Transformation is trans people telling their stories in their voices.
This piece explores the naked truth of gender identity.
It speaks more to the individuality of people and it doesn't go like just clump everyone together.
This piece came about through a high level of collaboration and community.
I am Diamond.
I am Kelly.
Battle Maiden.
Caring Heart.
Our script submission process was actually to reach out to transgender, gender non-conforming,
intersex and gender non-binary people to get their stories.
Sometimes having to really make an effort to find the voices that we were looking for.
Read the butterflies trapped in our souls instead of killing us off while we're still caterpillars.
We had about 30 submissions that came through that were all different types.
And then we all pieced it together bit by bit into something that resembled a script.
And that actually isn't the end of it because now that we're in rehearsal,
the cast is getting to add their own flavor and their own voices.
It's very rare anywhere where we have trans people in their own voices.
It's important for us to be able to tell our own stories.
And it's been very interesting to see this group of artists who sort of come from the margins
move their bodies on stage particularly because they are going to be either entirely naked
or mostly naked using the language of their bodies
because we have some pretty incredible classically trained dancers
or folks just have a great movement vocabulary
and some folks that have a much more limited vocabulary
they are all discovering this language together.
For some people being undressed is pulling back the character
and just exposing yourself and putting all of the deep nitty-gritty innards out on the table.
And getting in touch with your innards is a good thing, but sometimes it's nasty.
I am very excited for trans nudity on stage that is not titillating
or is not supposed to be unmasking.
You didn't know this person was trans, but haha, you know.
We all are going into this knowing no one is being tricked.
There are no traps on stage. It is people and bodies, which we all have.
And so it's about navigating that space in a way so that you can expand
but keep up with your expansion.
I think anytime that people are able to come together
and be truly genuine and vulnerable with each other, that is a healing process.
I do hope we can provide catharsis for our audience
and by doing so heal our actors.
I'm hoping that we get more people who aren't as informed
and might want to step outside of a possible comfort zone
and then come to a better understanding of the great diversity and contrast that is us as beings.
Saying we are being the most vulnerable for you,
so we hope that you will listen because we are in our most vulnerable state of just being here.
I will always, as I travel, know that I'm returning home to stay.
