Cross-dressing and Gender in Shakespeare’s Plays
Theatre is a unique form of art which combines visual arts with literature and sends messages to many people through actors’ bodies. This seminar aims to be an introduction to theatre and performance studies. In 2024, we will focus on “cross-dressing” and “gender” in the plays of William Shakespeare (1564-1616), one of the most popular English dramatists of all time. Shakespeare’s heroines sometimes disguise as men; among those characters include Viola in Twelfth Night and Rosalind in As You Like It. In Shakespeare’s England, women did not appear on the commercial stage due to social norms based on biblical teachings (Actresses appeared on stage in England after the Restoration in 1660). It was boy actors that played these characters. Cross-gender casting is also employed in contemporary performances of his plays. We will examine dramatic effects of cross-dressing on stage from the viewpoints of early modern historical and cultural contexts, and will discuss how Shakespeare’s plays help us understand the world we live in.
This seminar reads Shakespeare’s plays which explore the issue of cross-dressing. In the reading of plays and other materials, students need to give a presentation about assigned scenes. In workshops, they are expected to act and direct selected scenes that interest them from our seminar. Using audiovisual materials, we will discuss what it means for a play to be performed on stage through actor’s bodies and voices. Through this process, students will find a research topic, pose a research question, make a research plan and give a presentation about their research. They need to submit a final report based on the final presentation.