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Making Your Theatre a Safe Space for Trans/Non-Binary People

By Grey Pratt, Customer Service Rep, Pioneer Drama Service 

Grey Pratt has been involved in theatre for 15+ years, starting from when they were a small child.  Through the years, their participation has included acting, tech, directing, designing, writing, construction, and much more.  The theatre arts have a special place in Grey’s heart, and they invest themself in any facet they can, which has led to the exciting opportunity of being employed with Pioneer Drama. 

I am a non-binary person.  Throughout my more than fifteen years of theatre experience, starting from when I was young, I have found a safe space in escaping who I was by becoming someone else.  It’s hard to navigate the world when you feel like your body is a cage, that who you are on the inside doesn’t match who society has told you that you have to be.  Our Euro-centric society has pushed conformity to the point that there are only two options, male or female, even though that is simply not biologically, scientifically, or culturally true.  Nevertheless, the gender binary is woven into everything we know, including theatre.  And yet, theatre is the best place to take the binary and throw it out the window.  Despite having played mostly binary roles, the opportunity to play characters across a spectrum helped me solidify my gender identity.  The community I found and the support they gave made me feel safe and accepted.  I was free to be myself.  I was seen for the skills I cultivated, both on stage and off, not for the gender I was assigned at birth.

I know that a lot of people think that the youth of this generation who are coming out as a part of the LGBTQIA2S (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, asexual, two spirit) community is a “trend” or a new thing.  But the truth is that queer people have always existed, we have always been here.  What’s new now is that we finally have the vocabulary to help those in this community better explore who they are and find the safe spaces they need to feel loved and accepted.  These young hearts deserve a safe space to be themselves.  For me, that safe space is theatre.  Whether I’m acting, directing, or working tech, I strive to make every theatre space I am in a safe space for others like me.  I want to create a space where someone’s body does not limit the things they are allowed to do.  When coming out made my family life rough, the theatre became my second family.  Slowly, my parents came around to see me happier and more myself as non-binary, and now my mother creates a safe space for her high school theatre students who are like me.  She gives them a second family to rely on, just like theatre has been for me.

So, what can you do to help make your theatre program a safe and inclusive space?

• Make yourself approachable.  Actively work on making what you do and what you say open and welcoming.  This is not something that you simply go to a workshop or in-service training to learn and be done with.  Rather, this is a process you have to keep working on and expressing, something you have to keep learning and being open to.  Do your own research; you will learn much from your trans or queer friends/students, but do not expect them to teach you.
• Understand and respect that you do not know everything.  Do not lead with assumptions, but instead lead with openness.  Let them tell you who they are, not the other way around.  It is not hard to respect an individual’s identity, even if you do not understand it.  This includes removing gendered language like “ladies and gentlemen”, replacing it with something like “welcome friends” or “everyone.”
• Normalize asking names and pronouns of everyone, not just trans people.  Simply ask everyone, which also helps you define your culture of acceptance.  Sit in a circle and go around the room and let each person introduce themselves with the name they go by and the pronouns they use.  If you find yourself struggling with third person singular pronouns (they/them/theirs), remember that the singular version of these pronouns has been used for hundreds of years, and you yourself use them all the time in sentences like this:  “Oh, look, someone left their umbrella in the theatre after practice.  I will hold onto it for them so they can grab it during our next rehearsal.”  I have also used it several times in this article, and chances are you didn’t even notice.  It may take practice, but your effort is important.
• Stand up for trans and queer individuals.  Communicate with them.  Ask what their needs are and how you can help them feel seen and respected.  So many have lost their support system.  They’re standing up for themselves on their own, and honestly, it gets exhausting.  So stand with them.  Fight for them.  Correct people who misgender them or use the wrong name.  Actively show that you are an ally and that they can rely on you.  Don’t just memorize their pronouns, but change the way you look at people.
• As an extension of that last point, also be careful not to put them in harm’s way.  Some people may be out to their friends at school or work, but not out to their family.  Their home may be an unsafe place to disclose this information.  It’s because of situations like these that it’s so important to talk to each person individually.  Ask what their needs are, what will make them comfortable, and what will best keep them safe.  Make sure you let them tell you, not the other way around.
• When it comes to casting, again, communication is key.  If you run your auditions by having your actors specify which roles they are auditioning for, then you’re already giving them a chance to communicate with you.  If you’re thinking of casting a trans actor in a different role than what they auditioned for, ask them first if that’s a role they’d feel comfortable playing.  If your auditions are not role-specific, privately ask which roles they would feel comfortable playing and then cast them as such.  Every person’s preferences are going to be different.  Honoring their wishes is important to make them feel seen and heard in their identity.

These things are not hard to do.  Creating a safe and inclusive space is not hard to do.  Talking with these people and finding out how you can support them is not hard to do.  But it all starts with you.  Whether you are a director or a teacher, a student or a friend, a coworker or a vendor, the things you do matter.  And the safe spaces you create can save a life, like it saved mine.