This weekend the one-person show I Am My Own Wife will be presented on the Zietgeist stage in Duluth. The play follows the true story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf who lived openly as a transgender woman during the Nazi occupation in East Berlin.
Robert Lee has worked with frequent collaborator Alice Schreoder to bring the story to life. The play was also produced in 2018 when Lee was working for the Underground Theater. "This time," says Lee, "I'm directing and designing... it's a collaboration between Alice's company - Zenith City Horror - and Zeitgeist Arts."
Schreoder's part as the lone actor is no easy task. Over the course of the performance she portrays roughly 30 different characters. "It's quite a feat," says Lee. " She's doing incredible work."
"What I think is important is... these aren't new conversations," says Lee about the subject matter of the play. "It's a story that will resonate with people in terms of all the transgender conversations that are happening."
Performances of I Am My Own Wife correspond with the Duluth Superior Pride Festival and runs from September 1st through the 3rd. For more information and tickets, visit the Zeitgeist website.
