Becoming a Man in 127 Easy Steps

Gender blender Scott Turner Schofield is “a man who was a woman, a lesbian turned straight guy, who is often called a fag.”

Comments (0) By Julia Ramey Thursday, Feb 19 2009

Scott Turner Schofield sums up his life with a deceptively simple sentence: He’s “a man who was a woman, a lesbian turned straight guy, who is often called a fag.” Easy to read, sure, but tougher to comprehend, so the Atlanta-based performance artist has created Becoming a Man in 127 Easy Steps, an autobiographical one-man show about his sexual and emotional evolution. Each “step” is in fact a snippet from his life, and since Schofield can’t share them all in one night, he asks the audience to participate throughout, both by collectively deciding which of the snippets he shares and then responding with their perceptions and opinions. In one of the scenes — which you may or may not see — an army recruiter tells Schofield that transgendered people can’t enlist. In another, he strips down to discuss the physical process he went through to become a man (he opted for testosterone treatments but against gender reassignment surgery). He has said that the show challenges people to understand that his sex is different than his gender. Heavy stuff, sure, but he throws in plenty of comedy — and even some aerial acrobatics. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. DiverseWorks, 1117 East Freeway. For information, call 713-223-8346 or visit www.diverseworks.org. $15.