Author and star of one man show “Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps”
Scott Turner Schofield is traveling the country with his one man show called Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps. After a successful run in Miami in 2008, the show, which will take place in the Wolfson Campus Building One on the campus of Miami Dade College (300 NE 2nd Ave, Miami), is the actor/storyteller’s third show about his life. Performances will take place Thursday, February 9 through Saturday, February 11.
It was a pleasure to chat with Schofield about his show and to get to know a little more about him.
Tell our readers a bit about you.
Well, where do I even begin? I am a transgender man. I have 18 years of being out as Transgender, so I have a lot experience. More than anything, I’m a storyteller. I see everything in life as a story and I often do things just because it will make a great story. I love how when an LGBT person comes out, it changes the world around you. People have to accept or not accept you and either way, there is a story there. That story changes everyone’s lives. Most of the stories out there about trans people right now are about transition. My stories are about what happens after that. What happens when you’re a guy who was on the homecoming court in a dress and now you are walking into the men’s locker room? Being at the gym and listening to a bunch of locker room talk and secretly being a radical feminist on the inside.
What are some of the ongoing misconceptions you find people have about the transgender community?
I feel like we (the trans community) are about 20 years behind the LGB community. People still think that we are mentally ill or are sex offenders. We are liars or that we are somehow trying to fool people are probably the most negative misconceptions. The least negative misconception is that we aren’t’ what we know that we are. The nicest insult that I get is “I just don’t understand. You can’t change your sex. You are really a woman and you are just confused.”
How did the idea for the show come about?
So, Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps is my third one man show. I wrote my first show about my coming out process and the understanding that I wasn’t actually a lesbian, I’m a trans man and that’s different. My second show was about my life in the south and participating in Debutant culture and coming out in the way that debutants do. I really loved the idea of writing a third show but there are just so many stories and there isn’t on unifying metaphor that would make a show. What should I do? I realized that life is just a bunch of stories so I wanted to share the stories.
What can audiences in South Florida expect from the show?
Think of the old Choose Your Own Adventure stories. It’s like that. It is a different show every night. The audience comes in and I invite them to call out a number between one and 127. They shout out a number and I tell them the corresponding story. Each show features six to eight different stories. Afterwards, the audience will have an opportunity to ask questions and I will also participate in several workshops while I’m in Miami.
What advice or what would you have to say to people who might be going thought the realization process that they are transgender?
There is nothing wrong with you. I can’t say it enough or in enough languages. I can’t say it with enough emphasis. There. Is. Nothing. Wrong. With. You.
For ticket information visit MDCLiveArts.org. Tickets are $30 for general public. MDC students can find tickets for $10.
