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Toward The Horizon: Contemporary Queer Theatre as Utopic Activism

Page, Cody Allyn
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1616591424515655

Abstract Details

2021, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, Theatre and Film.
In Toward the Horizon: Contemporary Queer Theatre as Utopic Activism, I pursue two intersecting goals. First, I offer close readings of theatrical representations of queerness that expand beyond the shallow representations of the not-so-distant past, including the trope of the gay best friend (G.B.F.) and so-called “homosexual problem plays.” Second, I engage with dramaturgies of theatre for social change, reading those dramaturgical possibilities into scripted drama in support of my argument that contemporary queer theatre creates utopic activist potential within viewing and/or reading audiences. Over five chapters, I explicate and critically consider queer theatrical works that deploy dramaturgies and pedagogies of theatre for social change, including Bull in a China Shop by Bryna Turner, Significant Other by Joshua Harmon, Choir Boy by Tarell Alvin McCraney, Scissoring by Christina Quintana, Log Cabin by Jordan Harrison, The Prom by Chad Beguelin and Matthew Sklar, A Strange Loop by Michael R. Jackson, and The Inheritance by Matthew Lopez. I build upon the queer theory legacies of Jose Esteban Muñoz and his conceptualizing of utopia on the horizon, and Jill Dolan’s notion of utopic performatives, to argue that these pieces hold the potential to lead audiences towards what I term “utopic activism.” Utopic activism concerns the potential to create change through the application of pedagogies and dramaturgies of theatre for social change to scripted drama, and in turn prompt audiences toward envisioning, embracing, and enacting a better future. Individual chapters draw on a variety of critical modes of investigation including history, historiography, and historicization, empathy, relationships and friendships, and genre conventions to investigate the ways queer theatre creates meaning. My study finds queer representation in contemporary theatre is steadily changing and consistently embracing more complex and affirming visions of queerness. Indeed, while there are many areas still lacking, particularly when it comes to the inclusion of diverse voices published as playwrights as well as more diverse characters in queer narratives, the scripts I read suggest a better more equitable future on the horizon.
Jonathan Chambers, PhD (Advisor)
Mieses Nermis, DMA (Other)
Ahlgren Angela, PhD (Committee Member)
Nees Heidi, PhD (Committee Member)
291 p.
Glbt Studies; Theater; Theater Studies
Queer Theatre; Utopic Activism; Utopia; Queer; LGBTQIA; Theatre; Theatre for Social Change; Bull in a China Shop; Significant Other; Choir Boy; Scissoring; Log Cabin; The Prom; A Strange Loop; The Inheritance

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Page, C. A. (2021). Toward The Horizon: Contemporary Queer Theatre as Utopic Activism [Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1616591424515655

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Page, Cody. Toward The Horizon: Contemporary Queer Theatre as Utopic Activism. 2021. Bowling Green State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1616591424515655.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Page, Cody. "Toward The Horizon: Contemporary Queer Theatre as Utopic Activism." Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1616591424515655

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1616591424515655
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© 2021, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.