My Life Is A

Political
Statement

whether I like it or not.

Good storytelling takes that “me” energy that propels self-exploration and finds ways to invite others into it—so we are all looking into the mirror together – finding different and also relatable moments.


Good storytelling takes that “me” energy that propels self-exploration and finds ways to invite others into it—so we are all looking into the mirror together – finding different and also relatable moments.


THE KROC INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE STUDIES FOR CREATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS THAT FURTHER THE CAUSE OF PEACE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE.

Distinguished Alumni Award

University of Notre Dame

2018

Nonfiction and Journalism Holtzbrinck Fellow at the American Academy of berlin to finish memoir, Becoming a White Man 

The Berlin Prize Fellowship

2018

winner for Non-Fiction
Becoming A Man: The Story of a Transition

Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellowship

2018

University of Washington, Seattle, for non-fiction writing

Creative Research Residency Fellowship

Andrew W. Mellon

2018

Given to visionary artists and cultural leaders creating powerful works of art that help advance freedom, justice, and inclusion and strengthen our democracy.

Art of Change Fellow

The Ford Foundation

2017

recognition of the theater artist who has made a significant contribution to the betterment of the American theater for founding the online journal, HowlRound.

Person of the year

National Theatre Conference

2015

I am writing non-fiction, plays, and television that explores my personal journey of a gender transition and the political and cultural evolution of white masculinity in America in concert with teaching and traveling as a guest artist to colleges and universities. My memoir, Becoming a Man: The Story of a Transition was published in January 2020 by Simon & Schuster. The adaptation of my memoir was commissioned by American Repertory Theater at Harvard in 2020. It will have its world premiere in February of 2024 in the Loeb Theater at American Repertory Theater. The book was optioned for television in 2022 by Universal Content Productions.

Over a two-decade career as a professional theatermaker and administrator, I have developed dozens of new plays, produced theater from around the world, written countless essays, and most notably founded an online journal, HowlRound, in 2011 that continues to have significant impact on the conversations around inclusion and equity and professionalism in the American theater. I have also committed to developing and teaching courses to the next generation of artists and scholars. In the past five years I have pivoted from collaborating on other’s writing to focusing on my own. 

About Me

A Little

Becoming A Man

< More about the World-Premiere Play at A.R.T.

< More about the World-Premiere Play at A.R.T.

< More about the Critically-acclaimed memoir

< More about the Critically-acclaimed memoir

My work has always focused on justice and basic human rights for all communities. I have had the honor of sharing my story in many contexts—professional and collegiate. I focus on connection, our connnection to each other and to other ecosystems that rely upon seeing our humanity as a part of something larger. I am an avid birder and often use birds as a point of entry to talk about identity, curiosity, and otherness. 

My Story

Sharing

Let's get in touch

the Birds

Me, Myself, and

One day I was hiking in a nature preserve near my home in Rhode Island. I had just begun looking at birds and putting up feeders in my backyard. I bought an inexpensive camera to take photographs so I could identify them later on. That morning I saw several wooden boxes with small round openings in a field. They had been put there specifically for Eastern Bluebirds to nest. I moved nearer and spotted two of the birds feeding their hatchlings nesting in the box. One parent would sit on top of the box while the other went off for food. Upon return one parent flew around the box and the small heads of the hatchlings became visible, mouths wide open waiting to be fed. The Eastern Bluebird became my Spark Bird. This is the bird that birders see that begins their obsession. The Eastern Bluebird is my Spark Bird, the bird that changed the trajectory of my life. 

See the Birds