Musical Theatre Factory Celebrates Transgender Day of Visibility with (IN)VISIBILITY

To honor Transgender Day of Visiblity on March 31, The Musical Theater Factory will present Ianne Fields Stewart, L Morgan Lee, Samy Nour Younes, and Maybe Burke for IN(Visibility) for an afternoon of repertoire composed solely by trans and GNC people to celebrate the accomplishments of trans people around the globe, while dismantling transphobia and cissexism through spreading knowledge and awareness.

(IN)Visibility is an unapologetically trans concert that celebrates trans people stepping out of the shadows society has kept us in for so long. A space for people to celebrate the work of trans identified artists in musical theatre through the power of community and song. Performers Ianne Fields Stewart, L Morgan Lee, Samy Nour Younes, and Maybe Burke, will perform the work of Éamon Boylan, Maybe Burke, Graham Garlington, Laura Jane Grace, Our Lady J, Orion Johnstone, Mika Kauffman, Dana Levinson, and William Shishmanian. The afternoon will be hosted by Pooya Mohseni.

Mei Ann Teo, Producing Artistic Director at MTF says, "At a time when this administration is seeking to eradicate trans rights in society including schools and the military, we at MTF are committed to uplifting trans stories," said Mei Ann Teo, Producing Artistic Director, Musical Theater Factory. "These four mega talents will be performing all trans composers work, as a form of resilience, embraced with joy."

Musical Theatre Factory is a 501(c)3 non-profit artist service organization dedicated to developing new work in a collaborative atmosphere free from the pressures of critical or financial success that dismantles oppressive ideologies towards collective liberation through powerful and joyful story and song.

Audiences who wish to do so can buy and the donate tickets back to MTF for use by a Trans person. Anyone who wants to take part in this exchange should purchase their ticket using the code MTFEXC. Their ticket will then be gifted to a Trans artist the day of the concert.

Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at https://mtf.nyc/event/invisibility/

Coming up next at Joe's Pub at MTF. On May 25, join the artists of The People of Color Representation Roundtable for a one-night-only concert of thrilling new musical theatre songs. Then on June 2, celebrate with an evening of work written and performed by women and trans musical theatre artists through MTF's Women & Trans Roundtable. More information to follow.

About the artists

Maybe Burke is an actor, writer, and human rights advocate interested in telling the stories that haven't been told. NYC: The Testament of Josh (The Brick) Red Emma & the Mad Monk (The Tank, Ars Nova), Love Letters to Nobody (The Brick, The Wild Project), TB Sheets (ARTNY). Maybe is a trainer for the Transgender Training Institute and the founder of The Trans Literacy Project with Honest Accomplice Theatre. They have spoken on numerous panels and videos about representation, from Buzzfeed to BroadwayCon. In 2018 Maybe was a Trans Lab Fellow and a nominee for the Doric Wilson Independent Playwright Award. They won the 2018 Fresh Fruit Spirit Award for "Fostering Pride, Survival, History, and Progress." BA Directing, Pace University. maybeburke.com @believeinmaybe

L Morgan Lee is an actress, photographer, and sometimes writer. On stage, she has been seen Off Broadway, National and International tours, and in Concerts in NYC, Berlin, and London. As a photographer, her portraits have been published internationally and spotted on Bravo's Real Housewives of New Jersey. A proud member of Actors Equity Association, L Morgan is dedicated to being a part of new work that gives voice to marginalized groups as well as reimagining the classics. She was recently featured in Musical Theatre Today (Vol. 2) on a panel discussing "Bringing the Trans Experience to the Stage." lmorganlee.com @lmorganlee

Ianne Fields Stewart is a Black, queer, and transfeminine New York-based storyteller working at the intersection of theatre and activism. A native of Birmingham, AL, their work centers in creating radical stories that shift social narratives around the lives and experiences of marginalized people. As a performer, Ianne has worked consistently in productions at NYC venues such as Joe's Pub, Dixon Place, Black Spectrum Theatre, and more. Ianne can also be seen on Buzzfeed LGBT, the You Had Me at Black podcast, the #Safewordsociety podcast, Podcast of Color, and the Is it Transphobic Podcast. In the summer of 2017, Ianne was selected out of over 500 applicants to be one of the 15 US Fellows for Humanity in Action's 2017 John Lewis Fellowship. Since this, Ianne has developed their activism into a community engagement consulting practice with various theatrical companies and productions as well as multiple teaching artistry positions that have taken them from NYC Public Charter schools to the Rose M. Singer Center on Riker's Island. @thefreeactorvist

Samy Nour Younes is a Lebanese/Boricua actor and activist. In addition to performing, he has worked as a teaching artist for Smithsonian Discovery Theater, Kaiser Permanente Educational Theater, and Young Playwrights' Theater. In 2017, Samy Nour published his first-ever op-ed in The Advocate, on the challenges of being a trans actor of color. He has since appeared in a Buzzfeed video to address the same issue, and has taken to Medium to publish new work. Samy Nour was a 2018 fellow at the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute, as well as a resident at TED, which culminated in a TED talk on trans history. He aims to highlight the diversity of the transgender experience-not just their struggles, but also their triumph. @nourypublic

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