DePaulia
The
2017 Pacemaker Award Winner/Best Weekly College Newspaper-SPJ
Volume #102 | Issue #22 | April 16, 2018 | depauliaonline.com
Blurring the binary
DESIGN BY ALLY ZACEK | THE DEPAULIA
Bringing nonbinary identities to the main stage By Cody Corrall Multimedia Editor
CODY CORRALL | THE DEPAULIA TOP: “Growing Up Blue” was Rivkin’s hardest audition because it hit so close to home. “I had never wanted a role so badly.” BOTTOM: Holtz experimented with using both she/her and they/them pronouns. The more they used they, the more comfortable they felt in their own skin.
Aiden Rivkin doesn’t have to hide anymore. Rivkin identifies as nonbinary, which means they don’t identify entirely as a man or a woman and use they/them pronouns as opposed to he/him or she/her. They are currently the only out transgender acting student in the audition pool for juniors and seniors at The Theatre School. In May, they will star as Blue in the world premiere of “Growing Up Blue” on the Fullerton Stage. “Growing Up Blue,” written by Theatre School alumna Chloë Orlando, tells the story of a young teen in a small town grappling with gender identity, family and what is means to always be in a state of transition. The main character, Blue, who was assigned male at birth, navigates the complexities of gender identity and what it means to be different through an oftentimes comedic and heartfelt lens. For Rivkin, playing Blue is important not only because of the size of the role, but also because the role is an opportunity to authentically represent their community in a mainstage production. “I’m really thrilled to be able to actually represent a community that I’m a part of,” Rivkin said. Rivkin is one of several nonbinary students at DePaul, and that population is growing in college campuses across the country. The 2013 and 2015 Minnesota College Student Health Survey found that twice as many respondents identified themselves as “genderqueer” or “another gender” instead of the binary “transgender.” “Growing Up Blue” was Rivkin’s hardest audition because it hit so close to home. “I had never wanted a role so badly,” said Rivkin. Rivkin discovered they were nonbinary during their sophomore year of college. They tried on a few labels, butch and lesbian specifically, but they didn’t feel quite right. Rivkin had friends who used they/them pronouns, and these pronouns increasingly became a part of their everyday speech. Eventually, Rivkin tried they/them pronouns for their own self. At the end of their sophomore year, Rivkin
See BLURRING, page 6