Anna Shaw

Dr. Walsh
THTR 4021
11.5.17

Dolan
Synopsis: The analysis of Belle Reprieve as compared to A
Streetcar Named Desire. Gender bending of roles and breaking of
the fourth wall, and the effects that these things have on audience
members. The progression of queer theatre and gay rights in the
US.

Synthesis: Belle Reprieve plays with gender and sexuality and

dubious claims that our identities are natural or that we dont
perform ourselves offstage as much as we do on.

Key terms and their definitions:

Ridiculous Theatrical Company: "The Theatre of the Ridiculous"

made a break with the dominant trends in theatre of naturalistic
acting and realistic settings. It employed a very broad acting style,
often with surrealistic stage settings and props, frequently making
a conscious effort at being shocking or disturbing. "Ridiculous"
theatre brought some elements of queer/camp performance to
avant-garde theater. Cross-gender casting was common, with
players often recruited from non-professional sources, such as drag
queens or other "street stars"

A Streetcar Named Desire: A Streetcar Named Desire is a

1947 play written by American playwright Tennessee Williams
that received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948.

Belle Reprieve: A gender-bent deconstruction of Tennessee

Williamss play, the pedestrian truth Blanche abhors serves as a
metaphor for theatrical realism, while the magic she endorses
becomes a theatrical experimentation.

2-3 discussion questions:

1. Now that the subject of gay marriage has become such a

controversial thing recently brought into the mainstream, would
pushing the boundaries in the way that Belle Reprieve does
normalize queer culture or hinder it?

Strange Fruit
Synopsis: An overview of Johnsons life as a black queer man.

Synthesis: Strange Fruit explores what it is like to be African

American and homosexual.

Key terms and their definitions:

2-3 discussion questions:

How much does being an African American queer man differ from
being a different member of the queer community?