Life Jacket Theatre Company Launches $10,000 Commission For Trans Playwrights

Life Jacket has launched a new $10,000 commission for a Trans playwright to create a new, full-length verbatim play based on in-depth interviews with Trans people from across America.

"This new commission uplifts and celebrates Trans voices," said Travis Russ, Artistic Director of Life Jacket. "This commission is a direct response to the onslaught of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in America as well as the alarming climb in Trans-phobic violence, coast-to-coast."

According to the ACLU, more anti-LGBTQ laws were proposed in America's legislative halls in the first quarter of 2023 than in each of the previous five years. These restrictive measures include bans on drag performances and gender-affirming care for persons under age 26. Additional bills aim to restrict the ability to alter one's pronouns.

"America has a long and painful history of censoring, erasing, and whitewashing Trans stories," Russ noted. "This is, unfortunately, true today given the aggressively vitriolic political climate and hatred faced by the Trans community. This commission will fund a new theatrical work that pulls Trans stories from the margins and places them centerstage where they belong."

Interested writers can find more information as well as submission instructions at: www.lifejackettheatre.org/commission. The deadline is 5:00pm EST on July 12, 2023.