This Is Beyond: A Time Capsule of Queer Experience

In this rapid moment of expansion in queer theatre, when everything is exposed, interrogated, and investigated, This is Beyond is a time capsule of where we are now and a map for where we might go next. Co-editors Evan Tsitsias and Bilal Baig strike out to capture the magnitude of this seismic shift, asking: How far have we come? What's changed? What's stayed the same? What do we need to do to continue to change things? An anthology that moves like a satellite in the sky, This is Beyond confronts and expands our current perceptions so that we may continue to explore the new and unknown.

Monologues, essays, poetry, and opinion pieces speak to the transformation of queer theatre through a myriad of diverse experiences, using stories, myths, and magic to unveil the intersections of queerness and cultures. Each piece gives voice to what it means to be a member of the queer community in an ever-evolving society, offering actors of every age, colour, culture, and generation empowered queer stories to play with, ponder over, learn from, and embody within our current cultural moment.

Evan Tsitsias is Co-Artistic Director of Directors Lab North and the former artistic director of Eclipse Theatre Company. His writing includes Aftershock, The Murmuration of Starlings, Unstuck, Strange Mary Strange, the musical Inge(new), and the short film Bagged, which aired on the CBC. He's worked internationally and spent the last decade in Houston at Theatre Under the Stars. He is a member of the Lincoln Theater Center Directors Lab, Chicago Directors Lab, the Tarragon Playwright's Unit, Stratford Festival's New Play Development Program, and was a resident artist at Robert Wilson's Watermill Center. He's been nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award, the John Hirsch Directing Prize, the Tom Hendry Award, and received Honourable Mention for the Herman Voaden National Playwriting Prize. His book The Directors Lab was published by Playwrights Canada Press in 2019. His work has been published in Germany, Canada, and the USA. www.evantsitsias.com

Bilal Baig (they/them) is a queer, trans-feminine, Muslim playwright, performer, and workshop facilitator. Bilal's first play, Acha Bacha, had its world premiere in 2018 and has been published by Playwrights Canada Press. Other written work in development includes Kainchee Lagaa, Kitne Saare Laloo Yahan Pey Hain, and I want that free mind! Bilal is a core team member at non-profits such as Story Planet and Rivers of Hope, where they develop and facilitate workshops for youth in under-resourced neighbourhoods in Toronto focused on creative writing and literacy (Story Planet) and combatting Islamophobia through the arts (Rivers of Hope). Bilal has been the Playwrights Unit Facilitator for the Paprika Festival since 2019. Bilal is the lead and co-creator of the CBC/HBO Max/Sienna Films series Sort Of.