(New Work Wednesdays is a series of staged readings of new plays)

The reading of this yet to be published play was chosen specifically to coincide with ETC's production of THE LARAMIE PROJECT. At its core, OUT is a play that answers one question: What did he choose to die? The "he" of the question refers to Matthew Shepard. When Matthew and playwright Posey met in 1995 in Salisbury, North Carolina at Catawba College, a special bond was formed.

"I was in Florida when I heard about it, my roommate- a classmate of Matt's as well- alerted me to the news and I remember two things happening in the days following: I stopped displaying my pride necklace and I became increasingly paranoid about being any sort of social homosexual, I regressed socially," remembers Posey. "I had just bought my first computer and I thought I am going to use my art to deal with this, so I started writing what would eventually become OUT."

This is not the first stage reading of OUT, it has been produced at the Chattanooga Theatre centre as a reading and also at the University of Mississippi as a reading, both readings have ended with the play being revised and edited for both content and creativity.

"This play has been on a tremendous journey. I feel like I have finally found the structure that works best to answer the question that constantly fluttered through my head all those years ago. After surviving the beating from McKinney and Henderson, after surviving 18 hours of freezing temperature alone in a desert and after surviving several days in a hospital, why did Matt finally let go?" offers Posey. "It feels good to have an answer."

Dates and Times:
Wednesday October 21 and 28 at 7:00pm; Tickets are $4.00