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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

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
On the Physical Embodiment of Trans Women Onstage and the Follies of Symbolic Representation
Essay

On the Physical Embodiment of Trans Women Onstage and the Follies of Symbolic Representation

1 October 2017

Massimo Monfiletto questions the representation of trans women in a commercial theatrical setting.

The Art in the Room
Essay

The Art in the Room

P Carl Talks with Taylor Mac

24 September 2017

P Carl talks with Taylor Mac about drag, aesthetics, gender, performance, and politics.

Gender Futures
Essay

Gender Futures

A Talk with Christian Appel and Renée Imperato of the TransGenerational Theatre Project

24 August 2017

Patrick Gaughan interviews Christian Appel and Renée Imperato about how they used applied theatre, writing, and utopian world-envisioning to create the all-trans, ensemble- based TransGenerational Theatre Project in NYC. 

A Different Romeo & Juliet—A Year Later
Essay

A Different Romeo & Juliet—A Year Later

17 June 2017

In the last installment of the series, Briandaniel Oglesby reflects on his queer adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, and advocates for more queer-centered theatre made with and for young people.

The Native Language of Inclusion
Essay

The Native Language of Inclusion

An Interview with Ty Defoe

21 May 2017

Ryan Leeds interviews Ty Defoe about winning the Jonathan Larson Grant, his show Crane: On Earth, In Sky, and how his identity influences his work.

Pedagogy Notebook
Essay

Pedagogy Notebook

Responding to LGBT Homelessness in Emilio Rodriguez’s Swimming While Drowning

24 April 2017

Trevor Boffone writes about teaching Emilio Rodriguez’s Swimming While Drowning in an Intro to LGBT Studies class at the University of Houston.

Igniting a Transgender Revolution in Chicago
Essay

Igniting a Transgender Revolution in Chicago

12 April 2017

Artist Delia Kropp discusses the state of transgender theatre in Chicago, Illinois and shares current initiatives to produce work by and for trans and gender-variant artists.

#BreakingtheBinary: A Dialogue on Accessibility for Trans People Working in the Arts
Video

#BreakingtheBinary: A Dialogue on Accessibility for Trans People Working in the Arts

Monday 30 January 2017
Boston, MA, United States

#BreakingTheBinary is a free and public symposium focusing on accessibility for trans* people working in the arts presented by the American Repertory Theater at the Oberon. The event included a panel discussion of trans-identified theatre workers—livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network howlround.tv Monday 30 January at 12 p.m. EST to 1:00 p.m. EST (Boston) / 11 a.m. CST to 12 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 10 a.m. MST to 11 a.m. MST (Denver) / 9 a.m. PST to 10 a.m. PST (San Francisco)/ 17:00 GMT—18:00 GMT. Follow the conversation on social media via the hashtag #BreakingtheBinary and follow @howlroundtv.

#BreakingtheBinary
Essay

#BreakingtheBinary

an interview with SK Kerastas and Lisa Evans

26 January 2017

Regina Victor interviews SK Kerastas and Lisa Evans about their work to make theatre institutions more accessible for trans* people, on and off stage.

What Do You Know? A Discovery of Prejudgment, Vocabulary, and Identity
Essay

What Do You Know? A Discovery of Prejudgment, Vocabulary, and Identity

24 January 2017

Max Cerci discusses watching Gemma Cooper-Novak’s Through the Glory Hole and What We Found There as a summer intern for The Theater Offensive, reflecting on his theatre background and his queer identity.

Just a Girl with a Dream
Essay

Just a Girl with a Dream

Interning and Envisioning at The Theater Offensive

23 January 2017

Tatiana Gil reflects on her experience interning for The Theater Offensive in Boston, Massachusetss last summer, sharing her vision of organizing creative spaces for queer youth.

One Queen’s Highly Personal/Subjective Reaction to Taylor Mac’s A 24-Decade History of Popular Music
Essay

One Queen’s Highly Personal/Subjective Reaction to Taylor Mac’s A 24-Decade History of Popular Music

15 December 2016

CJ Byrd on Taylor Mac’s A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, a “communal, intelligent, erotic, participatory, spectacular performance art concert; a marathon survey dedicated to destroying through exposure the racism, patriarchy, supremacy, and fascism suppressing the fabulosity of all our country’s different beleaguered Others over the years.”

Design Meeting
Essay

Design Meeting

My Old Man (and Other Stories)

26 November 2016

Jess Barbagallo and Chris Giarmo discuss design questions for Jess’s play My Old Man (and Other Stories) and the recently increased interest in trans artists.

Audience Engagement in a Dolphin Costume
Essay

Audience Engagement in a Dolphin Costume

28 October 2016

Travis Amiel shares his experience of engaging audiences in Company One Theatre’s production of The T Party by Natsu Onoda Power.

No Pictures, Please
Essay

No Pictures, Please

Queer Theatre in Beirut / الرجاء النزول لقراءة المقال باللغة العربية

9 October 2016

Raphael Khouri writes about creating a work of queer Arab theatre in secret.

A Lover's Guide to American Playwrights
Essay

A Lover's Guide to American Playwrights

Taylor Mac

5 October 2016

Todd London writes about playwright and performer Taylor Mac, and looks forward to A 24-Decade History of Popular Music.

Hierarchies of Power
Essay

Hierarchies of Power

Cisgender Playwrights and Trans Characters

28 September 2016

In this #IdentityWeek blog, playwright Basil Kreimendahl discusses the representation of trans characters on stage.

Speedo Activism
Essay

Speedo Activism

Intimacy and the Aesthetics of Resistance

26 September 2016

Priscilla Page on Ricardo Gamboa and Sean James William Parris’ Space Age at Free Street Theater in Chicago, Illinois.

Art in the Time of Fear and Loathing
Essay

Art in the Time of Fear and Loathing

12 September 2016

Playwright Cherry Lou Sy discusses Vineyard Theatre’s production of Indecent, reflecting on the culture of fear and the queer artists who have influenced her.

Notes from the Skybridge Production of Romeo and Juliet
Essay

Notes from the Skybridge Production of Romeo and Juliet

9 September 2016

In this installment, Briandaniel Oglesby shares updates leading up to the performance of his students’ queer adaptation of Romeo & Juliet.

On the Normalization of Queer-themed Theatre
Essay

On the Normalization of Queer-themed Theatre

21 July 2016

Playwright John J. Caswell, Jr. meditates on the trajectory of queer theatre, and the tendency to normalize the form.

Gender Responsive Casting
Essay

Gender Responsive Casting

29 June 2016

Meg Greene explores the casting process as a socially responsible practice that considers and values gender identity.

Conversation Trans in the Indie Theatre Scene at The Trans Theatre Festival
Video

Conversation Trans in the Indie Theatre Scene at The Trans Theatre Festival

Wednesday 8 June 2016
Brooklyn, NY, United States

The Brick in Brooklyn, New York presented a panel discussion Trans in the Indie Theatre Scene livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Wednesday 8 June at 2 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles) / 4 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 5 p.m. EDT (New York) / 21:00 GMT / 10 p.m. BST (London). Share your thoughts on Twitter with hashtags #transfest and #howlround.

Making Queer Theatre with Young People…in Texas
Essay

Making Queer Theatre with Young People…in Texas

The Project

30 May 2016

In the first installment of his series, playwright Briandaniel Oglesby discusses adapting Romeo & Juliet with youth.

WOW Café Theatre
Essay

WOW Café Theatre

Celebrating the Beginnings of a Historic Women’s Theatre

24 May 2016

Playwright Kathleen Warnock reports on WOW Café Theatre’s reunion and book launch for Memories of the Revolution, which chronicles the first ten years of WOW Café.