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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
Breaking the Binary: A Symposium on Building Trans* / Gender-Non-Conforming / Non-Binary Inclusive Theatre
Video

Breaking the Binary: A Symposium on Building Trans* / Gender-Non-Conforming / Non-Binary Inclusive Theatre

Monday 16 May 2016
Berkeley, CA, United States

Breaking the Binary is a half-day symposium focused on building trans*/ gender-non-conforming/ non-binary inclusive theatre, co-presented by Berkeley Repertory Theatre and California Shakespeare Theater—livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network howlround.tv Monday 16 May at 3 p.m. PDT to 7:30 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 5 p.m. CDT to 9:30 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 6 p.m. EDT to 10:30 p.m. EDT (New York) / 22:00 GMT - 02:30 GMT. Follow the conversation on social media via the hashtag #breakingthebinary2016.

Going Solo
Essay

Going Solo

Self-Producing Purple Eyes

16 May 2016

Playwright Josh Inocéncio shares his experience self-producing and touring his autobiographical solo show Purple Eyes.

The Holly Woodlawn Memorial
Video

The Holly Woodlawn Memorial

Saturday 14 May 2016
New York, NY, United States

La MaMa in New York City presented the Holly Woodlawn Memorial livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Saturday 14 May at 10:30 a.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 12:30 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 1:30 p.m. EDT (New York) / 17:30 GMT / 6:30 p.m. BST (London) / 19:30 CEST (Berlin). Share your thoughts on Twitter with #howlround and follow @LaMaMaETC and @HowlRoundTV.

Dragging Our Art, Crafting Our Drag
Essay

Dragging Our Art, Crafting Our Drag

The Politics of Drag Performance and Acting

28 March 2016

In this first installment, C. Fischer starts their series, exploring the intersections of gender, drag performance, and acting.

Notes from the Trans Theatre Artists Convening
Essay

Notes from the Trans Theatre Artists Convening

11 March 2016

Azure D. Osborne-Lee and Kestryl Cael Lowery recap the Trans Theatre Artists Convening that took place in December, 2015.

A Town Hall Meeting: Gender Identity, Representation, Theatre
Video

A Town Hall Meeting: Gender Identity, Representation, Theatre

Monday 7 March 2016
New York, NY, United States

The Public Theater in New York City presented A Town Hall Meeting: Gender Identity, Representation, Theatre livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 7 March at 4 p.m. PST (Los Angeles) / 6 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 7 p.m. EST (New York) / 00:00 GMT Tuesday, March 8 (London). Join the conversation in Twitter with #HowlRound and #PublicForumNY. Follow @howlroundtv@PublicForumNY

An Informal Response to “Preaching to the Converted” by Tim Miller and David Román
Essay

An Informal Response to “Preaching to the Converted” by Tim Miller and David Román

26 January 2016

Dramaturg Alexander Charles Adams writes a response to Tim Miller and David Román’s 1995 essay “Preaching to the Converted.”

Oh Gender, Up Yours!
Essay

Oh Gender, Up Yours!

18 November 2015

Three transmasculine playwrights discuss working in the theatre.

Full of Grace, a Catholic Docudrama
Essay

Full of Grace, a Catholic Docudrama

4 November 2015

Henrik Eger reports on the trajectory of the Catholic docudrama Full of Grace from vision of the late Bishop Joseph Sullivan of Brooklyn to the stage in Philadelphia.

The Hir Symposium Moderated by Author Taylor Mac
Video

The Hir Symposium Moderated by Author Taylor Mac

Monday 2 November 2015
New York, NY, United States

Playwrights Horizons in New York City presented the Hir Symposium moderated by Hir playwright Taylor Mac livestreamed on the global, commons based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 2 November at 4 p.m. PST (San Francisco) / 6 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 7 p.m. EST (New York). In Twitter, follow @PHnyc@howlroundtv—and use hashtag #howlround.

About Us Without Us
Essay

About Us Without Us

Trans Women, Labor, Power, and Performance

2 November 2015

This installment of the Gender Power and Politics Series is written by Rosza Daniel Lang/Levitsky, who discusses the lack of opportunities for trans women artists.

Conversation: Exploring the Difference between Real and Imagined Bodies on Stage
Video

Conversation: Exploring the Difference between Real and Imagined Bodies on Stage

Tuesday 13 October 2015
Boston, MA, United States

 

ArtsEmerson in Boston presented a public dialogue Exploring the Difference between Real and Imagined Bodies on Stage livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Tuesday 13 October at 4 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 6 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 7 p.m. EDT (New York) / 23:00 GMT. 

TranShakespeare
Essay

TranShakespeare

Lisa Wolpe, and the Art of Empathy

16 August 2015

Director Emma Went interviews international arts activist Lisa Wolpe about the origins and ethos of TranShakespeare.

How We Grow
Essay

How We Grow

An Interview with Azure D. Osborne-Lee

15 August 2015

MJ Kaufman interviews playwright, director, and performer Azure D. Osborne-Lee about his plays and what he sees in the field as a trans artist.

When She Speaks, I Hear Her Revolution
Essay

When She Speaks, I Hear Her Revolution

Salt Lake’s Feminist Open Mic

10 August 2015

Shauna Brock describes Salt Lake City’s monthly open mic series When She Speaks I Hear the Revolution and its strides for diversity and inclusion.

Where are all the bisexuals? Understanding the gray areas of LGBTQ representation
Essay

Where are all the bisexuals? Understanding the gray areas of LGBTQ representation

28 July 2015

Dramaturg Emily White looks at the amount of LGBTQ characters in theatre, film, and television, and wonders why so few of them are bisexual. 

Men on the Verge of a His-Panic Breakdown Turns Twenty
Essay

Men on the Verge of a His-Panic Breakdown Turns Twenty

12 July 2015

Guillermo Reyes reflects on the twentieth anniversary of his play, remembers how it was received, and the challenges he came across making it.

RENTing North Dakota
Essay

RENTing North Dakota

Queer theatre in a state that might evict you

31 May 2015

In the first of a series of four posts documenting the process of producing Rent with students in North Dakota, Chelsea Pace describes overcoming her own mixed feelings about the musical to see the value in the project.

Believably Trans
Essay

Believably Trans

Who Counts as Trans Onstage?

13 May 2015

In this installation, MJ questions what makes a trans character credible onstage, and how does gender fit into color-conscious casting?

A Red Face in the Crowd
Essay

A Red Face in the Crowd

Identities of a Native American Two-Spirit Writer

25 February 2015

Ty Defoe explores what his many identities make him, what it is to be two-spirit, and the kind of art it has inspired him to make.

How Do Transpeople Talk? Writing Characters Beyond a Gender Binary
Essay

How Do Transpeople Talk? Writing Characters Beyond a Gender Binary

20 February 2015

MJ Kaufman begins a new blog series, exploring questions of gender and parity in the world of performance. In this installment, he looks at how transpeople talk.

Logo for Dramatists Guild.
Beyond Angry Lesbians and Gay Best Friends: Writing Gender and Sexuality in the 21st Century 
Video

Beyond Angry Lesbians and Gay Best Friends: Writing Gender and Sexuality in the 21st Century 

Tuesday 25 November 25 2014
New York, NY, United States

Dramatists Guild of America presented the conversation Beyond Angry Lesbians and Gay Best Friends: Writing Gender and Sexuality in the 21st Century livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 25 November 25at 2:30 p.m. PST (Los Angeles)/ 4:30 p.m. CST (Chicago)/ 5:30 p.m. EST (New York)/ 22:30 GMT (London). 

Trucks, Country Music, and Class
Essay

Trucks, Country Music, and Class

25 October 2014

I don’t want to write an article about how we don’t see enough of a certain kind of people on stage. We are all working within an unfortunate system that, for the most part, elevates the work that mirrors itself. Instead of talking about production, I want to write about the art that we are making, because we are artists making art, whether it’s produced or not.

Queering the Room
Essay

Queering the Room

Some Beginning Notions for a Queer Directing Practice

24 October 2014

Director Will Davis shares his experience navigating theatre spaces as a queer person.

The Trans Artistic Body
Essay

The Trans Artistic Body

23 October 2014

I’m at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in the women’s restroom washing my hands. A woman walks in, “I must be in the wrong place,” she says and walks out. Then she walks back in, “No, you’re in the wrong place,” she says, seething with confidence. I walk out, not sure of my place.