The Brooklyn Rail

When George Strus and I sat down in the spring of 2022 to talk about their vision for Breaking the Binary—a theater festival composed of work by and for trans, nonbinary, and two-spirit artists, in which all artists would be paid a living wage—I thought I was dreaming. Here was the vision I’d been waiting for, that our community desperately needed—and a creative producer with exactly the drive, heart, thoughtfulness, and humility to make it happen. I recently chatted with George about where BTB came from and how it grew so swiftly and gorgeously into the robust presence it is today.

MJ Kaufman (Rail): Where did BTB come from?

George Strus: As I was navigating some personal questions about my gender identity and coming into my own as a trans non-binary person, I had looked for resources and systems of support within the theater ecosystem and came up short. I found it queer, no pun intended, that there was no theatrical organization (except the recently ended Trans Lab) committed to the work of our gathering and showcasing the voices and beauty of our community, particularly as we were seeing several Broadway shows share trans stories written by cis authors.

In September 2021, I was out to dinner with the luminous Sarah Lunnie, expressing this gap I felt was present in the industry and the seeds of an idea that could help with both needs—my personal and the wider need—at the same time. She gave me some of the best advice I’ve ever received: “Do it. I know it might feel daunting, but start doing and talking about it, and all will start to come into place.” That night I typed up a one-page about what ended up being Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival.

From there, we started cultivating donors and the Core Community advisory board that you sit on and putting together a lineup with the goal of doing this festival in October 2022. And somehow, by hook or by crook, it happened!

Just before the festival I had left my full-time job, so I used my newfound time to consider what BTB could look like as a year-round organization. This led to a deeper ideation process, and then an announcement this past February of our work as a year-round organization.

We’re going to do the festival every year, but we also develop works throughout the year, commissioning artists and engaging with value-aligned partners to expand our reach. Looking back at the last fifteen months, I have never worked harder, but I have also never been prouder of anything in my life.

Rail: I’m grateful for BTB’s community. So often I feel like I have to write for a cis audience, writing trans-ness in the most digestible way. I remember watching Mara Vélez Meléndez’s play during last year’s festival and feeling such awe for the way she was queering time and space. When we’re in a space run by us and for us we get to do these exciting formal experiments.

Strus: Community is so ingrained in BTB’s DNA. Just as important as producing the work is giving our artists vessels to engage with other artists. Last year, we partnered with a playwright/director duo who had never worked together and, following that process, they have gone on to collaborate on other projects outside of BTB. It’s my hope that a BTB space gives our community the freedom to reclaim our artistic license from the educational aspects that often come with being the sole member of any community in a room.

Rail: When we’re not forced to compete for that one trans spot, we can support and inspire each other.

Strus: Exactly. And as we continue to grow, it’s just as important to me to expand our community as it is to ensure we’re staying in community with the artists who helped build BTB to be what it is.

Rail: There are a number of ways that early-career artists can intersect with BTB, right?

Strus: Yes! Earlier this year, we accepted submissions from TNB2S+ writers interested in being a part of BTB. Myself, our amazing Literary Manager Bryar Barborka, and our incredible team of over twenty TNB2S+ readers, evaluated each of the 160 plays we received a minimum of two times in full, and all readers were paid $43.54 per script read (two hours at New York’s Living Wage at our time of calculation—another huge value for us is ensuring all artists are paid this rate in anything we do).

We also have a rolling submissions policy year-round for any TNB2S+ artist interested in being a part of BTB!

Rail: Tell us about this year’s festival. I know there’s going to be an exciting kick-off moment.

Strus: Last year, we opened with an incredibly joyous play called Trans World by Ty Defoe. This year, we wanted to capture that same joy but open up our space to TNB2S+ artists of other disciplines, so we’re opening at 3 Dollar Bill in Brooklyn with an all TNB2S+ revue with drag artists, poets, vocalists, and more.

The following day, we move into the Public’s Shiva Theater, where we’re developing five new works by five incredible writers: a.k. payne, Jesús I. Valles (they/them), Nina Ki (xe/she/they), Sarah Mantell (they/them), and travis tate (they/them), all of whom submitted via our open call earlier this year.

To close the festival, L Morgan Lee and I are partnering on a project similar to what we did last year, in which we commission members of our community to create new pieces that we conceive an evening out of. Following the performance, the scenes and monologues will be published through Broadway Licensing, just like last year.

Rail: What’s next for BTB?

Strus: We have so many dreams we hope will take shape in the next few years: developing musicals written by TNB2S+ artists, bringing our programming to other cities, full productions, to name a few. Above all else, we’re hoping to continue building momentum while leading with our values system along the way.