Speaking Out: Seven Writers on the Importance of Queer Voices in Theater
The art of queer writers helps to translate the joy, rage, history, and humanity of the LGBTQI+ community. Hear why these seven artists believe it is crucial that queer writers are given space on the American stage:
“As a trans and yellow American person making theater, I am aware that stories from my communities have been systematically and institutionally silenced so it’s important to get our work out no matter how it is produced or if it is produced, because our folx need to see ourselves onstage in order to feel that same theater magic that makes a person feel alive, possible, and human.”
- Kit Yan, Playwright, Lyricist, and DGF Fellow
“At a time when trans people, and especially black and migrant trans women, are facing so much violence, the humanizing power of authentic trans stories on stage can be lifesaving.”
- Corinna Schulenburg, Playwright and WAG Recipient
“As a queer, black boy in the middle of the country, I looked to the storytellers illuminating our history and our stories through the written word. James Baldwin, Tony Kushner, Robert O’Hara, Paula Vogel, Tarell Alvin McCraney—these writers shaped me as a person and as a dramatist. Their brave work could illuminate for folks like me—not yet out of the closet or sure of their voice, not yet living in a time of radical acceptance—how to build, unapologetically, a life in the theater telling queer stories.”
- Keelay Gipson, Playwright, New Voices Teaching Artist and DGF Fellows Alum
“It’s important to tell many different kinds of Queer stories about many different kinds of Queer people, because our history has so often been forced into the shadows. We’re proud to be Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellows, DG Members, and Queer artists who make things that celebrate LGBTQ+ stories and complicate traditional narratives.”
- Brandon James Gwinn and EllaRose Chary, Composers, Lyricists, and DGF Fellows Alumni
“Visibility is survival. The centering of queer narratives validates our right to live, create, succeed, fail and thrive. It is essential now more than ever because queer people are fucking dying all around the world and no one seems to care. Queer visibility is survival.”
- Khiyon Hursey, Composer, Lyricist, and DGF Fellows Alum
“Queer people exist in the world, so when our stories aren’t included, it’s a lie about what the world is. Let’s all enjoy learning about the lives of everyone in our beautifully diverse world.”
- Bill Nelson, Playwright, Lyricist, and DGF Fellows Alum
Click here to hear our thoughts on the important legacy of queer writers.