Party on our Block!

Annalise 'River' Guidry is informed by feminist notions found in “A Love Ethic” by bell hooks and “Knowing Together” by Allison Weir. Their work introduced a thesis for a Theater of Union that emphasizes storytelling, deep listening, and understanding to build worlds of knowledge that bring people together. Their hope is to contribute to life-sustaining world-making projects with theater as the vehicle by exploring lineage, the self, and lived experiences in storytelling. During their current residency with the Theater Offensive, they will interrogate the question “In what ways can our stories bring us together?” through the development and praxis of their thesis in community through playwriting and directing for True Colors Troupe.

Victoria Awkward is originally from Massachusetts, trained at Impulse Dance Center by LuAnn Pagella, and has worked with Boston-based artists such as Karen Krolak. Her project “In the Space Between” (ITSB) follows a soloist as they inspire their community to delve into an infinite space between their reality and their wildest dreams. This infinite reality provides opportunity for freedom-seeking, exploration, and embodiment. ITSB showcases a dynamic fabric set created by architectural firm NADAAA, extravagant handmade costumes by Mitzi Eppley and our costume team, light design by Elmer Martinez, original music by Aaron Brown, and performance by VLA DANCE. ITSB originally premiered as a short work at Boston Center for the Arts and The Dance Complex.

Des Bennett (they/them) is a cultural worker whose practice emphasizes creativity and storytelling as central to community care, social wellness, and QTBIPOC+ liberation. They are a collage artist, zine maker, drag performer, dramaturg, director, facilitator, fiber artist, and producer currently working as the Queer (Re)Public Programs Manager at The Theater Offensive. Des is a co-leader of Gender Explosion, a coalition of trans artists across the country empowering, advocating for, and creating space for trans artists in the performing arts sector, and has led trans inclusion workshops in Boston and on Broadway. Their recent directing work includes: The Interrobangers (Assoc. Dir., Company One); Grief Love (Co-Conceiver & Dir.); True Colors Troupe (TTO); we and other goddexxes (C1); Sunday Swings an Old-New Gospel (Huntington); Common Ground: Revisited (Ass. Dir., Hunt.); My Body Is a A Season (SpeakEasy); and Scenes From Metamorphoses (Northeastern University). They have held Research Assistantships with Dani Snyder-Young PhD on her projects, Theatre participation and arts-integrated peer leadership in substance addiction recovery processes (2019) and Digital performance, wellness, and equity (2020), and contributed to Procedurally authored performances of mindful practice: Theatre-for-one, audience labor and self-optimization (TDR, 2022). Des holds a BA in Theater and a minor in Psychology from Northeastern University.

Boy Nirvana is a visual artist and museum educator based in New Hampshire. In their art work, Boy explores themes of queerness and close looking at New England’s landscapes and folk art. In the museum, Boy centers personal experience and close looking as they seek to actively “Queer” or challenge dominant interpretations. Boy can be found wearing their blue headphones listening to Nine Inch Nails or Alex G.  

Follow on Instagram - @boynirvana

Rayven, DJ RAYVINO, is a Dorchester native creative who is dedicated to making safe spaces for Black trans femmes and bringing people together through the power of connection, community, and love using music! As a Black non-binary femme-presenting person that lives in a huge city, they find that there are a lack of spaces for people like them. DJ RAYVINO’s intention behind curating and deejaying is to create a harm and judgment-free safe space for Black non-binary people & femmes to have fun. Their purpose is to prove to people and cities worldwide that there is a market for Black non-binary femmes and that they exist!