LGBTQIA+ Theatre

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.

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?

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

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.

Damien Atkins, Paul Dunn, and Andrew Kushnir explore gay heritage while questioning whether such a thing can actually exist resulting in a living archive in a play structure.

MJ Kaufman offers compelling insight on the politcs of trans casting.

Riley Braem writes about his experience programming TYA, and why it's important to expose audiences to challenging work – the younger, the better.

Victoria Tucci reflects on her time producing queered adaption of Romeo & Juliet, Juliet & Romeo, in the wake of the Marc Carson murder.

A conversation about the implications and discoveries made when putting Romeo and Juliet in the frame of a same-sex relationship.

Virginia Grise interviews Playwright Patricia Ione Lloyd about her work and process.

Creating and producing social advocacy theatre faces many roadblocks. Emily Freeman learned that exercising relentlessness while practicing love is the best way to find an audience.

Ace Falcor examines the queerness of New Orleans, and what it means to be a queer performer in the city where anything goes.