Sometimes solely a playwright, sometimes an actor-to-go, sometimes a director-for-hire, in Brian Freeman's latest works he wears all three hats. A social satirist who makes politically charged theatre, he writes deeply personal, epic narratives. In his recent play, Civil Sex, which focuses on the life of civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, he makes tender, tragic, antic theatre and engages the present moment. A founding member of the performance trio, The Pomo Afro Homos (1991-94), Freeman continues to grapple with the position of gay African-American men within the fabric of modern history.

"Like many artists whose work doesn't sit neatly within a particular form, my work has been seen primarily in alternative venues, performance spaces and festivals. But in the last two years I've begun working with regional theatres. The late poet Audre Lorde referenced herself as "Sister Outsider" and I sometimes feel like "Brother Outsider" as I struggle with what it means to move in from the margins. And it's the less-than-fabulous, the dark, complicated, and messy secrets of history that don't always make people heroes or saints that I find myself exploring now."