Diversity in Show Business: Gender and Sexuality

In 2014, The Kilroys released their first annual List: a vetted collection of plays written by female and trans writers, nominated by hundreds of professional artistic directors, literary managers, professors, producers, directors, and dramaturgs.

The Kilroys are a gang of playwrights and producers who came together in Los Angeles in 2013 to stop talking about gender parity in theatre and start taking action. In 2014, they released their first annual List: a vetted collection of plays written by women, trans, and nonbinary writers, nominated by hundreds of professional artistic directors, literary managers, professors, directors, and dramaturgs. 'This is a historic compilation of fervent, fierce, and formidable voices, who have been left on the margins for far too long, but who now, with the caliber of their writing, stake claim to what it means to be an American playwright, in this time and place.'

Lawrence Harbison has selected 100 terrific monologues for women from contemporary plays, all by characters between the ages of 18 and 35 perfect for auditions or class. There are comic monologues (laughs) and dramatic monologues (no laughs). Most have a compelling present-tense action for actors to perform. A few are story monologues and they're great stories.

Lawrence Harbison has selected 100 terrific monologues for men from contemporary plays, all by characters between the ages of 18 and 35 perfect for auditions or class. There are comic monologues (laughs) and dramatic monologues (no laughs). Most have a compelling present-tense action for actors to perform.

This book examines the role of singular or 'exceptional' subjects in constructing and challenging assumed notions of communal sociability and togetherness, while drawing fresh insight from the fields of sociology, gender studies and political philosophy to reconsider theatre's attachment to singular lives and experiences.

This international collection of essays forms a vibrant picture of the scope and diversity of contemporary queer performance. Ranging across cabaret, performance art, the performativity of film, drag and script-based theatre it unravels the dynamic relationship performance has with queerness as it is presented in local and transnational contexts.

The answers to these questions - and much, much more - are to be found in The Changing Room , which traces the origins and variations of theatrical cross-dressing through the ages and across cultures. It examines: tribal rituals and shamanic practices in the Balkans and Chinese-Tibet, the gender-bending elements of Greek and early Christian religion, the homosexual appeal of the boy actor on the traditional stage of China, Japan and England, the origins of the dame comedian, the principal boy, the glamour drag artiste and the male impersonator.

Throughout the twentieth century women have made significant contributions to the creation of American musical theatre. Directing, choreographing, writing, arranging, producing and designing musicals in a variety of venues throughout America, women have played a significant role in shaping the development of musical theatre both on and off Broadway and in regional, educational, and community venues. The essays in this book examine the history of women in musical theatre, providing biographical descriptions of the women themselves; analyses and interpretations of their productions; and several accounts of how being a woman affected the artists' careers.

This anthology of work provides plays that speak to one of the most compelling virtues of artists everywhere - freedom of speech. A necessary volume of women playwrights' work, it represents a group of women who vary in age, race and sexual orientation and offers an invitation to artistic leaders, scholars and students to embrace gritty, thought-provoking new dramatic work.

Shakesqueer puts the most exciting queer theorists in conversation with the complete works of William Shakespeare. Exploring what is odd, eccentric, and unexpected in the Bard's plays and poems, these theorists highlight not only the many ways that Shakespeare can be queered but also the many ways that Shakespeare can enrich queer theory. This innovative anthology reveals an early modern playwright insistently returning to questions of language, identity, and temporality, themes central to contemporary queer theory. Since many of the contributors do not study early modern literature, Shakesqueer takes queer theory back and brings Shakespeare forward, challenging the chronological confinement of queer theory to the last two hundred years.

Contemporary Women Stage Directors opens the door into the minds of 27 prolific female theatre directors, allowing you to explore their experience, wisdom and knowledge. Directors give insight into their diverse approaches to the key challenges of directing theatre, including choosing projects, engaging with scripts, conceptualizing visual and acoustic production elements, collaborating with actors and production teams, building their careers, and navigating challenges and opportunities posed by gender, race and ethnicity.

In this third volume of the series Junctures: Case Studies in Women's Leadership, Judith K. Brodsky and Ferris Olin profile female leaders in music, theater, dance, and visual art. The diverse women included in Junctures in Women's Leadership: The Arts have made their mark by serving as executives or founders of art organizations, by working as activists to support the arts, or by challenging stereotypes about women in the arts. The contributors explore several important themes, such as the role of feminist leadership in changing cultural values regarding inclusivity and gender parity, as well as the feminization of the arts and the power of the arts as cultural institutions.