Violence & Visibility: Queer Fate and Bias-Motivated Crimes Represented On and Off the Stage

Abstract

Stop Kiss by Diana Son is a queer nonlinear love story detailing the leading up to and aftermath of a hate crime. Sara moves to New York City from St. Louis for a teaching job in the Bronx, and meets Callie, a seasoned New York traffic reporter and friend-of-a-friend who volunteers to house Sara's cat. With quick dialogue, humor, and a heartbreaking poignancy, Sara and Callie form a fast friendship that quickly develops into a beautiful romance. This vibrant production emphasizes a message of commitment, growth, and recovery. Our project showcases visual art, music, and performance by members of the LGBTQ+ community at Purchase College, for members of the LGBTQ+ community at Purchase and at large, as well as allies and people seeking to learn more about LGBTQ+ history, culture, or activism. The majority of our cast, crew, and accompanying artists are LGBTQ+ people and as such, we strive to create a safe and inclusive space for our audience. Through my research, I'm exploring the critical moment in Stop Kiss where the main characters are attacked after they are seen kissing in a park. This moment of violence is not written as its own scene, it’s only ever talked about after the fact by the characters who witnessed the event, and because of that, it cannot be staged. This is extremely important when we take into account the violence that has been inflicted upon gay people for many years, and when we acknowledge that this violence is still happening. For my project, I study and analyze past portrayals of violence against gay and lesbian characters in theatre and how those crimes are handled. I also go on to explore how seen or unseen violence can affect an audience. How does the way in which violence is portrayed make us feel about the action? How can it affect which characters we sympathize with? As a stage manager, I’m approaching this topic from a practical perspective as well; what problems arise when you choreograph violence against a marginalized group of people? How can we potentially protect queer actors and audiences from trauma? And most importantly, what defines theatre as a safe space?