A Performance Piece inspired by the true story of a family man who realized he had to transit to a woman to realize his true self, informing wife and kids, and employer, who wouldn t accept this transition. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which decided in Her favor. Presented at Miami Light project in 2014, Here and Now Fellowship.

Our intent is to create a performed Operatic Piece that includes video projection, unspoken / mimetic performance/ choreography and non-linguistic voice that recounts the circumstances of the transgender case that took place in 2008 in a  small town in the Florida Keys where a husband / father / local government official, announced that he would begin sexual re-assignment therapy, and the way his family and community reacted to this news.

A Supreme Court Decision finally determined that the person could not be fired from his/her job for undergoing transgender therapy.

The Piece will likely divide into 3 acts: as in Before During, and After the publicizing of the story line. It will include a minimum of 3 cast members and potentially, audience members in one or 2 sequences that require a larger cast; obviously their participation: as, for example city council members, or media circus- members would be minimal but nonetheless actual, innovative and (hopefully) engaging in new ways.

We d also like to include 3 large screen tv’s depicting tv advertising and news, a twitter account that audience members could tweet to during the performance, and a facebook page where comments could appear during the show or the run of the show.

This seems to reflect the infomis disseminated, filtred and responded to now, and the way mediatized events such as this one, take place now.

Additional videocontent will be projected in the background of the set, here more blurred, possibly black and white, intended to represent aspects of individual and collective unconcious strains and underpinnings as they contribute to the currents of the story.

Footage of the Sexual Offender shanty town that sprang up under the bridge of a Miami Causeway a few years ago would also likely be included.

Scrolling hand-written text, of news articles of the actual events, for example and still and / or animated hand-drawn imagery.

took place in 2008 in a  small town in the Florida Keys where a husband / father / local government official, announced that he would begin sexual re-assignment therapy, and the way his family and community reacted to this news.

The performed action will be directed to focus on the emotional content of the protagonist’s struggle with gender identity, the responses of family and then commmunity to this, expressed through movement and non linguistic vocalization. A cast of 3-5 members will actually trade characters in the course of the 3 acts, distinguished solely by simple but graphic costumes, as a way to highlight the theme of personal and social mutability, the increasing importance of empathy as a fundamental ingredient of social and spiritual integration