp. Gay Camp is fast, funny, and not pulling its punches as it takes on the anti-gay morons in America.

It’s gay. It’s camp. It’s Gay Camp.

Gay Camp will perform at HERE Mainstage Theater, 145 Sixth Avenue, NYC.

Gay Camp runs 75 minutes and will perform the following performance schedule:

SAT 8/11 @ 7:00-8:15pm
TUE 8/14 @ 9:15-10:30pm
FRI 8/17 @ 2:00-3:15pm
SAT 8/18 @ 10:00-11:15pm
WED 8/22 @ 9:45-11:00pm

Tickets will be on sale starting July 20 at http://www.gaycamptheplay.com/.

For more information on Gay Camp, visit our website at http://www.gaycamptheplay.com/

Gay Camp
Written by: Philip Mutz and Susan-Kate Heaney
Directed by: Phillip Fazio

THE NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL FRINGE FESTIVAL
AUGUST 10th-26th, 2012

Tickets $15 in Advance, $18 at Door

Tickets on sale at http://www.fringenyc.org/ or at http://www.gaycamptheplay.com/

Artist Bios

Phillip Fazio – Director

Phillip Fazio graduated from The Boston Conservatory with a BFA in Musical Theatre and Directing. Immediately upon graduating, Phillip began a three-year contract as an Artist in Residence at Phoenix Theatre. Now in it’s 92nd Season, Phoenix Theatre is the oldest arts organization in the state of Arizona. Regional Directing credits include Proof, Rent, Ragtime, Grey Gardens, Hidden in this Picture, West Side Story, Macbeth, The Last Five Years, Rocket Man, Cabaret, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, and Almost Maine. Assistant Director credits include the Center Theatre Group/Deaf West revival of Pippin (Directed by Tony Award Nominee Jeff Calhoun) at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and the New England Premiere of Take Me Out at Speakeasy Stage Company in Boston. New York City directing credits include Ben and Leslie Save the World and SuperBen for The Think Theater Project and The Real Life with The Identity Theatre Company. Phillip is a member of the Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab and Actors’ Equity Association.

Susan-Kate Heaney – Co-Author

Susan-Kate Heaney is an actor and writer currently based out of Los Angeles. She is a graduate of New York University with a BFA in Drama. Most recently, she has been performing her comedic solo show Mop-oholic in New York and Los Angeles, at UCB, the Pit, iO West and Second City. Susan-Kate is a co-creator and lead actor in comedic web series The Reality Whores. She has performed in theaters all around New York including Bank Street and Rattlestick. Recent work includes the role of Jessica in Mercy (NBC) and the abused nanny in We Need to Talk About Kevin. One of her latest projects is a writer and lead actor for the web-series One-UPs, which can be found on Funny or Die. She works regularly in voice-overs.

Christian Mansfield - Actor

Mansfield was most recently seen in this summer’s Broadway Bares benefit in NYC. His previous Fringe endeavors include The Penguin Tango at both Actors Playhouse and Theater Row, and Odysseus DOAwhere his cast was awarded “Best Ensemble”. Other NYC credits: That Other Woman's Child (NYMF) and Christmas Rappings. Some regional favorites include 42nd Street (nat'l tour), Cabaret (Barter), and Romeo and Juliet (South Florida Shakes.) Christian is a Long Island native with a BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Miami.

Ken Urso - Actor

Urso has served as director, actor, producer, guest artist, and dramaturg throughout the U.S. His acting credits include Twelfth Night (Manhattan Rep), Lieutenant of Inishmore (Strollers Theatre), The Shape of Things (Actor's Repertory Theatre), and Art (Actors Studio Drama School). For two seasons, Ken was an Artistic Associate at Actor's Repertory Theatre in Washington. Ken holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and an MFA in Directing from the Actors Studio Drama School.

Philip Mutz – Co-Author and Actor

Mutz is a writer and actor in New York City. Recent acting credits include Comedy of Errors, Henry V, Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Cymbeline (Shakespeare Theatre of NJ), Kidnapping Laura Linney (Midtown International Theatre Festival), Gay Camp (Peoples’ Improv Theatre), King John (NY Shakespeare Exchange), and Romeo and Juliet (Columbia Stages). His writing credits include The Real Life (Identity Theater Co), Gay Camp (the PIT), Kidnapping Laura Linney (MITF), and SuperBen (Think Theater Project). He is currently head writer for the web series The Reality Whores (webisodes can be viewed at www.therealitywhores.com). His recent viral video Sh*t Gay Guys Say to Straight Guys has nearly one million views on YouTube. Philip holds a B.F.A. in Drama from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and has trained in sketch writing and improv with the Upright Citizens Brigade.