Queerest Art : Essays on Lesbian and Gay Theater

by Solomon, Alisa

• ISBN13: 9780814798119
• ISBN10: 081479811X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-06-01
• Publisher: New York University Press

Summary

This stimulating collection of essays critically examines and celebrates what, for centuries, many have deeply feared and many others have known and cherished to be true-that theatre is, indeed, the queerest art. The special ephermerality and perilousness of queer existence on- and offstage make this volume's excellently rendered project of documentation through performance, writing, and publication not only admirable and necessary but urgent.-The Drama Review"A rich and varied collection, featuring the voices both of academics and theatre practitioners."-American Theatre"Eclectic array of essays."-Theater Journal"The panel discussions...contributes a warm, witty and deliciously rhetorical piece."-Lambda Book ReportFrom Shakespeare's gender-bending playTwelfth Nightto the the critically-acclaimed Broadway hitAngels in America, from 17th century kabuki theater of Japan-performed by cross-dressing prostitutes-to the NEA-denounced performance art of Holly Hughes, theater has long been-as co-editor Alisa Solomon terms it-the queerest art.The Queerest Artis a pioneering collection of essays by and conversations among a diverse range of leading theater academics and artists. The first anthology to bring scholars and makers of queer theater into direct dialogue, the volume explores such subjects as same-sex desire in Restoration comedy, the racialized impact of colonial Shakespeare, the cuerpo politizado of a performance artist in contemporary Los Angeles, and the nitty-gritty of getting a queer show presented in Peoria.The Queerest Artrereads the history of performance as a celebration and critique of dissident sexualities, exploring the politics of pleasure and the pleasure of politics that drive the theater.Lively and accessible,The Queerest Artwill be useful to scholars, students, artists, and theater-goers alike interested in what makes queer theater . . . and what makes theater queer.Contributors include: Jill Dolan, Brian Freeman, Randy Gener, George E. Haggerty, Holly Hughes, Ania Loomba, Tim Miller, Jos? Esteban Mu±oz, Deb Parks-Satterfield, Lola Pashalinski, Everett Quinton, David Romßn, David Savran, Laurence Senelick, Don Shewey, Carmelita Tropicana, Valerie Traub, Paula Vogel, Doric Wilson, and Stacy Wolf.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Alisa Solomon
Framji Minwalla
Introduction: Building a Theatrical Vernacular: Responsibility, Community, Ambivalence, and Queer Theater	1	(8)
Jill Dolan
Great Sparkles of Lust: Homophobia and the Antitheatrical Tradition	9	(12)
Alisa Solomon
The Queer Root of Theater	21	(19)
Laurence Senelick
``Porno-Tropics'': Some Thoughts on Shakespeare, Colonialism, and Sexuality	40	(15)
Ania Loomba
Setting the Stage behind the Seen: Performing Lesbian History	55	(51)
Valerie Traub
``The Man I Love'': The Erotics of Friendship in Restoration Theater	106	(18)
George E. Haggerty
``Be True to Yearning'': Notes on the Pioneers of Queer Theater	124	(11)
Don Shewey
From the Invisible to the Ridiculous: The Emergence of an Out Theater Aesthetic	135	(17)
Moe Angelos
Susan Finque
Lola Pashalinski
Everett Quinton
Ana Maria Simo
Doric Wilson
Don Shewey
Queer Theater and the Disarticulation of Identity	152	(16)
David Savran
Out across America: Playing from P. S. 122 to Peoria	168	(15)
Holly Hughes
Deb Parks-Satterfield
Paula Vogel
Cynthia Mayeda
``Being'' a Lesbian: Apple Island and the Performance of Community	183	(20)
Stacy Wolf
``Preaching to the Converted''	203	(24)
David Roman
Tim Miller
Queer Theater, Queer Theory: Luis Alfaro's Cuerpo Politlrado	227	(20)
Jose Esteban Munoz
When We Were Warriors	247	(7)
Brian Freeman
The Kids Stay in the Picture, or, Toward a New Queer Theater	254	(7)
Randy Gener
Goodnight irene: An Endnote	261	(6)
Carmelita Tropicana
Contributors	267	(6)
Index	273