For Immediate Release:
Monday, July 5, 2004

Contact:
Jasmyne Cannick
(323) 839-0216
jasmynecannick@hotmail.com

FIRST BLACK GAY SERIES TO PREMIERE IN HOLLYWOOD

LOS ANGELES — As part of a nationwide tour supported by the Human Rights Campaign and the Black AIDS Institute, “Noah’s Arc,” America’s first black gay series, will premiere in Los Angeles at the Regent Showcase Theatre located at 614 North La Brea Avenue in Hollywood on Saturday, July 10, 2004 at 9:30 p.m. The premiere is in conjunction with the 22nd Annual Los Angeles’ Gay and Lesbian Film Festival OUTFEST. The world famous Jewel’s Catch One located at 4069 Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles will host the official after party. This event is in collaboration with Los Angeles Black Gay Pride and In the Meantime Men’s Group. For more information and tickets, please visit Noah’s Arc.  

Noah, Alex, Ricky and Chance are four friends living the gay life in Los Angeles. Noah (Darryl Stephens) is a struggling screenwriter embarking on a new love affair with newly out and much more successful screenwriter, Wade (Jensen Atwood). HIV/AIDS counselor Alex (Rodney Chester) always keeps it real with his clients but struggles to do the same with his anesthesiologist boyfriend, Trey (Gregory Keith). Ricky (Christian Vincent) owns a trendy and hip clothing store on Melrose and is the playboy of the group, while college professor Chance (Doug Spearman) has recently married and adopted his partner Eddie’s (Jonathan Julian) three-year-old daughter after a whirlwind courtship. Throw in Chance’s amorous teaching assistant, Bryan (Johnny Smith), Ricky’s hot new store clerk, Dwayne (Nate Adams) and flamboyantly fabulous fashion designer Romeo (Dwen Curry) and you’ve got a recipe for delicious drama, side-splitting comedy and shocking sexuality.

Full of humor, pathos and insight, "Noah's Arc" gives today's black gay community a voice in a sea of gay and lesbian programming targeted at the mainstream.

Produced by Carol Ann Shine and Jasmyne Cannick, Noah’s Arc is written, directed and executive produced by Patrik-Ian Polk.

The first installment of “Noah’s Arc” season one will be available for purchase during the summer of 2004.

Press photos are available at Noah’s Arc.

For press passes, please contact Steven Zeller/Susan Steeno of GS Entertainment Marketing Group at (323) 860-0270.

As America's largest gay and lesbian organization, the Human Rights Campaign provides a national voice on gay and lesbian issues. The Human Rights Campaign effectively lobbies Congress; mobilizes grassroots action in diverse communities; invests strategically to elect a fair-minded Congress; and increases public understanding through innovative education and communication strategies. HRC is a bipartisan organization that works to advance equality based on sexual orientation and gender expression and identity, to ensure that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.

The Black AIDS Institute is the only national public policy and research organization in the United States focused exclusively on HIV/AIDS among black people. The institute's mission is to stop the AIDS pandemic in black communities by mobilizing black institutions and individuals in efforts to confront HIV. The institute develops and interprets public and private sector HIV policies, conducts trainings, offers technical assistance, disseminates information and provides advocacy from a uniquely and unapologetically black point of view.

The mission of OUTFEST is to build bridges among audiences, filmmakers and the entertainment industry through the exhibition of high-quality gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender themed films and videos, highlighted by an annual festival, that enlighten, educate and entertain the diverse communities of Southern California.

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