The 50th Anniversary GAYLA for TOSOS Theater Company, held Sept. 30, saluted the company’s contributions to LGBTQ history, theater history, and New York City history. New York State legislators presented proclamations, as did Chanel Lopez, New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s Deputy Director of LGBTQ Affairs. Lopez also offered remarks on behalf of the governor.
TOSOS Honors Awards were presented to Artistic Director Mark Finley and Managing Director Barry Childs. Honoring the late playwright Doric Wilson, one of TOSOS’ founders, the company’s free annual LGBTQ reading series was named the Doric Wilson Playwrights Project.
Mark Finley has been the Artistic Director of TOSOS, (The Other Side of Silence) since 2001 and has directed many of its award-winning and acclaimed productions. He is a co-creator of the Out Lines podcast, which examines lesser-known titles in the LGBTQ theatrical canon, putting them in historical and sociological context. Most recently, Mark directed his play Deadly Stages Off-Broadway and co-directed the most recent revival of Street Theater this year for TOSOS. He is on the acting faculty of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Mark took time from his busy schedule to talk to me.
TOSOS was founded in 1974. You were part of the team that revived it in 2002. What got you involved with its revival?
Mark Finley: I met Doric Wilson in 2001. I’ve always been a theater history geek, and meeting Doric changed my life because he was theater history. We talked a lot about the Caffe Cino, the first TOSOS, and his plays. When he and Barry Childs decided to reboot the company as TOSOS II, he asked me to come on as artistic director — to create and establish the TOSOS ethos.
What are you and Managing Director Barry Childs looking forward to achieving with TOSOS as it moves forward?
MF: We’re always looking to get the TOSOS name and message out there. We want people to know that TOSOS is NYC’s oldest and longest-producing LGBTQ theater company. And of course, come see the shows.
As Artistic Director of TOSOS, what do you look for in choosing plays for the company to present?
MF: We strive to tell the stories that aren’t being told in mainstream media. I also look for material that shows us as being “more than our trauma.”
What would you want audiences, straight or gay, to learn from TOSOS’ history and its ongoing mission?
MF: Basically, the LGBT community has always been here, and it isn’t going anywhere. It’s great that there’s more and more representation in all media. We’re focused primarily on theater — representing the voices of the past and supporting the voices of the future.
Is there a question you’ve always wanted to be asked by an interviewer, but nobody has? (And, of course, what is the answer?)
MF: The question is: What’s the favorite TOSOS play you’ve directed? There’s no way to answer this question, so I’ll say, “The one I’m working on now” — which is currently the revival of Street Theater, which is amazing!
Street Theater will be playing at the Flea Theatre, 20 Thomas St., in New York, from Oct. 17 through Oct. 22, 2024. More information about Street Theater and TOSOS is at tososnyc.squarespace.com. For more about Mark, go to tososnyc.squarespace.com/mark-finley. The Out Lines podcast can be found at outlinespod.com.
