'Gender Blur' Comes Into Focus in Trumpet Theatre Play

Ghillian Porter, left, as L.C. "Doc" Grinder, and Katie Atkinson, as Herman Amberstone, in Trumpet Vine Theatre's production of "Hidden: A Gender." (Keith Waters)

Arlington's Trumpet Vine Theatre Company is using theater as a teaching tool this season, its 17th, devoting the season to a concept called "Landscapes of Identity."

Now, before you rapidly move on, remember that teaching doesn't always have to be dull. True, Trumpet Vine's landscape may not cover a lot of ground, dedicated as it is primarily to gay and lesbian, and now transsexual, issues. And theater companies tend to get creatively hobbled when they're mostly preaching to the choir. But Trumpet Vine usually finds fresh approaches or unusual material to support its artistic and social missions, and its current production, "Hidden: A Gender," is no exception. General audiences will likely find much to enjoy and think about, should they find their way to Theater on the Run.

Playwright Kate Bornstein introduces a phrase you are probably not familiar with: "gender blur." Gender, for most of us, is hardly blurred. It's solid, dependable and not even something to be considered. But Bornstein had a different experience. She was born a male, grew up as a boy, but became a transsexual female as an adult. That apparently didn't work any better, so Bornstein now proclaims to be uncertain about belonging to either sex. At this point, she (she prefers "ze") is a self-described transsexual lesbian.

As you might imagine, Bornstein, who is also a performance artist, sees a lot of gender blurring where the rest of us might not even think of such a thing. Much of her (she prefers "hir") work is devoted to breaking down the walls created when gender is seen as having only two possibilities, and in a society that simply demands that you definitively be one or the other.

"Hidden: A Gender," which premiered in 1989, breaks down the whole concept by introducing us to two people of "dubious gender identity" who tell their stories. One is Herculine Barbin (Sarah Fischer), a real-life Parisian hermaphrodite from the late 19th century. The other is Herman Amberstone (Katie Atkinson), a contemporary male-to-female transsexual who is a stand-in for Bornstein herself.

Under the direction of Vincent Worthington, the atmosphere is alternately playful, wry and satirical as Bornstein likens the travails associated with uncertain gender to a circus. The action occurs under an orange and yellow big top-style tent -- as opposed to the "big tent" politicians are fond of evoking come election time -- ushered along by circus emcee L.C. "Doc" Grinder (Ghillian Porter), resplendent and sensual in black leather, who also provokes both the audience and Amberstone to grapple with their senses of identity.

Barbin's and Amberstone's situations, in vastly different eras and coming from opposite sexual directions, nevertheless have much in common, even as Fischer's characterization of the Parisian is one of naivete and sweetness, and Atkinson's modern American is a person of hard-edged cynicism and aggressive appetites.

Their stories play out in alternating scenes as each grapples with an inner self at odds with the expectations of society and as Porter ably supplies comic counterpoint in a variety of guises. It's mostly fun, such as when Amberstone describes a career working for the too-cool "Church of Diabology," a diversion that could easily be amplified into a decent stand-up comedy routine. But several clinical discussions are difficult. You think you already find the idea of leeches in medicine distasteful? Just wait.

Stylishly produced and always entertaining, "Hidden: A Gender" generates earnest thought, particularly as Amberstone separates gender from sexuality -- a simple yet profound concept. "Gender is who I am," the character explains. "Sexual preference is a separate issue. That's who I want to have sex with."

"Hidden: A Gender," performed by Trumpet Vine Theatre Company, continues through April 30 at Theater on the Run, 3700 S. Four Mile Run Dr., Arlington. Showtime is 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, with a Sunday matinee and ice cream social at 2:30 p.m. this weekend and next. For tickets or information, call 703-912-1649 or visit www.trumpetvinetheatrecompany.org.