The Theater Offensive (TTO) built a reputation amongst our audiences as an organization that puts the FUN in fundraiser with our CLIMacts! and Beyond the Stage events. This year we’re excited to invite you to move beyond the stage and onto the dance floor for TTO’s latest soiree:
QUEER PROM: a joyful celebration of queer belonging! Inspired by all queer youth and adults who may not have had the opportunity to be their true self at their own high school proms, Queer Prom will be a night filled with entertainment, dancing and intergenerational community to celebrate queer youth in our True Colors: Out Youth Theater programming and across Boston.
The night will feature “Prom Court” awardees who are prominent members of the Boston LGBTQIA+ community, music, and performances from queer youth and artists. The event will also honor the current youth and alumni of TTO’s youth performance troupe, True Colors, now entering its 30th year.
Join us for retro-roller rink vibes and tasty snacks at Tenderoni’s, the newest restaurant from queer Bostonian celebrity chef Tiffani Faison.
Advance tickets required. Ticketing closes on Friday, February 16.
Candace Persuasian
Candace Persuasian is a Vietnamese Goddess that you can see all around Boston including her residency spots Carrie Nation and Jacques Cabaret where she is one of the co-hosts of an all trans show for the latter. She is most known for her viral video where Beyoncé declared Trans is Beautiful after reading Candace’s sign. This led her to being featured in Billboard, PinkNews, Them and even cameoed in Beyoncé’s recent Renaissance Film.
Candace is grateful for where she is now. She has continuously contributed to the Boston Queer community, from being a program manager at MAP for Health to being a co-chair of BAGLY Youth Leadership Committee, to being a True Colors/Theater Offensive alum to being the Clinical Coordinator at Fenway Health to helping Trans and Gender Non Binary folks at Mass General Hospital get Gender Affirming Surgery to now serving as Community Relations Specialist for the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Advancement (MOLA) working on Queer issues and advocating for brave spaces in a city that she loves so much.
DJ TROY Frost
Kyara Andrade-Howell also known as DJ TROY Frost is an artist, educator, and event curator from Dorchester and Roxbury. She started DJing in 2013 and completed Scratch DJ Academy’s certification program in 2015. After graduating from Barnard College in 2017, she worked as a DEI Consultant and for Boston Public Schools in varying roles. In 2019, she piloted The Breaks, an enrichment program which gave 15 Boston youth an introduction to the pillars of Hip Hop. Kyara now works part time as a library coordinator at a middle/high school and at Frugal Bookstore in Roxbury. She is currently working on growing Purple Produce, an event series focused on Hip Hop, wellness, literacy and community collaboration.
Letta Neely
Black. Dyke. Mother/Father. Auntie/Uncle. Poet. Playwright. Performer. Drapetomaniac. Freedom Fighter. Letta’s first play, "Hamartia Blues", was produced by The Theater Offensive at the Boston Center for the Arts in 2002. Her plays "Last Rites" and "Shackles & Sugar" have been produced in Boston, Philly, and Los Angeles. In addition to the chapbooks: gawd and alluh huh sistahs and When We Were Mud, Letta has written two books of poetry, Juba and Here (Wildheart Press). Her literary work has been included in numerous anthologies, literary journals, and bathroom stalls.
Liberation. Freedom. Because she is rooted in infinite love, she branches out in infinite love.
She is currently touring “Pulling It All Into The Current” a one woman spoken word- infused play. The show has been to Boston, Edinburgh, NYC, New Hampshire, and her hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana. Her newest book: Geographies of Power will be released in the Fall of 2024
Tre'Andre Valentine
Tre’Andre Carmel Valentine (he/they) is a Black, Indigenous, and South Asian immigrant from Trinidad and Tobago. An advocate for trans rights for almost 20 years, he is the first BIPOC Executive Director to lead the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, the oldest active transgender advocacy organization in the United States, solely focused on trans and nonbinary communities.
From 2009 to 2019, they supported LGBTQ+ survivors of domestic violence through their work at The Network/La Red and have over a decade of experience in the anti-violence movement advancing DEI initiatives specializing in LGBTQ+ inclusion.
From 2009 to 2017, he co-chaired the Boston Transgender Day of Remembrance planning committee and volunteered as an adult support for the Boston Alliance of LGBTQ Youth from 2012 to 2019.
He has served on the board of the Y2Y Network and Trans Resistance; Gender Spectrum’s Mental Health and Medical Care Advisory Group and the steering committee of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, the Transgender Emergency Fund, and the National LGBTQ Domestic Violence Learning Center.
They have been the keynote speaker for the 2015 Trans Youth Summit and 2021 Trans* in the CLE Conference.
Tre’Andre currently consults for the Fenway Institute to address HIV
transmission within transmasculine and nonbinary communities; and serves on the City of Boston’s Human Rights Commission and the Massachusetts Special Commission on Unaccompanied Homeless Youth. He loves babies, animals, music, Xena Warrior Princess, and miniatures.
Advance tickets required. Ticketing closes on Friday, February 16.
Community Guidelines
At The Theater Offensive, we believe that community safety is a pillar to creating an inclusive environment. In the tradition of art made by Queer and Trans People of Color, we want to create an intentional, inclusive, and healing space for this event centered in radical empathy and universal love.
To create this sacred space we are setting some community standards to prevent further trauma and/or oppression to QTPOC community members.
We invite you –
to feel how you want to feel,
to speak from your own experience
to claim and own your emotions and struggles, and express your wants and needs as such
No bullying, xenophobic, homophobic, and/or transphobic behavior of any kind will be tolerated in this sacred and brave space. If such incidents happen we will remove said person(s) immediately so other folks can enjoy their time safely. TTO and Tenderoni’s are committed to creating a place where individuals can come as they are and celebrate in community. We thank you in advance for helping us maintain and defend this sacred space.
Queer Prom is a celebration of queer youth - past, present, and future. Thank you for your cooperation in making this a safe space for intergenerational community gathering!
Queer Prom is a 13+ event. The afterparty is a 21+ event.
Queer Prom is a reservation-only event. All tickets must be reserved by February 16, 2024. There will be no ticket sales at the door.
IDs will be checked at the door, and 21+ attendees will receive a wristband and 2 drink tickets.
21+ attendees are limited to 2 alcoholic drinks (beer and wine only) during Queer Prom (6PM-9PM). During the 21+ after party, (9PM-11PM), a full cash bar will be available. Unlimited soft drinks, including custom mocktails, are available to all attendees.
Folks of all ages should come ready to dance on two dance floors - one for youth and one for adults.
Keep our community’s health in mind - if you are feeling sick at all, please stay home.
Masks are required at this event unless eating or drinking. Get ready to show off your COVID-safe creativity in a contest for Most Fabulous Mask! Masks will be provided at the door to all who need them.