Queer(y)ing Quaintness: Destabilizing Atlantic Canadian Identity Through its Theatre
The Atlantic Canadian provinces (Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia) have long been associated with agricultural romanticism. Economically and culturally entrenched in a stereotype of quaintness (Anne of Green Gables is just one of many examples), the region continuou...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
2019
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.20381/ruor-23254 http://ruor.uottawa.ca/handle/10393/39004 |
id |
ftdatacite:10.20381/ruor-23254 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdatacite:10.20381/ruor-23254 2023-05-15T17:22:40+02:00 Queer(y)ing Quaintness: Destabilizing Atlantic Canadian Identity Through its Theatre Brown, Luke 2019 https://dx.doi.org/10.20381/ruor-23254 http://ruor.uottawa.ca/handle/10393/39004 en eng Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa queer theatre Atlantic Canada deconstruction queer theory performance nationalism regionalism digital performance web theatre CreativeWork article 2019 ftdatacite https://doi.org/10.20381/ruor-23254 2021-11-05T12:55:41Z The Atlantic Canadian provinces (Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia) have long been associated with agricultural romanticism. Economically and culturally entrenched in a stereotype of quaintness (Anne of Green Gables is just one of many examples), the region continuously falls into a cycle of inferiority. In this thesis, I argue that queer theory can be infused into performance analysis to better situate local theatre practice as a site of mobilization. Using terms and concepts from queer geographers and other scholars, particularly those who address capitalism (Gibson-Graham, Massey), this research outlines a methodology of performance analysis that looks through a queer lens in order to destabilize normative assumptions about Atlantic Canada. Three contemporary performances are studied in detail: Christian Barry, Ben Caplan, and Hannah Moscovitch's Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story, Ryan Griffith's The Boat, and Xavier Gould’s digital personality “Jass-Sainte Bourque”. Combining Ric Knowles' "dramaturgy of the perverse" (The Theatre of Form 1999) with Sara Ahmed's "queer phenomenology" (Queer Phenomenology 2006) allows for a thorough queer analysis of these three performances. I argue that such an approach positions new Atlantic Canadian performances and dramaturgies as sites of aesthetic and semantic disorientation. Building on Jill Dolan's "utopian performatives" (Utopia in Performance 2005), wherein the audiences experience a collective "lifting above" of normative dramaturgical structures, my use of "queer phenomenology" fosters a plurality of unique perspectives. The process of complicating normalizing tendencies helps dismantle generalizing cultural stereotypes. Article in Journal/Newspaper Newfoundland Prince Edward Island DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology) Canada Hannah ENVELOPE(-60.613,-60.613,-62.654,-62.654) Knowles ENVELOPE(-60.883,-60.883,-71.800,-71.800) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology) |
op_collection_id |
ftdatacite |
language |
English |
topic |
queer theatre Atlantic Canada deconstruction queer theory performance nationalism regionalism digital performance web theatre |
spellingShingle |
queer theatre Atlantic Canada deconstruction queer theory performance nationalism regionalism digital performance web theatre Brown, Luke Queer(y)ing Quaintness: Destabilizing Atlantic Canadian Identity Through its Theatre |
topic_facet |
queer theatre Atlantic Canada deconstruction queer theory performance nationalism regionalism digital performance web theatre |
description |
The Atlantic Canadian provinces (Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia) have long been associated with agricultural romanticism. Economically and culturally entrenched in a stereotype of quaintness (Anne of Green Gables is just one of many examples), the region continuously falls into a cycle of inferiority. In this thesis, I argue that queer theory can be infused into performance analysis to better situate local theatre practice as a site of mobilization. Using terms and concepts from queer geographers and other scholars, particularly those who address capitalism (Gibson-Graham, Massey), this research outlines a methodology of performance analysis that looks through a queer lens in order to destabilize normative assumptions about Atlantic Canada. Three contemporary performances are studied in detail: Christian Barry, Ben Caplan, and Hannah Moscovitch's Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story, Ryan Griffith's The Boat, and Xavier Gould’s digital personality “Jass-Sainte Bourque”. Combining Ric Knowles' "dramaturgy of the perverse" (The Theatre of Form 1999) with Sara Ahmed's "queer phenomenology" (Queer Phenomenology 2006) allows for a thorough queer analysis of these three performances. I argue that such an approach positions new Atlantic Canadian performances and dramaturgies as sites of aesthetic and semantic disorientation. Building on Jill Dolan's "utopian performatives" (Utopia in Performance 2005), wherein the audiences experience a collective "lifting above" of normative dramaturgical structures, my use of "queer phenomenology" fosters a plurality of unique perspectives. The process of complicating normalizing tendencies helps dismantle generalizing cultural stereotypes. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Brown, Luke |
author_facet |
Brown, Luke |
author_sort |
Brown, Luke |
title |
Queer(y)ing Quaintness: Destabilizing Atlantic Canadian Identity Through its Theatre |
title_short |
Queer(y)ing Quaintness: Destabilizing Atlantic Canadian Identity Through its Theatre |
title_full |
Queer(y)ing Quaintness: Destabilizing Atlantic Canadian Identity Through its Theatre |
title_fullStr |
Queer(y)ing Quaintness: Destabilizing Atlantic Canadian Identity Through its Theatre |
title_full_unstemmed |
Queer(y)ing Quaintness: Destabilizing Atlantic Canadian Identity Through its Theatre |
title_sort |
queer(y)ing quaintness: destabilizing atlantic canadian identity through its theatre |
publisher |
Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://dx.doi.org/10.20381/ruor-23254 http://ruor.uottawa.ca/handle/10393/39004 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-60.613,-60.613,-62.654,-62.654) ENVELOPE(-60.883,-60.883,-71.800,-71.800) |
geographic |
Canada Hannah Knowles |
geographic_facet |
Canada Hannah Knowles |
genre |
Newfoundland Prince Edward Island |
genre_facet |
Newfoundland Prince Edward Island |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.20381/ruor-23254 |
_version_ |
1766109473891418112 |