How can Shakespeare help us bring queer representation into theatre?
Gil, Daniel Juan. “Shakespeare and Queer Theory by Melissa E. Sanchez (Review).” Theatre Journal, vol. 73, no. 1, Mar. 2021, p. N.PAG. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.ezproxy.csuci.edu/10.1353/tj.2021.0025.
This book review helped us understand the Queer Theory behind Shakespeare’s work. In this work it helps us understand the past idea of modern sexuality and how we can classify our modern work to be able to adjust the sexuality of our characters. We can also rely on the text being able to examine our play A Midsummer Night’s Dream and how it incorporates racial, ethnic, and sexuality into the Queer Theory. By understanding this we are able to understand and hopefully help our actors view their characters in a way that is most comfortable for them.
Walters, Lisa. “Oberon and Masculinity in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” ANQ, vol. 26, no. 3, Sept. 2013, pp. 157–60. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.ezproxy.csuci.edu/10.1080/0895769X.2013.779172.
This journal article helps us understand the use of sexuality. Although, the title ensures us that it will mostly be talking about the masculine role that are places within shakespearean plays we are actually introduced with multiple gender roles. Gender roles within Shakespeare but most importantly in AMND, gives us an in depth look on the masculine and feminine stereotype that can be adapted and or cut. This will help us better understand the initial gender of the play and how we are able to manipulate and change gender/sexuality within certain scenes and moments.
What skills can we learn from adapting Shakespearean language?
Barrie, Eva. “Words Have Weight (Unless You’ve Never Had to Carry That Weight): The White Lens in Theatre.” Canadian Theatre Review, vol. 186, Apr. 2021, pp. 35–38. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.ezproxy.csuci.edu/10.3138/ctr.186.007.
In this journal article, it reviews a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Barrie talks about the changes within the Shakespearean text that are deemed offensive. We learned about the meaning of words and how we are able to change and manipulate them to create a whole new rhyme and meter. This journal article also introduces a racial theory and racial slurs within this Shakespearean text. Using this we are able to continue working on a script that will make everyone feel comfortable, and we as the leaders are able to view it in a different lens.
Mazer, Cary M. “Not Not Shakespeare: Directorial Adaptation, Authorship, and Ownership.” Shakespeare Bulletin, vol. 23, no. 3, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005, pp. 23–42, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26349400.
In this journal article, we are able to understand the usage in Shakespearean adaptations. Not Shakespeare is a term used when someone has adapted something of shakespeare. We learn that most Shakespearean productions are oftentimes cut or arranged. This article talks about a certain director who adapts Shakespeare. Here we find that the director that was involved in adaptations doubled, used cross-gender casting, and also gender changes of the characters.
How do glamrock and disco make our production of AMND unique?
Frank, Gillian. “Discophobia: Antigay Prejudice and the 1979 Backlash against Disco.” Journal of the History of Sexuality, Vol 16, no. 2 (May 2007): 276–306. https://doi.org/10.1353/sex.2007.0050.
This journal article refers back to the Disco Demolition and the destruction of disco in 1979. There were riots were not targeted to the music genre itself but more so the identities that went along with it. It was the LGBTQ+ community that was being targeted for the music genre because society had labeled them as deviant and impermissible behavior. By using this we are able to understand past judgements and create a new one that revolves around being open and reclaiming the use of disco in that time period.
Lawrence, Tim. “Disco and the Queering of the Dance Floor.” Cultural Studies, vol. 25, no. 2, Mar. 2011, pp. 230–43. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1080/09502386.2011.535989.
Tim Lawrence’s “Disco and the Queering of The Dance Floor” describes the rise of disco culture through a lens that is reflected in our production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In acknowledging disco as a creation of diverse spaces where exploration occurred, we honor the history of the culture. This history connects directly to the concept for our show and is reflected in the costume design and script adaptation. Lawrence describes with specificity the various party spaces where different racial, ethnic, sexual, and other groups would gather and share the same space. e also describes the way that the music worked in tandem with them, as well as the ways in which this spaces became commoditized or made exclusive.
