SELF-MADE
Emma and Isaac are perfect for each other. There's just one problem…they live in the same body. Raw, intimate and poignantly funny, SELF-MADE is a joyous magical odyssey into trans identity and writing yourself into existence.
Emma has always had the sense something is missing. When she goes searching for answers, she uncovers a startling truth: she shares her body with another person. Isaac has waited his entire life to write himself into the physical world and finally his time has come. As Emma and Isaac start to make sense of their shared existence, a tender and unexpected love story blossoms. SELF-MADE is a stunning debut from a local trans playwright, examining the wonder and joy available to all of us when we embrace the emerging parts of ourselves with open arms.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION COMPANY:
The tagline of Joy-Full Productions is ‘Queer joy, centre stage’. We live for joy and limitless self-expression in the queer community, and in light of distressing news in the U.S. and attempts to erase us, queer joy and visibility is needed now more urgently than ever.
ABOUT THE MOVEMENT
More than a play, SELF-MADE is a movement, spreading joy and freeing society from the rigid confines of gender at a pivotal moment in history. It offers a rare, intimate glimpse into a “trans experience,” creating a gentle, playful space for empathy and connection. Moving through Emma and Isaac’s quests for identity and wholeness, the show invites audiences to see that these emotions are universal - all that differs is life experience.
At a time when ‘transgender’ dominates the news, SELF-MADE cuts through the noise with a fresh, deeply human perspective - one that places love and self-discovery before politics and labels. Through Emma and Isaac’s intertwined journeys toward connection and freedom, the show offers an invitation: not to argue, not to ‘understand’, but to feel. It is a story that transcends division, building bridges at a moment in time the most powerful and dangerous people are trying to tear them down. In a festival that champions bold, paradigm-shifting storytelling, the Fringe is the only place this play could begin.
MEET THE TEAM:
Brought to you by emerging Leith theatre company, Joy-Full Productions Ltd, SELF-MADE has secured a global, all-queer production team.
PRODUCER/ACTRESS:
Produced by award-winning ex-Fringe producer/actress, Catherine Waller [she/her]. A Kiwi-American living in NYC. Trained in bouffon, graduate of Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama Conservatory. She produces both theatre and film that connects us to our shared darkness and humanity; (‘Best Female Performer’ Hollywood Fringe, ‘Best of Amsterdam Fringe’, ‘Best Interactive Show’, ‘Best Physical Theater United Solo Festival’) Her acclaimed solo show, THE CREEPS, made its Off-Broadway debut at Playhouse 46 at St. Luke's in New York in 2023, following years of development and international tours, including Edinburgh Fringe 2016. As Charles Isherwood of the Wall Street Journal noted in his review, "Ms. Waller's shape-shifting performance is itself an eerie, unforgettable marvel." Following THE CREEPS she starred in LIFESTYLE, a devised political comedy show produced and developed by Academy Award Winner Adam McKay (Don't Look Up, The Big Short, Anchorman, Succession) and his company HyperObject Industries.
DIRECTOR:
Sarah Deller (they/them) is a Canadian queer, neurodivergent actor, director, writer, and scholar committed to making fresh, bold theatre telling stories of complex women and queer characters. As an actor, Deller has worked with major companies like Canadian Stage, Shakespeare by the Sea, and the Grand Theatre; and numerous acclaimed independent companies like ZUPPA, Ghost River Theatre, and Driftwood. Their previous plays include the short play The Ballad of Juggler Paul (2024), Optimistic: Elizabeth Holmes (2023) and COARSE: The Brontës (2021). COARSE is currently in development for a major Canadian and British tour. At the Fringe, Deller has presented their own work, and in 2024 was the associate director of Hamstrung (Pleasance), and Lee and the Black Hole (The Space). Deller explores various forms of oppression and resistance in their work. Deller’s interest in collective collaboration and devising is a direct reflection of their political values and their belief in the power of play to create surprising and compelling audience experiences.
WRITER:
‘By day’, founder and writer Isaac is a Music Supervisor in trailers for film & TV (The Crown, The Witcher, The Gentlemen) and by night he’s a writer, musician, and all-round champion of radical freedom. This is Isaac’s debut show and he’s not holding back; this time in history is no time for half measures.
COMPOSER & MUSICIANS:
Multitasking Music Queer Creature, Célyne Baudino (they/them) writes for film, live performance, and contemporary classic composition. They love to create immersive music and sound experiences for the public by merging vocal, acoustic, and electronic sounds, using contemporary gestures and unusual timbre. In 2024, Célyne was a finalist for La Maison du Film’s Label Compo and nominated for the Cannes Sync Awards. Recently, Célyne participated in the 3rd Character program at Ghent for the World Soundtrack Awards, Music Meets Film in Tallinn's Black Nights Film Festival and was The Talent Village's Composer for the Les Arcs Festival. With work on numerous short films and animation, Célyne’s score for Kill the Horse won Best Animated Short at the 2024 Shanghai International Film Festival. At the moment, they are finalizing the sound and musical creation for the interdisciplinary show "Elegy No. 5" for Idylle Production, which will premiere at the Forum Meyrin Theater in Geneva in March 2025.
Isaac & Célyne are working closely together to craft an unusual and magical score with self-imposed limitations; using one main instrument to craft the majority of the soundtrack, they will show through extended experimental techniques how one does not have to the one expected sound we should make just because we’re confined by a singular ‘body’.
SELF-MADE will also feature music from the Canadian trans singer-songwriter, T. Thomason plus unreleased music from friend and collaborator, Dutch/British composer and artist, Tessa Rose Jackson.
CAMPAIGN ART:
Tiu Makkonen [she/they]: a photographer from Finland who has been living and working in Scotland for the past decade, balancing both fine art and commercial work mainly in the fields of event, performance and portraiture photography. Tiu is heavily invested in photographing underrepresented communities within Scotland, from grassroots LGBT+ activism to art festivals, underground parties to national calls for action.