Stay in touch!
We will never share your email address without your permission.
We empower queer voices, support emerging artists, and build community through the production of Equality Entertainment.
An inclusive, welcoming, exploratory theatre that regularly produces new works in collaboration with local artists and organizations. A safe physical space to find community and build friendships.
Queer Theatre Kalamazoo was founded by Laura Kay Henderson in 2013 during her graduate studies at Western Michigan University. During that time, she saw how theatre could be utilized as a catalyst for social change, specifically in the area of LGBT rights and culture. For her master’s thesis she worked with a team to write and produce Queering Quintero, a production based on real-life stories from queer teens surrounding bullying and struggles with family, friends, and faith.
Queering Quintero was the start for what would become Queer Theatre Kalamazoo. Throughout QTK’s history, we have worked to provide a platform to share and normalize queer voices and issues surrounding the local LGBT population. With the help of the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, the Fetzer Institute, and community support, after five years QTK became a 501(c)3 non-profit. The organization continues to work on normalizing the Queer experience, to build relationships, and to offer a space for new and emerging artists to hone their skills.
Though we do produce established works, we more often premier new plays and little-known works to highlight the work of Kalamazoo- and Michigan-based playwrights. These works often inspire dialogue between patrons, and between audience and production team about the play’s main themes, how they relate to our community, and what we can do to further the progress of equality.
Oftentimes QTK’s impact stems from offering a safe space to explore new works, to explore new relationships, and to better understand oneself. Quality productions, meant to foster equality while entertaining an audience, is exactly what we try to produce: Equality Entertainment for all.
We will never share your email address without your permission.
We will never share your email address without your permission.
We’re always looking to involve more people! Volunteers are the backbone of any nonprofit, Queer Theatre Kalamazoo included. Thank you for your interest!