Beautiful Daughters: A documentary about the first-ever all-transgender staging of Eve Ensler's "Vagina Monologues"

Beautiful Daughters is a film about the first all transgender production of Eve Ensler’s THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES. This is the first gathering of the best and brightest of the transsexual community coming together to present a powerful message to change stereotypic views of transsexual women. This film embraces and totally accepts these women. Outrageous, deeply painful, deliciously funny - they tell their stories and we fall in love with them. Beautiful Daughters puts a complex, vulnerable and totally human face on these ladies. We see that they are a part of the fabric of our society and the film inspires acceptance, compassion and inclusion for them.

Credits:
Directed and Produced by Josh Aronson and Ariel Orr Jordan
Photography by Josh Aronson
Edited by Kate Kirson

BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS premieres in February 2006 on LOGO.

Aronson Film Associates: Contact Aronson Associates

Introduction to Beautiful Daughters, More about the films' subjects,

Photos and Bios of all cast members, Images from the production (more).

Beautiful Daughters is a breakthrough film about an historic stage production, and about the extraordinary women who made it happen.

The benefit performance showcased some of the trans community's best and brightest women from all over America. These women had all been born as boys and had struggled mightily to gain their places in life as women. Many were still living in stealth and chose this performance to “come out”.

Working with famed playwright Eve Ensler (more), Deep Stealth Productions’, Calpernia Addams and Andrea James organized, produced and directed an all-trans version of Eve’s beautiful monologues – a series of evocative readings about the experiences of womanhood, and about the reclaiming of self through loving and respecting our bodies.

From the initial interviews with trans women (which led Eve to her new trans monologue for this production), through weeks of auditions and rehearsals – on to dress rehearsals, opening night back-stage jitters, star studded Hollywood audience and then the performance itself – “Beautiful Daughters” captures it all in a one hour film.

But it does much, much more, by featuring vignettes of cast members and revealing how these women have endured and succeeded in life.

Among the many women we meet are:
Calpernia Addams, a beautiful actress and author working to change attitudes in Hollywood about trans women. A violent event in her remarkable life was the subject of the Showtime movie “Soldier’s Girl,” and she has been an outspoken anti-violence activist ever since, espousing the cause of trans women through projects such as V-Day and through her website. Calpernia directed, co-produced and performed in the event. (more)
Leslie Townsend, a gorgeous 40-something woman who for many years worked as a model and as a highly paid escort, who finally comes to terms with that part of her life. Now in a new career as a real estate developer, Leslie “came out” while participating in this production. (more)
Valerie Spencer, a beautiful, vivacious, loving and wise African American woman shares her own unique perspective on being trans in her community, and on her relationships with lovers, friends, her pastor, her mother and other family members. (more)
Lynn Conway, a lovely 60-something woman who was one of the first successful transsexual women in America: While living quietly in stealth, Lynn became one of the pioneers in modern computing. "Coming out" after decades of hiding her past, she now maintains a major transsexual support site on the internet (LynnConway.com). (more)
Andrea James, the glamorous young woman who, along with Calpernia Addams produced and performed in the all-trans V-Day event. Andrea is widely known in the community for her wonderful "TS Roadmap" website (tsroadmap.com), which has become the "bible of MtF transition" by helping thousands of transitioners in recent years. Andrea reflects on her life, on the changing times we live in, and on opportunities for media to reflect the reality of modern trans lives instead of merely restaging old stereotypes. (more)
Click here for pages of photos and bios of all the V-Day cast members.

“Beautiful Daughters” poignantly explores real life issues facing such women – from challenges arising in the fear of the feminine in our culture – to the intertwined nature of identity, intimacy, sexuality and love – culminating in the search for a place in the sun that all of us can identity with.

Through their eyes are reflected the odd misunderstandings and confusions about gender transition often displayed by families, friends, lovers and society.

In them we see a vivid picture of women shedding fear and shame – women stepping out of hiding, and becoming full of pride in what they’ve accomplished in life.

Such women are all around us, but pass unrecognized by being “hidden in plain sight.” “Beautiful Daughters” removes that veil of secrecy, and we see first-hand what truly wondrous lives these women live.

Deep Stealth Productions presented the V-Day 2004 Worldwide Campaign event for Los Angeles on Saturday, February 21st. In cooperation with the author, internationally-known playwright Eve Ensler, and under the auspices of Jane Fonda, this benefit performance featured the first ever transgender cast of "The Vagina Monologues," and included a new monologue written by Eve especially for this event.

The performance showcased notable trans women reading Eve's beautiful monologues about the experiences of womanhood and the reclaiming of self through loving and respecting our bodies. The event also featured artistic, literary and musical contributions from trans women from around the country. Among the many women participating were: Calpernia Addams, Becky Allison, Marci Bowers, Lynn Conway, Andrea James, Donna Rose, Gwen Smith, Leslie Townsend, and many, many more...The V-Day Los Angeles event was held in Hollywood on Saturday evening, February 21, 2004 in the Silver Screen Theater at the beautiful Pacific Design Center.