Jan 26, 2009

Performance deconstructs definitions - Arts


Performance deconstructs definitions

Mon, 12/05/2011 - 18:25
Author: J.P. Allen
Amid the flurry of Winter Term events and speakers, performance artist Scott Turner Schofield quietly staged one of the most unusual, exceptional presentations Middlebury College has seen all year. Schofield was invited to Middlebury by T Cooper ('94), and visiting Winter Term professor, who included some of Schofield's works in T's class, "Transgressive Fiction."
Schofield began his genre-crossing performance by handing cups of sweet tea to every audience member and politely chatting about his Southern upbringing. After pouring the last of the tea, he turned his blue-eyed, open face to his laptop and called up a picture of a large, segmented circle with words like "male," "female," "gay" and "straight" written in each slice.
"Which of these words would you use to describe me?" he asked. After some sheepish seconds and a few mumbled audience responses, Schofield launched into what he called "the nuts and bolts." He is a man who was born a woman. Although he has not yet undergone (and may never undergo) expensive and complicated "bottom surgery" that would replace his vagina with a facsimile penis, he has been injecting testosterone for years and is convincingly male in appearance. He is a "lesbian-turned-straight guy" as his books' dust jackets concisely state. However, his journey through the maze of gender and sexual identity has been far from direct. Schofield's work is based in the psychological, emotional and philosophical effects of that journey.
Schofield did not perform full versions of his works. Instead, the presentation was minimally structured and highly participative: the audience asked questions about Schofield's life and work and Schofield answered with conversation, multimedia presentations from his laptop or performances of selected pieces. The writings, which Schofield called simply "stories," varied in style, from poetry to prose-poetry to monologues with stage directions.
The event was a cross between an interview and a collaborative storytelling session, with Schofield assuming the roles of master of ceremonies, tour guide and human exhibit. The medium (or, more accurately, media) of the performance dovetailed with its larger themes. "Gender is a performance," Schofield remarked, but unlike a play or poem, gender performance is constant, unavoidable and inherently multimedia. Every moment is simultaneously "real" and performed.
Many of those moments can be hilarious. Schofield's performance thrived on the humor generated by breaches of social norms. For instance, he told a harrowing, hilarious story of returning to Georgia to participate in a friend's debutante ball (a ceremony ironically known to Southerners as "coming out"). Because very few people in his hometown knew he was a transsexual, he was forced to pull together a convincing female outfit, crossdressing ("double-crossing?") back to his former gender.
Some of Schofield's stories seemed too funny or dramatic to be true, prompting one audience member to ask simply, "Do you embellish?" Schofield smiled. "Great question," he said. "It's not about embellishment. It's about word choice: what choices do you make about telling the truth?" In writing, one can choose to move "closer to" or "farther from" a story, but in either case, Schofield believes, the story can retain an authentic core.
Perhaps the greatest joy of the event was Schofield's obvious love for his job. He praised live performance's ability to reveal truth "through stories, not through lecture" and to forge genuine human connection. "Performance is one of the last bastions of incredible grassroots action," he said. "If you're going to open your heart to anything, you have to see the performer, you have to see each other and the performer has to see you." For these reasons, Schofield refuses to perform for more than 100 people at a time.
Schofield's presentation uniquely combined form, structure and content into a compelling, earnest statement of identity.

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Aug 19, 2008

My First Theater Review

‘Becoming a Man in 127 Easy Steps’ at 7 Stages

By Wendell Brock | Tuesday, August 19, 2008, 02:41 PM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

THEATER REVIEW. Grade: A-

As a camp counselor in Costa Rica a few years ago, Scott Turner Schofield suffered a serious blow to the head that required a detailed medical examination and extended hospital stay. When his doctor realized the athletic young man had the body of a woman, he thought the kid was just confused.
“Son, you have a terrible brain injury,” the doctor said sternly.

After having a heart-to-heart conversation with another doctor about his quest for a sex change, Schofield was informed that Costa Rica is the cosmetic-surgery capital of Latin America. And the surgeon offered to remove his breasts on the spot.

In his autobiographical solo performance piece, “Becoming a Man in 127 Easy Steps,” the Atlanta-based artist describes the comic absurdity, social stigma, emotional imperilment and sheer-naked vulnerability of the transgendered life.

Suggesting an image of physical rebirth, the show begins with Schofield emerging from a cocoon of billowing fabric suspended from the ceiling. After a precarious aerial ballet, he bounds to the floor like some newly minted Peter Pan and describes the messy medical details of getting a sex change. In a metaphorical gesture that signifies the total soul-baring to come, he disrobes completely and tapes a sign to the set that says: “No secrets allowed.”

By turns fiercely comic, brutally honest and deeply moving, the 7 Stages show is beautifully written, choreographed and performed. Like some sexually ambiguous Scheherazade, Schofield unspools the action as a series of stories chosen willy-nilly by the audience from a list of numbers assigned to various words (“queer,” “straight,” “butch,” “femme” and so forth). Directed by Steve Bailey, the intermissionless 75-minute pieces feels so artfully balanced and delicately nuanced that it makes you wonder if Schofield really has 127 stories in his repertoire or is just pretending.

From the little girl forced to wear a Minnie Mouse costume when she really wanted to be Mickey to the young man standing in front of a Texas judge begging to have his sexual designation legally changed, from the complicated family relationships to the three suicide attempts, “Becoming a Man” is raw, urgent and honest. Much to his credit, Schofield comes across more as a loveable neighborhood kid bursting with energy and insight than an agenda-waving political zealot.

With great humor and pathos, he describes his alienation from his biological father, relates his adventures as a baby-sitter and describes his close calls with Atlanta cops and skinny-dipping European males. During the performance, he sings “Like a Bird on a Wire” while tethered to a swinging rope, and has a live telephone conversation with his stepfather.

In a democracy that boasts great freedom of expression, transgenderism may be the final frontier of sexual politics. Going from male to female can’t be an easy process, and this 27-year-old artist never pretends that is. Schofield — winner of an off-Broadway Fruitie Award and a prestigious Princess Grace Foundation acting fellowship —says the titular number 127 is part of his Social Security number, and jokes that he wants someone to steal his identity.

As it turns out, the man born as Katie Lauren Kilborn has sculpted a personality so unique that it would be virtually impossible to replicate.

THE 411: 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. 5 p.m. Sunday. Through Sunday. 7 Stages. 1105 Euclid Ave., Little Five Points. 404-523-7647, 7stages.org. (Note: Features adult material and full-frontal nudity.)

 Bottom line: One of the year’s most essential theater experiences.
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Jun 9, 2008

Scott Turner Schofield Calendar Dates

SPRING 2012

1/18 - Phillips Exeter Academy
Exeter, NH

Two Truths and a Lie reading 

for high school students



FALL 2011

10/6-8 St. Lawrence University
New York

Debutante Balls

Trans 101 workshops

Guest Lecturer in Performance and Queer Theory
Page to Stage Workshop

10/18 - Provincetown, MA
Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps

part of Fantasia Fair 2011

10/23 National Theatre of Belgium
Brussels

Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps

headline performance of

Festival des Libertés



SPRING 2010

4/27/10 - University of Tennessee
Knoxville
Two Truths and a Lie reading
Strange Bedfellows workshop

4/26/10 - Queens College
Reading from Two Truths and a Lie


4/22-24/10 - Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center
Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps**NO FRIDAY SHOW***
This Residency was made possible by an Anonymous Donation
administered by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.

3/29-4/4/10 - Theater Project
Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps
This Residency was made possible by an Anonymous Donation
administered by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.

Feb. 2010 - Princess Grace FoundationPlaywriting Residency Period

Dec. 10 2009 - Jan 20 2010 - Out North
Guest Artistic Director Residency Period

FALL 2009


Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps

presented by Painted Bride Art Center
Trans-Community Forum for Queer Youth at The Attic
This Residency was made possible in part
by an Anonymous Donation
administered by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.
National Performance Network Residency


11/17-18/09 - Brown University
Debutante Balls

Trans 101 workshops


10/14-16/09 - Trinity College
Dublin, Ireland
Underground TransitTrans 101 workshops
International Premiere and Show Retirement




10/4-9/09 - CDDB
Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps
Trans 101 for high school students

Page to Stage Workshop for high school students

International Debut!


9/18-19/09 - Real Art WaysBecoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps

Trans Community Forum

This residency was made possible by an Anonymous Donation
administered by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.



SPRING 2009



3/6-8 - Highways Performance Space

Los Angeles, CA
L.A.'s QUEER EXCHANGE + SAN FRANCISCO ARTISTS 
National Performance Network Residency
presented by 
presented by Highways
FRINGES-MARGINS-BORDERS
3/10 - Claremont College
Claremont, CA
L.A.'s QUEER EXCHANGE + SAN FRANCISCO ARTISTS 
National Performance Network Residency
presented by 
presented by Highways
FRINGES-MARGINS-BORDERS


3/12-14 - Sushi

San Diego, CA

L.A.'s QUEER EXCHANGE + SAN FRANCISCO ARTISTS 
National Performance Network Residency
presented by 
presented by Highways
FRINGES-MARGINS-BORDERS

3/24-26 - Butler University

Indianapolis, IN

Two Truths and a Lie reading

Trans 101 Workshops

4/3-5 - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Debutante Balls
Trans 101 Workshops

4/8-10 - Knox College
Galesburg, IL
Debutante Balls
Trans 101 Workshops
Page to Stage Workshop
Strange Bedfellows Workshop
Transgender Inclusion for Administrators Workshop

4/20-24 - The University of Kansas
 Lawrence, KS
Debutante Balls
Trans 101 Workshops

5/2 - The 17th Annual Houston Transgender Unity Banquet
Keynote Speaker

5/4-7 - University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH
Two Truths and a Lie Reading

5/12-14 - DePaul University
Chicago, IL
Two Truths and a Lie Reading
Trans 101 Workshops



FALL 2008

10/8 - University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA
Two Truths and a Lie Reading
Trans 101 Workshops

10/14 - University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL
Trans 101 Workshops
Page to Stage Workshop
Transgender Inclusivity for Administrators Workshops

10/16 - Rollins College
Orlando, FL
Two Truths and a Lie Reading
Trans 101 Workshops
Transgender Inclusivity for Administrators Workshops

10/23 - Illinois State University
Normal, IL
Debutante Balls
Trans 101 Workshops

11/8 - The Flynn Center
Burlington, VT
Words Can’t Describe
with S. Bear Bergman
Strange Bedfellows Workshop at UVM

11/17 - University of Wisconsin
Whitewater, WI
Transgender Inclusion Workshop

11/20 - Portland State University
Portland, OR
Two Truths and a Lie Reading

12/13-14- On The Boards
Seattle, WA
National Performance Network Annual Meeting Showcase
Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps



SPRING 2008

1/20-27- The Carnival Center
Miami, FL
Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps
Trans 101 high school workshops
Trans-Community Forum
National Performance Network Residency

1/28-2/3 - 7 Stages
Atlanta, GA
Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps
National Performance Network Residency

2/22-24 - The Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally Conference
Debutante Balls
Trans 101 Worshops

3 /24-30 - Out North 
Anchorage, AK

"Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps"
Trans 101 Workshop

Page to Stage with incarcerated youthNational Performance Network Residency



San Francisco, CA
Selections from Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps
MC


FALL 2007


10/2 - Franklin and Marshall College
Lancaster, PA
Debutante Balls
Trans 101 Worshops
  
10/19 - The Evergreen State University
Olympia, WA
Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps
Creation residency
Performance Studies Guest Lecturer

10/27 & 28- Capitol Hill Arts Center (CHAC)
Seattle, WA
Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps
World Premiere!
National Performance Network Residency

11/6-9 - Appalachian State University
Boone, NC
Debutante Balls
Trans 101 Workshops

11/12-19 - Legion Arts Center
Cedar Rapids, IA
Debutante Balls
National Performance Network Residency
Trans 101 Worshops



SPRING 2007

1/20 - The University of Wyoming at Laramie
The Southern Gents Tour
with Athens Boys Choir
Trans 101 Workshops
Strange Bedfellows Workshop

1/22-23 - Butler University
Indianapolis, IN
Debutante Balls
Trans 101 Worshops

1/27 - Femme Mafia Masquerade
Atlanta, GA
MC
Seattle, WA
Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps Creation Residency
Trans-Community Forum

3/23 - SUNY Purchase
Debutante Balls

3/25 - Colgate University
Hamilton, NY
Debutante Balls
Trans 101 Worshops

4/2-6 - Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana, PA
Debutante Balls
Trans 101 Worshops

4/12 -Macalester College
St. Paul, MN
Debutante Balls
Trans 101 Worshops

4/15-16 - Yale University
New Haven, CT
Debutante Balls
Trans 101 Worshops
Page to Stage Workshops
Guest Lecture in Performance Studies
Minneapolis, MN
Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps
Creation Residency
Minneapolis, MN
Page to Stage Workshop

4/19 - University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN
Underground Transit
Trans 101 Workshops

4/25 - Emory University
Atlanta, GA
Trans 101 Workshop

4/27 - Marietta College
Marietta, OH
Debutante Balls
Trans 101 Worshops
Page to Stage Workshop
5/18 - Moxie Cabaret
Atlanta, GA
MC

FALL 2006

10/10 - Appalachian State University
Boone, NC
The Southern Gents Tour
with Athens Boys Choir
Trans 101 Workshops
Strange Bedfellows Workshop

10/11 - The University of Georgia 
Athens, GA
The Southern Gents Tour
with Athens Boys Choir

10/12 - The University of North Carolina at Asheville
Debutante Balls
Trans 101 Workshops

10/22 - International Drag KingCommunity Extravaganza
Austin, TX
Debutante Balls Selections

10/24 - Rice University
Houston, TX
Debutante Balls
Trans 101 Workshops

10/27 - The Forum at College of Santa Fe
Santa Fe, NM
The Southern Gents Tour
with Athens Boys Choir

11/1 - The University of Wyoming at Laramie
The Southern Gents Tour
with Athens Boys Choir
Strange Bedfellows Workshop

11/5 - Reed College
Portland, OR
The Southern Gents Tour
with Athens Boys Choir

11/6 - The University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA
Debutante Balls

11/12 - National Performance Network Annual Meeting
Cedar Rapids, IA
Debutante Balls Artburst

11/14 - Portland State University
Debutante Balls

SPRING 2006

1/13 - The University of Wyoming at Laramie
The Southern Gents Tour
with Athens Boys Choir
3/15 - The University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA
Underground Transit
Trans 101 workshop
Page to Stage workshop

3/22 - Emory University
Atlanta, GA
Workshop of Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps
Sponsored by the Center for Women at Emory, The Office of LGBT Life

and the Department of Theater Studies



4/5 - The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Underground Transit

Trans 101 workshop
Transgender Inclusion for Administrators workshop

4/8-15 Touring with the Tranny Roadshow

 5/11 Queens CollegeCharlotte, NC
Underground TransitA benefit for Time Out Youth

5/17 and 19 - Hugo House
Seattle, WA
Debutante Balls
Presented by The Pat Graney Company

5/26-28 - Jump Start Performance Co.
San Antonio, TX
Debutante Balls
National Performance Network Residency
Page to Stage Workshop
Words Can’t Describe Community Performance

FALL 2005

9/13 - The Poynter Institute
St. Petersburg, FL
Underground Transit
Trans 101 workshop

9/23 - Southern Comfort Conference
Atlanta GA
Debutante Balls

10/7 - Agnes Scott College
Decatur GA 
The Southern Gents Tour
with Athens Boys Choir

10/17 - Bates College
Lewsiton, ME
The Southern Gents Tour
with Athens Boys Choir
Trans 101 Workshop

10/18-20 - Cornell University
Ithaca, NY
Debutante Balls
Trans 101 Workshop
Guest Lecturer in Performance Studies

11/7-9 - West Chester University
West Chester, PA
Underground Transit
Trans 101 Workshop

11/15 - Reed College
Portland, OR
The Southern Gents Tour
with Athens Boys Choir

11/16 - Portland State University
Portland, OR
Debutante Balls

11/17 - The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Underground Transit
Trans 101 Workshop

11/19 - TransGiving
Los Angeles, CA
Selections from Debutante Balls

11/20 - The University of California Los Angeles
Underground Transit
SUMMER 2005

7/29-30 - 7 Stages
Atlanta, GA

Words Can’t Describe
with S. Bear Bergman

6/16-18 - National Queer Arts Festival
San Francisco, CA
Debutante Balls

SPRING 2005

2/10-13 - The University of California at Santa Barbara
Debutante Balls

3/3 - Hampshire College
Amherst, MA
Underground Transit

3/4-8 - Emory University Brave New Works Festival
Atlanta, GA
Playwriting Residency for Turn Me On
with Sheri Man Stewart

3/15 - Columbia College
Chicago, IL
Underground Transit
Trans 101 Workshop

3/29 - Vassar College
Poughkeepsie, NY
Debutante Balls
Trans 101 Workshop
Page to Stage Workshop

3/31 - Butler University
Indianapolis, IN
Underground Transit
Trans 101 Workshop

4/3-4 - Wesleyan University
Middletown, CT
Underground Transit
Page to Stage Workshop

4/13 - Emory University
Atlanta, GA
Debutante Balls

5/16 - Northwestern University
Evanston, IL
Debutante Balls

5/15-29 - 7 Stages
Atlanta, GA
Wizzer Pizzer
by Amy Wheeler

FALL 2004


9/23-24 - The Chicago Single File Festival
Chicago, IL
"Debutante Balls"
WORLD PREMIER


10/4-7 - Emory University Brave New Works Festival

Atlanta, GA

School’s Out playwriting residency
with Mark Blankenship

10/12 - The University of Houston
Houston, TX
Debutante Balls
Trans 101 Workshop

10/15 - The University of North Carolina at Asheville
Debutante Balls

10/21 - The University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA
Gay Marriage Here Today Community Performance
Page to Stage Workshop
Trans 101 Workshop

11/7 - LadyFest South
Atlanta, GA
Debutante Balls Selections

11/18-20 - The University of Wyoming at Laramie
Underground Transit
Trans 101 Workshop
Page to Stage Workshop
12/9 - GenderCrash
Boston, MA
Debutante Balls selections

SPRING 2004

April - The B Complex 
Atlanta, GA
Debutante Balls - first look

2003

11/7 - The University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA
Underground Transit

10/11-12 - The University of Wyoming at Laramie
Underground Transit
Trans 101 Workshops

9/4-6 - sTaGes 2003: The First National Transgender Theatre Festival
WOW Cafe
New York City
Underground Transit

7/29-8/3 - The 27th Annual Meeting of ALTERNATE ROOTS
Winder, GA
Underground Transit

6/25-26 - HERE Arts Center and Dixon Place
New York City
Underground Transit
Part of the FUSE Festival

4/6-9 - AIDS OASIS Conference
Pensacola, FL
Underground Transit

4/3 - The University of North Carolina at Asheville
Underground Transit

1/9-18 - Actor's Express 
Atlanta, GA
Underground Transit

2002

10/21- Ondine & Co. 
Atlanta, GA
Falling as Sport
part of "Damaged but Not Dead and Other Hilarious Survival Stories" 

produced by EstroFest Productions


10/12 - LadyFest South 

Atlanta, GA

Underground Transit


9/29 - Southern Comfort Conference
Atlanta, GA
Underground Transit

9/27-10/6 - Theatre in the Square Alley Stage
Marietta, GA
Underground Transit

8/30-31 - Philadelphia Live Arts Festival
Fresh Fringe Curated Selection
Mumm PuppetTheater 
Philadelphia, PA
Underground Transit

6/22-28 - PushPush Theater 
Atlanta, GA
Underground Transit
Part of Vamp/ReVamp

March/April - Emory University
Atlanta, GA
Underground Transit

3/11 - Bennington College
Bennington, VT
Underground Transit

3/9 - Bard College
Poughkeepsie, NY
Underground Transit



2001

2/18 - PushPush Theater
Atlanta, GA
Underground Transit
part of SEEN+HEARD: Atlanta's Women's Arts Festival

produced by EstroFest Productions



12/1 -Charis Books & More

Atlanta, GA

Underground Transit
World Premiere!
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