Queers and Tears

A queer theatre blog for all things queer and theatre! A platform to discuss or introduce queer theatre and artists. Also sort of just an archive of shows/quotes that I'm reading.

[lesbianartandartists]

Eva Weiss, Peggy Shaw

[fyeahqueertheatre]

I have a question. Is it acceptable for a cis actress to play a traditionally (but not explicitly) cis male character as a trans female character without the text ever addressing this in any way, or is that wrong in any way? As a cis actress myself, I have little to no understanding about trans experiences, so I worry that this could be somehow harmful.

Actors who are trans should be the only actors playing trans characters. The end. (but also trans folks should also be able to play cis roles.)

It is very harmful to portray a cis male character as a trans woman because women who are trans are not men. The end. 

What is the point of changing the gender to someone that is trans if it isn’t explicitly stated and then having a cis person play the part? It literally makes no sense? It isn’t even representation? Further, just saying “there is a trans character” does not make it good representation. A lot of trans representation in media right now is harmful (literally if I see one more transmasc person on TV or movies or music videos binding with ace bandages or a cis man playing a woman and getting praised for being #sobrave when it actually contributes of a culture that attempts to delegitimize trans people,  I quit.)

If this is not a hypothetical situation, please do not take that role. Really. It sounds like a trainwreck that is also transphobic.

This ask was pretty confusing, so if you need me to break it down more, let me know. 

[fyeahqueertheatre]

HowlRound essay

“Androgyny has always been sort of fringe-cool in fashion. Gender fluidity as a narrative device has preoccupied writers since the Greeks and Shakespeare. And I don’t think transpeople are unique in gaining limited visibility through becoming “cool.” I think this is part of how change can happen. A marginalized group can achieve limited visibility when a very small fraction of that group that is somehow more palatable to dominant society becomes exotic and interesting to mainstream culture. Now the question is what happens next. And it has everything to do with us culture-makers. Will the group, transpeople or any other, be reduced to their most mainstream members, flattening out our difference and further making our lives invisible? Or, will this opening make space for a wide variety of trans stories that bring intersectional awareness of the many identities and varied and specific lives transpeople live? Doing the latter might demand unraveling the who and how of what makes culture. But I think it’s necessary. We have to make these realities visible so that oppressive systems crumble before our eyes. And I think it’s exactly a job for theater makers.”

“ Writing transpeople well means being in relationship with transpeople. It means that when someone shows me a trans play they have written, we have enough trust and respect built between us that I can give them honest feedback and they can receive it. These kinds of relationships are necessary for representing any human experience that is not your own. I actually think this kind of research and education is necessary no matter what you’re writing. No choice we make is neutral and all stories we tell have implications. Even when writing our own stories we need to be accountable to community. How often have I noticed myself and other queer and trans artists simplifying our diverse realities for the sake of fitting them into acceptable narratives and gaining visibility?”

[fyeahqueertheatre]

When discussing gay theater, I am always reminded of Blanche DuBois' proclamation: "I don't want realism, I want magic!!" It is a sense of theater as a magical space mirroring life but large than life and the sense that theatre best mirrors the performance of gender and the awareness of performativity that have historically been part of the gay experience. These plays all take their audiences and readers to surprising places. There is no way in which we could refer to these plays as "straight" plays. Gay playwrights, even in their most serious moments, remind their audiences of the many readings of the word play, What does theatre mean if it is not joyous, camp, liberating, and magical? It is not somber, literal, or naturalistic.

John M. Clum, Staging Gay Lives.

[fyeahqueertheatre]

What are the salient features of fabulousness? Irony. Tragic history. Defiance. Gender fuck. Glitter. Drama. It is not butch. It is not hot. The cathexis surrounding Fabulousness is not necessarily erotic. The Fabulousness is not delimited by age or beauty. Style has a didactical relationship to physical beauty. The body is real. Style is theatre. The raw materials are reworked into the illusion. For style to be truly fabulous, one must completely triumph over tragedy, age, physical insufficiencies -  and just as importantly, one’s audiences must be made aware of the degree of transcendence, of triumph; must see both the triumph and that over which the triumph has been made. (In this, the magic of the Fabulous is precisely the magic of the theater. The wires show. The illusion is always incomplete, inadequate; the work behind the magic is meant to be appreciated.)

Tony Kushner, “Notes Toward a Theater of the Fabulous” from John M. Clum’s Staging Gay Lives.

[fyeahqueertheatre]

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

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.”

[queerised]

Still desperate for TRANS/NON-BINARY STORIES

Hi everyone. As some of you may know, I am a theatre student and for my senior thesis I have to put together a play. My play is going to be all about trans/non-binary identities. A platform on which we will have at least 20 minutes of visibility in this world of misrepresentation. Hopefully this won’t just be a final project, but something I continuously build on and present at venues, or maybe I can even get it published as my very own real play. The working title is “Don’t Assume My Gender”. 

I need your real stories. Your stories/monologues are my script. Literally word for word, you are helping me write my play. I thought what better way to present trans/non-binary identities than to get the real stories from real human beings. The stories can consist of what happens to you on a daily basis as a trans/non-binary person, how you came out, why you can’t come out, relationship problems/successes, sex stories, family, friends, funny things, sad things, powerful moments, being misgendered, being the underdog, being you. I need these real stories because I am all about presenting the truth. Please help me portray our truth.

No identity in this play will be portrayed by a cisgendered actor. All stories will be anonymous unless you would like to be credited. 

I am incredibly desperate for stories from AMAB human beings. I am very grateful for the stories I have received so far, and while it’s great they are all from AFAB human beings, this play is about trans/non-binary identities and it cannot be featuring stories only from AFAB people. I really want this play to be full of trans/non-binary diversity. 

PLEASE SEND ME YOUR STORIES!! Either in messenger, or ask me to send you an ask so that you may have unlimited room to type, or send a submission. If you do not wish to submit a story, please reblog this so that more people see it. Especially if you have a lot of AMAB friends/followers!!! Please, please, please!! Love you all, have a good day!

[lesbianartandartists]

Sadie Lee, Venus Envy, 1994

[observando]

I wish to live because life has within it that which is good, that which is beautiful and that which is love. Therefore, since I have known all of these things, I have found them to be reason enough and — I wish to live. Moreover, because this is so, I wish others to live for generations and generations and generations.

Lorraine Hansberry (via observando)

[itsdlevy]

Y'all. The Angels in America oral history is being expanded into a full-length book.

[fuckyeahgreatplays]

Is the theme of the week “resurrecting great things” or what? Can’t wait for this book!

[fyeahqueertheatre]

I'm so ready.

[fyeahqueertheatre]

On the Normalization of Queer-themed Theatre

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

“As a group that has always embraced eccentricity as a touchstone of our own cultural identity and as a tool of communal protection, are we somehow becoming less queer as we find greater freedoms? Will the vibrancy of our queer-occupied theatre fade as we inevitably normalize?”

[transtheater-blog]

[fyeahqueertheatre]

Fornés and Her Friends

A legion of advocates, and an upcoming festival, aim to bolster the legacy of the influential playwright and teacher.

[sallinger]

just wanted to clear some things up for u haha

[inchwormsandfireflies]

I’m working on a research project that will ultimately become my thesis project, but right now I’m piloting the interview process in my ethnography and qualitative interviewing class. The project aims to explore how language can be a technology of gender. In other words, how do the words that we use for our bodies and practices shape our gender identities and sense of self? I’m particularly interested in how the language that non-cisgender people and their sexual partners use for their bodies and sexual practices shapes gender identity. Message me if you’re interested in doing an interview! (My study is IRB approved)

[fyeahqueertheatre]

Hey y’all, my friend Zoë is a master’s student in the Performance as Public Practice program at UT Austin and is looking to conduct interviews for her thesis project! 

[nothingwithoutacompany]

[Trans]formation.

Dear Transgender, Intersex, Genderqueer, and Non-Binary persons,

The Living Canvas in partnership with Nothing Without a Company (NWaC) is developing a new work of theatre created and devised by trans voices titled [Trans]formation. As such, we are reaching out to the trans community for submissions; we are looking for stories, paintings, poems, allegories, songs, or any work of art that explores the naked truth of being trans. These works may be happy, heartbreaking, funny, tragic, uplifting, or any other kind of story so long as it is honest and explores transformation.  

Trans stories told by trans voices.  We want your story, told by you, at the level of participation you feel most comfortable with.  Join us as a contributor, an adviser, a performer, or any/all of the above.

The Living Canvas is an exploration of the expressive power of the human form.  We make works of theatre actualized by nude performers under projections of photographs, paintings, or beautiful light.  Our venture is to highlight the beauty in every body and tell stories that encourage body acceptance and love. For this particular project, we are adjusting our performance model to be better inclusive of trans/intersex/genderqueer performers: our definition of “nude” will be adjusted to prevent potential instances of gender dysphoria.

Nothing Without a Company is planting theatre around Chicago with all forms of media to empower self and community through immersive and revolutionary acts of art in site-specific and reclaimed environments.

Submissions!

Pieces should not exceed three (3) minutes or five (5) pages in length.  If you are submitting a video or song, please do not exceed five (5) minutes in length. Attach written works as a Word Document or PDF, visual art and photography as .jpeg, and for videos please include a link to an Unlisted YouTube video link.  

If your work is selected as a part of the final production, we will notify you and discuss casting preferences for your piece.  We want to collaborate with you, and tell your story in an honest and respectful way.

If you would like to be considered as a performer, please attach your Headshot and Resume and include “PERFORMER” in the title of your e-mail, along with your name.

Please e-mail your submission to [email protected] no later than March 31st, 2016. Questions may be addressed to our Literary Manager, Kevin Sparrow at this address, though other members of our selection committee may review and respond to your e-mail.  

Although we would love to use every submission, we are only given a limited amount of stage time to perform [Trans]formation. We hope to use every submission as a part of the larger discussion we hope this production will inspire: anything that does not end up on our stage will be included in our dramaturgy/lobby display and/or be featured in our program booklet.

Submissions will be reviewed and selected by Kevin Sparrow (NWaC Literary Manager and Company Member), Gaby Labotka (Director/Deviser, The Living Canvas Company Member, and NWaC Company Member), Ronen Kohn (Lead Deviser, The Living Canvas Company Member), Rebecca Kling (Performer and Activist) and Romeo Green (Dramaturg, NWaC Company Member).  

We look forward to receiving and reviewing your work; we are very excited for this mass collaboration in storytelling! Thank you, Nothing Without a Company and The Living Canvas

[fyeahqueertheatre]

Watch Full Episodes Online of Live From Lincoln Center on PBS | "The Nance" Starring Nathan Lane

Nominated for three Tony Awards, Douglas Carter Beane's celebrated play is both a love letter to the grand old days of burlesque and a love story before its time. Nathan Lane gives the performance of a lifetime as Chauncey Miles, a burlesque comedian caught between the tug of his heart, the calling of his art, and the increasingly harsh realities of Depression Era politics and mores.

I haven’t watched this since it showed on PBS a couple of years ago. I remember sobbing and cackling because Nathan Lane kills me.

Here it is posted legally in its entirety courtesy of Live From Lincoln Center and PBS.

ALSO! the script is finally available in Acting Edition published by Dramatists Play Service for your purchase here.

This script is under consideration for the fyeahqueertheatre book club. Consider buying a copy from the Drama Book Shop to support them after their water pipe burst!