LGBTQIA+ Theatre

This section contains content about work created by and for the LGBTQIA+ community. Dive in with the series Gender Power and Politics, curated by MJ Kaufman, or Beyond Angry Lesbians and Gay Best Friends: Writing Gender and Sexuality in the 21st Century, a panel from the Dramatists Guild.

The Latest

SWANA and Queer in the Global Story

Video

SWANA and Queer in the Global Story

Doing It For Ourselves

Sunday 26 March 2023

Chicago, Illinois

“Marimacha” Laughs its Way Through Representation of Latine, Black, and Queer Characters

Essay

“Marimacha” Laughs its Way Through Representation of Latine, Black, and Queer Characters

by Daphnie Sicre

13 February 2023

Blessings with Brittani Samuel

Podcast

Blessings with Brittani Samuel

by Yura Sapi, Brittani Samuel

1 February 2023

Gender Euphoria, Episode 2: The Case for QTPOC Slice-of-Life Drama

Podcast

Gender Euphoria, Episode 2: The Case for QTPOC Slice-of-Life Drama

With Dillon Yruegas

23 February 2022

Gender Euphoria, the podcast, host Nicolas Shannon Savard sits down with playwright and performer, Dillon Yruegas to talk about two productions of his play The Brunch Crowd. They talk about what a slice-of-life, kitchen sink play full of trans of color characters looks like and what kind of intervention that makes in the theatrical landscape. They dive into the importance of trans joy and queer friendship and its absence on stage. Finally, Dillon reflects on how expansive approaches to casting trans and non-binary characters and how identity-based casting might open up dialogue and create space for a much wider range of faces and experiences to be seen on stage.

Gender Euphoria, Episode 1 Part 2: Transgender Legibility: Have We Really Reached the Transgender Tipping Point?

Podcast

Gender Euphoria, Episode 1 Part 2: Transgender Legibility: Have We Really Reached the Transgender Tipping Point?

With Joshua Bastian Cole

16 February 2022

Nicolas Shannon Savard and Joshua Bastian Cole continue their conversation about transgender representation. They critique Time magazine’s 2014 declaration of the “transgender tipping point” of cultural visibility and explore the ways in which Hollywood’s handling of trans narratives bleeds over into the theatre, politics, and daily life for trans and gender nonconforming people.

Gender Euphoria, Episode 1 Part 1: Transgender Legibility beyond the Tropes

Podcast

Gender Euphoria, Episode 1 Part 1: Transgender Legibility beyond the Tropes

With Joshua Bastian Cole

9 February 2022

In episode 1 (part 1) of Gender Euphoria, the podcast, host Nicolas Shannon Savard sits down with Joshua Bastian Cole to talk about popular tropes in transgender representation, gender legibility on stage, and the implications of each for trans and nonbinary theatremakers.

Introduction to Gender Euphoria

Nicolas Shannon

Savard

Podcast

Introduction to Gender Euphoria

2 February 2022

Welcome to Gender Euphoria, the podcast! In this episode, host and producer Nicolas Savard explains the origin story of this new podcast and what (and who) we should expect to hear from this season.

Trans [Plays] of Remembrance

Trans [Plays] of Remembrance Festival

Ohio University

Hollins University

Video

Trans [Plays] of Remembrance

Three Nights of Short Plays and Performances By Trans* Playwrights and Roundtable Discussions with Playwrights, Actors, and Community Members.

Wednesday 17 November to Friday 19 November 2021

United States

Presenting Trans [Plays] of Remembrance livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv from Wednesday 17 November to Friday 19 November 2021 at 4 p.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC -8) / 6 p.m. CST (Chicago, UTC -6) / 7 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5).

event poster for menatma fall convening with group photo of MENA artists.

Middle Eastern North African Theatre Makers Alliance Fall Convening

Video

Middle Eastern North African Theatre Makers Alliance Fall Convening

Panel Conversations about Women Playwrights and Queer Artists

Saturday 6 November and Sunday 7 November 2021

United States

Middle Eastern North African Theatre Makers Alliance presented their Fall Convening livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Saturday 6 November and Sunday 7 November 2021.

A person wearing blue and red holding out a stick.

The Refusal to be Disappeared: Lukas Avendaño’s Xibalbay

María Regina

Firmino-Castillo

Essay

The Refusal to be Disappeared: Lukas Avendaño’s Xibalbay

28 October 2021

María Regina Firmino-Castillo discusses the inspiration behind and implications of Lukas Avendaño’s Xibalbay, a multidisciplinary performance project that relates enduring stories of the Mayan underworld to contemporary forced disappearances of people in Mexico.

Dreaming the Queer Future

National Queer Theater

Dramatists Guild

Video

Dreaming the Queer Future

A Conversation with the New Visions Fellowship on the Importance of Transgender and Gender Non-conforming Representation, Hosted by Activist and International Star, Peppermint (she/her)

Tuesday 19 October 2021

United States

The Dramatists Guild presented the online conversation Dreaming the Queer Future livestreaming on the commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 19 October at 3 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 5 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 6 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

event poster for Daniel Alexander Jones's book release.

Daniel Alexander Jones’ Saturday Morning Book Release Party

National Black Theatre

New Dramatists

Penumbra

53rd State Press

Video

Daniel Alexander Jones’ Saturday Morning Book Release Party

A celebration of two books released this month by 53rd State Press: Love Like Light and Particle and Wave.

Saturday 2 October 2021

New York City

A panel discussion that celebrates two new book releases: Love Like Light, Daniel Alexander Jones’s collection of seven plays and performance texts, and Particle and a Wave, a conversation between Daniel Alexander Jones and feminist poet and scholar Alexis Pauline Gumbs. Livestreamed on the commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network Saturday 2 October 2021.

9/11 Village Gathering: Reflections and Conversation

Art2Action

Video

9/11 Village Gathering: Reflections and Conversation

Art2Action Presents Documentation of the New York 9/11 Village Gathering, Filmed and Edited by Kacey Anisa, Framed by a Livestreamed Discussion

Friday 17 September 2021

United States

Art2Action presents a 9/11 Village Gathering: Reflections and Conversation livestreaming on the commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 17 September 2021 at 12 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 2 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 3 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

A magical black female figure breaking open a door.

Can I Come? Envisioning the Future of Inclusion on Broadway and Beyond

Regina

Victor

Essay

Can I Come? Envisioning the Future of Inclusion on Broadway and Beyond

13 September 2021

Regina Victor paints a picture of a future for the theatre industry with cultural strategy at the center.

YLO by Dru Park

LA Writers Center (LAWC)

Video

YLO by Dru Park

With Home: Asian Voices Reading Series

Saturday 10 July 2021

United States

LA Writers Center presented a performance of YLO by Dru Park as a part of Home: Asian Voices Reading Series on Saturday 10 July 2021 at 11 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 1 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 2 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

Several half-naked actors with lacrosse sticks. One actor is front and center, wearing a red hat and white underwear, with his hands behind his head. The actresses on his sides are using lacrosse sticks to cover their chests.

The Island of Lost Chorus Boys: Professional Theatre’s Broken Promise to Accept Us in All Our Glorious Queerness

Kieron

Cindric

Essay

The Island of Lost Chorus Boys: Professional Theatre’s Broken Promise to Accept Us in All Our Glorious Queerness

8 July 2021

Kieron Cindric talks about how the theatre industry—and, in particular, musical theatre—has continually reinforced a narrow and harmful version of masculinity.

event poster for school of resistance episode 15.

School of Resistance—Episode Fifteen: Queer Utopia: The Right to Desire

NTGent

Video

School of Resistance—Episode Fifteen: Queer Utopia: The Right to Desire

LGBTQI Rights and the Artistic Potential of Transforming Desire and Gender

Friday 25 June 2021

Ghent, Belgium

NTGent presented School of Resistance, Episode Fifteen: Queer Utopia livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 25 June 2021 at 20:00 CEST (Brussels, Cairo, UTC +2) / 19:00 BST (London, UTC +1) / 2 p.m. EDT (New York, Santiago de Chile, UTC -4) / 11 a.m. PDT (Los Angeles, UTC -7).

artist and panelist headshots on event poster.

NO SUMMARY: The SWANA Queer Imagination

Golden Thread

Video

NO SUMMARY: The SWANA Queer Imagination

Online conversations with artists that don’t fit in a box

Friday 25 June 2021

United States

Golden Thread Productions presented NO SUMMARY: The SWANA Queer Imagination livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 25 June 2021 at 11 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 1 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 2 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

Two shirtless men standing next to each other on a balcony from their bedroom.

The Future of Theatre and Performance Is Queer, but in Russia This Sounds Unimaginable

VIKTOR

VILISOV

Essay

The Future of Theatre and Performance Is Queer, but in Russia This Sounds Unimaginable

1 June 2021

Viktor Vilisov talks about the realities of queer artists and art in Russia today.

Teacakes and Tarot with Will Wilhelm and Jéhan Òsanyìn

white S with quill pen against a blue green background.

Island Shakespeare Festival

Video

Teacakes and Tarot with Will Wilhelm and Jéhan Òsanyìn

Theatre, Classics, and the future of queer inclusive practices are all in the cards during this intimate interview series with your next artistic crush

Thursday 20 May 2021

United States

Island Shakespeare Festival presented Teacakes and Tarot with Will Wilhelm and and Jéhan Òsanyìn livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 20 May 2021 at 6:30 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 8:30 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 9:30 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

Teacakes and Tarot with Will Wilhelm and Joshua Castille

Island Shakespeare Festival

Video

Teacakes and Tarot with Will Wilhelm and Joshua Castille

Theatre, Classics, and the future of queer inclusive practices are all in the cards during this intimate interview series with your next artistic crush

Thursday 6 May 2021

United States

Island Shakespeare Festival presented Teacakes and Tarot with Will Wilhelm and and Joshua Castille livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 6 May 2021 at 6:30 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 8:30 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 9:30 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

An illustration of two Black people with different hairstyles and outfits, surrounded by clouds and suns, against an orange and blue background.

Speculating Black Queer Futures

Stokely

Nkenna

Akunna

Essay

Speculating Black Queer Futures

27 April 2021

JD Stokely and Nkenna Akunna speculate about what a Black queer future looks like, speaking to sleep and rest, spirit, cyclical time, and more.

headshots of artists with event title text.

NO SUMMARY: Queering Our Middle Eastern Identities

Golden Thread

Video

NO SUMMARY: Queering Our Middle Eastern Identities

Online conversations with artists that don’t fit in a box

Friday 23 April 2021

United States

Golden Thread Productions presented NO SUMMARY: Queering Our Middle Eastern Identities livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 23 April 2021 at 11 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 1 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 2 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

outline of head with text neurodiversity matters conference.

Conversations from the Neurodiversity Matters Conference 2021

Spectrum Theatre Ensemble

Video

Conversations from the Neurodiversity Matters Conference 2021

Featuring experts and artists from around the country discussing important neurodivergent issues

Friday 16 April and Saturday 17 April 2021

United States

Spectrum Theatre Ensemble presented conversations from their Neurodiversity Matters Conference 2021 livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 16 April and Saturday 17 April 2021.

Livestreaming a Performance: OUT Dance Project Virtual Tour

Beyond Boom and Bust

Video

Livestreaming a Performance: OUT Dance Project Virtual Tour

Connecting rural queers across regions in Oregon through story and dance

Thursday 25 March to Sunday 28 March 2021

United States

Beyond Boom and Bust presents OUT Dance Project Virtual Tour livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv from Thursday 25 March to Sunday 28 March 2021.

Text with details of the livestream and headshots of the speakers. The background is a rainbow in the shape of Jamaica.

Queer Narratives from the Jamaican Stage

Akiba Abaka Arts

Video

Queer Narratives from the Jamaican Stage

10 Weeks In Jamaica: Theater Conversations from Jamaica to The World!

Sunday 20 December 2020

Jamaica

Akiba Abaka Arts presented the conversation Queer Narratives from the Jamaican Stage as a part of the 10 Weeks in Jamaica series livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Sunday 20 December 2020 at 1 p.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC -8) / 3 p.m. CST (Chicago, UTC -6) / 4 p.m. EST (Kingston, UTC -5).

Moving an LGBTIQ+ Arts and Healing Space in Bogotá Online During the Pandemic/Trasladando a la virtualidad un espacio de artes y sanación LGBTIQ+ en Bogotá durante la pandemia

Yura

Sapi

Essay

Moving an LGBTIQ+ Arts and Healing Space in Bogotá Online During the Pandemic/Trasladando a la virtualidad un espacio de artes y sanación LGBTIQ+ en Bogotá durante la pandemia

4 December 2020

Viviana Vargas shares what it’s been like transitioning their Bogotá-based arts, culture, and healing storefront, Balistikal, into an online space during the pandemic./Viviana Vargas comparte cómo ha sido la transición de su espacio físico en Bogotá, de arte, cultura y sanación, llamado Balistikal, a un espacio en línea durante la pandemia.

Hazard / En Riesgo

Kar Eleggua Luna Olokun

Laverde

Essay

Hazard / En Riesgo

The Colombian Resistance Way / El Camino del Colombianx en Resistencia

3 December 2020

Kar Eleggua Luna Olokun Laverde talks about the relationship between state, culture, and art in Colombia; the effects of COVID-19 on resistance communities; cultural organizations that empower marginalized communities through art; and more. / Kar Eleggua Luna Olokun Laverde Sanjuan habla sobre la relación entre estado, cultura y arte en Colombia; los efectos del COVID-19 sobre las comunidades en resistencia; organizaciones culturales que empoderan comunidades marginadas a través del arte; y más.