LGBTQIA+ Theatre

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Drawing a comparison between the manifestation of love and activism, Annie Danger offers compelling insight into queer art in theatre.

I gravitated towards performance art. Many questions emerged from my practice. What am I on fire to do? What gender(s) can I explore? Where is the niche for performers like me? How do I engage my entire history? Do I pursue opportunities that call for a specific gender(s)? Who is my audience? How do I market myself effectively? Will my intentions and choices determine how I am read or is that something outside my control?

Imagine, if you will, a slumber party. A group of tweens huddles around a television in the carpeted family room of a two-story house. Most of them stare, mouths slightly open, entranced by leading man Leonardo DiCaprio. Caught up in his twenty-something good looks, they have found what they’re looking for. But not all of them. Not me.

MJ Kaufman shares insight on the necessity of trans voices being developed and acknowledged in diverse, multi-faceted, and complex narratives. 

In About Face Youth Theatre’s rehearsal space, there is a cluster of post-it notes on the wall titled “Where I Started.” The ensemble’s first impressions range from “not being satisfied” to “ready to just do something” to “oblivion.” These notes relate to the process of AFYT’s current play, Checking Boxes.

Allison Vanouse writes about Sleeping Weazel's 2014 festival of plays, trans cabaret, and solo performance coinciding with Boston Pride Week.

Playwright Gabriel Jason Dean and Director Lindsay Amer discuss "risky plays", queer characters and narratives, and young audiences.

 looks at how Magic Theatre's initative for young theatre-goes went beyond a discount, and how the premiere of Taylor Mac's Hir at the Magic complemented their earlier production of Buried Child.