Trans World
Ty Defoe (he/we/ty)
Author
Ty Defoe, (he/we/ty, Giizhig) Indigiqueer citizen of Oneida + Ojibwe Nations. Interdisciplinary storyteller, writer/director + world-builder + badass for liberation. Grammy Award, 2021 Sundance Fellow, Helen Merrill Playwriting Award, Jonathan Larson Award, Cultural Capital Fellow w/ First People’s Fund, + Kennedy Center Next 50. www.allmyrelations.earth/present & www.tydefoe.com
Dominique Rider
Director
Dominique Rider is a Brooklyn-based director whose work seeks to answer the question: “What is a world unmade by slavery?” while attempting to analyze the layers of anti-blackness that maintain the world we live in. Deploying theatre and performance as tools of Afropessimism, Dominique has developed and staged work with Audible, The New Group, NYTW, Roundabout, The Atlantic, Princeton, Rattlestick, BRIC Arts, Two River, Portland Center Stage, and more. Past fellowships/residencies include TheaterWorks Hartford, NYSAF, BRIC Arts, Roundabout, and NAMT. Currently, Dominique is a resident director at The National Black Theatre and a producer with CLASSIX.
Josephine Kearns (she/her)
Dramaturg
Josephine Kearns (she/her) is a dramaturg, theatre creative, and gender consultant specializing in queer, transgender, and intersex issues. She believes in a thoughtful, inclusive, anti-racist approach with an emphasis on queer and trans joy. Her theatre credits include work with the Perelman Center, Delaware Theatre Company, Fifth Ave. Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, and the ongoing Broadway development of numerous new works. Her background also includes work as a Gender Program Coordinator for Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, and as a Research Specialist for TransFocus. She is also the gender consultant for Actors’ Equity Association and the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas.
Sami Binder (they/them)
Sami Binder (they/them) is thrilled to be working on TRANS WORLD and with the Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival! Sami is a theatre artist who often wears many hats -- actor, stage manager, director, crew member, etc.! They love working on new works and devised works, especially with LGBTQIA+ and other marginalized communities, and getting to create representation where it is lacking. They'd like to thank all the cast, crew, creatives, and administrators who made this wonderful Festival happen. They'd also like to thank the audience and all other supporters. And their cat, Luigi.
b norwood (they/them/b)
Bianca “b” Norwood (they/b) is an actor out of Fresno, California. Former collaborations include work at Manhattan Theatre Club, Tectonic Theatre Project, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, and Clubbed Thumb. Bianca is currently working at New York Theatre Workshop playing Erica, in American (Tele)visions written by Victor I. Cazares. TV: “WeCrashed” “Let The Right One In”. Education: PCPA, The Juilliard School. B is grateful to all the Trans and Queer artists, present and past, that have made it possible for them to thrive.
Carolina do (she/her)
Carolina Đỗ is an actor, playwright, producer and proud daughter of Vietnamese freedom fighters and refugees. She’s a community organizer and advocate for art that facilitates healing in marginalized communities. [BROADWAY] Linda Vista (u/s), Grand Horizons (u/s). [NY THEATER] PlayCo: Is It Supposed To Last? ; Adjusted Realists: The Refugees; Yangtze Rep: Stacey In The States, 410[Gone]; Three Sisters (Irina); New Collectives: Life, Brief and Glorious. Workshops: Clubbed Thumb, New Dramatists, The Hearth, LoadingDock, Japan Society. [REGIONAL] Everyman Theatre: Dinner and Cake (world premiere) [TV/FILM] Law & Order: SVU; Blue Bloods; FBI: Most Wanted; Sideways Smile (Newfest, Outfest, Austin Film Festival); Aviva (SXSW, Boaz Yakin); CRAM (Austin Film Festival). [PLAYWRIGHTING] 2022-2023 Soho Rep Writer-Director Lab Cohort, 2022 Orchard Project Greenhouse Lab Resident Artist; JACK 2021 Residency; buried ruins: 2022 Princess Grace Semi-Finalist, 2022 Bushwick Starr Finalist, 2022 BricLab Finalist; Upcoming workshop: 59E59 Theaters, Fall 2022. [CO-FOUNDER & PRODUCING ARTISTIC LEADER] of The Sống Collective | www.thesongcollectivenyc.org| www.carolinado.com | BFA Brooklyn College | Repped by UGA, Invictus Entertainment, and A3 | For Vas, Ba, Mẹ, và em Nọ |
essence Lotus (she/her)
essence (she/her) is a Brooklyn born and raised artist with deep love and care for Black trans and queer folk. Each performance they do is filled with the intention of a ritual meant to venerate their honorable Black American, Panamanian, and diasporic ancestors and kin. Essence wishes for you to hold yourself in softness, and that you may find others who can hold you just as softly. Having graduated from Kingsborough Community College and Tisch School of the Arts, they remain a student of life.
Futaba Shioda (he/him/his)
Futaba Shioda (he/him) is an actor of Asian diaspora and trans experience. A Paul Robeson Award winner for his work bridging art and advocacy, he is invested in empowering artists and workers. Select acting credits include the Kennedy Center, Barrington Stage Company, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, WP Theater, SoHo Rep, North Shore Music Theatre, and the 20th anniversary tour of RENT. Television credits include Sideways Smile. “Nothing that we do that is worthwhile is done alone.” – Mariame Kaba. www.futabashioda.com
Logan Rozos (he/him)
Logan Rozos (he/him) is an actor, artist, and gay Black trans man. He made his acting debut in 2019 on the Peabody-nominated television drama DAVID MAKES MAN. He was an honoree in Teen Vogue’s 20 Under 20 Queer Artists and Activists To Watch and a recipient of the 2019 Parity Award for outstanding work by LGBTQ people of faith. He is currently directing a feature length documentary on trans masculinities called WHAT WILL I BECOME?
Maybe Burke (they/she)
Maybe Burke (they/she) is an award winning actor, writer, makeup artist, and educator focusing on the stories that haven't been told. TV: Ramy (Hulu), Awkwafina is Nora from Queens (Comedy Central), Tales of the City (Netflix). Off-Broadway: safeword. (American Theatre of Actors), Red Emma & the Mad Monk (Ars Nova, The Tank). Maybe's solo show, Love Letters to Nobody, won the 2017 Fresh Fruit Spirit Award for Fostering Pride, Survival, History, and Progress. @believeinmaybe maybeburke.com
MJ Rawls (she/her/hers)
MJ Rawls (she/her) is excited to collaborate with Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival. Chicago credits include: Black Ensemble Theatre (The Healing, It’s Just Like Comin’ to Church*) [Nominated for Ertha Kitt Award], Court Theatre (The Bacchae), Chicago Shakespeare Theatre (Madagascar; A Midsummer Nights Dream), Mercury Theater (Pippin) Regional credits include: Portland Stage (Trans World), Creede Repertory Theatre (Peter and the Starcatcher; Little Shop of Horrors), Coachella Valley Repertory (Chess The Musical), She is a proud member of the Actors Equity Association. She is represented by Big Mouth Talent. She is a trans rights activist and hopes that this project expands the theatre community.
Samy Nour Younes Figaredo (he/him/they/them)
Samy Figaredo (he/him, they/them) is a proud multihyphenate: Lebanese, Puerto Rican, transgender, actor, consultant, and community organizer. They recently narrated the audiobook for The 30 Names of Night; and have appeared in Chonburi International Hotel & Butterfly Club (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Well-Intentioned White People (Barrington Stage Company), and Into the Woods (Ford’s Theatre). As a print model, they’ve participated in campaigns for CitiBank, Gilead Sciences, and JUST Water.
As an activist, Samy has co-organized rallies, benefit events, and panels. Their most visible contribution to trans advocacy is their 2018 TED Talk on Trans History. Since then, Samy has continued to co-organize events that promote LGBTQ+ outreach and support.
As a speaker, Samy's work centers on trans-inclusive policies and media representation. Past partnerships include Ancestry.com, the Hetrick-Martin Institute, eBay, and Squarespace. They have also served as a script consultant on two feature-length films.
For more information, visit www.samyfigaredo.com.
Zainab Barry (she/they)
Zainab Barry was born and raised in the DMV and received a BA in theatre from James Madison University. Recent credits include Patience (Second Stage); A Christmas Carol (American Shakespeare Center); Before the Meeting (Williamstown Theatre Festival); Intimate Apparel, Parade, and Equus (James Madison University). Instagram: @zainabou