Wrtitten by Mikki Gillette
Directed by Harper York
Stage Manager - Khalila Abozeeter
At a time when the Trump administration has declared trans people do not exist and are working daily to eradicate access to life-saving gender-affirming care, Fuse Theatre Ensemble proudly presents Mikki Gillette’s Riot Queens. The play dramatizes the Compton’s Cafeteria Riots, a trans woman-led, anti-police uprising in San Francisco that predates Stonewall by three years.
Based on extensive research, Riot Queens explores the political, social and interpersonal dynamics leading to the event through its three main characters: Dixie who advocates for queer rights as a member of Vanguard, an activist group for street youth; Haley, a sex worker with a traumatic past who fears that the changes taking place will threaten the precarious life she's built, and Nina, a newcomer torn between the life she can envision for herself, and the debt she feels she owes her community.
At a time when opponents of trans rights seek to cast doubt on the legitimacy of trans identities, Riot Queens attests to the truth of the statement that “trans people have always existed,” and will never stop fighting.