During their residency at Studio in the Woods, Niamh Rita and Justice Singleton will design and facilitate an experimental writers’ room tailored for a diverse group of transgender storytellers and artists from their local New Orleans community. In this writing room, they have chosen to focus on writing a screenplay because film is one of the most far-reaching mediums for sharing stories in today’s world. Producing a screenplay will lay the foundation for a future film production that will create artistic opportunities in our community. This collaborative writing project will provide a container and platform for participants to create stories that address the wounds in our collective ecosystems, promote healing of those wounds, and imagine the future we want to live in.

Niamh Rita (they/them) is a transmasc interdisciplinary artist and amateur folklorist living in New Orleans. Using the mediums of protest art, comics, collective creative projects and tattoo art, they work to build community and facilitate healing transformation through their art practice.

Justice Singleton (he/him) is a black transmasculine educator, screenwriter, director, actor, poet, stand-up comedian and drag burlesque artist who lives in New Orleans. Justice facilitates a writer’s program that enlists creators to build community, inspires radical education and dismantles systemic storytelling.

Justice’s headshot by @happyblackchick