CECILIA GENTILI’S “RED INK” TO BE PRESENTED AT THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE NEXT MONTH
Press Contact:
Rick Miramontez / Kendall Edwards
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE
CECILIA GENTILI’S
“RED INK”
TO BE PRESENTED AT THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE
FOLLOWING ACCLAIMED 2024 OFF-BROADWAY RUN
INTRODUCING
CHIQUITITA
PRODUCED BY
BREAKING THE BINARY THEATRE
ELLIOT PAGE & PAGEBOY PRODUCTIONS
SARA RAMIREZ
QUEER ARTS COALITION
AND
NIC CORY
To download art, click here. Credit: Hunter Abrams
New York, NY (June 18, 2025) – Breaking the Binary Theatre (George Strus, they/them) announced today that following its acclaimed Off-Broadway run starring Angelica Ross, Peppermint, and James Tom, the late Cecilia Gentili’s play Red Ink will be presented at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this summer featuring a new star – Chiquitita. The production will be produced by Breaking the Binary Theatre, Elliot Page & PAGEBOY Productions, Sara Ramirez, Queer Arts Coalition, and Nic Cory and will play at Underbelly, Bristo Square from Wednesday, July 30 – Monday, August 25 at 14:30. For tickets and more information, please visit https://www.btb-nyc.com/red-ink-fringe.
Chiquitita, most known for her work in the Brooklyn nightlife scene, makes her theatrical stage debut in Red Ink. She will make her debut performance in Red Ink as part of this year’s NYC PRIDE PLAYS on Monday, June 23 at 1pm. For more information, visit PridePlays.com. An additional New York presentation starring Chiquitita will occur the evening of Friday, July 25 with details to be announced in early July.
The producers are thrilled to be partnering with Playbill on a four-part written series documenting the show’s journey to Edinburgh Festival Fringe throughout the summer. The first article, written by Breaking the Binary Theatre’s Founding Artistic Director, George Strus, will be published in early July.
The 2024 Off-Broadway production of Red Ink at Rattlestick Theater raised over $35,000 for G.L.I.T.S, Destination Tomorrow, and Trans Power in Diversity and was awarded a Special Recognition at the 26th GLAAD Media Awards.
God won’t give up on Cecilia Gentili. Unfortunately, neither will the devil. Follow a young trans girl as she navigates the hilarity of rural Argentina during the 19[redacted]s. Part stand-up, part camp, and (almost) all true, Cecilia Gentili’s Red Ink is an irreverent romp in searching for faith while trans.
“I’m deeply honored to be a part of bringing Cecilia Gentili’s Red Ink to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year. Cecilia’s voice was raw, brave, and necessary—and this piece carries that same spirit,” says Elliot Page, “Red Ink is about truth-telling, survival, and community, and I can’t think of a better space than the Fringe to share it. I hope audiences feel the urgency and beauty in these stories, and the power of continuing the conversations Cecilia started.”
“Collaborating on Cecilia Gentili’s Red Ink has been the thrill of a lifetime for us all, and we are so elated Elliot Page & PAGEBOY Productions and Queer Arts Coalition have joined our growing producing team for this international run. It remains a great honor to ensure Cecilia’s work and words live on.” Producers George Strus, Nic Cory, and Sara Ramirez shared. “As a chosen daughter of Cecilia’s, we are overjoyed that the dazzling Chiquitita will be stepping into the big shoes we needed to fill as we bring Red Ink to the world’s premiere annual arts mecca: Edinburgh Festival Fringe.”
“I first met Cecilia a few years ago at my Veneno tribute show, wherein after the performance, Cecilia asked to be a part of the next show, and our first collaboration ‘Trans Excellence’ was born. It was Cecilia’s first time performing in over 30 years – I felt immense gratitude Cecilia trusted me enough to bring her back to the stage. Our relationship blossomed from there – not only was Cecilia a mother figure to me and many others, she was also a confidant & trusted friend; Cecilia was always there to remind me that everything would work out the way it’s intended to. Cecilia’s deep impact on my life continues to shape the way I navigate relationships and the world. In stepping into Red Ink I vow to not only honor Cecilia, but also land every insult, joke, and jab — even the ones she wrote in directed at me!”
To download headshots, click here.
Breaking the Binary Theatre is a new work development and community building hub wherein transgender, non-binary, and Two-Spirit+ (TNB2S+*) artists come together to reclaim our artistic license and liberty through a number of initiatives and programs, including the annual all-TNB2S+ Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival each October.
Launched in July 2022 and founded and led by George Strus (they/them), the organization has produced over thirty-five workshops and readings of new works by TNB2S+ artists; produced a three-week run of Cecilia Gentili’s RED INK off-Broadway starring Jes Tom, Angelica Ross, and Peppermint, raising over $35,000 for charities; commissioned over fifty TNB2S+ artists; hosted over thirty community events; launched a free educational Summer Intensive for emerging TNB2S+ performers, a New Musicals program to develop musicals written by and featuring TNB2S+ performers, and a BTB Across America program for TNB2S+ artists outside of New York; published two collections with Broadway Licensing; partnered with Playbill, Signature Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company, and BroadwayCon; been in-residence at Playwrights Horizons, Williamstown Theatre Festival and New York Stage and Film; and paid out over $500,000 to over 400 TNB2S+ artists.
*Breaking the Binary Theatre uses the term “TNB2S+” in hopes to encompass any person who is transgender, non-binary, Two-Spirit, gender non-conforming, genderqueer, agender, intersex, gender expansive, bigender, gender fluid, or any identity within the umbrella transgender community.
Breaking the Binary Theatre is counseled by its Core Community, a voluntary advisory board of prominent TNB2S+ theater artists working to further its outreach and impact. The board includes Tony Award-nominated designer Adam Rigg (they/them, The Skin of Our Teeth), Kleban Prize and Jonathan Larson Award-winning writer César Alvarez (they/them, Futurity), New York Stage and Film’s former Artistic Director Chris Burney (he/they), Princess Grace Award Honoraria recipient and director David Mendizábal (they/he, The Bandaged Place), Guggenheim Fellow and writer Jen Silverman (they/them+, Spain), Tony and Obie Award-winning actor and writer John Cameron Mitchell (he/they, “Shrill” on Hulu), Tony Award-winning multi-hyphenate KO who was formerly known as Karen Olivo (they/them, In the Heights), Kleban Prize and Jonathan Larson Award-winning poet Kit Yan (they/he/she, Interstate), Tony Award nominee L Morgan Lee (she/her, A Strange Loop), Jane Chambers Prize and Helen Merrill Award-winning writer MJ Kaufman (he/they, A Transparent Musical), Antonyo Award-nominated costume designer and activist Qween Jean (she/her, Primary Trust), Co-Director of A.R.T./New York Risa Shoup (they/them), Tomás Matos (they/them, “Fire Island”), Grammy Award-winning interdisciplinary storyteller Ty Defoe (he/we/ty, Straight White Men), and Artistic Director of Rattlestick Theater Will Davis (he/him).
Breaking the Binary Theatre is powered by Producer Hub. For more information, please visit http://www.btb-nyc.com or @BreakingtheBinaryTheatre on Instagram.
BIOGRAPHIES
CECILIA GENTILI (1972-2024) (Playwright) was a legendary organizer, author, advocate, performer, and community icon. As the founder of Transgender Equity consulting and a beloved mother to countless queer, trans, and immigrant individuals in New York City, her legacy endures on both systemic and personal levels. Originally from Argentina, Cecilia came to the United States for a safer life as a transgender woman. After her first ten years in the US as an undocumented immigrant, sex worker, and drug user, she finally accessed recovery services and was able to fight for and win asylum status. With a renewed sense of control over her life, Cecilia committed herself to ensuring everyone living on the margins has a right to dignity and respect. Cecilia’s first role within community services came in the form of an internship at The LGBT Center in New York City. Following that post, she was brought into Apicha Community Health Center to develop transgender health services into a stand-alone program from 2012 to 2016. Throughout this period, Cecilia’s dedicated leadership was instrumental in expanding the program from 27 patients in 2012 to over 500 in 2016. Seeing so many clients affected by institutional discrimination and widespread lack of access, Cecilia transitioned from direct services into policy work at GMHC, the world’s first and leading provider of HIV/AIDS prevention and care. She served as the Managing Director of Policy from 2016 to 2019, during which time she passionately advocated for the passage of GENDA (Gender Non-Discrimination Act). Her successes in policy inspired her to found Decrim NY, a coalition working towards the decriminalization, decarceration, and destigmatization of people in the sex trade. Cecilia was instrumental in the development of two statewide bills to provide survivors of trafficking with record relief, and to end the criminalization of ‘loitering’ for the purpose of prostitution — the “Walking While Trans” Ban — a charge overwhelmingly leveled against trans women, regardless of their involvement in the sex trade. Cecilia also founded Trans Equity Consulting in 2018, a consulting firm that has since collaborated extensively with organizations, including the AIDS Institute, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Funders for LGBTQ Issues, the Ali Forney Center, Borealis Foundation, Marsha P. Johnson Institute, and many others. Her acclaimed reputation among these renowned partners is reflective of the deep personal commitment she brought to the work, and her unique personal insight which enabled a deeper connection with queer and trans communities and their allies. Through Trans Equity Consulting, Cecilia championed her namesake program with Callen-Lorde, establishing C.O.I.N. (Cecilia’s Occupational Inclusion Network), a healthcare clinic providing free services to sex workers in NYC which grew to 500 patients in its second year. She also spearheaded TRANSMISSION, the first all-trans music festival at Marsha P. Johnson State Park, uplifting an impressive lineup of over 20 trans artists and musicians.
Alongside her lifelong career as an advocate, Cecilia was a celebrated artist whose rich expression spanned multiple disciplines. In 2017, she debuted The Knife Cuts Both Ways, a hilarious one-woman show exploring some of the stories of her life. In 2018, she starred as Ms. Orlando on Pose, the groundbreaking drama following trans women of color in 1980s New York. In 2022, Cecilia released her stunning debut book, Faltas: Letters to Everyone in My Hometown Who Isn’t My Rapist, which was awarded the Stonewall Book Award. The moving epistolary memoir recounts everything from trans childhood, to sexual trauma, to motherhood, and all the other trials and tribulations of young queer life in 1970s Argentina.
In 2023, Cecilia achieved her first off-Broadway premiere with Red Ink, a part stand-up, part camp solo show about searching for faith while trans. And throughout her creative trajectory, Cecilia made a name for herself as one of the most vibrant and spirited drag performers on the scene, performing in some of the most iconic nightlife venues in Argentina and New York City. Whether it was on the stage, screen, or written page, Cecilia passionately and consistently advocated for the various communities that shaped her practice, and did so with a signature blend of humor and honesty that spoke to life’s most joyous and painful moments.
CHIQUITITA (Performer) is most known for her work in the Brooklyn nightlife scene, where she has inspired an entire generation of trans people through her transgression. Since being crowned Miss Bushwig in 2018, Chiqui has made it her business to uplift trans people in all of her work. A model, actress, and artist, Chiquitita recently stepped back from her drag career to explore other facets of her artistry. In fact, in an effort to get closer to Cecilia following her passing, Chiquitita took on her most recent role as a sex worker, learning many of the same valuable lessons that sex work had to offer Cecilia. Chiquitita makes her theatrical stage debut in Cecilia Gentili’s Red Ink.
NIC CORY (Director & Producer) developed, directed and produced Red Ink with his friend Cecilia Gentili. He produced Triple Threat off-Broadway and served as Associate Producer on Billy Porter’s directorial debut for MGM. At the beginning of the pandemic, he directed Michael Urie in a livestream benefit of Buyer & Cellar, which raised over $300,000 for BC/EFA’s Covid-19 Emergency Relief Fund. Other credits include The Lightning Thief, Pageant, The Purists, The Life, “And Just Like That” and La Fanta Giardiniera at his alma mater, CMU. His first film, The Singing Telegram, debuted at Cinefest in 2023. He is VP of Creative Development at Traverse32.
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