TRANNY FEST
Director Bio

Shawna Virago

San Francisco Pride Parade 2002 Grand Marshal, Shawna Virago is a trans-fox rock star, actress, leftist political activist and filmmaker. She and her band, The Deadly Nightshade Family, were called ”lo-fi headbangers” by the Bay Area Reporters and have performed at clubs and events including the San Francisco Dyke March, East Bay Pride, and the San Francisco Pride Main Performing Stage. Ms. Virago is the first transsexual woman elected to the Board of Directors of San Francisco Women Against Rape (SFWAR). She is a founding member of TransAction, a group of transgender people who organize to expose state violence against the transgender and genderqueer communities. She has served on the Transgender Human Rights Task Force, sponsored by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Ms. Virago has starred in several underground movies and her directorial debut, Almost Human, has screened throughout the world, including TrannyFest and the San Francisco Frameline Festival. Her second directorial debut, Shut Up, Josephine! screened at the Frameline Festival in June 2002. Ms. Virago has also appeared in two LunaSea Theatre Productions, TransSisters: Live and Uncut and Everyday People. Miss Virago is also a recipient of a 2003 Creating Queer Community grant from the Queer Cultural Center. Ms. Virago is also the Co-Chair of the Transgender Political Caucus sponsored by the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club.

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