www.slate.com: One summer’s day in 2011, theater producer Paul Lucas sat in a convalescent home talking with an HIV-positive queer friend, a man who was paralyzed from the waist down, about the wonderful work of trans artist Our Lady J. The friend looked at him and, with one disdainful remark about gender identity, set Lucas’ next opus in motion. “I can say I’m a unicorn,” he said. “Doesn’t make me a unicorn.”
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As a cis queer man I found this article extremely informative- I have so many questions and concerns about the portrayal and sincerity of trans individuals in film and on stage. With trying to find the line between my own curiosity and my inclination to empathize, articles that take a genuine and informed approach such as this one allow me to be more informed without coming across as ignorant or offensive.
My personal gratitude for this article aside, TransScripts seems equal parts revolutionary and formulaic. Formulaic in that its approach to interview theatre is 'business as usual' and that the work is translated and presented in a normal way (at most this is a mild criticism of the form and not this piece). Revolutionary in that the interviews are not Cis reactions to a Trans issue, but a Trans response with sincere insight into and toward a Trans issue. Anybody who's anybody can recall The Laramie Project and can recognize it as a transformative work. Yet many people overlook the fact that the show is over 90% composed of interviews with straight people about their straight reactions to a gay hate crime and their reactions to a gay issue. There's a place for this type of piece, but it's important to note that TransScripts breaks the mold with the subjects of its interviews.
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