Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Theatre

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

In this dissertation, I argue for a queer Jewish utopian performative that I term shechinah. Shechinah relies on intersubjectivity, double coding, and futurity within the performance to produce the imaginings of a better future characteristic of utopian performatives. My work begins with a history of queer Jewish performance before examining two examples of shechinah — Paula Vogel and Rebecca Taichman’s Indecent and Jewish drag as exemplified by Pink Pancake’s “Today You Are a Man!” My dissertation pulls on the theorizing of utopian performatives by Jill Dolan and José Muñoz, while expanding this theorization with an understanding of the history of queer Jewish performance. The history of queer Jewish performance I present here comes from scholars of Jewish studies, but I refocus this analysis on religious elements of Jewish performance rather than solely ethnic performance.

My dissertation expands scholarship on utopian performatives by offering a framework of how utopian performatives may be understood differently, given the specific context of the performance. Additionally, my dissertation reorients Jewish theatre studies towards an ethnoreligious rather than solely ethnic understanding of Jewish American performance. Finally, my dissertation presents new topics of study - queer Jewish contemporary performance in the form of Jewish drag and Paula Vogel and Rebecca Taichman’s Indecent. This fills a gap in the research on the thriving queer Jewish theatre and performance scene. Filling this gap is especially critical at a time when queer and Jewish performers are facing censorship and bias and creating innovative work despite this bias.

Date

11-1-2024

Committee Chair

Shannon Walsh

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Available for download on Friday, October 31, 2031

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