Directing
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This rapturous documentary steps into the dynamic world of queer stand-up and examines the powerful cultural influence it has had on social change in America. The film combines rare archival materials, stand-up performances, and interviews with a show-stopping lineup to present a definitive history of queer comedy.

Taffeta, a contemporary queer person of color, summons Abraham Lincoln to perform an elaborate historical fantasia within her own head — only to learn that she can’t hide from her own present-day demons in the shadows of someone else’s past.

With the recent political, racial, and global unrest occurring throughout 2020/2021, writer and performer, Philicia Saunders, wrote a one-woman live theater show based on her life-changing personal journey towards activism after a chance trip to a Civil Rights monument during a civil rights tour in Alabama, and mentorship by a luminary of activism in Watts, California, Sweet Alice Harris. Unfortunately, no one ever saw that live theater version of the show because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, necessity is the mother of invention, and Saunders knew that this story would educate, inspire, and transform those who see it. Thus came Breathe. Directed by award-winning playwright/performer Roger Q. Mason, this film is art activism - fusing live performance, cinema, performance art and artistic swimming in a hybridized narrative that could only be born during these challenging, yet galvanizing times.

With the recent political, racial, and global unrest occurring throughout 2020/2021, writer and performer, Philicia Saunders, wrote a one-woman live theater show based on her life-changing personal journey towards activism after a chance trip to a Civil Rights monument during a civil rights tour in Alabama, and mentorship by a luminary of activism in Watts, California, Sweet Alice Harris. Unfortunately, no one ever saw that live theater version of the show because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, necessity is the mother of invention, and Saunders knew that this story would educate, inspire, and transform those who see it. Thus came Breathe. Directed by award-winning playwright/performer Roger Q. Mason, this film is art activism - fusing live performance, cinema, performance art and artistic swimming in a hybridized narrative that could only be born during these challenging, yet galvanizing times.

Taffeta, a contemporary queer person of color, summons Abraham Lincoln to perform an elaborate historical fantasia within her own head — only to learn that she can’t hide from her own present-day demons in the shadows of someone else’s past.