| This dissertation explores the problems of minority based theatrical practice, focusing on the relationship between theoretical and practical concerns as they emerge in the artistic and institutional practice of About Face Theatre, Chicago's resident professional gay and lesbian theatre. Using a case study methodology, the study examines three representative sites in which theory and practice intersect: a 1997 production of Mart Crowley's The Boys in the Band, a 1998 production of Mary Zimmerman's site specific performance Eleven Rooms of Proust, adapted from Marcel Proust's Remembrances of Things Past, and About Face Theatre's educational programming, including its Political Theatre workshop and its Youth Theatre project, a resident performance workshop for at- risk gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth. The study documents the artistic, political, cultural, economic, and historical forces that shape the development of About Face Theatre, a critically admired gay theatre that is emerging as a national center for gay and lesbian theatre. Using eclectic submethods to meet the evidentiary needs of each case, the study argues for a more holistic approach to the documentation of theatrical and performance processes, attending to the institutional, historical, and textual forces that shape performance practice in the context of gay and lesbian theatre. |
