The Ridiculous performance of Taylor Mac
2012; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 64; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/tj.2012.0102
ISSN1086-332X
Autores Tópico(s)Art, Politics, and Modernism
ResumoTaylor Mac is a contemporary actor and playwright who carries on the tradition of Charles Ludlam's (1943-87) Ridiculous Theatre for the twenty-first century. One of the first fully realized queer theatre forms in the United States, the Stonewall-era Ridiculous juxtaposed the modernist tradition of the avant-garde with camp, clowning, and drag. By layering Ludlam's signature clown with the alternative persona of the fool, Mac provocatively reinvents the Ridiculous, employing it as a tool for political satire. This essay traces Mac's development as a neo-Ridiculous artist in response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, analyzing four of his foundational works from this period: The Face of Liberalism (2003), Red Tide Blooming (2006), The Be(A)st of Taylor Mac (2006), and The Young Ladies of... (2007). In these key performances, Mac seeks both to resurrect and transform predecessors like Ludlam, providing an example of queer legacy in action.
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