Uptown Players begins running its series of one-act plays as part of its Dallas Pride Performing Arts Festival at Frank’s Place, the small theater upstairs at the Kalita Humphries Theater.

Speech & Debate, by Stephen Karam, is about three teenage misfits in Salem, Oregon who discover they are linked by a sex scandal that’s rocked their town. When one of them sets out to expose the truth, secrets become currency, the stakes get higher, and the trio’s connection grows deeper in this searching, fiercely funny dark comedy with music.

The Madness of Lady Bright, by Lanford Wilson, was seen in the 2011 FIT Festival at the Bath House Cultural Center. Produced by 130 productions and starring Larry Randolph, the show traces the mental breakdown of Lesley Bright, an aging homosexual whose past returns to haunt him with the emptiness of the choices he made.

I Google Myself by Jason Schafer, is a pulpy drama about the intersection of sex, violence, and a man who wants to find the meaning in his life through an internet search. What he discovers instead is that he shares a name with a porn star. It comes as no surprise that these two very different characters have more in common than it seems, but that’s only revealed after increasingly absurd and violent plot twists send the play into comic terrain.

Presented as two shows in one evening are the comedy stylings of Paul J. Williams and Marisa Diotalevi. Paul J. Williams presents Triple Crown Queen, his one-man show combining childhood stories, photos and videos celebrating his half century journey from Creative Child to Pink List Celebrity. Returning to the stage with a sequel of her one-woman show, Marisa Diotalevi presents Still Consummate. Seeing both of these shows in one night, will leave you in stitches and smiling until your cheeks hurt!

In A-GAYS, Stillwater, Oklahoma, John-Michael Colgin tells his story of coming out as a young gay man while at college at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. In his search for his first boyfriend, he fell in with a group of attractive, rich gay students, where there is an entrance policy: NO UGLIES ALLOWED. Using this story to work around the hot-topic issue of bullying, Colgin’s show is about tolerance and acceptance, posing the question of acceptance within a community that wants to be accepted. A GAYS: Stillwater, Oklahoma was first presented by Nouveau 47 Theatre last spring.

Why Am I Not Gay, by Jason Kane, is his story about growing up a fan of musical theater. He knows that when he talks about his collection of original Broadway Cast Recordings, the season finale of Kathy Griffin, and his two cats, he should expect to be gay-tially profiled as family. This straight man is one Bette Midler concert shy of legally irrefutable proof of queerness. The show pokes fun at these dilemmas with a peppering of showtunes, pop songs, and monologues.

See Arnold Wayne Jones’ comments here.

DEETS: Franks Place, Upstairs at the Kalita Humphries, 3636 Turtle Creek Blvd. Schedule:

Speech & Debate: Sept. 7 at 7:30 p.m., Sept. 8 at 3:30 p.m., Sept. 10 at 7:30 p.m.
The Madness of Lady Bright: Sept. 8 at 2 p.m., Sept. 9 at 4 p.m., Sept. 15 at 8:30 p.m.
Still Consummate: Sept. 8 at 6 p.m., Sept. 11 at 7:30 p.m., Sept. 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Triple Crown Queen: Sept. 8 at 730 p.m., Sept. 11 at 9 p.m., Sept. 14 at 9 p.m.
A-GAYS, Stillwater Oklahoma: Sept. 8 at 9 p.m., Sept. 9at 5:30 p.m., Sept. 15 at 6:30 p.m.
I Google Myself: Sept. 9 at 2:15 p.m., Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m., Sept. 15 at 4:30 p.m.
Why Am I Not Gay?: Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m., Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m., Sept. 15 at 2 p.m.