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Out in the Bay

Slaying Dragons with Kevin Rolston

Kevin Rolston (pictured) stars in Deal With The Dragon, the critically acclaimed solo show coming to Magic Theatre July 22-August 13, 2022.
Ben Krantz Studio
Kevin Rolston (pictured) stars in Deal With The Dragon, the critically acclaimed solo show coming to Magic Theatre July 22-August 13, 2022.

“Shame is a really tricky beast,” says gay San Francisco-based playwright and actor Kevin Rolston, “(shame) hides things from you and whispers in your ear that you're not good enough.”

Rolston is staging a new solo play called “Deal With The Dragon.” It runs through August 14th at the Magic Theatre at San Francisco’s Fort Mason Center. The retooled production was inspired by the Alan Downs book “The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man's World,” and Rolston’s own suburban Pennsylvania upbringing.

“I grew up in a very blue collar, working class, homophobic, and racist environment,” he recalled. Through literature, performance, and eventually writing and performing his own intentionally queer works, Rolston found his sexuality and his voice.

An earlier version of “Deal With The Dragon” — in which Rolston plays all three characters — was selected as one of the top 20 theater shows to see at the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe by The List, out of more than 900 entrants. This new re-written and re-staged production is being presented at 8pm Thursday – Saturday, and 3pm Sundays at the Magic Theatre inside Fort Mason Center. 2 Marina Boulevard, Building D, San Francisco, CA.

For tickets ($20 - 70) and information, visitmagictheatre.org or call (415) 441-8822.

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The Executive Producer of Out In The Bay is Eric Jansen. This edition of Out in the Bay was produced by Christopher Beale and Jim Provenzano.

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Christopher J. Beale is an independent radio host, producer, and journalist living in San Francisco.
Eric Jansen is a long-time broadcaster and print journalist. A former news anchor, producer and reporter at KQED FM, San Francisco; KLIV AM, San Jose; and Minnesota Public Radio, Eric's award-winning reports have been heard on many NPR programs and PRI's Marketplace. His print work has been in The Mercury News, The Business Journal, and LGBTQ magazines Genre and The Advocate, among other publications. He co-produced the June 2007 PBS documentary Why We Sing!, about LGBTQ choruses and their role in the civil rights fight.