The Theater Offensive

Queering the Screen is BACK, hunni! We’re thrilled to continue this beloved partnership with Coolidge Corner Theatre and keep bringing queer cinema, conversation, and community together under one roof. This month’s featured screening is Move Ya Body: The Birth of House, directed by Elegance Bratton and featuring Lena Waithe, Kevin Aviance, and Malik Shakur. This vibrant and essential documentary celebrates the Black queer underground music scene in Chicago that gave birth to house music as we know it. It’s joyful, revolutionary, sweaty, soulful, and deeply rooted in the brilliance of queer cultural creation. Join us on May 28 at the Coolidge for the screening, followed by a post-film Q&A with director Elegance Bratton and producer Chester Algernal Gordon, moderated by Joseph V. Porter of The Theater Offensive.

@catsjellicleball is making serious noise across all major theater awards this season. With today’s Tony nominations, Cats: The Jellicle Ball has earned a total of 26 nominations, including Best Revival, Featured Actor, and honors for direction and choreography, as well as costume, sound, lighting, scenic design, and orchestration. As co-producers, we couldn’t be happier. Congratulations to the entire Jellicle Ball company. And yes, we’re still a little gagged by this 🤭. The Theater Offensive is a Tony-nominated company, y’all‼️Being connected to this production reflects our values around storytelling and feels deeply tied to our history. It’s an honor to be part of this moment with all of you.

Night 2 @catsjellicleball was a beautiful reminder of two of our Queer Liberatory Aesthetics: Un-Realities and Be-Longing. ✨ We gathered close friends, artists, supporters, and members of the TTO family to celebrate this monumental co-producing journey and the queer and trans joy at the heart of this production. In 2021, we introduced our Queer Liberatory Aesthetics to our community as a guiding model and threadline for how we gather, create, and care for one another, contextualizing our legacy. That night felt full of both—honoring what is real in our lives and shaping it into something bold, beautiful, and entirely our own, while seeing ourselves reflected in each other, held in community, and surrounded by the people who remind us we belong. A magical evening of glamour, gratitude, and collective joy with artists and chosen family so close to our hearts. You can feel the love and excitement radiating from every photo. 📸: @sekou_luke

Get into the magic of the yellow carpet from last week’s opening of @catsjellicleball on Broadway 🐱🪩🐾 An evening of pure joy, celebrating the queer and trans artists who brought this work to life and turned a classic into something bold, fierce, and undeniably now. Get a little taste of opening night, the looks, the glam, the fierceness, and hear a little more about why this show, why now, and what it means for TTO. 🎥: @rileyswilson 🧥: @romeohunte 👛: @alexisbittar

The cat’s out the bag, chile! 🐱🪩🐾 We’re proud to share that The Theater Offensive has joined Cats: The Jellicle Ball as a co-producer, a collaboration rooted in shared values, bold artistic vision, and long-term investment in artists. Get into these pics from last week’s Opening Night where members of the TTO team showed up and showed out on the yellow carpet. Big shoutout to Romeo Hunte and Alexis Bittar for styling and accessorizing us for this big occasion! The category is… don’t play with us | 🔟’s across the board! Stay tuned for more on this partnership and what this means for TTO, Boston, and beyond! 📸: @sekou_luke

Happy Trans Day of Visibility! 🏳️‍⚧️ Although TTO recognizes the beauty and value of trans and non-binary lives everyday, we will gladly take any moment to celebrate those with the courage to live boldly as themselves. We honor you! Earlier this month, we hosted a day of conversations, performances, and mutual aid in partnership with @lgbtqeldersofcolor to commemorate this special day! Thank you Teasha Purdy and @justiceroe for your heartfelt reflections during “Arrivals: Stories of Becoming,” moderated by our Executive & Artistic Director, Giselle Byrd. This was an inspiring conversation that is still resonating with us all. Before the conversations and performances, we hosted a mutual aid market where we offered resources and products to the community. Thank you to everyone who donated supplies, volunteered and sent messages of support. We couldn’t have done it without you. Special thanks to our incredible surprise performers @candacepersuasian and @neoncalypso who honored Teasha and Coach Justice! Did you all know that each of these superstars are alums of our True Colors youth program? What a full circle moment for us. Thank you divas for your artistry. Thank you so much to our community for always proving that there is an audience for the work we feel is most impactful. It means so much that you continue showing up for us in person and we don’t take it for granted. Happy TDOV y’all! 🏳️‍⚧️ #TransIsSacred 📸 Photos by Craig Bailey of Perspective Photo @cbzperspective

On Trans Day of Visibility, we uplift trans joy, trans brilliance, and especially trans youth. 🏳️‍⚧️✨ “They will never possess the magic that you do. Our humanity is not up for debate. Liberty and justice must mean everyone. No kings. No queens. We the people demand justice.” - Giselle Byrd #TDOV

As we close out Women’s History Month and celebrate Trans Day of Visibility, we’re especially proud to share a moment that reflects the heart of who we are and the leadership that guides us. Our Executive & Artistic Director, Giselle Byrd, has been honored by Greater Boston PFLAG with the Cornerstone of Equality Award at their 24th Annual Pride & Passion event, Love & Liberty. Giselle’s leadership is rooted in care, courage, and a deep commitment to community, and this recognition is a powerful reflection of the impact she continues to make. We are grateful to walk alongside her and celebrate this well-deserved honor. Tickets are still on sale—join us and be in community as we celebrate Giselle and this meaningful recognition.

The Theater Offensive & LGBTQ+ Elders of Color are commemorating Trans Day of Visibility with a mutual aid market and Arrivals: Stories of Becoming, Saturday, March 21st at the BCA Plaza Theatre! We’re hosting a mutual aid market from 12-2pm where our community can stock up on non-perishable food items, hygiene products, school supplies, and medical supplies. Following the mutual aid market, we will be in conversation with Coach Justice and Teasha Boo, moderated by TTO Executive & Artistic Director, Giselle Byrd. Visit /events to register. If you’d like to donate to our mutual aid market please email [email protected]

So excited to share the website redesign of The Theater Offensive (TTO) @outoffensive created in partnership with @hakeemthedreem and @josephvalente 🌟 I approach web design the same way I approach magazines and books — prioritizing the storytelling and seeing the work as a cultural object that has the power to influence and inspire. For the reimagined TTO website, we wanted to showcase the organization’s bold and fearless voice — unapologetic writing visualized through audacious typography and color choices. The typographical arrangements are inspired by the look and feel of famous Queer publications such as THING as well as protest posters. Loud. Proud. Cannot be ignored. Combined with the new beautiful color palette, the design language is a result of Queer Joy and claiming. Swipe to see some of my favorite moments! This website redesign is part of the rebrand for The Theater Offensive (TTO) @outoffensive 🙌🏾 One of the most incredible projects I’ve gotten to work on to date. Thank you so much Hakeem and Joseph for your full trust in me — I couldn’t have done this without your full support ✨ Getting to work with fellow like-minded folx of Color has brought me so much joy and inspiration for this assignment. The kind of purposeful and meaningful work I live for. I’m so excited for the next era of TTO! Using Marsha, Bayard, Garibaldi, and Tank Man by @vocaltype.co #brandingdesign #webdesign #graphicdesign #brandidentity #typography

Introducing STILL OFFENSIVE Issue No. 01 published by The Theater Offensive (TTO) @outoffensive and created in partnership with @hakeemthedreem and @josephvalente 💖 Print has always been a special medium to me and getting to design this publication for TTO is something I will always cherish. STILL OFFENSIVE aims to build a permanent home for QTBIPOC media, performance, and storytelling while remaining the function and future of arts institutions. The inaugural issue features four covers starring TTO artists-in-residence @victorialynnawkward , @cheyennewj , and @acguidrytheater as well as an original collage illustration cover featuring all three artists by @carm.mich 🌟 This publication was edited by @hakeemthedreem and @josephvalente with all Queer Liberatory Aesthetics illustrations by Ava Tuitt. STILL OFFENSIVE is part of the rebrand for The Theater Offensive (TTO) @outoffensive 💫 One of the most incredible projects I’ve gotten to work on to date. Thank you so much Hakeem and Joseph for your full trust in me — I couldn’t have done this without your full support ✨ Getting to work with fellow like-minded folx of Color has brought me so much joy and inspiration for this assignment. The kind of purposeful and meaningful work I live for. I’m so excited for the next era of TTO! Queer [Re]public Festival ad photographed and designed by @hakeemthedreem Using Marsha, Bayard, Garibaldi, and Tank Man by @vocaltype.co and Medusa by Ramiro Espinoza @retypefoundry #brandingdesign #publicationdesign #graphicdesign #brandidentity #typography

I’m so honored to share the rebrand for The Theater Offensive (TTO) @outoffensive that I worked on this year alongside @hakeemthedreem and @josephvalente 💫 One of the most incredible projects I’ve gotten to work on to date since launching BakerSanchez, Inc! Thank you so much Hakeem and Joseph for your full trust in me to take the identity, writing, and visuals into its next stages — I couldn’t have done this without your full support ✨ Getting to work with fellow like-minded folx of Color has brought me so much joy and inspiration for this assignment. The kind of purposeful and meaningful work I live for. I’m so excited for the next era of TTO! Swipe through to see some of the work and inspiration behind this rebrand. I was originally commissioned to help launch the first TTO magazine that would serve as a hub for Trans media, and this ultimately morphed into reimagining the brand identity and story of this legacy Queer cultural institution. This was an opportunity to dive into Queer writing, history, research, poetry, magazines, books, and academia by QTBIPOC. We really wanted to create an identity that spoke like someone who reads Audre Lorde and throws shade like Ts Madison @tsmadison . This identity system needed to hold all of this complexity. It must refuse singularity. It must be coded, layered, lush, and legible. The result embodies structure and playfulness. It is designed for the Queer world stage and beyond — poise, rebellious charm, and big personality. It is OFFENSIVE! Using Marsha, Bayard, Garibaldi, and Tank Man by @vocaltype.co #brandingdesign #typographydesign #graphicdesign #brandidentity #typography