Transmutation: A Ceremony (Live in NYC)

Mirror Memoirs is proud to present a full-scale live production of our theater project, "Transmutation: A Ceremony," a performance featuring our sacred storytellers Samantha Jo Dato, Ebony Ava Harper, Alexandra Magallon and Sydney Rogers. This production, supporting these four Black and Afro-Latina transgender women sharing their true stories of surviving child sexual abuse and the ongoing violence of transmisogynoir, and their visions of healing and the world we need and deserve, was written and directed by Luna Merbruja, Amita Swadhin, and Jaden Cervantes-Fields.

A work-in-progress version of "Transmutation: A Ceremony" was filmed in 2021 at the Aratani Theater in Los Angeles. This weekend is the first and only live production, featuring two performances: Friday, October 10 (7-9pm) and Saturday, October 11 (5-7pm) at Judson Memorial Church in New York City's Greenwich Village.

After the 90-minute show, we will host a talk-back featuring our Cast Members and Co-Directors. Our panelists will draw connections between abolitionist, intersectional efforts to end child sexual abuse and other movements to end systemic, cultural and historical violence. In a time of accelerating genocide against transgender people, Black people, and especially Black transgender people, Mirror Memoirs is grateful for the clear call to action illuminated by our cast members' stories.

• 6:00pm Doors Open
• 6:00-7:00pm Seating (Open Seating)
• 7:00-8:30pm Live Performance
• 8:30-9:00pm Post Show Talk-Back w/Cast & Directors
• 9:00pm Doors Close

Saturday, October 11 Agenda:

• 4:00pm Doors Open
• 4:00-5:00pm Seating (Open Seating)
• 5:00-6:30pm Live Performance
• 6:30-7:00pm Post Show Talk-Back w/Cast & Directors
• 7:00pm Doors Close

Tickets:
Tickets will be available at the door, but you will have to register in person using our online system. We encourage you to register in advance to save time when you arrive

Event Logistics:
In service of one another's well-being, we will be distributing KN95 masks at the door. Masks will be required at all times.

Accessibility:
Judson Memorial Church is wheelchair accessible at their 243 Thompson Street entrance, which is ground level with an elevator that can bring individuals with accessibility needs up.The performance and Q&A are conducted in English. If you need ASL interpretation or have other access needs, please email us at: info@mirrormemoirs.org

Seeking Event Sponsors:
Thanks to anchor grants from the Ford Foundation, Trans Equity Consulting and San Diego Pride Fund, we will stage a series of "Transmutation: A Ceremony" film screenings and one full-scale live production in 2025. We are still raising funds to support this series, consisting of the following events:

Our Sponsors:

G4GC

Translatinx Network

Farbman Family Foundation

Gonzalo Casals Fund

Survived + Punished NY

Pansori Farm

Our Honorary Partner:

Transmutation: A Ceremony was inspired by the 2011 theatrical performance Secret Survivors, conceived by Mirror Memoirs' Founding Co-Director Amita Swadhin for NYC theater company Ping Chong and Company (now Pink Fang)’s Undesirable Elements series. Pink Fang has served an ongoing advisory role to Mirror Memoirs’ theatrical work, and is an honorary partner on this production."

Please contact us if you or your workplace would be interested in becoming a sponsor of this series, or of one specific event.

Our 2021 filmed performance was supported in part by an arts grant from the City of West Hollywood, additional grants from the California LGBT Arts Alliance, Asian Women Giving Circle, Jenny Phillips Future Freedoms Fund, Robert Sterling Clark Foundation and Tory Burch Foundation, and donations from numerous individuals.

Mirror Memoirs is a project of Community Partners, a 501(c)(3) organization headquartered in Los Angeles, CA.