Poly coming to the stage (and screen, and webcast sitcom...)

There's been a bunch of news about upcoming plays and other shows centering on polyamory. Is this a trend?

From Broadway World:

"All My Love" Play Opens March 2009.

Diamante Productions presents the world premiere of "All My Love," a comedy-drama about the perils and pitfalls of open relationships, written and directed by Artistic Director Tony Fiorentino. "All My Love" is an exploration of alternative "lovestyles" and a critique of Western society's most cherished notions of monogamy, fidelity, and marriage.

Ellen Fletcher, an award-winning sexologist and divorcée, decides to convert to "polyamory" in the wake of her marriage's downfall, hoping to eschew the complications of another exclusive relationship. But when she becomes romantically involved with her divorce attorney, she finds that it's not that easy to practice what you preach.... Meanwhile her teenage daughters search for the meaning of love through the prism of their mother's heterodox philosophy on relationships.

"All My Love" will run in Chicago at the Theatre Building from March 19 to May 10, 2009. Read the press release (Nov. 3, 2008).

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Linton Media in Brooklyn, headed by the award-winning LGBT television producer Katherine Linton, has put out a casting call for people to appear in "a new docu-reality series based on the lives of polyamorous or poly-curious individuals and their partners. There is strong network interest in our show, and we are looking for serious auditions only."

One of the people behind this project is Birgitte Philippides, president of Polyamorous NYC, which should guarantee that this is a worthy endeavor. I have high hopes.

Are you 20-35 years old, dynamic, charismatic, and not at all afraid to show your authentic side? Are you a married couple and just integrating polyamory into your relationship? Gay, straight, bisexual, trans and have never really heard of polyamory or how it works but, willing to explore? Are you someone who has always been prone to affairs, realize monogamy is just not for you, want to bring everything above board and declare yourself polyamorous?

Looking to cast 5 primary characters who, along with their partners, lovers, spouses, are willing to be completely out and open as you challenge traditional monogamy and embrace or explore this new "love-style" movement.

For more information write to poly AT lintonmedia.com

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CineKink in New York, "the really alternative film festival," is calling for poly entries among others for its next annual film festival, to run February 24 to March 1, 2009:

CineKink is an organization dedicated to the recognition and encouragement of sex-positive and kink-friendly depictions in film and television. CineKink NYC is seeking films and videos, of any length and genre, that explore and celebrate the wide diversity of sexuality.... Cutting across orientations, topics covered at CineKink have included — but are by no means limited to — BDSM, leather and fetish, swinging, non-monogamy and polyamory, roleplay and gender bending....

Scheduled for its sixth annual appearance February 24 – March 1, 2009, the specially-curated CineKink NYC will also feature a short-film competition, audience choice awards, presentations, parties and a gala kick-off, with a national screening tour to follow.

The deadline for submissions has been extended to November 29, 2008.

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Another casting call: Petal Films in Seattle, "an independent film production company dedicated to producing high quality motion pictures in short, feature, and episodic form," has put out a call for actors (unpaid) for its upcoming webseries "Family," described as "an episodic story of alternative love":

The series explores a fictional Seattle polyamory community, and is mainly a comedy. The series content will be consistent with a soft R rating (profanity, some mild nudity, nothing too raunchy).... Episodes will be a finished length of 3-5 minutes. We hope to do 1 or 2 episodes per month.

Principals:
Gemma - F - 30s or early 40s
Stuart - M - 40s
Ben - M - 40s
Various recurring and guest roles, male & female, ages 20 - 60.

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And here are two plays that opened and closed in the past year:

Last spring "Multiple O" was staged at an indie theater in Madison, Wisconsin, "based on the book The Ethical Slut. It's about a couple trying poly and doing everything wrong at first but struggling to get it right."

The show got a lukewarm review in the Isthmus, the local alternative paper. Podcaster Cunning Minx and a friend went to the show with a more positive attitude; she talks about what happened, and interviews cast members, in Polyamory Weekly Episode #155.

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Last year "The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side" debuted in New York and was reviewed in The Villager:

Wyatt, Billy, Dawn, and Dear are a modern day sexual tribe — two guys and two girls living together in an arrangement that satisfies all their primal needs. They live in an apartment in the Lower East Side, which is happily provided by them by their wealthy benefactor, Donovan (Tom Bain).... The plot thickens when Billy’s preppy brother Evan (Nick Lawson) arrives for a visit, unaware that his brother is involved in a polyamorous relationship with individuals of both genders. Soon the foursome attempts to free the mind of their Iowa-raised, über-conservative visitor through methods such as parading around the apartment naked, staging a John and Yoko inspired “bed-in”, and long-winded lectures explaining the evils of market-driven capitalism.

The play does not seem to have had a long run.

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Update Jan. 7, 2009: From MovieNet News: "TV News: Duo developing drama about an open marriage — Showtime is developing an hourlong drama from “Bridges of Madison County” scribe Richard LaGravenese focused on an open marriage."

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