Marval Rex on 'Rexodus' – Finding Himself in His Family's History

EDGE: you talk in the show about your background as a performance artist, but you're also a stand-up comedian. Which of those came first?

Marval Rex My practice really began in performance art. However, I want to say that there was a gradual lead up into being a stand-up comedian, because in my art performances I would always break the fourth wall by doing something comedic and unexpected. It was through ["Transparent" creator] Joey Soloway, a collaborator and friend of mine, where the comedy really came in. They were like, "You know, you should do stand-up." Joey and I did performance art together that was really comedic and strange, and then it landed in straight stand up. But I love both.

EDGE: Tell me a bit about developing this show.

Marval Rex I'm really telling my own story: I'm sharing intimate details about my family and my mother, who I'm, of course, very protective of, but also love deeply. She's given me total consent to channel her, basically.

Throughout my career I've had to negotiate my body, which is a very illegible body even now. I feel like I've always kind of hidden in plain sight, because my body is so surprising to people. I was getting naked in a lot of my performances, which I mention in "Rexodus," though I don't get naked in "Rexodus." So, there's this departure that happens in this new piece, where I'm not revealing my trans body. There's something more vulnerable about not getting naked; it's actually more comfortable for me to be naked on stage than it is to do this show. Like, nudity is what it is. Transness is a little bit more complicated.

EDGE: You seem to occupy several intersectional spaces, which can be gloriously messy, as you put it in the show. Is that a driving force for yourself, and for artists in general?

Marval Rex Yes. I think of Catherine Opie, who is an incredible photographer. When a young artist asked her, "What's your biggest piece of advice?" she was like, "Follow your questions." I think the questions usually lie in these messy places, which are, of course, intersectional identities. When we don't have easy answers in life, we have to make art about it. Like, the questions come in and you're like, "What the hell do I do with this?"

I've healed some incredible pain through the process of just writing this piece, so yeah, I think if you're in a messy identities position, you're probably more geared to make something of it... to at least write a memoir or something.

Artists are harbingers of the future. I think artists help shepherd people. I think that's what "Rexodus" is trying to do, is shepherd people into the fact that we're probably all going to be maybe more inhabiting of these intersectional identities as we move forward into the world – and, also, what a joy to be in those intersectional spaces.

EDGE: You mentioned your mother and how she lets you channel her in the show. Was she accepting when you first came out?

Marval Rex Oh, absolutely. I will preface this answer by saying I am not a parent to somebody, so I cannot speak from the place of my mom. I was her only daughter. I have two brothers who were born male. I am her first child. And I am her favorite – I'm just gonna say it in the interview; like, who cares? We all know. So, it was hard for her. She handled it well, I think, compared to [the parents of] a lot of other trans folks I've spoken to. My father handled it supremely well – amazing for a man who was born in 1943; I'm pretty shocked. But my mother...

[Pauses]

The Spanish piece is really important to understand. Mediterranean countries have a very hard time with gender stuff because of Catholicism and history; the language is gendered. She felt like she was losing her daughter for, like, a year, and it was a hard year. I would say that people need to be able to grieve transitions in life, and that's valid. It can be hard, but I don't think that anyone should speed up a grieving process.

I felt that, too, in my own way; I really feel like I know what it feels like to die and be born again like a phoenix from the ashes. [My partner and I] both transitioned earlier than TikTok and Instagram, and we talk about how we didn't think we'd ever be able to have viable careers or jobs. When I transitioned, I was like, "I'm gonna have to live off the grid in the woods; I'm gonna have to figure out how to make money without being a real person." It's very different now, obviously.

EDGE: "Rexodus" is at the Elysian Theater in Los Angeles for one more performance on Oct. 25. [A previous performance was on Oct. 16.] Where might audiences hope to catch your show in the future?

Marval Rex We're filming these performances, so there is going to be a digital version at some point that will be much more accessible. That's going to be its own journey, and I don't know if it's going to be on a streaming service, but we're going to figure out where it lands.

In terms of live performances of the show, my production team and I are talking about taking the show to New York, which is a very Jewish city. There's a strong part of me that wants to perform in Barcelona, and then a few [other European] cities – Paris, London – if possible. This is just me fantasizing, but there's a strong urge to take it international. I can't say anything concrete at this moment, but the work is not going to just live in Los Angeles.

"Rexodus: Out of the Closet, into the Tribe" plays at the Elysian Theatre in Los Angeles on Oct. 16 and Oct. 25 at 7:00 pm.