DRAM 4300/6300 Queer Theatre and Film Spring 2008 T/TH 12.30-1.45 (lecture/discussion) Room 201 FA Wed 2.25-4.

30 (viewing) Room MLC Professor George Contini Phone: Please do not hesitate to call me with questions or concerns. Office Phone: 706.542.0285 Home Phone: 770.339.1125 The Best Way to Reach Me: Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Wednesday : 4.30-6.30, Thursday 11.00-12.00 (noon) Office: Room 111 (behind 115 on far end of Fine Arts Bldg) Required Texts Curtin, Kaier, We Can Always Call them Bulgarians Alyson Publications, 1987. Greenberg, Richard. Take Me Out, Faber and Faber, 2003. Hodges, Ben, ed. Forbidden Acts: Pioneering Gay and Lesbian Plays of the 20th Century, Applause, 2003. Russo, Vito, The Celluloid Closet, Harper and Row, 1987. Senelick, Laurence. Lovesick: Modernist Plays of Same sex love, 1894-1925, Routledge, 1999. Not Required but highly recommended: Senelick, Laurence. The Changing Room: Sex, Drag, and Theatre, Routledge, 2000. Students will also be required to read several articles and plays that will be made available on line or through email. In addition to the plays in the anthologies the following pieces will be read: Edward II by Christopher Marlowe available free online through the Perseus Project at Tufts University at www.perseus.tufts.edu/Texts/MarloweTEXT.html. The Farce of Sodom or The Quintessence of Debauchery by John Wilmot available free online at www.Fluffhouse.org.uk/lynette/beggars/Sodom.txt The Portrait of Mr. W.H. by Oscar Wilde available free online at www.oscarwildecollection.com The Drag by Mae West Last Summer at Bluefish Cove by Jane Chambers Jerker by Robert Chesley Well of Horniness by Holly Hughes My Queer Body by Tim Miller Clit Notes by Holly Hughes

Downtown by Luis Alfaro Milk of AmnesiaLeche de Amnesia by Carmelita Tropicana The Stand In by Keith Curran Its Our Town, Too by Susan Miller The Laramie Project by Moises Kaufman Recommended Texts/Bibliography Aronson, Elliot, The Social Animal, Worth Publishing, 2007, 10th ed. Abelove, Henry et. al. eds. The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader NY: Routledge,1993. Adam, Barry D., The Rise of a Gay and Lesbian Movement, Twayne Publishers, 1995. Barrios, Richard. Screened Out: Playing Gay in Hollywood from Edison to Stonewall, Routledge, 2003. Bawer, Bruce, ed. Beyond Queer, Challenging Gay Left Orthodoxy. The Free Press, 1996. Bernstein, Robin, ed. Cast Out, Queer Lives in Theater. University of Michigan Press, 2006. Bronski, Michael, Culture Clash, The Making of a Gay Sensibility, South End Press, 1984. Bourne, Stephen. Brief Encounters, Lesbians and Gays in British Cinema 1930-1971, Cassell, 1996. Burston, Paul and Colin Richardson, ed. A Queer Romance: Lesbians, Gay Men, and Popular Culture. Routledge, 1995. Capsuto, Steven. Alternate Channels: The Uncensored Story of Gay and Lesbian Images on Radio and Television, Ballentine, 2000. Cleto, Fabio, Camp: Queer Aesthetics and the Performing Subject,University of Michigan Press, 1999. Clum, John. Acting Gay: Male Homosexuality in Modern Drama, Columbia University Press, 1992. Clum, John. Still Acting Gay, St. Martins, 2000. Clum , John. Hes All Man: Learning Masculinity, Gayness, and Love from American Movies, Palgrave, 2002. Curtin, Kaier. We Can Always Call them Bulgarians: The emergence of lesbians and gay men on the American Stage, Alyson Publications, 1987. De Jongh, Nicholas. Not in Front of the Audience: Homosexuality on Stage, Routledge, 1992. Ehrenstein, David, Open Secret: Gay Hollywood, Harper Collins 1998. Foucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality: An Introduction. NY: Vintage Books, 1990. Freeman, Sandra. Putting Your Daughters on the Stage: Lesbian Theatre from the 1970s to the 1990s, Cassell, 1997. Goffman, Erving, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Anchor, 1959. Grant, Barry Keith and Jeannette Sloniowski, eds. Documenting the Documentary, Wayne State University Press, 1998, Hanson, Ellis, ed. Outtakes: Essays on Queer Theory and Film, Duke University Press, 1999. Hodges, Ben, ed. Forbidden Acts: Pioneering Gay and Lesbian Plays of the 20th Century, Applause, 2003.

Hoffman, William, ed. Gay Plays: The First Collection, Avon, 1979. Hughes, Holly and David Romn, eds. O Solo Homo: The New Queer Performance. NY: Grove Press, 1998. Jagose, Annamarie, Queer Theory: An Introduction, Melbourne University, 1996. Jones, Therese, ed. Sharing the Delirium: Second Generation AIDS Plays and Performances, Heinemenn, 1994. Katz, Jonathan Ned, Gay/Lesbian Almanac, Harper and Row, 1983. Kushner, Tony. Angels in America: Millennium Approaches. NY: Theatre Communications Group, 1993. ISBN: 1559360615 Lane, Eric and Nina Shengold, eds. The Actors Book of Gay and Lesbian Plays, Penguin Books, 1995. Marcus, Eric, Making History, Harper Collins, 1992. Marlowe, Christopher. Doctor Faustus and Other Plays, Oxford University Press, 1998. Miller, Carl. Stages of Desire: Gay Theatres Hidden History, Cassell, 1996. Muoz, Jos. Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics. Minneapolis: Univ of Minnesota Press,1999. Romn, David. Acts of Intervention: Performance, Gay Culture, and AIDS. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998. Russo, Vito, The Celluloid Closet, Harper and Row, 1987. Savran, David, A Queer Sort of Materialism, University of Michigan, 2006. Seidman, Steven, ed. Queer Theory/Sociology, Blackwell Publishers, 1996. Senelick, Laurence. The Changing Room: Sex, Drag, and Theatre, Routledge, 2000. Shewey Don, ed. Out Front : Contemporary Gay and Lesbian Plays, Grove Press, 1988. Shairp, Mordaunt. The Green Bay Tree, Kimble and Bradford, 1933. Schlissel, Lillian, ed. Three Plays by Mae West, Routledge, 1997. Sinfield, Alan. Out on Stage, Yale University Press, 1999. Solomon, Alisa and Framji Minwalla, eds. The Queerest Art: Essays on Lesbian and Gay Theater. NY: New York University Press, 2002. Tolins, Jonathan. The Last Sunday in June and Other plays, Grove Press 2004. Warner, Michael, The Trouble With Normal: Sex, Politics, and the Ethics of Queer Life. Boston: Harvard UP, 2000. Warner, Michael, Fear of a Queer Planet: Queer Politics and Social Theory. Minneapolis: Univ of Minnesota Press,1993. Wilde, Oscar. The Short Stories of Oscar Wilde, Easton Press, 1976. Course Objectives Students will become acquainted with the history of the queer character as presented in dramatic forms from the prehistoric to the present day. Through readings of Queer Theorists, dramatic scripts, and performance viewings they will better understand the manner in which the gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered experience has been portrayed to audiences and how the development of that portrayal has reflected and/or affected changes in social, historical, political, religious, and sexual discourse. Questions to be raised include; What is queer performance? Whats it mean to play gay or play straight? What is the relationship between identity, politics, and performance? Who is the audience for these performances? What are the consistent themes, archetypes, and points of view seen in the dramatic portrayal of the queer. Students will come away

with a deeper understanding of what it means to present and/or embody a gay , lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered character and how to analyze the multi-layered social implications of that presentation. In addition, through assigned viewings of famous films and theatre performances they will deepen their aesthetic sense while becoming familiar with the seminal works of the queer dramatic canon. Classroom Units Classroom time is divided between lecture, discussion/Critique of Theoretical Readings, and Dramatic Text, and the showing of full length films and clips. Evaluation/Assignments/Requirements: Students are required to read plays, texts, articles and to view films/videos each week . These assignments are essential for class discussion and pop quizzes will be given on their content. You are expected to be at all screenings. If for some reason you are unable to attend a screening ; in most cases, films/videos are titles readily available for rental from video stores or netflix although there are a few that are rare and difficult to find. Participation in classroom discussion of all articles, plays, films constitute 15% of grade. Quizzes.5-10 short pop quizzes on plays read or film that was viewed. 10% of grade. One short paper, 710 pages, comparing two or three journal articles, books, etc. on any of the films or plays discussed in class. Written in MLA Format. Footnotes please. You may not use Wikipedia as a source. These must be articles from academic journals or books. 15 % of grade. Reading Projectof one of texts. Students will be assigned one of the plays to rehearse a reading for class. Each student will read in at least one reading. This will require one meeting/rehearsal outside of class. MFA Students will direct/cut/oversee production aspects of these pieces. To be assigned by professor. 10% The plays are The Drag, The Well of Horniness, The Stand In, Its Our Town Too. Research Paper.15-20 pages, in depth research and analysis of an engaging aspect of queer theatre , film , or performance. Jumping off points might be; What do you still want to know about? What really got you excited in class? Find out why it excited you so much. Have your own concepts of the presentation of the queer changed or expanded? What brought you there? Written in MLA format and contain a bibliography citing a minimum of five critical, scholarly sources. 20%. Performance Presentation, approximately 5-10 minutes in length. This is not a discussion or report, but a performance presentation that brings to life some aspect of your final paper. You may involve others in your presentation. 10% Final Exam: Short Answers and Essay Questions on all material read, viewed, and discussed in class. 20%.

Assignment Grade Breakdown Quizzes: 10% Participation/Discussion: 15 % Paper 1: 15% Presentation 1 (Reading): 10% Paper 2: 20% Presentation 2: 10% Final Exam: 20% Attendance: Attend class regularly. Participate in class. Your grade gets dropped 1/2 a letter grade for each class you miss. Only excused medical or emergency absences will be tolerated and evidence of such must be submitted in writing from proper authorities. Assignments/Class participation that is missed for excused absences must be made up at the next class. Assignments/Class participation that is missed due to an unexcused absence will result in a zero grade and may not be made up. After accumulating three unexcused absences the professor may drop the student from the course. I reserve the right to drop anyone who is not regularly attending class or participating in discussions. If you are involved in any special school functions, sporting events, etc., which may require you to miss a class please inform professor asap. Punctuality: Students who arrive late are disruptive and disrespectful to their peers who have made the effort to arrive on time. You are considered late if you arrive after the roll has been taken and completed. Two tardies equal one absence and the same rules apply as above. Other issues: Complete all work on time. I will not accept email submissions of assigned work. Please print out all papers. All assignments, reports, must be typed. Late work will receive a letter grade reduction for each day it is late. Late papers will not be accepted after 3 days from the due date. All assigned work must be completed to pass the class. Additional Requirements for Graduate Students Graduate Students would complete the same assignments as the undergraduate students with the expectation that there would be a deeper commitment and focus to the work. As outlined above they will each direct/edit a reading of one of the plays. This will require meeting outside of class. In addition graduate students first paper would need to be 1015 pages and they would be required to write a 20-25 page final paper.

Course Outline Week One- January 8 First Day of Class. Review Syllabus. Profiles. Read: Stein, Arlene and Ken Plummer, I Cant even Think Straight McIntosh, May, The Homosexual Role Esterberg, Christine, A Certain Swagger when I walk A Queer Encounter by Stephen Epstein Read: Edward II (online) Suggested Reading: Imitation and Gender Insubordination by Judith Butler Week Two- Jan 13/15 Screening Jan 14: Before Stonewall (87 min), After Stonewall (30 min..see first half hour) Queer Theory and Brief Homo History What makes it queer drama? Whats it mean to play gay? Socially? Theatrically? The Birth of the Homosexual vs The Birth of the Queer The Gaze Critiquing a Play or Film Schedule/Cast in Class Readings Read: Alisa Solomon, Great Sparkles of Lust: Homophobia and the Antitheatrical Tradition Laurence Senelick, The Queer Root of Theater Read: The Farce of Sodom (online) Read: The Portrait of Mr. W.H. by Oscar Wilde (online) Suggested Reading: Symbolic Interactionism and the Forms of Homosexuality by Ken Plummer from Queer Theory The Gaze Revisited or Reviewing Queer Viewing by Caroline Evans and Lorraine Gamman from Queer Romance Suggested Viewing: Stage Beauty, Shakespeare in Love, The Libertine, Derek Jarmans Edward II

Week Three: Jan 20/22 Screening Jan 21: After Stonewall (28 min..end), A Florida Enchantment (63 min) PreHistory to PreShakespearean Staging Queer Desires Read Curtins Intro and Chapter 1,2,3. Read Senelicks The Homosexual as Villain and Victim Read Intro to Lovesick and The Blackmailers Suggested Reading: The Importance of Being Earnest, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Changing Room Senelick Chapters 1-4, 6, 7, Suggested Viewing: Wilde, Forbidden Passion: Oscar Wilde, Tipping the Velvet, Maurice, Brideshead Revisited Week Four: Jan 27/29 Screening Jan 28: Different from the Others (50 min), Lot in Sodom (60 min), 1500-1700.Boys will be Girls.Shakespeares Bum Boys 1700-1900Restoration Comedy, The Fop, Breeches Birth. The inversion and subversion of the Comedy of Manners .The Importance of Oscar Wilde as an early gay lens. Read: At St. Judas Mistakes The Dangerous Precaution Read Curtins Chapters 4,5,6 Suggested Reading: Changing Room Senelick Chapters 8, 9,11 Week Five: Feb 3/5 Screening Feb 4: Madchen in Uniform (87 min), Chant dAmour (30 min) 1900-1920 Europe and the Social Drama In class: Listen to German Cabaret Songs. Paper One Topic Chosen. Read: The Gentlemen of the Chrysanthemums, Ania and Esther Read Curtins Bulgarians: Chapter 7,8,9 Suggested Viewing: Paragraph 175, Bent, Waiting for the Moon, Sex Madness, Rebecca Week Six: Feb 10/12 Screening Feb 11: Victim (100 min) 1900-1940 The American stage presents Closeted Drama, The Predator, The Other. In class Reading:The Drag by Mae West (1 hr 10 min) Read: The God of Vengeance, The Captive Read Curtins Chapter 10, 11,12 Suggested Viewing: Rope, Compulsion, The Tenant, Brief Encounter Suggested Reading: The Green Bay Tree by Mordant Shairp

Week Seven: Feb 17/19 Screening Feb 18: The Killing of Sister George (2 hr 20 minfinish in class) 1940-1960 Queers are Better off Dead or Just Miserable Watch Celluloid Closet in class. (1 hr 40)2 class periods Read Russo 1,2,3 Read: The Immoralist, The Childrens Hour Suggested Reading: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Dark at the Top of the Stairs Suggested Viewing: The Childrens Hour, Advise and Consent, In Cold Blood, Capote, Breaking the Code, Tea and Sympathy Week Eight: Feb 24/26 Screening Feb 25 : Boys in the Band (2 hr) 1970-1980 Stonewall. Freedom!.. to be The killer, the pervert, the slut, the insane, the self hating, the stereotype. Read: Russo 4,5,6 Read: Last Summer at Bluefish Cove, Bent Read: The Hollywood Screenwriter, The Film Historian from Making History Read: Michael Schiavi-Teaching the Boys Suggested Viewing: Making Love, Sunday Bloody Sunday, The Producers, Black Narcissus, Deathtrap, Derek Jarmans The Garden, The Ritz Week Nine: Mar 3/5 Midterm Screening Mar 4: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk (90 min) Fireworks (20 min) Dyketactics (4 min) Paper One Due Mar 5th. Women , WOW, and Dykes to watch out for.. Reading in Class: The Well of Horniness (1 hr 10 min) Read Teresa de Lauretis, Sexual Indifference and Lesbian Representation Read: Be True to Yearning, From the Invisible to the Ridiculous in The Queerest Art Read: History of WOW by Lisa Solomon Suggested Viewing: Execution of Justice, Stonewall, Entre Nous, Personal Best, Desert Hearts, Another Country, Prick up Your Ears, Serving in Silence Week Ten: Mar 10/12 Spring Break No Class Choose Topic for Paper Two.

Week 11: Mar 17/19 Screening Mar 18: Documentaries: Common ThreadsStories from the Quilt (80 min) Carmelita Tropicana (26 min) 1980-1990 Politics and AIDS..Documenting the changes. The Queer is Here..Get used to it. Read : David Savran, The Queerest Art Brian Freeman, When We Were Warriors from The Queerest Art Preaching to the Converted by Tim Miller Read As Is, Jerker Suggested Viewing; Swoon, Poison, Far From Heaven, Longtime Companion, Living End, My Beautiful Laundrette, Parting Glances, Jeffrey, As Is, Love Valour Compassion Week Twelve: Mar 24/26 Screening Mar 25: Torch Song Trilogy (2 hr) The Drag Queen and the transgendered..Girls will be boys. Boys will be Girls. Be as Beautiful as Julian Eltinge. Read: Love Valour Compassion, My Queer Body Read: Rents Due in Acts of Intervention David Romn, Solo Performance and the Body on Stage from Acts of Intervention Read Silence and its Opposite by Sheila Petty Suggested Viewing: Boys Dont Cry, Girls will be Girls, Philadelphia, Angels in America, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Flawless, M Butterfly, Rocky Horror, Kiss of the Spider Woman Suggested Reading : Senelick Changing Room Chapters 12-16 Week Thirteen: Mar 31/ Ap 2 Screening Apr 1: Tongues Untied (55 min), Go Fish (90 min) The presentation of the Queer Body. The Importance of Solo Performance as outlet for Diverse Voices. Disidentification. In class Reading: Its Our Town, Too (30 min) and The Stand In (1 hr 10 min) Read: Clit Notes by Holly Hughes Downtown by Luis Alfaro Leche Amnesia by Carmelita Tropicana, Jos Esteban Muoz, Queer Theater, Queer Theory: Luis Alfaro's Cuerpo Politizado from The Queerest Art Read Carmelita Unplugged by David Roman.

Suggested Viewing: Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love, Bar Girls, Bound, Fried Green Tomatoes, Last Call at Mauds, Looking for Langston, Lesbian Avengers Eat Fire, Suggested Reading: Senelick Changing Room Chapters 17-20. Week Fourteen: Ap 7/9 Screening Ap 8: The Birdcage (2 hr) 1950-1990 Television , the status quo vs the creation of the gay demographic Staking the Claim on Family Values Changes that Cable Wrought: Bisexual, Metrosexual, Pansexual Chic Ellen vs Rosie, Mainstreaming the QueerCultural Appropriation of Queer Language, Clothes, Customs Clips from : Ellen Coming Out, Tales of the City, Will and Grace, Queer Eye, Noahs Ark, If Walls Could Talk, The L Word, Queer as Folk, Rick and Steve Read: The Laramie Project. Take Me Out Suggested Viewing: Trick, Broken Hearts Club, Kissing Jessica Stein, In and Out, The Sum of Us, Lost Language of Cranes, The Laramie Project Week Fifteen: Apr 14/16 Screening Ap 15: Monster (109 min) A word on Camp and a Gay Sensibility Why do certain images Resonate? Testing your Camp-o-meter. Read: The Death of Camp by Daniel Harris The Caped Crusader of Camp by Sasha Torres from Camp Notes on Camp by Susan Sontag Suggested Viewing: Wizard of Oz, Valley of the Dolls, Batman, Mommie Dearest, Auntie Mame, Spartacus, Troy, Pee Wees Playhouse, Girls will be Girls, Pink Flamingos, Hairspray (original John Waters), Absolutely Fabulous, South Park, Lust in the Dust, The Women (original 1939), Faster Pussycat Kill Kill, 300, Begin Final Presentations in class. Week Sixteen: Ap 21/23 Screening Ap 22: Hedwig and The Angry Inch (90 min) Final Presentations in class. Suggested Viewing: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Fight Club, Rent, Party Monster

Week Seventeen: Ap 28 Screening Ap 29: Brokeback Mountain (2 hr 15 min) Final Presentations in class. Read: Larry Gross Year of the Queer: Hollywood and Homosexuality Suggested Viewing: Milk, Were the World Mine, Jumping the Broom Suggested Reading: Last Sunday in June by Jonathon Tollins, Octopus by Steven Yackey Final Exam: Thursday May 7 12-3 pm. Final Papers due at Final Time. University Honor Code and Academic Honesty Policy All academic work must meet the standards contained in A Culture of Honesty. Each student is responsible to inform themselves about those standards before performing any academic work. Quotes from plays, reviews, critiques, web material must all be cited in papers submitted for this course. Students are expected to adhere to the University Honor Code and Honesty Policy. UGA Student Honor Code: I will be academically honest in all of my academic work and will not tolerate academic dishonesty of others. A Culture of Honesty , the Universitys policy and procedures for handling cases of suspected dishonesty, can be found at www.uga.edu/ovpi.