Trans Voices Cabaret PRIDE Edition Comes to The Duplex

After selling out their first three performances, Trans Voices Cabaret returns to The Duplex for a special Pride week show with an even bigger cast of transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming performers on Saturday, June 23rd, 2018 at 6:30pm, with direction by Donnie Cianciotto and musical direction by Anessa Marie.

While TGNC (trans/gender non-conforming) characters and entertainers are often used as small plot devices, gross stereotypes, or just overlooked completely, they're the sole focus of Trans Voices Cabaret. "Pride Week in NYC doesn't really focus too much on the T in LGBT," says director and emcee, Donnie Cianciotto. "I'm very excited to give the TGNC community and our allies a place to come together to be visible and celebrate the diversity of our community during Pride by supporting an incredible cast of TGNC entertainers."

Some of the cast's combined performance credits include 54 Below, Joe's Pub, The Met, NYMF, Steppenwolf, Laurie Beechman Theater, Carnegie Hall, The Cutting Room, The Public Theater, Musical Theater Factory, Lincoln Center, and several regional and community theater companies nationwide.

Cianciotto aims to keep the focus on TGNC entertainers and is a proponent and activist for authentic casting. "Almost all of the very few TGNC roles out there wind up going to cisgender performers, which can often do a lot more harm than good. We're told a lot by casting directors and the media that they simply couldn't find any transgender actors. I want to give TGNC people an opportunity to showcase their talents and hope casting directors, agents, and the media take notice because there are a ton of talented TGNC performers out there and we'd love the opportunity to tell our stories. We'd also love a steady paycheck."

Trans Voices Cabaret delivers standard NYC cabaret fare with a twist in a show combining your all time favorite showtunes, new works, and original music. This is NYC's fourth installment of Trans Voices Cabaret, and the Chicago chapter - Trans Voices Cabaret CHI - will be presenting their first performance on July 30th, 2018 at Stage 773. Find more information on NYC and Chicago shows at: www.transvoicescabaret.com.

Returning cast members Donnie Cianciotto, Sandy Gooen, Kat Griffin, Em Grosland, Jordan Ho, Jacob Michael, and Julian Wolfe are joined by newcomers Salem Corwin, Kristofer Eckelhoff, Felix Graham, Jari Jones, Esco Jouley, Regina Elizabeth King, Winter Laike, Kai Pelton, Futaba Shioda, and Brin Solomon. Bios available below.

Trans Voices Cabaret is being held in the cabaret theater at The Duplex, 61 Christopher Street, NY, NY 10014 at 6:30pm on Saturday, June 23rd, 2018. Tickets are available for $10 in advance through The Duplex's website (www.theduplex.com) or for $15 at the door. Advance purchase is encouraged due to limited seating and previous shows selling out. Limited industry comps available. Email: transvoicescabaret@gmail.com for more information.

Direct link to tickets: www.purplepass.com/tvc0505

BIOS

Donnie Cianciotto: Donnie is a NYC native and a transgender male performer who was recently seen in Prospect Theater's 2018 Musical Theater Lab, and as Jess in Mr. San Man at The Lark. Other credits include Sam in Southern Comfort at The Public Theater, and Charlie Brown in A Charlie Brown Christmas at The Secret Theatre. He has performed locally in several concerts & cabarets including Broadway Voices for North Carolina at The Cutting Room, Oh Broadway, Where Art Thou? at 54 Below, Concert For America at The Town Hall, My White List Cabaret at Symphony Space, and many more. Donnie has appeared in videos for NowThis and Buzzfeed, and is featured in Broadway for Orlando's What the World Needs Now dance remix music video. Donnie is an outspoken advocate for transgender visibility and equality, and is the subject of an Emmy award-winning documentary short film, "Donnie", highlighting his experience as a transgender man (dir. Ania Augustowska.) "Donnie" is currently in production to be re-released as a feature film. Donnie is the director and producer of Trans Voices Cabaret. Insta: thedonniecianciotto www.donniecianciotto.weebly.com

SALEM CORWIN: (He/They) is a transmasculine actor and songwriter from the Catskill Mountains of NY. They graduated from SUNY Buffalo State college this past spring with a BA in theater and performance, and was a recipient of the Donald Savage Theater Award. Their most recent stage role was Victor in Cabaret at Buffalo State. Most recent film credits include Jimmy Neutron in Gotta Blast and Adrien in Pluck (a story about a family torn apart and reunited by gender identity, for which Salem won the SUNY Best Film Actor's Award this past spring). Salem is currently in the process of writing his own original musical, Aaand Cut!... so stay tuned! Their ultimate goal in life is to help kids who are struggling through mental illness and queer identity, as they once were.

KRISTOFER MATTHIAS ECKELHOFF: is a transgender opera singer and musicologist who transitioned after over a decade of singing professionally as a lirico-spinto soprano. He has performed throughout the United States, Germany, and France, and has received several national and international scholarships and fellowships to support his performance and research. He meticulously documented his own vocal transition and now trains other TGNC singers through his private, sliding-scale voice studio. Kristofer is currently finishing a Ph.D. in Musicology at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City and teaches music history and theory at Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music. He holds a bachelor's and master's degree in vocal performance and a master's degree in music history. He is writing his dissertation on transgender performance history and is also developing a transgender-inclusive vocal pedagogy to better serve TGNC people who sing opera and musical theatre. Kristofer has always loved cabaret music, especially that of Weimar-Era Berlin, and he is thrilled to be joining the Trans Voices Cabaret cast.

SANDY GOOEN: Sandy (they/them or he/him) is a queer, transmasculine, Jewish, and neurodivergent writer/performer and peer advocate. Sandy is a rising senior, majoring in music at Barnard College. Writing: It Takes a Village at the Glicker-Milstein Summer Theatre Festival, In Circles with Scott Feiner at French Woods Festival, and the orchestrations for Ooh Kill 'Em at Columbia University. Sandy has performed domestically and internationally, but mostly in New York City, including David Geffen Hall, The Metropolitan Opera House, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall. Sandy's Twitter is @featSandyGooen.

FELIX GRAHAM: In another life, Felix Graham was an operatic mezzo, singing pants roles (a kind of operatic drag, where women sing the roles of young men). Since beginning his transition, however, he is refocusing his performing career - bringing that same gender fluidity to contemporary music through both traditional stage performance and in drag. Most recently, he produced and performed in Love is a Many-Splintered Thing, an off-broadway musical set in 1930s queer New York. Felix is thrilled to be joining the Trans Voices Cabaret, just in time for Pride! www.felix-graham.com

Kat Griffin: Kat (non-binary, she/they/he) is an actor/singer/creator living in NYC- recently they played Madelaine True in an immersive production of Lippa's The Wild Party in BAR New Haven, they have also performed in a few readings and workshops of new shows. Kat is about to hit their 2 year mark in the city and could not be happier to have found a group of like minded/identified people to sing with! Kat frequently performs in cabarets and short engagements in the city (54 Below, Laurie Beechman, Greenroom42) but performing with a group of trans/non-binary/gender non-conforming people, after a year of not being able to find that community in the theatre world is an amazing feeling. Thank you for supporting!

Em Grosland: Em was last scene as Max in Steppenwolf's production of Hir. His previous credits include: Peter in Peter Pan at Tuacahn Ampitheatre, The world premier of Eve Ensler's Emotional Creature (Berkeley Repertory Theatre and off-broadway/Signature Center); Francis Flute in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Off-Broadway); The world premier of The Anthem (off-broadway); Eric Harris in the world premier of The Erlkings (off-broadway); Wagner's Ring Cycle (LA Opera); and Danny Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas (National Tour). Film and TV credits: Bull, Law and Order: SVU and Ricki and the Flash. Em received his BFA from Washington University in St. Louis. Em is also a painter, illustrator, and graphic designer.www.EmGrosland.com; @EmGrosland

JORDAN HO: (xe/xem/xyr): Jordan is a NYC based gender flux actrex. Theatre credits include: Going South (Workshop Performance at Dixon Place), Salt Kid Watches Brooklyn Burn (Joe's Pub at The Public Theater), The Female Role Model Project (The Clemente), and i wrote on ur wall and now i regret it (The Wild Project). Xe is also a company member of Honest Accomplice Theatre and tours with their shows, The Birds and the Bees Unabridged and ReconFIGURED, sharing the narrative of cis women and trans people across the NorthEast. Also with Honest Accomplice, xe works as a facilitator doing devising workshops with colleges and other communities and also screenings of The Trans Literacy Project video series. Xe wrote and workshopped xyr play Choose Your Character at the 2nd Annual Trans Theatre Festival at The Brick. Xyr next project will be A Chip on Her Shoulder, a docu-musical focussed on women in STEM research, set to premiere in Autumn at The Tank! Stay connected: instagram:@leavanny, twitter:@skrelp mxjordanho.com

JARI JONES: Jari is a black trans multi-faceted artist residing in New York. With her start in theater, Jari has graced some of New York's greatest stages, recently in productions "The Sex Myth: A Devised Play " and recently a 2 year run of Lin Manuel's In The Heights. Jari later shifted into fashion, building a successful career as a fashion and editorial photographer, but quickly became internationally recognized as a LGBTQ and body positive public figure. Jari has been featured in publications such as Teen Vogue, Them, NYLON, and The Advocate for her insight on fashion within politics, body positivity, and LGBTQ community building and relationships. Jari has also been recently spotlighted in the acclaimed exhibit Perpetual Revolutions: The Image and Social Change at the ICP ( International Center of Photography) and a number of other International galleries highlighting Trans-Lesbian Relationships and Queer Bodied Empowerment. Jari dedicates her artistry in all mediums to uplift and launch careers of marginalized artists and the people who support them.

ESCO JOULEY: Esco is an actor, singer, dancer and movement artist originally from Washington DC. NYC Credits: Interstate (Carly), Soft Butter (Soft Butter/ Cold Butter), Galatea (Chorus), The Demise (Magic Theater Player), Beowolf (Warrior), Marisol (Angel), Fat Kid Rules the World (Pepper), Girl Shakes Loose (Luc), Room For Cream (Sidney). Regional Credits: Man of LaMancha (Sancho Panza), Unnecessary Farce (Bille Dwyer), The Three Musketeers (Porthos), The Marvelous Wonderrettes (Betty Jean), Legally Blonde (Pilar), Anything Goes (Purity). escojouley@gmail.com.

WINTER LAIKE: (he/they) is a queer Brooklyn-based musician, storyteller, and Original Plumbing Magazine's reigning Mr. Trans Man NYC. His most recent works include a collection of songs based on Craigslist missed connections, a rock opera inspired by a series of dreams, and writing reality TV recaps for Vulture.com. He has performed in venues such as The Knitting Factory, The Bowery, Music Hall of Williamsburg, and The Tank. When not writing music, Winter enjoys making the internet accessible, riding their bike, making not-your-mother's Rice Krispie treats, playing with puppies, and eating all of the donuts and ice cream. After being an audience member for the first three installations, Winter is ecstatic to experience Trans Voice Cabaret as a performer.

Anessa Marie: Anessa is a composer/lyricist, music director, pianist, orchestrator, actress, and singer based in New York City. Her original musicals currently in development include A Glimpse of the Rainbow (book, music, and lyrics), Come From Terminal C (book and lyrics by Charles Baran, music by Anessa Marie), The Imperfect Hour (book by Michael Stang, lyrics by Kim Hawkey and Anessa Marie, music by Assaf Gleizner and Anessa Marie), and City of Runaways, a song cycle based on the lives of New Yorkers. Anessa works as a music director in the theatre community of New York City. NYC credits include City of Light (directed by Tony Award winner Cady Huffman as part of SHENYC Summer Theatre Festival), Lysistrata Jones (Ophelia Theatre Group), An Intolerant Vaudeville (The Secret Theatre). Off-broadway credits include Frankenstein, Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas, Stinky Kids the musical, The Bully, and Twinkle Tames A Dragon. Regional Credits include: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Parade, Fiddler on the Roof, 42nd Street, West Side Story, The Last Five Years, Songs for a New World, The Wild Party (Lippa), Sweet Charity, La Cage Aux Folles, and Ragtime. Anessa has also served as music director for various cabaret shows, and has graced the stage at Carnegie Hall, Feinstein's/54 Below, Green Room 42, and The Duplex, among countless others. Anessa's debut album will be released in early 2019. Anessa teaches private voice and piano lessons out of her studio in Astoria, Queens. She also is sought after as an audition coach, helping students develop confidence in their audition book. Anessa plays various auditions throughout New York City, and works closely with Theatre Resources Unlimited helping to develop new work. Available for commissioned work, Anessa specializes in composition for musical theatre, along with arrangements and orchestrations for all genres.

Jacob Michael: Jacob (he/him/his pronouns) is a Brooklyn-based trans-masculine actor/writer. Theatre credits include: Max (Hir, Island City Stage), Orin Scrivello (Little Shop..., Workshop Theater), Caldwell B. Cladwell (Urinetown, Rhino Theatre), Rod (Avenue Q, Porch Light Productions). He is a Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star recipient. For more information, please visit: http://jacobmichael.net

Futaba Shioda: (they) is a graduate of NYU Tisch: New Studio on Broadway and an avid fan of marginalized persons taking up space. Recent credits include Galatea at WP Theater's Pipeline Festival and the RENT 20th Anniversary Tour. They hope to make the queer community more inclusive for people of color. Futabashioda.com

BRIN SOLOMON: Bring writes words and music in several genres, and is doing their best to queer all of them. Solomon majored in composition at Yale University and will graduate this spring with an MFA in musical theatre writing from NYU/Tisch. Their full-length musical Window Full of Moths has been hailed for its "extraordinary songs" that "add magic to otherwise ordinary lives", and their latest one-act, Have You Tried Not Being A Monster, has been described as "agitprop for Julia Serrano".

JULIAN WOLFE: Julian is a NYC-based actor who is jumping back into the biz after a hiatus to transition and develop a career as a therapist who focuses on the needs of trans*/GNC teens and adults. Julian performed professionally as the drag king, BenDover, while living in South Florida. He writes, produces, directs and is a performance artist. He earned a BFA from Tisch and studied at ETW. Favorite roles include: The Alto in Closer Than Ever, Monsieur Prouix in Quills, and the title role in Salome. Julian is pleased as punch to be joining the ranks with his fellow trans*/GNC performers. www.julianwolfe.me

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