THE KILLJOYS
we make gender trouble. and plays.
ABOUT THE lisT
#roughTraid
THE lisT includes the results of my own survey of excellent plays by trans-identified and trans-ally-identified playwrights. It is a companion to The Kilroys’ list of the 46 most recommended plays for producers committed to ending the systemic underrepresentation of female voices in the American theater. The Kilroys note that they recognize the complexities of gender identity and the shortcomings of binary descriptors. Working within such a constraint, they use the term “female” as shorthand for the broad spectrum of female and genderqueer identity. The Kilroys created their list to address gender disparity on the American stage, where generally 80% of productions are plays by male authors.
Using “female” to denote women and genderqueer has some problems. While a notable attempt at trans inclusivity, conflating genderqueer identity into “female” makes some erroneous assumptions. The conflation suggests that transwomen are included in the list or that transmen are still female or that transsexuals necessarily identify as genderqueer. The Kilroys made the choice to include a specifically non-binary term, but they do not comment on how other trans people (non-GQ-IDed) are or are not included. Though trans and genderqueer perspectives are important to The Kilroys, as mentioned in an interview, I don't know how many openly trans people are on The Kilroys' List. Kilroy member Kelly Miller advocates for “female and female-identifying authors” which includes transwomen but this again suggests, according to the terms of The List, that GQs are female-identified. After spotting at least one masculine-IDed person named, I decided to make my own list dedicated to representing transgender and ally dramatic writing excellence.
To address the very serious gender parity on the American stage, The Kilroys surveyed 127 leaders in the field of new plays whom they consider influential. These experts identified more than 300 plays as among the best work by women they had encountered in the past year. There were then eligibility requirements for a play to make the list.
Here are the requirements for my lisT:
THE lisT comprises the 46 most recommended plays according to me. In order to be eligible, a play must be 1) by an author who identifies as trans or trans-ally* 2) expansive and original, not reducing trans IDs to tropes, tokens, fetishes, or exposition for cisgender people 3) plays I want to see and 4) among the most excellent seen or read by me OR by theater professionals whose opinions I respect. There are some lisT'ed plays that I have not seen or read, but I believe the playwrights to be worthy of the lisT either through direct communication or recommendations by my colleagues**. Plays by trans-IDed playwrights do not need to include trans characters to be lisT'ed.
*For a trans-ally to make the lisT, she or he MUST have worked dramaturgically in some way with trans people during the process of writing the play, which must include at least one trans character. The trans-allies on the list worked with focus groups, hired trans dramaturgs, or simply asked trans people for critical responses between drafts of the plays, and thoughtfully considered the community's feedback.
**I am on the list myself because I made the list, and I believe the plays I write represent the criteria I consider lisT-worthy. As Jill Dolan asked in response to The Kilroys, “what list isn’t partial”?
The Kilroys believe THE LIST will be an important resource for theater leaders in season planning, bringing American theater one step closer to knocking that 80% down to at least a more equivalent size. I hope The Killjoys lisT also helps move us closer to gender-inclusivity with a primary aim of visiblizing non-cisnormative genders in the playwriting community. To clarify, trans people who do not ID as genderqueer are not necessarily gender conforming. Trans queer and genderqueer do not hold the same meaning, although they can certainly cross over, as do many other identifiers. Where The Kilroys focus on women; the focus of this lisT is on people who publicly identify as trans and allies. Of course, I hope transwomen made it to The Kilroys, but even if they did, they have a place here as well.
The Killjoys lisT also includes plays with intersex characters. I recognize that intersex and trans are two separate things that sometimes intersect and sometimes don't, but I also recognize that there has not been a category for intersex inclusion yet.
The Kilroys state that they want to encourage people to turn any feelings of exclusion from their List into action, get together with our own people, and choose our own action that will add to the conversation. The conversation among my people, to quote Joy Meads of The Kilroys, “has been stuck in this loop of 'oh, the plays aren’t there,' which they are.” And echoing Annah Feinberg also of The Kilroys, “yes, they’re right here.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE lisT
An asterisk next to the name denotes a trans-identified playwright
† indicates intersex ID or a play with intersex characters
Playwrights are named in alphabetical order
1. Jess Barbagallo*
Saturn Nights
with Chris Giarmo
Good Year For Hunters
2. Kate Bornstein*
Hidden: A Gender
Strangers in Paradox
3. Joshua Bastian Cole*
Two Truths and Allie
2nd Star (work in progress)
4. Topher Cusumano
Getting Away With Mother
5. Tobias K. Davis*
The Naked I: Monologues From Beyond The Binary
Standards of Care
6. Amina Henry
The Bride at Midnight†
Mutants Circa 1982†
7. Beth Hersh
The Unencumbered
8. MJ Kaufman*
Sagittarius Ponderosa
9. Maggie Keenan-Bolger
Queering History
10. Bryn Kelly* & Annie Danger*
The Fully Functional Cabaret
11. Leanna Keyes*
God Herself Could Not Sink This Ship
Legal-Tender Loving Care
lower case love
12. Rebecca Kling*
Uncovering the Mirrors
13. Basil Kreimendahl*
Sidewinders
Orange Julius
14. Kim Kressal & Will Larche
Lesbian Love Octagon
15. Casey Llewellyn
The Quiet Way
16. Melissa Li & Kit Yan*
Interstate
17. Kestryl Cael Lowrey*
Radclyffe
18. Taylor Mac
Hir
19. Mariah MacCarthy
Mrs. Mayfield’s Fifth-Grade Class of ’93 20-Year Reunion
You Like It
20. Riley MacLeod*
The Marriage Trick
21. Nick Mwaluko*
Waafrika
22. Azure Osborne-Lee*
Crooked Parts
23. Sylvan Oswald*
Nightlands
Pony
Sex Play
24. Duncan Pflaster
Tips of the Icebergs
The Tragedy of Dandelion
25. Roman Rimer*
Evolution
26. Scott Turner Schofield*
Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps
Debutante Balls
27. Dylan Scholinski*
The Last Time I Wore a Dress
28. Christopher Shinn
Teddy Ferrara
29. Davide Tolu*
Il Viaggio di Arnold
30. Anderson Toone*
Hillbillies on the Moon
31. Kirya Traber
Overheard
32. Enrique Urueta
Forever Never Comes
33. Various Authors* of the 20% Theatre Company
The Naked I: Wide Open
The Naked I: Insides Out
34. Geo Wyeth*
Haunts
HONORABLE MENTION: Dan Fishback
we make gender trouble. and plays.
ABOUT THE lisT
#roughTraid
THE lisT includes the results of my own survey of excellent plays by trans-identified and trans-ally-identified playwrights. It is a companion to The Kilroys’ list of the 46 most recommended plays for producers committed to ending the systemic underrepresentation of female voices in the American theater. The Kilroys note that they recognize the complexities of gender identity and the shortcomings of binary descriptors. Working within such a constraint, they use the term “female” as shorthand for the broad spectrum of female and genderqueer identity. The Kilroys created their list to address gender disparity on the American stage, where generally 80% of productions are plays by male authors.
Using “female” to denote women and genderqueer has some problems. While a notable attempt at trans inclusivity, conflating genderqueer identity into “female” makes some erroneous assumptions. The conflation suggests that transwomen are included in the list or that transmen are still female or that transsexuals necessarily identify as genderqueer. The Kilroys made the choice to include a specifically non-binary term, but they do not comment on how other trans people (non-GQ-IDed) are or are not included. Though trans and genderqueer perspectives are important to The Kilroys, as mentioned in an interview, I don't know how many openly trans people are on The Kilroys' List. Kilroy member Kelly Miller advocates for “female and female-identifying authors” which includes transwomen but this again suggests, according to the terms of The List, that GQs are female-identified. After spotting at least one masculine-IDed person named, I decided to make my own list dedicated to representing transgender and ally dramatic writing excellence.
To address the very serious gender parity on the American stage, The Kilroys surveyed 127 leaders in the field of new plays whom they consider influential. These experts identified more than 300 plays as among the best work by women they had encountered in the past year. There were then eligibility requirements for a play to make the list.
Here are the requirements for my lisT:
THE lisT comprises the 46 most recommended plays according to me. In order to be eligible, a play must be 1) by an author who identifies as trans or trans-ally* 2) expansive and original, not reducing trans IDs to tropes, tokens, fetishes, or exposition for cisgender people 3) plays I want to see and 4) among the most excellent seen or read by me OR by theater professionals whose opinions I respect. There are some lisT'ed plays that I have not seen or read, but I believe the playwrights to be worthy of the lisT either through direct communication or recommendations by my colleagues**. Plays by trans-IDed playwrights do not need to include trans characters to be lisT'ed.
*For a trans-ally to make the lisT, she or he MUST have worked dramaturgically in some way with trans people during the process of writing the play, which must include at least one trans character. The trans-allies on the list worked with focus groups, hired trans dramaturgs, or simply asked trans people for critical responses between drafts of the plays, and thoughtfully considered the community's feedback.
**I am on the list myself because I made the list, and I believe the plays I write represent the criteria I consider lisT-worthy. As Jill Dolan asked in response to The Kilroys, “what list isn’t partial”?
The Kilroys believe THE LIST will be an important resource for theater leaders in season planning, bringing American theater one step closer to knocking that 80% down to at least a more equivalent size. I hope The Killjoys lisT also helps move us closer to gender-inclusivity with a primary aim of visiblizing non-cisnormative genders in the playwriting community. To clarify, trans people who do not ID as genderqueer are not necessarily gender conforming. Trans queer and genderqueer do not hold the same meaning, although they can certainly cross over, as do many other identifiers. Where The Kilroys focus on women; the focus of this lisT is on people who publicly identify as trans and allies. Of course, I hope transwomen made it to The Kilroys, but even if they did, they have a place here as well.
The Killjoys lisT also includes plays with intersex characters. I recognize that intersex and trans are two separate things that sometimes intersect and sometimes don't, but I also recognize that there has not been a category for intersex inclusion yet.
The Kilroys state that they want to encourage people to turn any feelings of exclusion from their List into action, get together with our own people, and choose our own action that will add to the conversation. The conversation among my people, to quote Joy Meads of The Kilroys, “has been stuck in this loop of 'oh, the plays aren’t there,' which they are.” And echoing Annah Feinberg also of The Kilroys, “yes, they’re right here.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE lisT
An asterisk next to the name denotes a trans-identified playwright
† indicates intersex ID or a play with intersex characters
Playwrights are named in alphabetical order
1. Jess Barbagallo*
Saturn Nights
with Chris Giarmo
Good Year For Hunters
2. Kate Bornstein*
Hidden: A Gender
Strangers in Paradox
3. Joshua Bastian Cole*
Two Truths and Allie
2nd Star (work in progress)
4. Topher Cusumano
Getting Away With Mother
5. Tobias K. Davis*
The Naked I: Monologues From Beyond The Binary
Standards of Care
6. Amina Henry
The Bride at Midnight†
Mutants Circa 1982†
7. Beth Hersh
The Unencumbered
8. MJ Kaufman*
Sagittarius Ponderosa
9. Maggie Keenan-Bolger
Queering History
10. Bryn Kelly* & Annie Danger*
The Fully Functional Cabaret
11. Leanna Keyes*
God Herself Could Not Sink This Ship
Legal-Tender Loving Care
lower case love
12. Rebecca Kling*
Uncovering the Mirrors
13. Basil Kreimendahl*
Sidewinders
Orange Julius
14. Kim Kressal & Will Larche
Lesbian Love Octagon
15. Casey Llewellyn
The Quiet Way
16. Melissa Li & Kit Yan*
Interstate
17. Kestryl Cael Lowrey*
Radclyffe
18. Taylor Mac
Hir
19. Mariah MacCarthy
Mrs. Mayfield’s Fifth-Grade Class of ’93 20-Year Reunion
You Like It
20. Riley MacLeod*
The Marriage Trick
21. Nick Mwaluko*
Waafrika
22. Azure Osborne-Lee*
Crooked Parts
23. Sylvan Oswald*
Nightlands
Pony
Sex Play
24. Duncan Pflaster
Tips of the Icebergs
The Tragedy of Dandelion
25. Roman Rimer*
Evolution
26. Scott Turner Schofield*
Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps
Debutante Balls
27. Dylan Scholinski*
The Last Time I Wore a Dress
28. Christopher Shinn
Teddy Ferrara
29. Davide Tolu*
Il Viaggio di Arnold
30. Anderson Toone*
Hillbillies on the Moon
31. Kirya Traber
Overheard
32. Enrique Urueta
Forever Never Comes
33. Various Authors* of the 20% Theatre Company
The Naked I: Wide Open
The Naked I: Insides Out
34. Geo Wyeth*
Haunts
HONORABLE MENTION: Dan Fishback
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