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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

Queer Representation in the United States
Podcast
Queer Representation in the United States
by Nabra Nelson, Marina Johnson, Adam Elsayigh
27 September 2023
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
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.

one actor holds up another actor onstage
A Call for Exciting Trans Theatre
Essay

A Call for Exciting Trans Theatre

18 December 2018

Nitsan Scharf argues that while cis playwrights are more than welcome to write trans narratives in their plays, they must put in the work necessary to write multidimensional trans characters.

silhouette of performer playing guitar while audience watches, holding flashlights
The Final Act
Essay

The Final Act

Sunsetting a Nonprofit Arts Organization

23 October 2018

Scott Artley talks about the decision to wind down activities of Patrick’s Cabaret in Minneapolis after over thirty years on the scene and details the steps taken to “sunset” the organization in a respectful, beautiful way.

a group of people on stage
Men and Women and Non-Binary People On Boats
Essay

Men and Women and Non-Binary People On Boats

Exploring New Styles of Gender Diversity

26 September 2018

Theatremaker Sloth Levine uses the casting conceit in Jaclyn Backhaus’s play Men On Boats as a jumping off point to explore gender diversity in casting.

two actors
A Non-Binary Awakening in Philadelphia
Essay

A Non-Binary Awakening in Philadelphia

12 September 2018

Pax Ressler looks at both the successes and challenges for non-binary theatre artists in Philadelphia.

a group of people
How to Care for Your Queer Playwright
Essay

How to Care for Your Queer Playwright

Development, Community, and Fresh Air

6 September 2018

Playwright Abraham Johnson reflects on the 2018 Lambda Emerging LGBTQ Voices Retreat, and the importance of supporting emerging Queer playwrights.

two people onstage
Looking for “Lesbians” in God of Vengeance and Indecent
Essay

Looking for “Lesbians” in God of Vengeance and Indecent

3 July 2018

Writer Warren Hoffman dives into the history of God of Vengeance, the Yiddish play from 1907 that inspired Paula Vogel's Indecent, and the questions around language and sexuality the play raised and continues to raise.

Community Legacy is “Inherited” in Matthew Lopez’s Play
Essay

Community Legacy is “Inherited” in Matthew Lopez’s Play

21 June 2018

Scholar Emily Garside explores the ideas at the heart of Matthew Lopez’s play The Inheritance and the way in which the story acts as a response to Tony Kushner’s Angels in America.

an actor onstage
The Boys in the Band and the Limitations of Gay History on Stage
Essay

The Boys in the Band and the Limitations of Gay History on Stage

7 June 2018

Jonathan Mandell writes about The Boys in the BandThe Gentleman Caller, and 217 Boxes of Dr. Henry Anonymous, and discusses their portrayal of gay male characters.

Lost Worlds and “Pansexual Extravaganzas”
Podcast

Lost Worlds and “Pansexual Extravaganzas”

Rediscovering Weimar Operetta with Dr. Kevin Clarke

17 April 2018

Dr. Kevin Clarke of the Operetta Research Center introduces us to Weimar-era operetta, which pushed artistic and social boundaries and is finally enjoying an artistic and scholarly reappraisal after decades of neglect.

Sexuality in India’s Proscenium Theatre
Essay

Sexuality in India’s Proscenium Theatre

16 April 2018

Social researcher Bincy Mary George details the history of the proscenium theatre in India and explores what independent artists and festivals like the Delhi International Queer Theatre and Film Festival are doing to change cultural norms.

Making Theatre Out of Slam Poetry
Essay

Making Theatre Out of Slam Poetry

25 March 2018

Yan Chen talks with poet, performer, and playwright Kit Yan about the intersections of genre and intersections of identity in his work.

Queer Climate Performance Art in the Most Unlikely Places
Essay

Queer Climate Performance Art in the Most Unlikely Places

20 March 2018

Peterson Toscano describes his solo show Everything is Connected, which tackles religion, LGBTQ issues, privilege, and climate change.

an actor onstage
M. Butterfly from 1988 to 2017
Essay

M. Butterfly from 1988 to 2017

An Interview with David Henry Hwang

28 November 2017

Thirty years after M. Butterfly opened on Broadway, Jen Gushue interviews playwright David Henry Hwang about the 2017 revival.

Roy Cohn/Jack Smith: Remembering Ron Vawter
Video

Roy Cohn/Jack Smith: Remembering Ron Vawter

Monday 13 November 2017

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center in New York City presented Roy Cohn/Jack Smith: Remembering Ron Vawter livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 13 November 2017 at 8 p.m. EST (New York) / 7 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 5 p.m. PST (Los Angeles).

My Gender is Hot Fire
Essay

My Gender is Hot Fire

The Birth of the Non-Binary Monologues Project

30 October 2017

K. Woodzick talks about creating The Non-Binary Monologues Project, and the need for more resources for non-binary theatremakers.

El Amor en Tiempos de Trump: Queer of Color Criticism and Performance Conference
Video

El Amor en Tiempos de Trump: Queer of Color Criticism and Performance Conference

Friday 13 October 2017
Cambridge, MA, United States

Tufts University presented El Amor en Tiempos de Trump: Queer of Color Criticism and Performance Conference livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer producted HowlRound.TV network on Friday 13 October at 12:30 p.m. EDT (New York) / 11:30 a.m. CDT (Chicago) / 9:30 a.m. PDT (San Francisco).

Contemporary Ethnographic Performance Methodologies
Essay

Contemporary Ethnographic Performance Methodologies

8 October 2017

Alej Bustillos, Jr. discusses documenting and translating his lived experience in the field of theatre arts and performance studies by referencing scholars in the field and his own ethnographic scholarship methodologies.

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.