Film and Theatre

Fight or Flight is a one-act play with two alternate endings that follows the story of two trans men who find and lose love for one another. 

The characters, Augustus Cessar and Niro Claudius, draw inspiration from three Roman emperors—Nero Claudian, Augustus (Octavian), and Julius Caesar—reflecting my academic background. As an undergraduate student, I studied abroad in Pompeii and explored the intimate lives of Roman emperors. Those experiences shaped the subtle historical references embedded throughout the play. 

This project was born from collaboration with trans creatives in the theatre field. Rather than creating another narrative about “becoming trans,” our writing room focused on telling a story about love, loss, and survival within the queer community. Fight or Flight examines the heartbreak that can occur between two people who love each other deeply while also confronting the need to escape cycles of abuse. 

Central to the story is the role of the court system—an institution many trans people experience as hostile or biased. The play presents a stylized, philosophical courtroom where both parties are trans. This approach enables us to explore themes of justice, accountability, and power within a queer framework, without replicating the trauma of real-life legal battles.

By supporting this project, you are helping bring to life a story that expands representation for trans people on stage, not as symbols of transition, but as full, complex characters navigating love, pain, and survival. This play invites audiences—queer and non-queer alike—to witness the intimate realities of trans love and consider how systems of power impact us all.