Carolyn Roark At its earliest inception, this issue was going to be dedicated to examining queer approaches to religion through performance. But then, on Valentine’s Day 2008, NPR aired a piece entitled “The Joy of Christian Sex Toys,” which highlighted the efforts of online retailer Book 22, purveyors of intimacy aids to married Christian couples.
Volume 2.2
Volume 2.1
Carolyn Roark Theatre making is, at heart, a utopian endeavor. With every production, we strive to make a perfect world— precisely lit, evocatively costumed, populated with irresistible characters, following a flawless story arc. Even if you don’t believe in the perfectibility of our own reality, it is what we aim for on stage. No surprise
Volume 1.2
Carolyn Roark Some months ago, Hazem Azmy and I were discussing the movement of ideas between “East” and “West”—those two mythical zones that fit so well into the binary classification system persisting in public discourse. Even though it elides, even denies, the polymorphous character of our world, you still see it in media outlets, on
Volume 1.1
Carolyn Roark I begin with the obvious—I am certain that readers and puzzled librarians noticed upon picking up this volume that the masthead bears the name Ecumenica rather than the Baylor Journal of Theatre and Performance. As editor, let me assure you that our scholarly mission and commitments remain the same. The change of name,
Interview with Ann Magnuson
by W.C. Meier In this interview, conducted 13 June 2012, Dr. Wendy Clupper Meier talks with NYC East Village 80s icon, cult movie darling, performance artist, and chanteuse Ann Magnuson about her career, artistic inspirations, and growing up in a Christian church in West Virginia. Arguably, Magnuson’s work has been largely neglected in theatre scholarship because
Interview with David Henry Hwang (Video)
Interview with Rachel Rosenthal (Audio)
Interview with John Patrick Shanley (Video)
A 20 minute conversation with Dr. Heather Beasley of the Boulder Theatre Ensemble, conducted during the 2010 Christian Scholar’s Conference. Special Thanks to Lipscomb University for sponsoring the video production, to LUmination Network for their beautiful videography and editing work, and, of course, to Mr. Shanley for his time and participation.
Interview with Sunil Pokharel
Questioning Caste: Performance, Parody, and the Political Economy of a Hindu State by Mark West During a recent talk in his of?ce at the Gurukul School of Theatre, a rustic performing arts center on a wooded hilltop overlooking Kathmandu, Sunil Pokharel’s words mixed with the morning calls of crows just outside his window. Normally
Interview with Annie Sprinkle and Elizabeth M. Stephens
by Wendy Clupper Meier In 2005, performance artists Annie Sprinkle and Elizabeth M. Stephens began a series of pieces and shows under the provocative title: “The Love Art Laboratory.” They spent seven years getting married to each other and nature all over the world and for thousands in public audiences, indoors and out. Neither artist