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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

The Queer-Trans Performance Family Tree is more of a Galaxy
Podcast
The Queer-Trans Performance Family Tree is more of a Galaxy
With Guest H. May
by Nicolas Shannon Savard, H. May
13 September 2023
Queer Archival Praxis Roundtable
Podcast
Queer Archival Praxis Roundtable
With Guests David Silvernail, Janet Werther, Victoria Lafave, Jordan Ealey, and Kelli Crump
by Nicolas Shannon Savard, David Silvernail, Janet Werther, Victoria LaFave, Jordan Ealey, Kelli Crump
6 September 2023
Composting Queer Trauma through a Collaborative Process in SEAL
Essay
Composting Queer Trauma through a Collaborative Process in SEAL
by Rachel Pottern Nunn, Dante Fuoco, Clara Weist
24 August 2023
Rainbow flag, on top of which says “A Star is Bored, new alternatives play festival, friday 6/26 7pm Facebook live".
New Alternatives Play Festival
Video

New Alternatives Play Festival

produced by A Star Is Bored in partnership with HowlRound

Friday 26 June 2020
United States

A Star is Bored Podcast presented The New Alternatives Play Festival livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 26 June at 4:00 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 5:00 p.m. MDT (Denver, UTC -4) / 6:00 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 7:00 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

multiple people posing for a photo next to the stratford festival sign
Toward a Trans Canon
Essay

Toward a Trans Canon

26 May 2020

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.

colorful globe with arts connect international logo.
Arts Equity Summit 2020: Creating Culture Shifts (ASL & Captioned)
Video

Arts Equity Summit 2020: Creating Culture Shifts (ASL & Captioned)

A Summit for arts & culture leaders committed to building equity

Friday 24 April - Saturday 25 April 2020
Boston, Massachusetts

Arts Connect International presented the Arts Equity Summit livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv from Friday 24 April to Sunday 26 April 2020.

performance shots of Nic A. Sommerfeld and Scott Turner Schofield
Writing Trans Realities w/ Scott T Schofield + Nic Sommerfeld
Video

Writing Trans Realities w/ Scott T Schofield + Nic Sommerfeld

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Friday 24 April 2020
United States

Playwright Lauren Gunderson presented Writing Trans Realities w/ Scott T Schofield + Nic Sommerfeld livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 24 April 2020 at 2 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 4 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 5 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 22:00 BST (London, UTC+1) / 23:00 CEST (Berlin, UTC+2).

two actors onstage
ANDI BOI
Essay

ANDI BOI

One Transgender Youth’s Story on Stage

15 April 2020

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.

a group of youth actors onstage
Trans Theatre Is More Than a Cast List
Essay

Trans Theatre Is More Than a Cast List

24 March 2020

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.

two actors onstage
Gender Is Performance
Essay

Gender Is Performance

Why Trans* Actors Should Transcend the Character Breakdown

24 February 2020

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.

six actors onstage
Something for Everybody
Essay

Something for Everybody

Radical Inclusion in a Modern Adaptation

20 February 2020

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

actor in overalls crouching with posters with text in the background.
Queering Theatre Criticism
Essay

Queering Theatre Criticism

12 December 2019

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.

two men kissing in front of reporters with cameras
New Plays from Taiwan: What’s Next After Marriage Equality?
Video

New Plays from Taiwan: What’s Next After Marriage Equality?

at the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center in New York City

Thursday 14 November 2019
New York City

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center presented the artist talk New Plays from Taiwan: What’s Next After Marriage Equality? livestreamed on the commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Thursday 14 November 2019 at 6:30 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5) / 3:30 p.m. PST (Los Angeles, UTC -8) / 23:30 GMT (London, UTC +0).

circus performers on stage
Contemporary Circus
Video

Contemporary Circus

at the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center

Monday 28 October 2019
New York City

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center presented a talk on contemporary circus livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Monday 28 October 2019 at 1 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 3 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 4 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).

four actors onstage surrounding by an audience standing
Drag, Disco, and the Donkey
Essay

Drag, Disco, and the Donkey

Performed Masculinities in American Repertory Theater’s The Donkey Show

23 October 2019

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

 two actors onstage
Unmanly Grief
Essay

Unmanly Grief

Performing A Trans Hamlet

10 September 2019

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.

A performance of TRANSom
Video

A performance of TRANSom

at Ground Floor Theatre in Austin, Texas

Sunday 25 August 2019
Austin, Texas

Ground Floor Theatre presented a performance of TRANSom livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Sunday 25 August 2019 at 3 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 5 p.m. CDT (Austin, UTC-5) / 6 p.m. EDT (Boston, UTC-4) / 20:00 UTC+0.

four actors in rehearsal
We Didn’t Have Any Role Models
Essay

We Didn’t Have Any Role Models

An Interview with the Founders of Wry Crips Disabled Women’s Theatre Group

21 August 2019

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.

Pride Youth Theater Alliance flyer 2019 framed with colorful bubbles
A Performance by Dreams of Hope
Video

A Performance by Dreams of Hope

at Pride Youth Theatre Alliance

Saturday 27 July 2019
Boston, MA

The Pride Youth Theater Alliance presented an expert from Chasing Elevation and other performances by members of Dreams of Hope’s theatriQ ensemble in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Saturday 27 July at 5:00 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 7:00 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 8:00 p.m. EDT (New York) / 24:00 UTC+0.

three actors onstage
Beyond the Bathrooms
Essay

Beyond the Bathrooms

Cultivating Meaningful Trans Inclusion in Theatrical Spaces

28 July 2019

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.

actors performing outside
Theatre During a Time of Upheaval
Essay

Theatre During a Time of Upheaval

15 May 2019

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.

two actors onstage
Queer Theatre is Visionary Theatre
Essay

Queer Theatre is Visionary Theatre

23 April 2019

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

actors onstage
From Kosovo
Essay

From Kosovo

A Playwright Who Provokes Change

4 April 2019

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

blue arts equity logo
The Arts Equity Summit
Video

The Arts Equity Summit

A three-day summit and arts-integrated experience examining issues of equity both in, and through, the arts.

Friday 22 March 2019 and Saturday 23 March 2019
Boston, Massachusetts

Arts Connect International presented the Arts Equity Summit livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 22 March 2019 and Saturday 23 March 2019.

two actors onstage in costume
At the Core of Theatre for Young Audiences is Voicing Identity, Intersectionality, and Empathy
Essay

At the Core of Theatre for Young Audiences is Voicing Identity, Intersectionality, and Empathy

20 March 2019

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.

The Revolution is Here and Now
Essay

The Revolution is Here and Now

The Revolution is Roma, Queer, and Feminist

12 March 2019

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

Performers on the set of 50 Shades of Gay
Performance of 55 Shades of Gay: Balkan Spring of Sexual Revolution by Qendra Multimedia (Kosovo)
Video

Performance of 55 Shades of Gay: Balkan Spring of Sexual Revolution by Qendra Multimedia (Kosovo)

Presented by La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club

Sunday 10 March 2019
New York City

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in New York City presented a performance of 55 Shades of Gay: Balkan Spring of Sexual Revolution by Qendra Multimedia (Kosovo) livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Sunday 10 March 2019 at 12 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles) / 3 p.m. EDT (New York) / 19:00 UTC +0 (London) / 20:00 UTC +1 (Berlin). 

two actors playing dress up in a kitchen
Towards a Queer Reclamation
Essay

Towards a Queer Reclamation

4 February 2019

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.