From Shakespeare's gender-bending play Twelfth Night to the the critically-acclaimed Broadway hit Angels 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 Art is 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 Art rereads 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 Art will be useful to scholars, students, artists, and theater-goers alike interested in what makes queer theater . . . and what makes theater queer. Contributors: Jill Dolan, Brian Freeman, Randy Gener, George E. Haggerty, Holly Hughes, Ania Loomba, Tim Miller, Jose Esteban Munoz, Deb Parks-Satterfield, Lola Pashalinski, Everett Quinton, David Roman, David Savran, Laurence Senelick, Don Shewey, Carmelita Tropicana, Valerie Traub, Paula Vogel, Doric Wilson, and Stacy Wolf.
1 Great Sparkles of Lust: Homophobia and the Antitheatrical Tradition 2 The Queer Root of Theater 3 "Porno-Tropics": Some Thoughts on Shakespeare, Colonialism, and Sexuality 4 Setting the Stage behind the Seen: Performing Lesbian History 5 "The Man I Love": The Erotics of Friendship in Restoration Theater 6 "Be True to Yearning": Notes on the Pioneers of Queer Theater 7 From the Invisible to the Ridiculous: The Emergence of an Out Theater Aesthetic 8 Queer Theater and the Disarticulation of Identity 9 Out across America: Playing from P.S. 122 to Peoria 10 "Being" a Lesbian: Apple Island and the Performance of Community 11 "Preaching to the Converted" 12 Queer Theater, Queer Theory: Luis Alfaro's Cuerpo Politizado 13 When We Were Warriors 14 The Kids Stay in the Picture, or, Toward a New Queer Theater 15 Goodnight Irene: An Endnote
