The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Association (LGBTA) is hosting Scott Turner Schofield in Sykes, Ballroom C on November 9 at 8 pm as a conclusion to Transgender AwarenessWeek. Underground Transit is a one-man show performed by Schofield. He believes in the power of performance as social activism. In his mission statement on his Web site, www.undergroundtransit. com, he states that everyone falls between queer and straight and he performs for those who strive to find themselves in spite of themselves. He also says that we all “enforce the bars of social control at one point or another.” Schofield is from the southern United States and was originally a woman named Kt Kilborn. His career in performance art started when he was a research assistant at WOW caf in 2000. He worked for Holly Hughes and Carmelita Tropicana. Now he travels around to colleges to perform his one-man show and sets up social change workshops for students. He is also a writer. In 2004, he was the youngest ever recipient of the Tanne Foundation Award and he has also received many other rewards during his career. The Tanne Foundation awards artists who have enduring c ommi tme n t to their art but may not have the needed resources to continue with it. The award is meant “as an expression of their gratitude to artists for their passion and commitment to their work,” according to the website, www.tannefoundation.org.
Sally Cramer, president of LGBTA, says that the reason they asked Schofield to perform is because they “want to learn more about the T in our name and because he is a good, positive LGBT model and activist.” Schofield also performs with a group called The Southern Gents. Three southern men who wanted to change people’s perceptions about Southerners and the South formed this group.
In addition to this group, Schofield has worked with a number of other people such as Thea Hillman, who is a poet performer from Oakland, CA, and Kate Bornstein, who is a writer and performance artist from NewYork City.