David Cerda (born June 13, 1961,

Hammond, Indiana Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area, and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. First settled in the mid-19th century, it is one of the oldest cities of northern Lake County. As of the ...

) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

performer and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

based in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. He is currently the Artistic Director for Hell In A Handbag Productions, which he co-founded in 2002. His

camp Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

y, highly theatrical plays have made him an infamous icon within the

Chicago theater scene Theater in Chicago describes not only theater performed in Chicago, Illinois, but also to the movement in Chicago that saw a number of small, meagerly funded companies grow to institutions of national and international significance. Chicago ha ...

. He has written and appeared in many of his works including a

transgressive Transgressive may mean: *Transgressive art, a name given to art forms that violate perceived boundaries *Transgressive fiction, a modern style in literature *Transgressive Records, a United Kingdom-based independent record label *Transgressive (l ...

adaptation of ''Rudolph, the Red-Hosed Reindeer'', ''How ‘What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?’ Happened'' and ''POSEIDON! An Upside-Down Musical'' which won the

New York International Fringe Festival The New York International Fringe Festival, or FringeNYC, was a fringe theater festival and one of the largest multi-arts events in North America. It took place over the course of a few weeks in October, spread on more than 20 stages across seve ...

Best Ensemble Award and was the most attended show of the festival that year. Cerda’s theatre group has also raised money for Chicago LGBT non-profits such as: Season of Concern, AIDS Legal Council, Howard Brown, the Legacy Project, Windy City Alliance for the Deaf, and Groceryland.

Selected works

Hell in a Handbag has produced over 70 original plays, of which Cerda has written several. * The Drag Seed, a parody

The Bad Seed ''The Bad Seed'' is a 1954 novel by American writer William March, the last of his major works published before his death. Nominated for the 1955 National Book Award for Fiction, ''The Bad Seed'' tells the story of a mother's realization that h ...

* Snowgirls: The Musical, a parody of

Showgirls ''Showgirls'' is a 1995 erotic drama pulp noir film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas. The film stars Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, Gina Gershon, Glenn Plummer, Robert Davi, Alan Rachins, and Gina Ravera. Produced ...

* POSEIDON! An Upside Down Musical (2002, 2009), an unauthorized

musical parody Parody music, or musical parody, involves changing or copying existing (usually well known) musical ideas, and/or lyrics, or copying the particular style of a composer or performer, or even a music genre, general style of music. In music, parody ...

of the film The Poseidon Adventure * ''The Golden Girls: The Lost Episodes'' (since 2017), a spoof on the

Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty White ...

* ''Rudolph, the Red-Hosed Reindeer,'' a parody of

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on ...

* ''How ‘What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?’ Happened,'' a parody of

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? may refer to: * ''What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?'' (novel), a 1960 suspense novel by Henry Farrell * ''What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?'' (film), a 1962 American psychological thriller, based on the novel. * '' W ...

* The Birds * Christmas Dearest * Caged Dames

Awards

* 2003 -

Excellence Award for Ensemble Performance * 2016 -

Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame The Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame (formerly Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame) is an institution founded in 1991 to honor persons and entities who have made significant contributions to the quality of life or well-being of the LGBT community in Chic ...

References

External links

Hell In A Handbag Productions
American gay writers 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Writers from Chicago Living people 1961 births American LGBT dramatists and playwrights American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American LGBT people {{US-playwright-stub