Trans Comedy + Performing Arts Festival THE JOY WHO LIVED Returns To LA For Second Year

LA's highly-anticipated trans theatre and comedy festival, "The Joy Who Lived", returns for its second year March 31-April 12th with 30+ shows, readings, and workshops by trans and nonbinary artists. Hit comedy variety show Gentleman's Club opens the fest at Dynasty Typewriter on Transgender Day of Visibility.

Spanning theatrical and comedic genres, JWL highlights some of the most exciting trans artists working today. With comedy by Our Flag Means Death's Vico Ortiz, Dropout.tv's Jiavani, The Tonight Show's Alex Song-Xia, music by Ryan Cassata, and stand up by comedy icons Fifi Dosch, Charlie James, and Jeffrey Jay. Featuring diverse theatrical works from Tilly Bridges (Monster High), Valerie Rose Lohman (What Remains of Edith Finch); Boone Williams (Dragon Prince), and more. Highly anticipated new additions to this year's festival include mini-music fest Genderchella!, and a Short Play Incubator Showcase curated by Maddox Pennington, featuring eleven new works developed for the festival. Shows include sketch and improv comedy, live music, world-premiere plays, staged readings, and even a showcase celebrating trans animation.

Trans folks are more visible than ever - and it can feel particularly harrowing these days. "What started last year as an act of theatrical resistance," says Founder & Artistic Director Laser Webber, "has blossomed into a huge creative community bursting with trans joy and passionate artistic development. I'm thrilled to bring The Joy Who Lived back to Los Angeles - and because we know trans folks everyone could use the love, we're livestreaming most of our shows, with sliding scale prices, to make our fest accessible for everyone."