LGBTQIA+ Theatre

In the penultimate installment of the series, Emma Frankland details her experience staging a trans takeover of the canon with a cohort of trans, Two-Spirit, and non-binary artists. The article includes a set of recommendations for creating trans-affirming theatre spaces created by Emma and her collaborators.

Roxanne Schroeder-Arce talks about Dallas Children’s Theater’s production of ANDI BOI and the importance of seeing trans stories in theatre for young audiences.

AJ Schwartz responds to Will Wilhelm’s recent HowlRound piece about trans inclusivity in theatre casting, arguing that, while that’s important, theatre companies have to go a lot further.

Will Wilhelm argues that trans* actors are particularly skilled at performing gender and questions why it is so rare to see them perform on large stages.

Aley O’Mara discusses Will Davis’s production of Everybody at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC.

Linnea Valdivia discusses the weight of reviews in theatre, the failure in arts journalism to approach queer stories with respect and empathy, how a critic should react if they misgender an artist, and more.

James Montaño discusses The Donkey Show, cross-gendered performances vs. drag, camp as an aesthetic concept, and more.

Aley O’Mara reflects on Daniel Winder’s Hamlet and speaks to the lead—trans actor Jenet Le Lacheur—about the titular character in this production being nonbinary and transfeminine.

Michaela Goldhaber, current artistic director of Wry Crips, talks to the founding and early members of the disabled women’s theatre group about their history.

John Meredith and M Sloth Levine, of StageSource’s Gender Explosion Initiative, discuss ways theatremakers can dismantle stigmas against trans people and continue creating an inclusive theatre scene.

Farai Mabeza offers an overview of theatre in Zimbabwe, from the major theatre in the capital city, to smaller community theatres, to the country’s festivals.

Playwright and performer Rhiannon Collett examines the queer theatre landscape in Toronto.

Karen Malpede sits down to talk with Kosovar playwright and provocateur Jeton Neziraj about freedom and theatre.

Kim Peter Kovac looks at the way the theatre for young audiences field has changed over the last few years, where it’s at today, and what his hopes are for the future.

Arman Heljic uses the play Roma Armee to discuss how European Roma are rejecting their colonial legacy and reclaiming their narrative.

Ezra Brain looks at how queer theatremakers can reclaim familiar genres and forms—like musicals and kitchen sink dramas—to create a mainstream queer theatrical culture.