Celebrate Pride Month by supporting our youth!

About Face Youth Theatre (AFYT), a group of dynamic and diverse young people and teaching artists, have spent the past two years working with the community to create the play WHAT’S THE T.  Now we need your support to make this ambitious world premiere a reality!

Get an introduction to WHAT'S THE T in the video above as ensemble members talk about and show us where they feel safest in the community.

The play follows internet personality / trans activist / fierce community leader Ms. Ma as she uses her YouTube page to create community, live her glamour, and spread the good word about queer safe space in Chicago.  WHAT'S THE T tells the story of Ms. Ma's tangled web of connections, her struggle to stay positive, and what happens to her community when she disappears.  Inspired by issues of race, gender, age, and class in the queer friendly neighborhood of Boystown, WHAT'S THE T is based on true stories and interviews from LGBTQA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and allied) young folks in and around Chicago.

Pride is a time to celebrate how far we’ve come, individually and as a community.  Let's pay it forward to this empowered and dedicated group of young people who have worked so hard to tackle these important issues. 

Think about the resources you had (or wish you had) when you were growing up. Where did you feel safe when you were a teenager?  Was there a place where you felt unsafe?  These young people want to share their two year exploration and tell their stories.  The whole community has been involved in this play, from activist and artists Precious Jewel, Arturo Soria, AJ Jennings, and Eric Hoff to organizations like GenderJUST, the Trans Oral History Project, Gender Queer Chicago, Transformative Justice Law Project, and The School of Opulence.  Only you can make the culmination of this work possible by donating to our campaign!

Donations to this Kickstarter campaign will go directly to producing WHAT’S THE T this July and August, created by the AFYT ensemble and Education Director Sara Kerastas and directed by Artistic Associate Eric Hoff, who just finished directing the smash hit HIT THE WALL.

Thank you for your help – WHAT’S THE T wouldn’t be possible without your commitment to youth!