Clothes Do Not Make the Man: Rethinking Shakespearean Gender-Crossing

Special Guest Speaker: Alexa Joubin

Clothes Do Not Make the Man: Rethinking Shakespearean Gender-Crossing

Monday, April 7, 2025, 5:00 PM–6:30 PM

In-person at the The Barn Door Gallery & online

COST: BY DONATION*

Is Twelfth Night a playful comedy of disguise, or does it explore deeper questions of gender identity and trauma? Are Cesario and Viola simply cross-dressed, or do they challenge the gender binary altogether? This interactive presentation with Alexa Alice Joubin delves into speech acts, performativity, and queer dramaturgy, examining how performances of Twelfth Night can be interpreted through a trans lens to think about body dysphoria, harassment, and homelessness.

Join Professor Alexa Alice Joubin, Director of the Digital Humanities Institute at George Washington University, inaugural bell hooks Legacy Award recipient, and co-founder of MIT Global Shakespeare’s digital performance archive, as she explores how Twelfth Night redefines identity and challenges heteronormative storytelling.

Don’t miss this insightful event—register now to join the conversation!

To reregister and make a donation, click here:

https://www.communityshakespearene.org/alexa-joubin-event/

Community Shakespeare New England: Shakespeare Unmasked

Shakespeare Unmasked: Gender, Power, and Performance on the Renaissance Stage

Mondays, March 3–May 19 (12 weeks) from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM

Hybrid (online and in the Barn Door Gallery at 33 Hawley)

Suggested donations on a sliding scale of $25–$50 help support our programming!

Discover the joy of Shakespeare in an engaging and welcoming community! Our 2025 program features seminars, guest speakers, and workshops, offering fresh insights into the Bard’s works. Whether you’re a longtime Shakespeare enthusiast or new to his plays, there’s something for everyone! Be part of the conversation—learn, explore, and celebrate Shakespeare with us!

For more details and to register, visit: https://www.communityshakespearene.org/

Spring 2025 Course Description:

Plays under discussion: Cymbeline, 12th Night, and Two Gentlemen of Verona

This course explores gender, performance, and power through three female characters in Shakespeare’s plays: Imogen from Cymbeline, Viola from Twelfth Night, and Julia from The Gentleman of Verona. Considering that men performed all female roles during the Renaissance, we will analyze how these portrayals influenced and reflected societal views on gender, especially under a female monarch in Elizabethan England. We will also examine women's roles during the Renaissance, the Reformations, and the Scientific Revolution, assessing their contributions and voices through historical texts and scholarship. The course encourages rethinking traditional ideas of gender performance and connects Shakespeare’s works to contemporary discussions on power and representation.

• April 7 with Special Guest Speaker: Alexa Joubin

  Clothes do not make the man: Rethinking Shakespearean gender-crossing

  To find out more, register, and donate, check the link below:

  www.nohoarts.org/theatre-and-film/category/clothes-do-not-make-the-man-rethinking-shakespearean-gender-crossing

  Is Twelfth Night a playful comedy of disguise, or does it explore deeper questions of gender identity and trauma? Are Cesario and Viola simply cross-dressed, or do they challenge the gender binary altogether? This interactive presentation with Alexa Alice Joubin delves into speech acts, performativity, and queer dramaturgy, examining how performances of Twelfth Night can be interpreted through a trans lens to think about body dysphoria, harassment, and homelessness.

  Alexa Alice Joubin is Professor of English and director of the Digital Humanities Institute at George Washington University. Specializing in Shakespeare, gender, and adaptation studies, she is the inaugural recipient of the Bell Hooks Legacy Award. She co-founded the MIT Global Shakespeare’s open-access digital performance archive.

Summer Theater Workshop

Summer Theater Workshop

Led by drama therapist Carissa Dagenais, MA, RDT, CHW

Two groups: Ages 7-12 and 15-18

To Register:

For Ages 7-12, please go to https://forms.gle/KDrGhMCrA9auWjNC9

For Ages 15-18, please go to https://forms.gle/W6NacgtWQnFczPz29

For questions please contact: carissadagenais@gmail.com

This is a one week process-focused theater workshop that is tailored to the group's interest and skills. Ages 7-12 will explore storytelling, group work, improvisation, how to stage a theater production, and building social-emotional skills. Ages 15-18 will focus on monologues, partnered scene work, and how to create a character. Both groups perform for family and friends at the end of the week. Ages 7-12 is full day and Ages 15-18 is half day.

Interested in more theatre and film classes?

Please contact us at ncfa@nohoarts.org if you’d like to take or teach a theatre or film class! We’re always open to creating or supporting new class offerings!