TRANS MOM VS FAMILY COURT Returns To Los Angeles Stage As Workshop Reading
Award-winning piece will be presented this month at Hudson Theatres as part of The Joy Who Lived Festival.
TRANS MOM VS FAMILY COURT: JUSTICE SEES NO GENDER will return to the stage in Los Angeles with a workshop ensemble reading on April 12, 2026, at the Hudson Theatres.
The work is based on the real-life experience of Rejyna Douglass-Whitman, who in 1995 represented herself in a custody case after facing housing loss, job termination, and family separation following her transition. Without legal counsel, she studied family law independently and ultimately secured joint custody of her daughter, helping establish that gender identity does not determine parental fitness.
Now presented 30 years later, the piece returns in an expanded ensemble format featuring trans and gender non-conforming performers. The workshop reading will include new original songs composed and music directed by Douglass-Whitman, with direction by Maddox Pennington.
The production is part of The Joy Who Lived Festival and builds on the original solo performance, which received the Transcendent Craft Award and Daredevil Award at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in 2025.
“This play is not just theater. It's a blueprint for survival,” said Douglass-Whitman. “Trans parents are walking into courtrooms right now, terrified they'll lose their children. I want them to know: we've fought this before. We won. And we can win again.”
Douglass-Whitman is a musician and composer whose work spans live-looping performance and collaborations across film and media. Pennington, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, is a director, playwright, and author whose work often centers trans and nonbinary voices.
The April 12 performance will take place at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available on a pay-what-you-can basis, with in-person and streaming options offered.
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