Last September, when Cathy Plourde directed 13 teenage girls in Ugly Ducklings, Carolyn Gage’s acclaimed play about homophobia at a girls’ summer camp, the cast had an audience long before opening night. From auditions to set-breaking, the entire theatrical process of Ugly Ducklings was documentary fodder for Academy Award-winning cinematographer Fawn Yacker. Of this material, she created the film Ugly Ducklings as an educational aid to families, schools, and communities who wish to actively support LGBTQ youth against bias and self-harm. The film will have its Portland premiere this Thursday at the Maine Women Writers Collection, at the Westbrook College Campus of the University of New England.
The characters of the film Ugly Ducklings are not just the characters of the play, but also the young girls who portray them. By setting the stories of real teens against the backdrop of the play’s taut bigotry, Yacker sought to rally community members across political and religious lines, for the sake of the common goal of honest dialogue about the health of our youth. The actresses of Ugly Ducklings step out of their camper roles to reveal their personal struggles with harassment and homophobia in their own communities, schools, and families.
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