Crystal Finn Humanities
Women Playing Men: Cross-Gender Conditions in Shakespeare Performance
Crystal will be exploring female performance in Shakespeare, focusing on female actresses portraying male Shakespearean roles. The study will form her honors thesis in English, and will culminate in a creative project, for which she will stage a number of Shakespearean monologues and scenes using an all-female cast. The question Crystal wishes to explore in both these endeavors is what happens to our understanding of Shakespeares plays in cross-gender conditions? In answering this question she hopes to form a unique way of talking about women playing mena discourse that would bring into dialogue two sometimes incongruous approaches to gender in Shakespeare: literary and performance criticism. Crystal will visit the Globe Theater in London this summer to attend two significant all female performances and will conduct interviews with actors and directors involved in the productions. Their insights will inform her paper, as well as her own directing project.
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