For Brazilian-born actress, singer, and writer Darwin Del Fabro, art has never been just a career, it’s been a lifeline. Fresh off her run of the solo play Lily/Darwin at The Tank in New York City, Del Fabro reflected on her lifelong relationship with storytelling, her transition, and the courage it takes to make work that’s both vulnerable and defiant.
“I grew up with artistic freedom,” she shared. “My mother and father were models who became actors. So, there was no other way. I tried to escape a little, but it was there since I was born.”
Creating From Necessity
Del Fabro’s creative drive stems from what she calls “necessity”, the need to see herself reflected in art when she didn’t as a queer kid growing up in Rio de Janeiro. “I knew I wanted to do an international career,” she said. “But growing up being the queer kid there, it was something I didn’t see reflected in other stories. So, I knew from a very young age that I had to create my own work.”
Her multidisciplinary career, spanning film (They/Them), television (Dangerous Liaisons), music, and now theatre, is the result of that self-motivation. “It was the only thing that made me fully happy in my life,” she said. “From singing to acting to producing, I keep wanting to expand more and more. We’re in a moment where there are so many options out there, and you need to touch all of them, to be a better artist, but also a better human being.”
When asked for advice to other young creatives unsure where to start, Del Fabro offered gentle honesty: “It’s your own journey. Everyone has their issues and difficulties depending on where you’re born, culturally. But as much as possible, search for happiness and the uniqueness of your work, what makes you move to the next day with a smile.”
“Lily/Darwin”: From Page to Stage
The idea for Lily/Darwin began decades before it premiered. Del Fabro first encountered the diaries of Lili Elbe — one of the first known trans women to undergo gender-affirming surgery — when she was 13. “I couldn’t speak a word of English then, but the title of the diary, Man Into Woman, really spoke to me,” she said. “I created a play in Brazil about Lili Elbe and Gerda. It’s beautiful to think about — writing a play at 14 in a country that kills the most trans women in the world.”
Years later, after pausing her career to focus on her own transition, Del Fabro revisited those diaries with new eyes. “I did seven surgeries in two years,” she said. “During recovery, I started to look back at that diary and thought, What if I intertwined it with my experience? So much was so close to me.”
What resulted was Lily/Darwin, a deeply personal fusion of two lives: Elbe’s and her own, performed and written by Del Fabro. “I wanted to do something different and very unique, where no one else could write it,” she said. “I wrote it in two weeks, but based on ten years of holding something that I really wanted to tell.”
Working with director Meghan Finn, who also serves as The Tank’s Artistic Director, Del Fabro found the process both healing and demanding. “It’s only an hour long, but it feels like three,” she admitted. “The stamina it takes to perform and remember so many moments that are beautiful but hard to tell every day. That’s the challenge. How can you be truthful to yourself while performing?”
The Truth in Art
Performing Lily/Darwin reaffirmed Del Fabro’s belief that vulnerability is an artist’s greatest strength. “When something speaks to you and you repeat it more than three times and it still moves you — it’s worth it to share it with the world,” she said. “The beauty and power of any artistry is to be very truthful. Sometimes the truth hurts, but that’s where the art lives.”
The audience response took her by surprise. “We received so many beautiful responses,” she said. “I was challenging myself to put it out there and be criticized because that’s art. But I learned that when something comes from a genuine place, it resonates.”
Her reflections extend beyond the stage. “Nothing is easy,” she said of being a trans woman in the industry. “It’s not the glamour people think. But I’m still here doing it, and nothing gives me more pleasure than what I do.”
Her advice to others chasing artistic fulfillment? “Do not be so critical of yourself. Put your work out there. Learn how to be criticized, but keep evolving. Do it for yourself first to find that happiness that no one else can give you.”
Building Community Through Creation
Even as her play closed, Del Fabro was already channeling her creative spirit into a new project: Cahoots, which she co-founded with her best friend in New York’s Lower East Side. “It was born from necessity,” she explained. “Sometimes I love to write outside my house, and it’s hard to find places where you can actually work. We wanted a place where artists and writers could build community.”
The café, open from 8 a.m. to midnight, offers space for creativity to thrive with coffee by day, cocktails by night. “You can spend the whole day there surrounded by art,” she said. “I hope it becomes a community that embraces creativity.”
For Del Fabro, every part of her journey, from performing to writing to opening a café, is connected by the same instinct: to create, connect, and evolve. “As my name says, I really believe in evolution,” she reflected. “Keep growing, keep doing this for yourself first. Be authentic to your true self, and try to be surrounded by love.”
