The roots of the National Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival can be traced to the seventies when Tony Award-winning producer John Glines hosted the first event in New York City. The festival, which is "World's Fair" in concept usually floats for 4-6 years until a host is found to implement the event. Most recent festivals include Phoenix in 1992 and Los Angeles in 1996.
Act Out Productions of Columbus, Ohio (the host group for the 2002 and 2004 event) appeared in the LA festival performing its original play, One Edward 2.
