Sept.  28 - Oct. 21, 2005

Angie, a middle-class college student, is falling in love with another counselor at the camp, Renée, who is a working-class "out" lesbian. Against this backdrop of intense homophobia, the young women struggle with their feelings for each other and the problems of defining themselves in a society that insists they be invisible. The camp legend about a monster in the lake parallels the adult phobias about lesbianism, and, confronted with an attempted child suicide, campers and counselors are compelled to face their worst fears in the microcosmic world of the summer camp.

"If it is possible that a piece of theatre can be both gritty and sublime at the same time, then Venus Theatre has achieved it in their world premiere production of Carolyn Gage's Ugly Ducklings."

- Metro Weekly Review, Washington, DC.

“. . . refreshingly well told tale that while raising all the issues that this anti-homophobic company and playwright want to raise, does so with an admirable restraint, avoiding the obvious traps of sensationalism and titillation and striking an admirable balance of theatricality and realism.”

- Potomac Stages, Washington, DC.

“ . . . a play about coming of age and homophobia and how people deal with emerging understandings about sexuality. It's a tough, tough, tough topic, and it's handled here with a great deal of raw energy, but also with a great deal of subtlety . . . a very, very nice piece . . . definitely worth seeing.”

- Peter Fay for WAMU (NPR affiliate station), Washington, DC.

“Radically redefining beauty . . . Ugly Ducklings reveals how notions of homosexuality can shatter the souls of girls and women . . . an impressive work. . . . a brutally honest examination of what it means to be a young lesbian, . . .”

-- The Washington Blade, Washington, DC.