BREAKING THE BINARY THEATRE to Expand Into Year-Round Company

Following the resounding success of the inaugural Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival in 2022, Founding Artistic Director George Strus (they/he) has announced Breaking the Binary Theatre, a new theatrical non-profit new work development and community building hub for transgender, non-binary, and Two-Spirit+ (TNB2S+) artists to reclaim their artistic license and liberty.

Moving forward, Breaking the Binary Theatre will launch several new initiatives to support TNB2S+ artists by providing resources to develop new work, organizing affinity nights to foster community, and presenting the Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival on an annual basis.

The 2023 Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival will occur this coming October 23 - 30, 2023 at a new home (to be announced later this year). Submissions are now open for TNB2S+ writers to submit their full-length works for consideration. To apply, click here. The submissions window closes on Sunday, March 12, 2023 and Bryar Barborka (they/them) is the company's Literary Manager.

In addition to the Festival and numerous community building events and initiatives, Breaking the Binary Theatre will also launch a variety of new work development programs for existing artist alumni, including the following:

BTB New Works Program:

The company will provide developmental readings and workshops to foster and nurture new work by TNB2S+ artists. The program kicked off in December with CERCLE HERMAPHRODITOS, written by Shualee Cook (she/her), directed by L Morgan Lee (she/her), and starring Justin David Sullivan (he/she/they), Han Van Sciver (they/them), Joslyn DeFreece (she/her/they/them), Adam Chanler-Berat (he/him), Kevin Kantor (they/them), L Morgan Lee (she/her), Mark Ashin (he/him) and Nick Matthews (he/him).

2023 Falco and Steinman BTB Residency Program:

By partnering with Basil Kremeindahl's and Jenna Worsham's New Roots Queer Residency at Walhalla Farms, Breaking the Binary Theatre will sponsor two artists to attend its LGBTQIA+ arts residency in upstate New York this May.

BTB Commissioning Program:

BTB's first commissioned artist will receive $10,000 to develop a new work. The artist will be announced later this year.

Breaking the Binary Theatre will also initiate a similar submissions program for TNB2S+ artists of all disciplines. These artists are encouraged to apply by submitting their materials for consideration in BTB's ongoing artistic programs. To learn more about the company's open submissions policies, please click here.

"Following the positive response of last October's Festival, the urgency for a space like Breaking the Binary continued to grow as the longstanding history of TNB2S+ artists being misrepresented and underpaid for their work in the American theatre continued," says Strus. "As we expand, we continue to rectify this head-on by holistically centering TNB2S+ artists and their visions, all the while still compensating each artist equitably (with all hourly wages based upon New York's Living Wage)."

Breaking the Binary Theatre defines a "TNB2S+ artist" as any artist who does not correspond with the male and female binary and is transgender, non-binary, Two-Spirit, gender non-conforming, genderqueer, agender, gender expansive, bigender, gender fluid, or otherwise lives outside of the cisnormative gender binary.

Breaking the Binary Theatre remains counseled by their Core Community, a voluntary advisory board of prominent TNB2S+ theater artists assembled in their first year working to further BTB Theatre's 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 Mendizaìbal (they/he, Notes on Killing Seven Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Board Members), Guggenheim Fellow and writer Jen Silverman (they/them+, The Moors), Tony and Obie Award-winning actor and writer John Cameron Mitchell (he/they, Hedwig and the Angry Inch), 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, The Seagull/Woodstock, NY), 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 Princeton Arts Fellow and Helen Hayes Award-winning director Will Davis (he/him, California).

Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival is powered by fiscal sponsor Producer Hub and supported by a number of non-profit Admin Allies including Manhattan Theatre Club, MCC Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, Playwrights Horizons, Public Theater, Roundabout Theatre Company, Soho Rep, and WP Theater.

Breaking the Binary Theatre remains grateful for the ongoing support of several BTB Founders, including Salman Al-Rashid (he/him), Jody Falco (she/her) & Jeffrey Steinman (he/him), Daryl Roth (she/her), and Jodi Balsam (she/her) & Craig Balsam (he/him). New supporters include Jordan Roth & Richie Jackson, Nicole & Stephen Eisenberg, JKW Foundation, and Craig Harwood (he/him).

For more information, visit www.btb-nyc.com. Follow us on Instagram at @breakingthebinarytheatre.

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