Becoming Joaquin (excerpt)

Becoming-Joaquin play

Written and performed by Janis Astor del Valle, directed by Carolyn Kirsch, Becoming Joaquin is a solo play about a transgender Latino, his family and girlfriend, who are in therapy, struggling to accept his transition from a lesbian to a transman. In this scene, Joaquin tells a fellow bar patron how a series of events — and Oprah — led to his coming out, with disastrous results.

Becoming Joaquin premiered as a workshop production at Hartford Stage, produced by CLARO (Connecticut Latinos Achieving Rights and Opportunities) in 2010. Since then, Janis has toured the piece, performing at such venues as B.A.A.D. (Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance), True Colors at UCONN, Wesleyan University’s Green Street Art Center, DePaul University, and Housatonic Community College.