Diversionary Theatre solo show to tell story of Shakina’s transition

by David L. Coddon

Among the tunes heard in Shakina Nayfack’s one-person show “Manifest P*ssy” is “Him Today, Gone Tomorrow.”

Written by Joe Iconis (Broadway’s “Be More Chill” and La Jolla Playhouse’s “The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical”), the song culminates with the lyrics: “But what if this transition is the thing by which I am defined? What happens to the human the transition will just leave behind? What happens to me when I’m She, she she she?”

“That speaks so much to me,” said transgender artist and activist Shakina, “because this one moment of my life’s story has become a huge part of my creative identity, and yet I continue to live and grow and change.”

A year after performing in Diversionary Theatre’s two-night “Trans Diaries” last November, Shakina is bringing her show “Manifest P*ssy,” billed as “a glam rock odyssey,” to the University Heights space for a nearly monthlong engagement. Diversionary Artistic Director Sherri Eden Barber is directing.

The play is an autobiographical celebration of Shakina’s gender transition. It’s the outgrowth of two previous solo shows, her pre-transition “One Woman Show” and post-transition “Post-Op.” Those two were melded together to create the show arriving Wednesday at Diversionary.

Shakina first took this show — which was developed at New York’s Musical Theatre Factory — on the road in North Carolina in 2016 to protest that state’s anti-trans bathroom bill. A combination of storytelling, spoken word and music, the current iteration includes songs by not only by Iconis but by composers such as Shaina Taub (“Suffs”), Michael R. Jackson (“A Strange Loop”) and Sam Salmond (“Eighty Sixed,” which Diversionary produced in 2022).

The Diversionary staging marks the full-length play’s San Diego premiere.

“The script itself evolves,” said Shakina. “The storytelling and the songs are going to be the same night to night, but no one ever knows what’s going to escape my lips in between.

“The physical discipline required to do this show is so intense. It’s not just me at a microphone: It’s a fully staged theatrical experience. I joke that the show is like a ritual sacrifice that I do every night. My whole day revolves around being physically and emotionally prepared.”

Shakina is aware of the politically driven hostility toward the trans community and has been for a long time.

“I’ve been out there ringing the alarm for a number of years,” said the Orange County-born performer, who has also appeared in the television series “Connecting” and “Difficult People.“ “Now I hope that more people are listening. I think the current climate has only made people more afraid, which is why a show like ‘Manifest P*ssy,’ that takes an irreverent but heartfelt look at the trans experience, is more important than ever.”

The show is also an opportunity, she said, to reach out to others in the trans community who may be in the audience.

“There’s not a performance I give where I’m not stopped by someone who feels the need to share their story with me afterward,” she said. “One of the lyrics I wrote myself is ‘You’ve got a story that’s all your own, and when you tell it you’re less alone.’ That’s my whole objective with this show.”