Trans Performing Arts Festival THE JOY WHO LIVED Welcomes 100 Trans Comedians and Artists To LA
The festival will run March 31-April 27th.
By: Stephi Wild Mar. 11, 2025
LA's debut trans theatre and comedy festival "The Joy Who Lived" will run March 31-April 27th with 20 shows, readings, and workshops by trans and nonbinary artists. Hit comedy variety show Gentleman's Club opens the fest at Dynasty Typewriter on Transgender Day of Visibility.
Spanning theatrical and comedic genres, JWL highlights some of the most exciting voices driving trans art today. Theatrically, works run from the classics with trans powerhouses Alexandra Billings, Chaz Bono, Brian Michael Smith, and Jamie Clayton in a staged reading of A Streetcar Named Desire to riveting new works from Tony-winner JJ Maley, Nico Pang, and Azad Namazie. And from stand-up to sketch to improv, catch comedy from River Butcher, Steven Universe's Rebecca Sugar, Dropout.tv's Jiavani, Edinburgh darling Griffin Kelly, DJ Mausner and so many more.
Trans folks are more visible than ever - and it can feel particularly harrowing these days. "What started as a kernel of an idea - an act of theatrical resistance -" says co-founder Laser Webber, "quickly took steam, and we suddenly saw how much people want to support the trans community. Our Kickstarter was 75% funded in the first 5 hours. I believe that's a testament to the powerful side of our visibility - wanting to know us and our stories, wanting to revel in trans joy." His co-founder and partner Maddox Pennington adds "The Joy Who Lived is a love letter to the creativity and joy of trans people. We are excited for audiences to hear directly from us.We've made it a priority to livestream most of our shows, with sliding scale tickets, to bring this work to folks across the world who want to share this space with us."
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