What's it like to be a transgender parent? Or a transgender celebrity? Or even the first out trans actor on a daytime soap opera?
At 7pm this Wednesday night, best friends and traveling performers Scott Turner Schofield and S. Bear Bergman will answer these questions and more at an evening of storytelling at the Center For Sex and Culture. The event is a fundraiser for the community center, which nearly lost its longtime home at 10th and Mission to a recent rent hike.
Schofield, a transman known for performing one-person shows on transgender issues, made history in 2014 when he was cast as Nick on the CBS soap The Bold and the Beautiful. He became the first trans actor to play a major role on a soap.
He'll be joined by longtime collaborator S. Bear Bergman, a publisher, author, columnist, parent and activist. "[Bear is] one of the most radically queer people I know,” Schofield said. “He has an incredible ability to include everyone at the table; he won't stop until everyone is included."
Their show, Words Can't Describe, will consist of "sweet queer stories in hot queer mouths,” Schofield says. That includes a live version of Bergman’s Ask Bear column for Bitch Media.
"People are going to get to know Bear and I," says Schofield, who describes his look as "traditional," whereas Bergman is more of a leather daddy. "It'll be the environment of a chosen family, a reunion vibe. It's the family reunion you'd like to have."
In addition to snagging signed copies of their books and posing for photos, attendees stand a 30 percent chance of getting a lap dance, he said. Those lap dances will be reserved for a lucky few, and the eligibility criteria is simple: "Donate, donate, donate to the Center." If enough money is raised, he and Bergman will also perform the second half of Words Can't Describe in their underpants.
Schofield may not be a San Franciscan, but he considers the Center to be essential to not just the city, but the world. ”People underestimate the Center's importance. If you value your ability to walk down the street holding hands with whomever you want, and if you value your sexuality or identity, then come support the Center."
