Autobiographical Monologue Project

About Motus Theater’s What Love Requires Project

“As a parent of a trans child, I sucked in a few sobs, but ultimately left the theater holding onto a line in one of the stories: to ‘never stop imagining a bright future for your child. . .’ [My wife and I] are grateful to be reminded that the bright future still exists — even as we fight for our kids’ lives in the too-often overwhelming darkness of this moment.” — Jon A. Stout, Founder & Former Executive Director of Free Speech TV

In Motus Theater’s What Love Requires (2025), parents of transgender and nonbinary adults share about the ways that they have transformed their own perceptions of gender and parenting to support their gender-diverse children to not only survive but thrive. 

Benjamin Lloyd — “Strong Hands, Soft Heart”: A father reflects on his nonbinary child’s journey into gender freedom, and how loving Noa helped him confront his own inherited ideas of masculinity, privilege, and what it means to be a man with strong hands and a soft heart.

In many ways, the job of parents is to support our children to blossom into the unique gift they were meant to bring to the world. However, every parent’s idea of who our children are can be limited by family or societal expectations (“You were supposed to be a doctor like your parents, not a musician!”)  

For parents of transgender and nonbinary children, supporting our children has particularly high stakes because of the threats our children currently face simply by living their own true gender, and experiencing the joy we all have when we can truly be ourselves. 

nan seymour — “Imagine a Bright Future”: A mother, terrified by her teen transgender daughter’s suicidality, learns to envision a bright future she cannot yet imagine, until she witnesses her daughter transform after gender affirming care, chose life, and marry the love of her life at a large church wedding.

What Love Requires monologues were created in collaboration with Motus Theater’s artistic director, Kirsten Wilson, as part of a 12-week transformative storytelling workshop focused on story development, public speaking, and support aimed at preparing monologists to speak on how supportive families drastically positively change outcomes for transgender and nonbinary people. The project builds upon Motus’ specialty of developing artfully crafted autobiographical monologues with leaders on the frontlines of violence in the U.S., putting them center stage as the protagonists in the American drama.

What Love Requires is the companion project to Motus Theater’s 2023 TRANSformative Stories monologues, in which transgender and nonbinary leaders present artfully crafted personal stories about their hopes, dreams, and experiences of negotiating oppression and liberation. The monologues disrupt dehumanizing perceptions and lift up the humanity of monologists.

Leah Rodriguez — “My Baby Girl”: A mother reflects on the fear that shaped her first response to her transgender daughter, the second chance she was given to offer fuller love, and the fierce joy of fighting for her daughter’s right to run, live, and blossom as herself.

 

Julie — “Amongst the Stars”: A mother’s adoption journey becomes a path toward her own liberation as she learns from her nonbinary child Ash, whose chosen name, courage, and refusal to fit into small boxes invite her to expand beyond fear and follow a truer path.

Lynn Kutner – “Politicians and the Playground”: A mother traces her nonbinary child’s journey from being bullied on the preschool playground for breaking gender rules to becoming a powerful ‘artivist’, reminding us that trans and gender-expansive children are not political pawns, but beautiful children worth every effort to protect.

Cindy Frances – “Cowboy Up”: A Wyoming-born mother draws on the rugged individualism and community care of her upbringing to support her transgender daughter, Cat, urging other parents to “cowboy up” by protecting

Cat Lindsey – “Joy to the World”: A mother celebrates her transgender daughter’s lifelong joy, musical brilliance, and fearless self-expression, while reflecting on the gender-affirming care that helped her reclaim that joy as an act of resistance. 

Beth Leyba – “Transcendent Love”: A mother reflects on the soul-deep love she has always felt for her transgender child, whose courage, questions, and self-knowledge helped liberate them both from narrow ideas of gender, faith, and belonging.

Upcoming What Love Requires Performances:

Events
Motus Theater Presents: What Love Requires in Lafayette, CO
Nov 14
Motus Theater Presents: What Love Requires in Lafayette, CO

Motus Theater & the Parent Engagement Network (PEN) present What Love Requires, a new autobiographical monologue project featuring stories of parents of transgender and nonbinary adults.

The performance shares stories of parents supporting their children to not only survive, but thrive. The performance also celebrates the ways parents are liberated from limiting perceptions about gender in the process of truly seeing and learning from their children.