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."




   Born 1955 Boston, Massachusetts
   Lives in San Francisco, California, and New York City

   1973-5 University of Pennsylvania
1999 A Slight Variance, Yerba Buena Center, San Francisco, California
1997-9 Civil Sex, The Public Theater, New York, New York; Thick Description Theatre, San Francisco, California; Woolly Mammoth, Washington, D.C.
1991-4 The Pomo Afro Homos: Fierce Love: Stories from Black Gay Life, and Dark Fruit, Josie's Cabaret and Juice Joint, San Francisco, California; Dance Theatre Workshop, New York, New York; Serious Fun Festival at Lincoln Center, New York, New York
1990 Perfect Courage, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
1989 I Think It's Gonne Work Out Fine; La Mama ETC, New York, New York; Cultural Odyssey, San Francisco, California
1989 A Night at the Apollo, Oakland Ensemble Theater, Oakland, California
1977-85 San Francisco Mime Troupe, San Francisco, California
1999 Rockefeller Foundation MAP Grant, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
1998-9 Directing Resident, New York Shakespeare Festival, The Public Theater
1997 Rockefeller Foundation MAP Grant, Thick Description Theatre
1997 Will Glickman Award, Best New Play, San Francisco
1992 New York Dance and Performance Award ["Bessie"]
1992 Andy Warhol Foundation Freedom of Expression Award
1992 Gerbode Foundation Playwriting Award