BALTIMORE CENTER STAGE AND BREAKING THE BINARY THEATRE ANNOUNCE THE INAUGURAL COHORT OF THE TRANS HISTORY PROJECT
Press Contacts:
Rick Miramontez / Kendall Edwards
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FOR RELEASE ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2025
BALTIMORE CENTER STAGE
AND
BREAKING THE BINARY THEATRE
ANNOUNCE
THE INAUGURAL COHORT OF
THE TRANS HISTORY PROJECT
New York, NY (September 15, 2025) – Baltimore Center Stage (MD) and Breaking the Binary Theatre (NY) joined forces earlier this year to launch a groundbreaking national initiative: The Trans History Project. Created by Baltimore Center Stage (BCS) Artist-in-Residence Bo Frazier, the project aims to commission, develop, and publish 10 new plays about the real history of gender nonconformity which has existed across all cultures since the beginning of time. There were nearly 170 applications to be part of Cohort 1 of this project. Each of the selected playwrights and ensemble has been paired with a theater who will develop the original piece over the next two seasons in a residency that includes a reading in the 2025/26 season and a workshop in the 2026/27 season.
“We are honored to commission these artists to expand the representation of trans and gender nonconforming stories in the American Theatre as part of the vision of the Trans History Project. The five new plays from the Inaugural Cohort are innovative, visionary, and artistically groundbreaking” said Ken-Matt Martin, Producing Director of Baltimore Center Stage. “The Trans History Project is an integral part of Stevie Walker-Webb’s commitment to develop new work by marginalized voices. Alongside our partners at Rattlestick Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, Diversionary Theatre, Round House Theatre and Breaking the Binary Theatre, we hope to serve as a model for others to reshape how new work is developed in this country.”
Baltimore Center Stage and Breaking the Binary Theatre are proud to announce the Inaugural Cohort of five projects that will be developed in residence at five theaters across the country: Dane Edidi Figueroa (she/her), Bree Lowdermilk (she/her), Yona Moises Olivares (they/she/he), Roger Q. Mason (they/them), and Mirage Auto Depot: a TGNC theatre ensemble.
Dane Edidi Figueroa (she/her) from Washington, DC will be developing A Continent of Forget in residence with Long Wharf Theatre based in New Haven, CT.
When a new man walks into her life, Lucy, a widow, does not know if she is ready to open herself to love again. As her culinary business blooms and her food gains notoriety, elders and ancestors alike rally around her as she learns how to let go. Steeped in Magical Realism and historical realities, A Continent of Forget is loosely based on and pays homage to the incredible life of Lucy Hicks Anderson (1886- 1954), an American Socialite, Chef and Philanthropist.
Bree Lowdermilk (she/they) from Philadelphia, PA will be developing Days of Awe in residence at Round House Theatre in Bethesda, MD.
Yom Kippur dinner erupts into absurdity and chaos when a daughter comes out as trans to her Jewish family. After her family insists that her identity is “too newfangled,” we hurtle backwards chronologically through history, revealing the enduring presence and erasure of trans people across centuries and borders. In the period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, today at this family’s suburban home and thousands of years ago, Days of Awe invites us to look back—with humor, ritual, grief and reverence—in order to step forward.
Roger Q. Mason (they/them) from Santa Monica, CA will be developing The Gladys Bentley Project in residence at Diversionary Theatre in San Diego, CA
It is 1952 and Gladys Bentley—Harlem’s most (in)famous drag king—has hung up her gender-bending/queer affirming act, married a short order cook in Los Angeles and decided to write her life story. Join Gladys as she pitches us (the audience) her new biography. We’ll travel with her to the clubs that made her, the night Prohibition ended an era in her career, the doctor’s office where she sought sexual conversion “treatment”, and—all the while—we’ll ponder, “How does a vibrant dreamer like Gladys Bentley thrive in a world that limits her dreams?”
Yona Moises Olivares (they/she/he) from Chicago, IL will be developing miss EMERICA in residence at Baltimore Center Stage in Baltimore, MD.
She is beauty, she is grace, she is undocumented? Congratulations and welcome to America, where you get the amazing opportunity to compete and earn your spot as a Real American Woman™! Part farce, part docu-theater, all bullsh*t, miss EMERICA, follows a group of historical Trans/GenderNB folks as they compete in a pageant that will grant only ONE participant citizenship. We the people, follow these contestants on and off stage as they seek to prove their “womanhood” and ultimately win their place in America, land of the beautiful.
Mirage Auto Depot: a TGNC theatre ensemble led by Raychel Ceciro, Logan Gabrielle Schulman, with devising by Alexandra Neuman and Murphy Severtson. Based in New York City, NY this team will be developing LES BI(T)CHES in residence at Rattlestick Theater in New York City, NY.
LES BI(T)CHES is a trans-historical experiment spiraling around the simultaneous and divergent lives and creative practices of gender-nonconforming lesbian artists Claude Cahun and Romaine Brooks amidst the rising fascism of early 20th century Europe. Set against the backdrop of Parisian artist salons, LES BI(T)CHES examines queer community, resistance, and fracture in the face of oppression and splintering alliances and values. Adapted from the early 20th century ballet Les Biches choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska, and blending historical fiction with archival text, artworks, and speculative encounters, LES BI(T)CHES holds a warbled mirror to our present moment, searching through the detritus of the past to understand what holds queer communities together—and what divides us.
The finalists for the Inaugural Cohort of The Trans History Project included playwrights Nova Cypress Black, Ty Defoe, Tyler Rocio Ecoña, Reese Fernandez, Mackenzie Foy, Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin, Caden Healander, Dena Igusti, Justice Jamal Jones, Youri Kim, Gaby Labotka, C. Meaker, D.A. Mindell, Cheeyang Ng, Nwachukwu Oputa, Nico Pang, KT Peterson, Utkarsh Rajawat, Alex Lee Reed, Omer Abbas Salem, and Sharifa Yazmeen, as well as duos Che’Li & Sean-Joseph Choo, and B Kleymeyer & DJ Hills.
Trans History Project Creator and Program Director Bo Frazier says “The incredibly talented selected playwrights come from different backgrounds and experiences, ranging from well-known playwrights and musical theatre composers to brand new playwrights who had a brilliant idea and an emerging TGNC theatre ensemble. The selected plays will tell stories of untold American history, world history, and force us to have dialogues about the most important issues of today. I cannot wait to share these stories with the world.”
“All of us at Breaking the Binary Theatre are thrilled to be partnering with Baltimore Center Stage to help bring Bo’s ambitious and revelatory idea to life,” Breaking the Binary Theatre Founding Artistic Director George Strus said. “Breaking the Binary Theatre has a rich history with Inaugural Cohort members Roger Q. Mason and Dane Edidi Figueroa, both of whom participated in our first Festival in October of 2022. We are overjoyed to deepen our relationships with them, as well as welcome Yona Moises Olivares, Bree Lowdermilk, and Mirage Auto Depot to the BTB community.”
For Media Kit, click here.
The Trans History Project was one of five regional theatre projects to receive the competitive National Theatre Company Grant from The American Theatre Wing.
The Trans History Project is seeking funding to support Cohort 2, as well as Regional Theatre partners in the following geographic areas: American South, Pacific Northwest, Midwest, as well as culturally specific organizations across the country. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Bo Frazier, Creator and Program Director, at TransHistoryProject@centerstage.org
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About Baltimore Center Stage
Designated the State Theater of Maryland in 1978, Baltimore Center Stage provides the highest quality theater and programming for all members of our communities, including youth and families, under the leadership of Artistic Director Stevie Walker-Webb, Managing Director Adam Frank, and Producing Director Ken-Matt Martin. Baltimore Center Stage ignites conversations and imaginations by producing an eclectic season of professional productions across two mainstages, through engaging community programs, and with inspiring education programs. Everything we do at Baltimore Center Stage is led by our core values—chief among them being Access For All. Our mission is heavily rooted in providing active and open accessibility for everyone, regardless of any and all barriers, to our Mainstage performances, education initiatives, and community programming.
About Breaking the Binary Theatre
Breaking the Binary Theatre is an Obie Award-winning 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, including the yearly all-TNB2S+ Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival each October. Founded and led by George Strus (they/them), since Breaking the Binary Theatre’s launch in July 2022, the organization has paid out over $650,000 to over 500 TNB2S+ artists. www.btb-nyc.com.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
DANE EDIDI FIGUEROA (she/her) Dubbed the Ancient Jazz Priestess of Mother Africa, Lady Dane is a Black Nigerian, Cuban, Indigenous, American Performance Artist, Author, Poet, Educator, Advocate, producer, a Helen Hayes Award winning Playwright (Klytmnestra: An Epic Slam Poem), a 2021 Helen Merrill Award Winner, Film Maker, Advocate, Dramaturg, a 3x Helen Hayes Award nominated choreographer (2016, 2018, 2023), and a Princess Grace Honoria Award winner. She is the co-founder and Co-director of the Black Trans Prayer Book. She is the curator and associate producer of Long Wharf Theatre’s Black Trans Women At The Center: An Evening of Short Plays and is an artistic ensemble member of the company as well.
BREE LOWDERMILK (she/they) is an award-winning theatre writer, composer, lyricist and orchestrator. Off-Broadway: The Mad Ones, Henry and Mudge. Nat’l Tour: Ada Twist Scientist & Friends, Henry and Mudge. Regional: Justice (Arizona Theatre Co, Marin Theatre Co), Earthrise (Kennedy Center), Dr. Wonderful (Kennedy Center), ERNXST, or the Importance of Being (Concord Theatricals), and The Bad Years, an immersive house party musical. Awards: Jonathan Larson, Alan Menken, Richard Rodgers. Concerts: Kennedy Center, Kimmel Center, Lincoln Center. Residencies: MacDowell, Mercer. Albums: Kerrigan-Lowdermilk Live, Our First Mistake (#1 Singer/Songwriter chart), The Mad Ones (+30 million streams; thousands of fan videos). Founder of NewMusicalTheatre.com, board member of Applied Mechanics. Bree is a non-binary trans woman, Mama to her energetic three-year-old, and an advocate for queer voices and stories. @breelowdermilk breelowdermilk.com
ROGER Q. MASON (they/them) is an award-winning writer, performer, and thought leader whose work uses history as a lens to challenge systems of exclusion and uplift marginalized voices. Named “one of the most significant playwrights of the decade” by The Brooklyn Rail, Mason creates bold, genre-defying blending the poetic and the political with unapologetic power. Their theatrical work has been seen on Broadway at Circle in the Square (Circle Reading Series) and The 24 Hour Plays; Off- and Off-Off-Broadway at New Group, New York Theatre Workshop, The Flea, Dixon Place, P73, Breaking the Binary, and National Queer Theatre; and at regional and national venues including Philadelphia Theatre Company, Carnegie Hall, Center Theatre Group, McCarter Theatre, Victory Gardens, and Skylight Theatre Company. Roger’s plays are theatrical mythologies for the marginalized, especially those who are Black, Filipinx, TGNC, plus-sized, and previously erased from the classical canon. They walk in the legacy of Suzan-Lori Parks, George C. Wolfe, and Taylor Mac, blending historical excavation with avant-garde theatrical form. Mason holds degrees from Princeton University, Middlebury College, and Northwestern University. They received the Playwrights’ Center McKnight National Playwright Commission, the inaugural Dramatists Guild Foundation Catalyst Grant Award, a Lucille Lortel commission, a Kilroys List nod, and the Chuck Rowland Pioneer Award. Mason is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, and an alum of the Ma-Yi’s Writing Lab, Page 73’s Interstate 73 Writers Group the Fire This Time Festival, and Primary Stages Writing Cohort. As an educator, Roger has served as a mentor for Lambda Literary, Workshop Theatre, the Marsha P. Johnson Institute’s Starship Fellowship, the New Visions Fellowship and the Shay Foundation Fellowship. They are currently on faculty at CalArts. Instagram: @rogerq.mason
MIRAGE AUTO DEPOT is a trans-experimental incubator and performance [art] collective obsessed with the processes of queer creative community, making and unmaking, the normalization of failure, hybridity, and the feverish development of hyper contemporary live arts: theatre, dance, music, puppetry, and video. We are developing new methods of collaborating, of being together, of being raucously gay, and of inverting narrative diagonally and upside-down. Led by Raychel Ceciro, Logan Gabrielle Schulman, with devising by Alexandra Neuman and Murphy Severtson, we are friends and lovers and idiots paving our own road.
YONA MOISES OLIVARES (they/she/he) is a GenderQueer artist based in Chicago. Proudly queer and proudly Latine, their work seeks to center voices left in the gaps. As an actor, designer, and storyteller, Yona strives to create altar for their communities by mixing different mediums in irreverent ways. Their work utilizes stream-of-consciousness poetry, journalistic interview, and camp in ways that seek to confront what is and isn’t theater. Their work brings to question what is the responsibility of the audience and storyteller – to inspire, to activate, to haunt? As a performer, they have performed at Steppenwolf, Actors Theatre of Louisville, American Players Theatre and more. Yona is represented by Gray Talent Group.
BO FRAZIER (they/them) is the Creator and Program Director for The Trans History. Bo is a two-time Jeff Award-nominated theatre director and current Artist-in-Residence at Baltimore Center Stage. As a trans femme, non-binary, queer and neurodivergent theatre maker, they’re interested in new work that tells traditionally excluded narratives in extremely imaginative ways. Most notably, Bo directed the sold out all-trans 2023 Chicago production of tick, tick…BOOM! featured in American Theatre Magazine, which earned 5 Jeff Award Nominations including Best Director and Best Musical. Bo has directed/developed new work by Dillon Chitto, Jaime Jarrett, Dakota Parobek, C. Meaker, Leigh M Marshall, and KT Peterson. Previously based in Chicago, NYC and London, they have worked with companies such as The National Theatre (UK), Birmingham Rep (UK), Greenwich Theatre (UK), Goodman Theatre, NAMT, AMTP, Signature Theatre (NYC), Dixon Place, Rutgers University, Theatre167, Heartbeat Opera, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Theatre Cedar Rapids, Riverside Theatre and London Theatre Workshop (UK) which they co-founded. In 2022, they were one of the 9 remaining staff members fighting for Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theater to stay alive. FINALIST: Princess Grace Award, and SDC Barbara Whitman Award. TRAINING: MFA in Directing from University of Iowa alongside the Iowa Playwrights Workshop. Represented by Bret Adams. www.bofrazier.com
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