Who are we?
Out & Proud Productions is a Central Florida based theatrical production company started by two queer friends with a shared dream. We started OPPro to strengthen the voices of our queer and trans community members through theatre and the performing arts. We plan on presenting queer shows, with gender blind casting, asking permission to genderbend characters, and presenting same sex couples within our ensembles. Everything we do will be visibly queer! We want people to be able to attend our shows knowing nothing about us, and afterwards know it was a queer production. Living in Florida can be really hard for our community, and by presenting queer theatre, works written by local queer artists, and queer stories we remind everyone that were here, were queer, and we aren’t going anywhere!
OPPro’s goal is to showcase queer artists and produce queer stories. If you have a show you want to see on stage that fits our goal, please reach out and let us know. We would love to work with you to bring your work to life.
Our Statements
Our Mission Statement: Create a space where LGBTQIA+ artists are highlighted for their diverse talents.
Our Vision Statement: Make theater queer again!
Our Diversity Statement: Our mission is to create a space where LGBTQIA+ artists are highlighted for their diverse talents. OPPro strives to diversify the stories we know and love by increasing visibility of marginalized groups throughout our productions as well as celebrating the artists telling them. Empowering queer artists through OPPro will lead to a more inclusive and diverse theatre community.
Our History
Out & Proud Productions (OPPro) was founded by two queer people on the anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub Shooting as a way to honor those lives lost on June 12th and to be a celebration of the queer community of Central Florida. We believe that theatre has the power to heal, and by staging queer productions we can give members of the community a chance to be visible and make change in the community.
In a group chat one evening a discussion came up about a shared love for a particular musical, and we all started joking that we should just do it ourselves. Zac made a comment about always wanting to start a theatre company, and Cal happened to have experience on the board of directors for a queer theater company back in Ohio. What started as a joke led to an idea, which led to a conversation that turned into a plan. Pretty soon “if you want it done, do it yourself” turned into our first fully staged production less than a year later. This company truly is the passion project of two queers with a shared love for theatre and the queer community, and it’s history is only just beginning!
Our Board of Directors
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Zac Berube
Executive Director/ Founding Member
Zac (they/them) has been performing on stage since kindergarten, and loves theatre so much they have a degree in it. Zac grew up in upstate New York, performing with a community theatre through most of their childhood, they have dreamed of opening a theatre company of their own since and couldn’t be more excited for it to actually happen. Being a religious based production company, Zac lost many of their friends after coming out, and with OPPro hopes to create a family that lifts one another up and supports each other constantly. Zac has been involved both on stage and backstage and loves all aspects of theatre. As executive director Zac will devote their time and energy to ensure OPPro is around for a long time and continuously amplifies the voices of the LGBTQ+ community here in Central Florida.
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Cal Vonderwell
Executive Director/ Founding Member
Cal (they/them) is from a small town in Ohio where they began performing in various vocal roles throughout school. After high school they moved on to an even smaller Ohio town for college where they received a Bachelors of the Arts in Music and made connections with a theatre company in Toledo that they would later go on to become a board member of, and where they would perform in many shows. That Toledo company, Stone Productions, is a queer focused theater company, and was part of the inspiration for Out & Proud Productions. Cal has always had a passion for the queer community, and combined with their love of performance art, they hope OPPro will be a spotlight in the Orlando queer community for LGBTQ+ artists to show Orlando that we’re here, we’re queer, and we aren’t going anywhere!
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Leslie Gostin
Founding Board Member/ Graphic Designer
Leslie (she/her) is not just a designer, though that has become her OPPro catchphrase. Throughout her life, she has participated in theatre through her school and community, both on stage and off. Once in college, she studied interior design with a focus on scenic design. Leslie grew up in a Southern community where she felt pressured to be just like everyone else, and hopes that OPPro will provide a welcoming space for people of all identities to be who they truly are.