Girls Just Wanna Have Fun: Lesbian Play Fest Offers a Funny Glimpse into Women's Lives

"My first thought was, what would a vagina wear?" says Lela Elam, the award-winning actress who will play a talking vagina in Down There, by Sharon Goldner, one of 16 plays presented in Girl Play, The Women's Theatre Project's annual lesbian play reading festival.

Girl Play, which takes place June 24-26 at the Pride Center at Equality Park in Wilton Manors, is an illustration of why The Women's Theatre Project was once named the Best Place to Meet an Intelligent Lesbian by New Times. The festivities include Foreplay, a reception at which guests can sip the festival's signature Luscious Lesbian Martini while enjoying the work of local artists. Each night, the audience casts a ballot for their favorite play of the evening. On Sunday, the winners from the previous two nights are reprised in the Best of the Fest.

Now in its third year, Girl Play was born from a desire to reach out to a more diverse range of women.

"We created this whole project because we were working with the GLCC to see how The Women's Theatre Project could partner with them," says Meredith Lasher, founding member and president of the Board of Directors of TWTP. "They had a need to provide programming for their lesbian audiences."

This year, because of funding from Aqua Foundation, the Audrey Love Charitable Foundation, and Open Meadows Foundation, among others, TWTP was able to expand the festival and include workshops earlier this month: the Ugly Ducklings Workshop, an anti-bullying workshop confronting teen suicide featuring a reading of Carolyn Gage's play Ugly Ducklings; and Beyond the L-Word, a performance workshop/lecture on lesbian culture. The increased funding allows TWTP to not only pay the performers and directors, but also offer cash prizes to the playwrights whose work is voted the audience favorites.

With plays featuring a talking vagina, an actor playing a G-Spot and a character called Vaginitis, Lasher believes that audiences at Girl Play are in for a rollicking ride.

"You're always going to have the dramatic, but there's a lot of really funny stuff too," says Lasher. "We like funny."

Elam, who has performed in the festival since its inception, has been consistently impressed with the quality and depth of the writing in Girl Play.

"I think sometimes when lesbians are portrayed it's people's fantasy of lesbians," she says. "But the plays in Girl Play present stories about lots of different women."

Elam believes that Girl Play is important because, she says, too often in the gay community, the only outlet people have to find relationships is bars.

"This is something cultural that people can do and maybe meet someone interesting," she says.

Elam met her partner, Dana Castellano, in a bar.

"But we were both employees, so that's different," she adds, laughing. The two have been together 11 years.

Both Elam and Lasher have seen Girl Play grow and evolve over the years.

"The first year we did it, we didn't know who we'd get," says Lasher. "But it's really allowed us to find a new audience who connects with the work and the actors on stage. They're not theatre-goers necessarily, but they'll come and support the work that we're doing because it's a voice that resonates with them."

Elam concurs. "The first year some people came, and the next year more people came and they brought their friends," Elam says. "Our audiences for Girl Play, and The Women's Theatre Project shows, are loyal and they know how to have fun."

Girl Play runs Friday, June 24 through Sunday, June 26, at the Pride Center at Equality Park, 2040 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors. On Friday and Saturday, Foreplay begins at 6:30 p.m., the play readings begin at 7:30 p.m.; on Sunday, Foreplay is at 2 p.m. and the readings begin at 3 p.m. Visit WomensTheatreProject.com for more information.