Ariela, from Charm, by Phillip Dawkins

ARIELA (Puerto Rican trans woman) I think it’s really great what you are doing for these kids, being like a role model to them? Mira, I’m 33 years old and I ain’t never had not trans people to look up to. I mean, my mami was accepting of me, and she give me all this freedom and stuff, but like I kinda wished I had somebody giving me boundaries, you know? Then, maybe I would not had had all my surgeries right away. Because like I thought there was only one way to be a woman, you know? And like I wanted to move out and live with my pimp and like–Jesus, if somebody had just told me “no”….So, yeah, I think you can really help these chicas. Like a lot.

Context: Charm depicts the colorful inner workings of an etiquette class taught by Mama Darleena Andrews, an African-American transgender woman, in an LGBTQ organization known as The Center. Despite her students’ daily battles with identity, poverty and prejudice, Mama’s powerful love and unapologetic attitude ultimately help her pupils find a new way to respect each other and to redefine what “having charm” means. Inspired by the true story of Miss Gloria Allen and her work at Center on Halsted, this new play carries a message of dignity and inclusion to all those it touches.

More information: https://newplayexchange.org/plays/52099/charm

Mama, from Charm, by Philip Dawkins

MAMA. (black trans woman) Good Evening. [Pauses. She’ll wait for a response.  Once she gets it:] Oh thank you, yes good evening.  I’m so glad to see all of you here tonight. You. Look. Beautiful. My name is Miss Darleena Andrews. You may call me Miss Andrews. You may call me Miss Darleena.  But most people just call me Mama Darlin.  And I like that. I am so lookin’ forward to getting’ to know each and every one of you.But before we get started, there is one thing I need to make perfectly clear and that is, I have zero interest in lookin’ at your butt crack.  So, young men, I want you to look down at your lap, if you would for me please. If you are wearin’ pants with a waistband that is somewhere down around your knees, I want you to stand up.  [She waits a hot second, then with teacher voice.]  Stand Up!  Ladies, do me a favor, look at the man seated beside you.  If you can see his underpants, make him stand up.  Ooo, and ladies, you too.  If you got your nekkid behind hangin’ out the back of your pants, nobody wants to see that, either. And I’ll tell you now, the people on the street who do want to see that are not the people you want seein’ it.  So, do yourselves a favor and stand up. Now, grab your pants and lift them allll the way up above your waist.  For those of you who need help locatin’ your waist, it is that area just below your bellybutton.  I should see no Organ Trail coming up from your fly.  Once you have pulled your pant alllll the way up, tighten that belt.  Real tight.  And be seated. There. Don’t you feel like a whole new you?  Instead of someone ho you knew? Alright. Now that’s out of the way, Welcome to Charm!

 

MAMA.

Context: Charm depicts the colorful inner workings of an etiquette class taught by Mama Darleena Andrews, an African-American transgender woman, in an LGBTQ organization known as The Center. Despite her students’ daily battles with identity, poverty and prejudice, Mama’s powerful love and unapologetic attitude ultimately help her pupils find a new way to respect each other and to redefine what “having charm” means. Inspired by the true story of Miss Gloria Allen and her work at Center on Halsted, this new play carries a message of dignity and inclusion to all those it touches.

More information: https://newplayexchange.org/plays/52099/charm

 

Freddy, from Crooked Parts, by Azure Osborne-Lee

FREDDY. (black queer trans man) I had an idea before then, I guess. But this trip…something shifted for me. We were on the BART, Terrence and me, after this long-ass flight from New York to San Francisco. I get on the train, and it’s like I’m in shock. Like I couldn’t trust my senses. There were trees and mountains and this super fresh air, and my body just couldn’t take it all in. Spending too long in New York City will do that to you, I guess. So we were there on that train and when I finally started to relax, I had a vision. I saw two paths open up before me, two possibilities of the future. One was Winifred and the other was Freddy. I saw her, Winifred, 20 years in the future, working hard as ever and making a real difference healing her community. But she looked so serious, so full of responsibility. There was no joy in her face or in her body, at least not that I saw. She was in her home all alone. After all her clients left at the end of the day, there was nobody there with her. No lovers. No children. Nobody. Just her sitting in silence. Then I saw him. Freddy. I saw him 20 years in the future, wearing vibrant colors and smiling brightly. He was laughing! And I knew that he, too, had community. And he was doing the work. Of course he was! But he was joyful. He was at ease. And he was having great sex. I could just tell from the way he held his shoulders. He had opened up and he had somebody waiting for him. So I decided that that’s what I wanted for myself. I decided it was worth the risk. I guess…that’s when I knew for sure.

Context: Crooked Parts is a family dramedy set in yesterday and today. Freddy, a black queer trans man, returns to his family home in the South after his fiancé breaks up with him. Once there, Freddy must navigate the tension created by his transition and his brother’s serial incarceration. Meanwhile, in his past, 13 year-old Winifred struggles to balance her relationship with her mother with her desire to better fit in with her peers. Crooked Parts is poignant, queer, funny, and definitely definitely black.

More information: https://newplayexchange.org/users/10285/azure-osborne-lee