PARADISE: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY REVUE
MONDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2023
7:30PM at 3 Dollar Bill
co-conceived by Noax (they/them) and George Strus (they/them)
featuring Be Steadwell (they/he/she/be), Bobby Pocket Horner (they/he), Dane Figueroa Edidi (she/her), Ernest Allen (they/them), justine lee hooper (they/she), Las Mariquitas, Mariyea (she/her), Murray Hill (he/him/showbiz), Noax (they/them), Qween Jean (she/her), and Sara Ramírez (they/them)
PARADISE is Breaking the Binary Theatre’s first-ever interdisciplinary revue. Co-conceived by Noax (they/them) and BTB Founding Artistic Director George Strus (they/them), the special opening performance will showcase the talents of eleven stellar TNB2S+ artists and acts of various disciplines: vocalists, drag artists, comedians, and more!
Noax (they/them)
Co-conceiver & Performer
Noax (they/them) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Manhattan. They have worked professionally in the entertainment industry for several years as an actor, singer, writer, and advocate in NYC. They seek to foster community amongst the various ecosystems they inhabit and discover transformative ways in which we can educate artists that are rooted in equity, self-empowerment, and community building. Organizations to consider donating to: Breaking the Binary, Black Trans Liberation, For the Gworls, Black Trans Femmes in the Arts, and The Marsha P. Johnson Institute. www.noax.me
George Strus (they/them)
Co-conceiver
George Strus (they/them) is a trans non-binary Latiné artist based on the unceded ancestral lands of the Munsee Lenape people (colloquially known as New York). They founded Breaking the Binary Theatre: a new work development and community building hub for transgender, non-binary, and Two-Spirit+ theatermakers. In addition to their role as Founding Artistic Director of Breaking the Binary Theatre and their freelance producorial and dramaturgical work, they also currently serve as Artistic Producer at The Sol Project, Seasonal Producing Manager at The Public Theater, Producers Cohort Program Facilitator at The Tank, and Theatre Scout at Curate Management. Previously, they held positions at Second Stage Theater, A3 Artists Agency, Manhattan Theatre Club, Pride Plays at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Playbill, Stacey Mindich Productions, Alchemation, Telsey + Company Casting, Paper Mill Playhouse, and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. @GeorgeStrus / www.georgestrus.com
Be Steadwell (they/he/she/be)
Performer
Be Steadwell (They, She, He, Be) is a queer pop composer and storyteller from Washington DC. Be composes songs on stage using looping, vocal layering and beat boxing. Be's original music features earnest lyricism, and affirming queer content. Be's goal as a musician is to make other black girlies, introverts and weirdos feel seen and loved.
Be earned a BA in Black Studies from Oberlin College and an MFA in film from Howard University in 2014. Be's thesis film Vow of Silence screened in film festivals around the world, including Black Star, HBO's OutFest, The Schomburg Center and Inside Out Toronto.
In 2019, Be composed the music for The Alvin Ailey Dance Company's production of "the gone". Later that year, Be wrote and directed A Letter to My Ex, the musical. A Letter to My Ex imagines a queer black woman's experience of healing after a breakup. In 2021 Be released their latest album- Succulent. In 2023, Be joined the cast of Parable of the Sower the Opera by Toshi Reagon and Dr Bernice Johnson Reagon.
Bobby Pocket Horner (they/he)
Performer
Bobby, originally from Toronto Canada, made their Broadway debut in “&Juliet” back in November 2022. For the past decade, Bobby has been studying and training in Hip Hop and Street Dance. Bobby is the Co-founder of “House of Hunniez” Dance Crew, and an Elite member of Toronto’s “Footnotes” dance crew since 2014. Bobby’s credits include Disney’s “Zombies”, Disney’s “Sneakerella”, FX’s “What We do in the Shadows”, Good Morning America , The 76th Annual Tony Awards, The Tonight show with Jimmy Fallon, among many others. Bobby is also a blossoming actor and singer as well as a mentor and teacher to many. As a non-binary artist, Bobby is determined to continue challenging the gender norms within the industry and create more space and opportunity for other Trans/Non-binary artists.
Dane Figueroa Edidi (she/her)
Performer
Dane Figueroa Edidi Dubbed the Ancient Jazz Priestess of Mother Africa, Lady Dane is a Black Nigerian, Cuban, Indigenous, American Performance Artist, Author, Educator, Advocate, producer, a Helen Hayes Award winning Playwright (Klytmnestra: An Epic Slam Poem), a 2021 Helen Merrill Award Winner, Film Maker, Dramaturg, a 2x Helen Hayes Award nominated choreographer (2016, 2018), and a Princess Grace Honoria Award winner. She is the co-founder and co-director of the Black Trans Prayer Book.
Ernest Allen (they/them)
Performer
Ernest Allen (they/them) is a New York born and raised theater artist. Having started both their ballroom and theater journeys in 2018, they are excited to not only bridge together the two worlds in their piece, but to represent nonbinary identities in both spaces. They are nothing less than honored to be part of this show and have gratitude for all those involved. Special shoutout to the kiki house of Gabbana! Keep in touch! Find them on social media @TheErnestAllen
justine lee hooper (they/she)
Performer
A New Yorker from birth, the art of flutist and improviser justine lee hooper shares the ethos of the city that never sleeps, melding disparate genres, eras, and timbres to create uniquely human music. Their live sets often invoke the vast interdisciplinary repertoire and legacy of Black creatives, including deft samples and soaring meditative improvisations over live beats. justine has performed for the United Nations and has been acknowledged by The New York Times. They have collaborated with artists such as duendita, Joy Guidry, Key Glock, and Solange. justine also performs with and composes for Queer and Trans salsa band Las Mariquitas.
Las Mariquitas
Performer
Las Mariquitas is New York City’s Queer and Trans Salsa band. A political liberation project, Las Mariquitas celebrates the community of LGBTQIA2S+ salserxs in a safe, affirming space. Las Mariquitas shares the stage with queer and trans dance leaders, creating a culture of consent on the dance floor, and honoring the legacy of salsa as liberation music by composing Queer and Transfeminist songs for the canon. The collective features a rotating array of 15 musicians (wind players, piano, bass, tres Cubano, congas, bongos, timbales, and vocalists), and dance leaders from TGNC-On2, a Trans and Gender Non-Conforming Salsa dance collective.
Las Mariquitas is currently in residence at The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center and C’mon Everybody.
Mariyea (she/her)
Performer
Mariyea (she/her) is a Brooklyn based actress, performer, teacher and drag artist. Her previous credits include On Sugarland, at New York Theatre Workshop. Along with works presented at Soho Rep, The Shed, Park Avenue Armory, NYSAF and Joe's Pub among others. Soon she can be seen in a feature film soon to be announced on Paramount +. Mariyea also has the privilege of hosting and performing in drag shows in various spaces throughout New York City. In addition to her performance work, Mariyea teaches as an adjunct professor at The City College of New York. Follow Mariyea on Instagram: @mariyeaaaa for further updates. #blacktranslivesmatter
Murray Hill (he/him/showbiz)
Performer
NYC legend, comedian, TV host, MC and international entertainer Murray Hill (him/his/showbiz) is a relentless shtick slinger, larger-than-life personality, and freewheeling ad-libber. He plays Fred Rococo in Bridget Everett’s Somebody Somewhere (HBO). The show was awarded many “Best of 2022 & 2023” Awards, including “Best New TV Series” from AFI and was just renewed for a third season. He hosts the new competition show Drag Me To Dinner (Hulu). He can be seen on Amy Schumer’s Life & Beth and Welcome to Flatch (FOX) and in Paul Feig’s movie Grand Death Lotto (Amazon Studios) starring John Cena and Awkwafina in 2024.
Murray was just a special guest correspondent for ABC News and Hulu’s live historic “Pride Across America” which featured Pride marches in SF, NYC, and Chicago. NBC News selected him as one of the 30 most iconic and influential drag performers in modern history and selected as one of Logo30 for being a changemaker in entertainment.
Murray was awarded the New York Voices commission from Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater, where he debuted About to Break. His infamous holiday show A Murray Little Christmas has been a perennial sold-out destination for a decade at Joe’s Pub in NYC. He performed his solo comedy show at Just for Laughs, New York Comedy Festival, and Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
For 10 years, Murray hosted Dita Von Teese’s international tour Strip Strip Hooray. He starred for two seasons at the Sydney Opera House in Club Swizzle, which toured major festivals throughout Australia. He’s in music videos for Peaches, Countess Luann, TV on the Radio, The Regrettes, LeTigre, Joan as Police Woman, Bridget Everett, and Gossip.
The New York Times anointed Murray “Downtown’s New ‘It’ Boy.” He’s been included in “Best of New York” lists in the Village Voice, Time Out, PAPER, and New York Magazine; inducted into PAPER’s Nightlife Hall of Fame; selected as OUT’s Top 100 influential performers twice; included in New York Magazine’s “Fifty Most Iconic Gender Benders of All Time” and PAPER’s “Top Ten ‘It’ Boys in NYC Nightlife History”; and named one of the Top 12 gender-bending performers in NYC by Time Out. He was recently awarded the Trailblazer Award by Queerty. His campaign for Mayor of New York in 1996 was inducted in the New York Historical Society.
Qween Jean (she/her)
Performer
Qween Jean is a New York City based Costume Designer who has designed over 50 shows and counting. She has fully committed her voice to the advocacy of marginalized communities, emphasizing Black Trans people. She is currently among few costuming professionals in the NYC theatre who live their trans identities out loud- while making an effort to ensure she is not the last.
Qween founded the Black Trans Liberation in 2020. The organization aims to provide access and employment resources for the TGNC community. Through this work, she has organized community events, protests, and mutual aid drives to denounce the actions of a disenfranchised system and call for an end to racism and white supremacy. She is a firm believer in the preservation and support of Black Trans people and a testament to how one can thrive when adequately paid, supported, and loved. “Hire the girls” is her motto.
In 2021 Qween was MOMA PS1’s artist in residency and co-curated Memoriam and Deliverance. This installation called awareness of the last five years of transphobic and fatal violence while celebrating Black Trans leaders in the community. She was also the opening speaker for the March on Washington March on for Voting Rights.
In 2022 Qween wrote; Revolution is Love: A Year Of Black Trans Liberation. The book is published by Aperture and celebrates the resilience and power of TGNC community.
In 2023 she joined the Board for Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and received an Obie Award for Excellence in Costume Design.
This year Qween was selected as a finalist for NYC David Prize, which awards $250,000 to a visionaries dream to transform the city. She has an MFA in Design from NYU Tisch.
To support the mission please visit
https://www.blacktransliberation.com/support-the-movement
Sara Ramírez (they/them)
Performer
Tony Award© winner Sara Ramírez (they/them) made history playing the longest-running Latine LGBTQ+ character on TV, ‘Dr. Callie Torres’ on ABC’s hit Grey’s Anatomy. Other TV credits include: Law & Order: SUV, Madam Secretary, And Just Like That, and animated series Sofia the First. Sara graduated Juilliard’s Drama School and made their Broadway debut starring in Paul Simon’s The Capeman. Following that, they starred on Broadway in Fascinating Rhythm, A Class Act, and Off Broadway in The Vagina Monologues. For their performance as the original Lady of the Lake in the Broadway smash-hit Monty Python’s Spamalot, they earned both a Tony Award© and Outer Critics Award.