Kaufman, a transgender writer who foregoes honorifics like Mr. or Ms., just might get that chance. The playwright uttered that wish while sitting in an atrium across the street from Lincoln Center on a recent weekday morning, drinking coffee and noshing on a blueberry pastry. Also present for a discussion of gender and performance were Basil Kreimendahl and Jess Barbagallo, two other transgender playwrights.
3 comments:
I think this article poses a serious issue of theatre needing to come from the origin. Stories as unique and personal and relevant as those pertaining to transgender people are stories that need to be accurate and real if they are to truly tell the story of these people in a genuine nature. Society needs to be taught about transgender peoples and the only way to give society an accurate education about this is through the words of those who have experienced it first hand. For that reason, transgender theatre should be written by transgender playwrights. The came can be said for any inclusion of theatre rights due to race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation. Theatre needs to be inclusive of minorities as many stories told by theatre today are about those minorities and the struggles they face, and who better is there to tell of this struggle for acceptance and equality than those who have fought the battle their whole lives.
I really loved this article, and I think the reason for that is the conversation part of it. That part was structured but didn’t feel forced, it felt like they were having a discussion, which included side comments like “Man you are lucky,”, which helped it seem like they were talking right in front of you. One thing that stuck out to me is that they don’t write coming out plays or even interested in them. It seems to me that the plays they write are more about being human and other concepts, and not just about their conforming/nonconforming gender. And I think that is really important. When I see a character that is diverse in someway, (It might just be me), but I don’t want the highlight of their character to just be about that diversity. Like for example, a black superhero, I don’t want their character to be like “I’m black…NOTICE ME!”, I want it to be more like “I’m black, but I’m also loyal, moral-driven, harsher on people who betray my trust, and like cake”. In this way, I think that is how the media should be bringing in diverse people, not because there is a need for it and you want to make sure you made that clear INCLUSION statement, but because you are giving a chance for something spectacular (or horrible, depending on the situation) to happen to anyone, not because of their diversity, but because it is just them.
The stories are out there, I don't believe that they aren't. What we're lacking right now are the people and the support to bring these stories and these productions into the public eye. This article was really interesting to me because I feel like I don't get to read a lot of interviews with trans playwrights. They offer such a unique perspective on storytelling, I'm confused why we haven't explored this genre earlier. What's actually most important in this article, though, is the fact that trans characters should be played by trans actors. This goes back on previous articles about white washing characters of color. You're missing a piece of the story if you hire a white actor play a person of color. Similarly, you're missing a critical part of this story if you hire a cisgendered actor to play a transgendered character. Also, there are plenty of talented trans actors out there, that doesn't get to be an excuse anymore.
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