“Dear Steve…it’s Allie”
Presented as part of Steppenwolf Theater’s 2025 LookOut series in Chicago
“A movie for my ears”
—Jane, student
“The unwrapping of self, culture, and history through music”
--Dan, filmmaker
“While it might seem like a self-portrait…like such a personal piece, it’s not just about them.
It gives a lot of credit to the audience, to find themselves in it.”
--Ryer, artist/set designer
A narrative concert
In a performance that is both traditional and high tech, Allie plays the piano and mountain dulcimer, weaving in electronic music and samples, as she sings, tells stories, and talks to her younger self — Steve — detailing the things she knows that he is not able to see, even as a grown man.
The recollection of a chance encounter on the train, an ice cream cone with a date, a jingle composed for a chemical manufacturer, the memory of a boyhood home run, a conversation with their daughter about her bat mitzvah, all reveal the unseen forces at play for both Allie n Steve ever since the doctor first said, “It’s a boy!”
As Allie extends the grace to Steve that he is not able to extend to himself, we are invited to see ourselves, like Allie n Steve, as multiple, and to think about what it might mean for both Allie n Steve to live a reflective and connected life in a country as deeply divided as our own.
It’s all about the “n”
Allie n Steve come with over fifteen years of experience teaching, producing and performing.
The “n” in their name highlights all the spaces “in-between” where we are now and where we have been— and the ongoing work of “becoming” in a trans body.
“Dear Steve…it’s Allie” is meant to be experienced in community spaces in Chicago and beyond. Allie n Steve facilitate community engagement conversations around questions of:
the intersection of race and gender in navigating identity
the necessary losses and unexpected gains when a family member comes out as trans
navigating religious histories in a queer body
being a citizen in a country that questions your existence
what American popular music teaches us about the formation of culture
the semiotic power of sampling
Written and performed by Allie n Steve Mullen
Story conceived in conversation with Lloyd Brodnax King and Beatrice Bosco
Directed by Beatrice Bosco
Filmed by Tirtza Even
Lighting and cinematography by Meredith Zielke
Edited by Pegah Pasalar and Mauricio Dias Chades de Alencar
Sound recorded by Emily Beanblossom and Haruhi Kobayashi
Special thanks to:
Shiben Banerji, Paul and Cyndi Demaree, Leah Gipson, Christina Gomez, William Harper, and Dwayne Moser