Baltimore Center Stage and Breaking the Binary Theatre Unveil Cohort of the Trans History Project

Baltimore Center Stage and Breaking the Binary Theatre joined forces earlier this year to launch a groundbreaking national initiative: The Trans History Project. Created by Baltimore Center Stage (BCS) Artist-in-Residence Bo Frazier, the project aims to commission, develop, and publish 10 new plays about the real history of gender nonconformity which has existed across all cultures since the beginning of time. There were nearly 170 applications to be part of Cohort 1 of this project. Each of the selected playwrights and ensemble has been paired with a theater who will develop the original piece over the next two seasons in a residency that includes a reading in the 2025/26 season and a workshop in the 2026/27 season.

“We are honored to commission these artists to expand the representation of trans and gender nonconforming stories in the American Theatre as part of the vision of the Trans History Project. The five new plays from the Inaugural Cohort are innovative, visionary, and artistically groundbreaking” said Ken-Matt Martin, Producing Director of Baltimore Center Stage. “The Trans History Project is an integral part of Stevie Walker-Webb’s commitment to develop new work by marginalized voices. Alongside our partners at Rattlestick Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, Diversionary Theatre, Round House Theatre and Breaking the Binary Theatre, we hope to serve as a model for others to reshape how new work is developed in this country.” 

Baltimore Center Stage and Breaking the Binary Theatre have revealed the Inaugural Cohort of five projects that will be developed in residence at five theaters across the country: Dane Edidi Figueroa (she/her), Bree Lowdermilk (she/her), Yona Moises Olivares (they/she/he), Roger Q. Mason (they/them), and Mirage Auto Depot: a TGNC theatre ensemble.

Dane Edidi Figueroa (she/her) from Washington, DC will be developing A Continent of Forget in residence with Long Wharf Theatre based in New Haven, CT.

When a new man walks into her life, Lucy, a widow, does not know if she is ready to open herself to love again. As her culinary business blooms and her food gains notoriety, elders and ancestors alike rally around her as she learns how to let go. Steeped in Magical Realism and historical realities, A Continent of Forget is loosely based on and pays homage to the incredible life of Lucy Hicks Anderson (1886- 1954), an American Socialite, Chef and Philanthropist.

Bree Lowdermilk (she/they) from Philadelphia, PA will be developing Days of Awe in residence at Round House Theatre in Bethesda, MD.

Yom Kippur dinner erupts into absurdity and chaos when a daughter comes out as trans to her Jewish family. After her family insists that her identity is "too newfangled," we hurtle backwards chronologically through history, revealing the enduring presence and erasure of trans people across centuries and borders. In the period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, today at this family's suburban home and thousands of years ago, Days of Awe invites us to look back—with humor, ritual, grief and reverence—in order to step forward.

Roger Q. Mason (they/them) from Santa Monica, CA will be developing The Gladys Bentley Project in residence at Diversionary Theatre in San Diego, CA.

It is 1952 and Gladys Bentley—Harlem's most (in)famous drag king—has hung up her gender-bending/queer affirming act, married a short order cook in Los Angeles and decided to write her life story. Join Gladys as she pitches us (the audience) her new biography. We'll travel with her to the clubs that made her, the night Prohibition ended an era in her career, the doctor’s office where she sought sexual conversion "treatment", and—all the while—we'll ponder, "How does a vibrant dreamer like Gladys Bentley thrive in a world that limits her dreams?"

Yona Moises Olivares (they/she/he) from Chicago, IL will be developing miss EMERICA in residence at Baltimore Center Stage in Baltimore, MD.

She is beauty, she is grace, she is undocumented? Congratulations and welcome to America, where you get the amazing opportunity to compete and earn your spot as a Real American Woman™! Part farce, part docu-theater, all bullsh*t, miss EMERICA, follows a group of historical Trans/GenderNB folks as they compete in a pageant that will grant only ONE participant citizenship. We the people, follow these contestants on and off stage as they seek to prove their “womanhood” and ultimately win their place in America, land of the beautiful.

Mirage Auto Depot: a TGNC theatre ensemble led by Raychel Ceciro, Logan Gabrielle Schulman, with devising by Alexandra Neuman and Murphy Severtson. Based in New York City, NY this team will be developing LES BI(T)CHES in residence at Rattlestick Theater in New York City, NY.

LES BI(T)CHES is a trans-historical experiment spiraling around the simultaneous and divergent lives and creative practices of gender-nonconforming lesbian artists Claude Cahun and Romaine Brooks amidst the rising fascism of early 20th century Europe. Set against the backdrop of Parisian artist salons, LES BI(T)CHES examines queer community, resistance, and fracture in the face of oppression and splintering alliances and values. Adapted from the early 20th century ballet Les Biches choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska, and blending historical fiction with archival text, artworks, and speculative encounters, LES BI(T)CHES holds a warbled mirror to our present moment, searching through the detritus of the past to understand what holds queer communities together—and what divides us.

The finalists for the Inaugural Cohort of The Trans History Project included playwrights Nova Cypress Black, Ty Defoe, Tyler Rocio Ecoña, Reese Fernandez, Mackenzie Foy, Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin, Caden Healander, Dena Igusti, Justice Jamal Jones, Youri Kim, Gaby Labotka, C. Meaker, D.A. Mindell, Cheeyang Ng, Nwachukwu Oputa, Nico Pang, KT Peterson, Utkarsh Rajawat, Alex Lee Reed, Omer Abbas Salem, and Sharifa Yazmeen, as well as duos Che'Li & Sean-Joseph Choo, and B Kleymeyer & DJ Hills.

Trans History Project Creator and Program Director Bo Frazier says “The incredibly talented selected playwrights come from different backgrounds and experiences, ranging from well-known playwrights and musical theatre composers to brand new playwrights who had a brilliant idea and an emerging TGNC theatre ensemble. The selected plays will tell stories of untold American history, world history, and force us to have dialogues about the most important issues of today. I cannot wait to share these stories with the world.”

“All of us at Breaking the Binary Theatre are thrilled to be partnering with Baltimore Center Stage to help bring Bo’s ambitious and revelatory idea to life,” Breaking the Binary Theatre Founding Artistic Director George Strus said. “Breaking the Binary Theatre has a rich history with Inaugural Cohort members Roger Q. Mason and Dane Edidi Figueroa, both of whom participated in our first Festival in October of 2022. We are overjoyed to deepen our relationships with them, as well as welcome Yona Moises Olivares, Bree Lowdermilk, and Mirage Auto Depot to the BTB community.”