LESLIE JORDAN (Performer/Playwright) In 1982, Leslie Jordan stepped off a Greyhound bus from the hills of Tennessee, said “hello” to Hollywood and has never looked back. With hundreds of television shows, films and commercials to his credit, he has become a familiar face on the entertainment scene.  Winner of the 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his delicious portrayal of “Beverley Leslie” on “Will and Grace,” Leslie’s many other recurring roles and Guest Starring appearances on television include “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Boston Legal,” “Ugly Betty,” and “Reba.”  In the Dreamworks feature film “The Help” based on the best selling novel by Kathryn Stockett, Leslie plays the pivotal role of the newspaper editor who hires Emma Stone’s “Skeeter” to write the household hints column. Feature film audiences will also recognize Leslie from his performance as “Brother Boy” in Del Shores’ adaptation of his play “Sordid Lives’” with Olivia Newton-John, Delta Burke, Beth Grant and Beau Bridges. He continued the role in “Sordid Lives… the Series” for the cable network Logo, which starred Rue McClanahan, Caroline Rhea and Bonnie Bedelia among others.  On stage, Mr. Jordan won the Ovation Award, The Garland Award and The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his portrayal of “Preston Leroy,” the aging, sodden barfly in Del Shores' hit play Southern Baptist Sissies.

In addition to acting, Mr. Jordan is also an author and writer. His book My Trip Down the Pink Carpet for Simon and Schuster formed the basis of a 90-minute one-man show, which had a 45 city book-signing/performance tour, a successful twelve-week Off-Broadway run at the Midtown Theater in New York City, and a six-week run at the Apollo Theater in London’s West End. A video of the Atlanta performance, directed by Amanda Bearse, is available on Netflix.  Leslie’s other autobiographical one-man shows Like a Dog on Linoleum, Full of Gin and Regret, From Whence I Came, Deck Them Halls Y’All, and Stories I Can’t Tell Mama have been performed to audiences across the country; the autobiographical not-quite-a-one-man-show Hysterical Blindness and Other Southern Tragedies That Have Plagued My Life Thus Far ran to sold-out houses in Los Angeles and had a successful seven month run Off-Broadway at the Playhouse on Van Dam in New York City. His latest autobiographical play Fruit Fly enjoyed a seven week sold-out run at Celebration Theatre in Los Angeles in 2012, and is making its way to cities across the U.S. and abroad.  Leslie’s screenplay “Lost in the Pershing Point Hotel” won the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival’s Production Grant Award, winning the competition from over 600 other scripts. Subsequently, it was made into an independent feature film distributed by Northern Arts Entertainment.

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DAVID GALLIGAN (Director) most recently directed Rita Moreno’s one person show, My Life Without Makeup at Berkeley Rep; and Fruit Fly, written by and starring Leslie Jordan at the Celebration Theatre.  He also directed the off-Broadway and London productions of My Trip Down the Pink Carpet, also written by and starring Leslie Jordon.  Other credits include Songs, Tyne Daly’s rave reviewed nightclub debut at Feinstein’s in New York City, as well as The 2nd Time Around, which kicked off Feinstein’s 10th Anniversary Season.  Among past efforts are productions of Falsettos for the Actor’s Fund and Leslie Jordon’s solo piece, Like a Dog On Linoleum.  He directed the world premiers of Scott Martin’s Children Of The Night and Tim Turner’s Out Late in Los Angeles.  He wrote and staged Valarie Pettiford’s one-woman shows, Hear My Soul and Finding My Voice.  Past works include Always Patsy Cline with Sally Struthers, and Rod McKuen in Concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall.  He co-created and directed the musical review Blame It On The Movies, which played off-Broadway.  He later repeated the staging for a Pasadena Playhouse production.  Other Playhouse productions include Lettuce and Lovage, with Jane Carr and Mary Jo Catlett, Alone Together with Nancy Dussault, The Lion in Winter with Carole Cook and Tom Troupe, The Gay 90s Musical (Celebration), Blame It On The Movies II, Cabaret, Angry Housewives, A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening, Fortune And Men’s Eyes, Slings and Eros, Filumena, Trouble In Tahiti, Triplets In Uniform, Jesus Christ Superstar, Falsettos, Gifts Of The Magi and Lullaby Of Broadway.  He is the recipient of the Los Angeles State Alliance Ovation Lifetime Achievement Award.  David has produced and directed Southland Theatre Artists Goodwill Event for the past 28 years; the longest running AIDS Benefit in the world.