ROCK SPRINGS — He wore colorful dresses and loved pink bows. He was beaten and insulted by those who showed off their masculinity. It was a regular routine; after an assault, the man in the dress would apply ice to the bruises and repeat a personal reminder: “I am a good person. I am a good person. I am a good person.”
The Starling Company’s world premiere production, “A Sissy in Wyoming,” is about the life of Wyoming veteran, educator, activist and gender nonconforming pioneer Larry “Sissy” Goodwin. His legacy was portrayed on stage by a single actor, Cory Schaeperkoetter, at the Broadway Theater.
Goodwin was a heterosexual man whose attire tended toward the feminine side, which caused challenges at home, work and in public.
The play was written by Gregory Hinton, a Cody, Wyoming native. He is also known as the curator for his national museum program, “Out West in the Rockies,” a series offering lectures, films, plays and gallery exhibitions that shines a light on LGBTQ history and culture in the American West.
Hinton said that Schaeperkoetter was “phenomenal” during the solo performance.
“After writing it, you never know who’s involved or what it would look like on-stage,” said Hinton. “It was very moving and just delightful.”
He added, “They’ve given me the highlight of my life and I’m so grateful.”
Hinton expressed that he has always been interested in collecting stories about the LGBT communities and felt the story about Sissy was a “remarkable one.”
“The trans community is having a hard time so doing this now is good timing,” he pointed out. “They need to know that they’re not alone.”
He met “Sissy’s” wife, Vickie, just 12 days after Sissy passed away from stage IV brain cancer, at the age of 73.
Director Kenny “Starling, My Darling” McCormack finds it “easy to talk about gender independence with others.” They also expressed how proud they are of Schaeperkoetter.
“It was amazing to see him grow. He’s a wonderful actor.”
Vickie was also in attendance during opening night to see Schaeperkoetter portray her late husband.
“Cory nailed it,” said Vickie. “He was great.”
She went on to admit that when she received the play from Hinton, she didn’t want to read it because she had the feeling she’d hate it. Laughing about it now, she’s glad she read it and said that Hinton “did a good job.”
“I was very comfortable with the performance,” she shared. “I think he’d be very impressed and secretly proud, but terribly embarrassed. He just wanted to live his life. He kept getting thrown into the limelight because he couldn’t be quiet, but that’s because he stood up for what he believed in.”
She noted that Hinton wrote their words verbatim.
Sissy’s granddaughter, Brittany Ratliff sat with Vickie and Hinton throughout the premiere. She has a tattoo of a blue jay in memory of Sissy, who enjoyed studying about birds.
“He was a very bright person; very, very smart,” Ratliff described. “He was a very hands-on person, hard-working. He could do anything in a skirt and even better than anyone else.”
The stage was set up with personal belongings and decor from the Goodwin home.
“A lot of this really hits home,” she shared. “Seeing the actual sources from the house and hearing his exact words just made it all incredible to see on stage.”
Sissy has two children, Kristi and Debbie Goodwin. Debbie accepted the realization that she was meant to be female by the time she was about 28. Before she came out and became more open about her identity, her family knew her as Travis. Sissy loved his children no matter what. His acknowledgement of his daughter’s new name near the end of the performance showed how a progressive, accepting family can still struggle with gender identity changes.
“It was challenging for me and ‘Sissy’ because we didn’t see it coming,” Vickie said, admitting that she is still trying to get used to calling her child Debbie.
“She’s very beautiful,” she beamed.
Ratliff expressed that it was “unexpected” when her father revealed that he is meant to be a woman.
“I was able to accept it, though, as well as many other things, since ‘Sissy’ was my grandfather,” Ratliff said, mentioning that acceptance didn’t happen overnight. “It took time to be comfortable for the way she was around people.”
She said that her grandfather always wanted people to get to know him, not what he was wearing.
“That’s a problem, especially with people in their 20s. He wore a skirt, but I never looked at him as a cross-dresser,” she shared. “It takes time to get to know people. People are so quick to judge.
“Be kind. Don’t judge.”
With Dr.Robert Peterson, as co-author, “Sissy” wrote a scientific study titled “Psychological Impact of Abuse as it Relates to Transvestism.” The report argued that transvestism is maladaptive addictive behavior often brought about by childhood abuse. The study was published in the Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling.
Sissy was abused by his parents during his childhood. Dressing in women’s attire made him “feel safe.”
Schaeperkoetter said he was proud to play the role of “Sissy.”
He said, “It’s not about being ‘Sissy,’ but to show how ‘Sissy’ was and that we have a little ‘Sissy’ in all of us.”
He noted that Sissy was very strong, but he also had many weak moments.
“That’s ok,” he pointed out, saying that ‘Sissy’ finally realized no one is born to be alone. “He found Vickie and a community. Being weak doesn’t define you; you being here shows strength.”
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