Between Archives and Play is a play-based poetry workshop that weaves archival research with fun, generative activities that include musical instruments, reader's theater, and game show style challenges. Participants will explore poetry that extends beyond the gender binary in content and form alongside Black queer archival artifacts to alchemize them through playful embodiment, and approach the page with a malleable and actionable future for our children. Whether you are a beginner or seasoned poet, an educator, or just someone in need of some lighthearted joy, come join us on this bridge between starshine and clay, where reality meets hope and faith meets work. 

Pack your cute suits and sunscreen for the shores of Lake Michigan. There will be fun music, friends and trans/nonbinary/polyamory flags marking our spot! They Beach will always be held next to the ramp and access boardwalk in front of the beach house so anyone can come enjoy the queer festivities.

We encourage the community to take care of one another! Watch out for your queer/trans fam! Bring an extra blanket or water bottle, share your sunscreen or shade, say hello to your neighbor. This is a public beach space open to anyone and everyone. Please respect your surroundings accordingly.

Covid precautions: -please stay home if you feel sick in any way -we encourage everyone to test before they come -encourage masks (we will have masks available)

Transilience: A Trans Pride Festival will arrive in parks on the North, South, and West sides of Chicago on August 12-15, 2026. Featuring a variety of trans performing projects (dance, drag, live musical performance, circus, puppeteering, standup comedy, live painting, flow arts, DJs, and experimental performance art), this festival will be free to the public.

Transilience: A Trans Pride Festival will arrive in parks on the North, South, and West sides of Chicago on August 12-15, 2026. Featuring a variety of trans performing projects (dance, drag, live musical performance, circus, puppeteering, standup comedy, live painting, flow arts, DJs, and experimental performance art), this festival will be free to the public.

Transilience: A Trans Pride Festival will arrive in parks on the North, South, and West sides of Chicago on August 12-15, 2026. Featuring a variety of trans performing projects (dance, drag, live musical performance, circus, puppeteering, standup comedy, live painting, flow arts, DJs, and experimental performance art), this festival will be free to the public.

Join us in celebrating Black August! A time to honor Black prisoners and freedom struggles in and beyond the United States. According to Prison Policy Initiative, "One in six trans people have been incarcerated at some point, including nearly half of Black trans people." All are welcome as we seek to bring awareness to the oppressive systems in our country and to promote the liberation of our Black trans siblings.

Submit here! Deadline to submit for a guaranteed spot is July 31

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This event will kick off Trans Scribe, a new works festival aimed at giving trans/nonbinary playwrights, directors, and performers in Chicago a place to produce trans art for trans audiences. Over the multi-day festival, there will be a variety of works presented, including full length plays, one act plays, and 10-minute plays.

 JULY THEY BEACH INFO COMING IN HOT 

WHERE: 63rd Street Beach
WHEN: 3-8pm Sunday, July 26

The Gender Fucked Productions team will be participating in the @bravespacealliance Dignity Dash before this month's They Beach. We'd love to see y'all at either or both! If you're interested in running/walking/rolling and helping raise funds for the essential work @bravespacealliance does, you still have time to register at the link in their bio.

Pack your cute suits and sunscreen for the shores of Lake Michigan. There will be fun, music, and trans/non-binary/polyamory flags marking our spot! They Beach will always be held next to the ramp and access boardwalk. 63rd Street Beach has a large parking lot.

Let’s twirl and gallivant together! Beginner friendly dance class designed to teach you to frolic like a fairy, a Bridgerton, or whichever whimsical being suits your fancy. Inspired by English Country Dancing, Contra, and Ballroom Dance Styles and taught by Dance Master Rosalind Phelps (she/her). No experience or partner required. Dress up welcome but not mandatory!

Co-hosted by Gender Fucked Productions and First Step Social.

Calling all trans, nonbinary, and gender non-confirming PLAYWRIGHTS and THEATERMAKERS! Gender Fucked Productions' programs: Metamorphosis (our new playwriting residency) and MeetUps (most famous for They Beach) have teamed up to bring you Chrysalis! Come meet representatives from various writing-centered queer organizations across Chicago and hear about how to get involved. You’ll have fun and explore new opportunities all while learning about Metamorphosis and Half Magic, the play currently under development. All proceeds made from the event go straight back to the residency.

Sign ups and more details coming soon!

Trans Voices Cabaret is taking over our Madison Ballroom on Monday, June 22nd from 7-9pm with Still/Here: a pride cabaret! Join us for a night of elegance, glitter, and vocalists ready to enamor you.

Let the chandeliers, sharp silhouettes, and soft glances lure you into our night of performance. The evening will carry you through music and spoken word that drifts close and then away again, like a conversation you don’t want to end. Somewhere between sets, slow dancing starts without announcement. Nothing stays still for long, but nothing really leaves either.

CANCELLED DUE TO RAIN! We’ll reschedule as soon as possible.

Get excited! They Beach season is upon us! On this Father's Day we'd like to create space for a community of chosen families on a day that typically celebrates this traditional family role.

Where: 63rd Street Beach

When: Monday, June 21, 3pm-8pm

Pack your cute suits and sunscreen for the shores of Lake Michigan. There will be fun, music friends and trans/non-binary/polyamory flags marking our spot! They Beach will always be held next to the ramp and access boardwalk. 63rd Street Beach has a large parking lot.

They Beach only exists if you do. They Beach is a community movement that tranifests a safe, inclusive space for trans, enby, and queer folks to gather, connect, and have fun in the city.

Join us for Brave Space Alliance's first annual “Embodied,” a Juneteenth x Pride Celebration held at Thalia Hall! This performance will feature the talents of Chicago’s finest Black Trans, Gender-nonconforming, and Queer artists! We envision a city where Black and Brown trans and LGBQ+ lives are fully valued, fiercely protected, and powerfully equipped to thrive. Celebrate Pride Month and Juneteenth with a fierce lineup of drag, burlesque, music, and dance artists.

Trans Voices Cabaret will be performing at Brave Space Alliance’s Partners in Dignity Soiree

As trans and nonbinary people, telling our own stories can be both empowering and overwhelming. Join us to brainstorm your stories, do some writing, and practice sharing in a safe and friendly environment. We’ll also reflect on how story and storytelling tools can support your poetry, personal essays, nonfiction writing, playwriting, or other creative and artistic work.

Facilitated by Rebecca Kling. For more than twenty years, transgender artist and advocate Rebecca Kling has taught theatre and storytelling skills to others, worked as a professional storyteller, and toured her work to conferences and theatre festivals across the country. Learn more about her work at rebeccakling.com and bwcollab.com 

T4T an intentional space for transgender, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming artists to share their creative craft(s) on stage!

Tell me a story about your reality
I’ll tell you one about mine.
Surveilled but not seen
Drenched in dreams
Illogically juxtaposed
This world
A floral armor
Weaved into pleasure
Illogically juxtaposed
This world
Still I Rebel
And feel euphoria
In this world
My reality — SurRealness

🎤 T4T Open Mic is on April 23rd at Sonder Exchange, and we’re looking for performers! All types of performers are welcome, and we prioritize artists of color. Sign-up here. Deadline: April 16th. 🪩

TGNC Meet Up at 6pm followed by a 7:30pm mask-required performance.

About Face Theatre: Modern Gentleman by Preston Max Allen

After his partner of five years abruptly ends their relationship, 28-year-old Adam must navigate the world of dating for the first time since coming out as a trans man. But Adam’s hopes for a fresh start are quickly derailed when a chaotic new girlfriend, the return of his ex, and long-ignored personal demons force him to finally confront his complicated relationship to his own identity.

Tickets to the performance here.

🗣️🏳️‍⚧️ We want to celebrate trans folks being seen, heard, and celebrated at our upcoming TDOV Open Mic Night at the wonderful @bookclubchi ‼️

In celebration of Transgender Day of Visibility, we’re hosting a FREE all arts Open Mic Night on Sunday, March 29 with support from @chitherapycollective, @transmascsociety, and @gender_fucked_productions! 🎤 This open mic will not only serve as a place for visibility and celebration, but also a space for healing through art.

Share a piece that speaks to you and your talents or simply join community to celebrate our trans creatives 🧡

In reference to the increase of LGBTQIA+ visibility, we see in our current day in age a fierce revolutionary wave of trans people who rebuke the current social climate, creating discussion about freedom to be and expression of self. The Pansy Craze exhibition highlights the individuality of each artist through whimsy storytelling that creates disarming conversations of grief, what could have been, and eccentric experiences that shaped the artists to their core. With surrealist concepts and abstracted views, we display images of love, melancholy, and pleasure that speak to the life of each trans artist.

This is a MASKED REQUIRED art space. If you do not have a mask, one will be provided for you. Please bring one if you are able to.

There's parking available and it will be on the third floor. There's an elevator available to take to 3rd floor.

Questions about the event? Email submissionsforart1@gmail.com

The summer's not over yet and we wanna celebrate trans liberation on the beach with you one last time in 2025!
Where: Hollywood Beach (north side of the beach, next to the access ramp)
When: Labor Day Monday September 1st  3:00 PM - sunset

Pack your cute suits and sunscreen for the shores of Lake Michigan. There will be fun music, friends and trans/nonbinary/polyamory flags marking our spot! They Beach will always be held next to the ramp and access boardwalk in front of the beach house so anyone can come enjoy the queer festivities.

We encourage the community to take care of one another! Watch out for your queer/trans fam! Bring an extra blanket or water bottle, share your sunscreen or shade, say hello to your neighbor. This is a public beach space open to anyone and everyone. Please respect your surroundings accordingly.

Covid precautions: -please stay home if you feel sick in any way -we encourage everyone to test before they come -encourage masks (we will have masks available)

Transilience: A Trans Pride Festival will arrive in parks on the North, South, and West sides of Chicago on July 10-12, 2025. Featuring a variety of trans performing projects (dance, drag, live musical performance, circus, puppeteering, standup comedy, live painting, flow arts, DJs, and experimental performance art), this festival will be free to the public.

Transilience: A Trans Pride Festival will arrive in parks on the North, South, and West sides of Chicago on July 10-12, 2025. Featuring a variety of trans performing projects (dance, drag, live musical performance, circus, puppeteering, standup comedy, live painting, flow arts, DJs, and experimental performance art), this festival will be free to the public.

Transilience: A Trans Pride Festival will arrive in parks on the North, South, and West sides of Chicago on July 10-12, 2025. Featuring a variety of trans performing projects (dance, drag, live musical performance, circus, puppeteering, standup comedy, live painting, flow arts, DJs, and experimental performance art), this festival will be free to the public.

We’ve hit the 80 degree days and that means it’s time for the They’s!!

Where: Montrose Beach

When: Saturday June 28th

3:00 PM - sunset

Pack your cute suits, and sunscreen for the shores of Lake Michigan. There will be fun music, friends and trans/nonbinary/polyamory flags marking our spot! They Beach will always be held next to the ramp and access boardwalk in front of the beach house so anyone can come enjoy the queer festivities. 

They Beach only exists if you do. They Beach is a community movement that tranifests a safe, inclusive space for trans, enby, and queer folx to gather, connect, and have fun in the city. This can exist everywhere through collective action! (Shoutout to our sibling organization @theybeachdetroit ) Safe spaces are created actively, not passively. Be part of the movement by holding this safe trans space. That includes no tolerance for hate, misgendering, or any behavior that harms another. This is a gender diverse/gender queer space that is unwavering in the conviction that Black Trans Lives Matter. (Allys are welcome too, but please be mindful of the space you hold)