The Chrysalis Ball

The Chrysalis Ball

• This is for us. For our becoming. For our beautiful, defiant, and joyful spirit.

  You are invited to The Chrysalis Ball—a night dedicated to celebrating the trans community and our allies. This isn't just a party; it's a recognition of every step of our transformation, inspired by the magic and authenticity of the proposed new TV series   Screams and Whispers.

  This is your moment to unfurl your wings on the runway in our Metamorphosis Fashion Competition. Show the world your story:
  

  • 🦋 The Monarch of Metamorphosis Award: Embody your personal journey of transformation and emergence. Let your costume, featuring a blue butterfly, tell your tale.

  • 🦄 The Ponycorn Pinnacle Prize: Capture the whimsical magic and joy of becoming your most authentic self with a creative interpretation of the mysterious Ponycorn.

  • 🎸 The Screams and Whispers Icon Award: Channel the powerful stage presence and iconic style of your favorite band member and celebrate our stories through their spirit.

  
  Join your community for a night of music, creativity, and pure celebration.

• Concept: A glamorous and high-energy fashion and cosplay competition to raise funds for Transfolk WA and to help promote Screams and Whispers , a new TV series script. The event and the script is a celebration of transformation, identity, and the defiant, joyful spirit of the series.

• Theme: Metamorphosis. The series' central motifs of transformation, is the Blue Triangle Butterfly and the evolution of the mysterious Ponycorn inspires this theme. It encourages guests to express their own interpretations of emergence, becoming, and authenticity through glamorous fashion and creative cosplay.

• The TV series: The series is called Screams and Whispers. An all-transgirl rock band, born from a tragic murder, embarks on a national tour to honour a fallen friend, only to become the unwilling targets of a shadowy political network that seeks to manufacture a culture war around them, using fear and outrage as a weapon to gain power.

• The Ponycorn: In the TV series script Screams and Whispers we feature a ponycorn. At the start of the series we see someone dressed in a pink pony onesie at the Sydney Mardi Gras - gradually over the course of the series this mysterious person keeps re-appearing but the pink pony gradually evolves into a cross between a pink pony and a unicorn. The ponycorn appears frequently, always alone, always whimsical and it disappears as magically as it appears. The transformation of the Ponycorn is a metaphor for change and the magic and joy of becoming your authentic self.

  
  Screams and Whispers:  Band Profile

  Tess Chappel

  Role in Band: Lead vocals and guitar. She is the band's founder and leader.

  Physical Description: Tess has long, fiery dark crimson hair. She frequently wears a small, iridescent butterfly necklace with the initials 'T' and 'S', a keepsake from her late soulmate, Stefi.

  Personality & Backstory: Tess is the passionate, protective, and often angry leader of the band. Describing herself as "loud, ADHD, angry," she admits she has been known to bite. Much of her anger is fueled by trauma; after running away from abusive parents at 17, she became homeless before being found by Stefi Bellucci, the daughter of her father-figure, Willy Bellucci. Tess was with Stefi the night she was murdered in a transphobic attack and was severely injured herself. This event, along with a past history of seeking validation through "soulless sex" and contracting a now-cured STI, informs her fierce determination to make the tour a success in Stefi's honor. She eventually finds love and a calming influence with the tour's documentarian, Indy.

  Elara

  Role in Band: Backing vocals and light percussion. She also serves as a personal assistant to Tess and Indy.

  Physical Description: Elara has long, raven hair and is described as having a quiet beauty. Loves to wear Bohemian upcycled clothes. 

  Personality & Backstory: Initially introduced as quiet and shy, Elara grows in confidence throughout the tour. Originally from Melbourne where she volunteered in an op shop, she feels her only family connection is her mother. She has not yet started her medical transition and expresses deep anxiety about it, researching hormone replacement therapy and surgical options while worrying she isn't "fem enough." She is in a relationship with the band's sound engineer, Oscar, which is often strained by her insecurities and his jealousy. Her deadname was Eddie.

  Ruby

  Role in Band: Lead guitar. She also plays the flute and has a truck license from her time as a FIFO (fly-in fly-out) worker.

  Physical Description: Ruby has blue, shoulder-length hair. She is small in stature and favors a rock/punk style, wearing a leather collar and vest with studs, a bare midriff, leather hot pants, and platform shoes.

  Personality & Backstory: Ruby's fiery and often angry personality is a direct result of her traumatic upbringing. As a teenager, she was subjected to conversion therapy where her parents and church members tied her to a bed and physically beat her. This experience is the basis for her powerful song, "Conversion." She later confesses to her bandmate and romantic interest, Juniper, that her confident punk exterior is "armour" to hide her lifelong discomfort with her own body. She develops a close romantic bond with Juniper over the course of the tour. Her deadname was Robert, which her father still uses to antagonize her.

  Sapphire

  Role in Band: Bass guitar.

  Physical Description: Sapphire has a distinct punk rock vibe with pink hair. Her stage wear includes a leather jacket, a short leather skirt, fishnets, and Doc Marten boots.

  Personality & Backstory: Describing her own playing as "bass guitar on steroids," Sapphire is rebellious, cool, and outspoken. She was expelled from school for what she calls "educational suicide by cigarettes and a dildo." Her parents are described as "supportive-ish," loving her but wanting her to remain their "little secret" out of fear of what others might think. She was in a long-term relationship with her boyfriend, Jeremy, who broke up with her via text for choosing to go on tour. Her deadname was Alex.

  Juniper

  Role in Band: Keyboards.

  Physical Description: Juniper has long, brightly-coloured, tomboy-styled pink hair. She wears quirky glasses, long leather trousers, and sneakers.

  Personality & Backstory: Juniper has a whimsical and sweet personality, describing her musical style as "space whale music" inspired by her childhood love of fairies and unicorns. She is the younger sister of the band's publicist, Tara, and grew up in a supportive home with her mother after her father died when she was a baby. She reveals to Ruby that she is a virgin and has never been kissed, and later confesses that she has a deep-seated fear of physical intimacy due to body dysphoria. She develops a close romantic bond with Ruby over the course of the tour. Her deadname was Jonathan.

  Riley

  Role in Band: Drums.

  Physical Description: Riley often wears a small, Peaky Blinders-style cap with faded jeans and a waistcoat. One of her t-shirts reads, "I'm the drummer. Nobody tells me to keep calm."

  Personality & Backstory: High-energy and outspoken, Riley has ADHD, which she credits for her hyper-focus while drumming. She also struggles with Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD), an extreme emotional response to criticism or rejection. Her parents were not supportive of her transition; her only family connection is her father, a mining engineer who works in Peru. Her deadname was Ryan.

  Amelia

  Role in Band: Saxophone.

  Physical Description: Amelia has long dark brown hair and wears dark, glam eye makeup. Her stage outfits include short skirts, black tights, and close-fitting t-shirts.

  Personality & Backstory: Amelia is soulful, empathetic, and passionate about social justice. Inspired by her mother, a music teacher, she studied music at the University of Sydney. Though she dressed in feminine clothes privately as a teen, she didn't come out publicly until university. Her resolve to fight religious-based hatred is fueled by the memory of her beloved former music tutor, a gay man who committed suicide after being fired by a religious school. Her deadname was Andrew.

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