I am once again asking you to hire transgender people
Please?
I wish I were writing in the playful spirit of 100 ways to Fix the American Theater, but for Trans Americans times are bleak. Organized militants and national politicians are aligned. An entire online ecosystem exists to harass us, threaten us, and ensure we lose our jobs. The ascendant American right wants us out of public life. Our futures are deeply uncertain.
So let me be direct: now is the time for non-profit theaters to double down on hiring transgender people.
Hire us as actors.
Hire us as technicians.
Hire us as administrators.
Hire us as designers.
Hire us as directors.
Hire us as ushers.
Hire us as bartenders.
Hire us for cis roles.
Hire us for audience facing jobs.
Hire us for shows that have fuck all to do with being trans.
What’s that? You’ve already hired some transpeople? Hire some more! We’re a lot more fun as a group!
The theater has been a lifeline for me since I transitioned 8 years ago. Because I don’t pass, finding mainstream employment is difficult if not impossible. The American theater is not perfect, but it has literally kept me alive and propelled me into the tranny one percent.* It is frankly humiliating to write something this messy, but I have to ask:
What happens when trans shows become too “controversial” to program?
What happens when armed protestors show up in your lobby?
What happens when you are faced with accusations of grooming and a targeted harassment campaign?
What happens when you start to get death threats at your house?
What happens if you lose your theater space?
What happens when your state passes restrictive bathroom laws?
What happens if one of your staff loses custody of their trans child?
What happens when your workers lose access to gender affirming care?
What happens when your kids aren’t able to play sports?
Will you stay on social media platforms that allow the outright harassment of trans people?
Will you put anti discrimination policies into place when federal protections are peeled back?
Will you continue to keep us on staff if it means losing your NEA grant?
Will you let it slide when a donor says something hateful?
Will you hire us when it’s no longer fashionable to put our headshots in your program?
What will you do when it is no longer safe for trans people to walk the street of your city alone?
What will you do when “defense of family” becomes something much, much darker?
I know. This is A LOT.
But these are the types questions you need to be asking yourself right now.
Maybe you feel guilty.
Maybe you’re rolling your eyes.
No, we don’t need to have a full company meeting about it.
We’ll even let you stop wearing pronoun name tags if it’ll make you feel better! <3
I ask, dear reader, that you simply consider the following:
Keep your theater open.
Hire us.
Help us survive.
*This is a dark joke. (I have an apartment and started an IRA at the age of 38!) The statistics are bleak.