by CASEY KRINGLEN
If someone had told me, “you can imagine any character you read as any gender or sexual orientation,” my entire education — kindergarten through college — would have been cracked wide open. I would have been able to put myself into what I was learning. I knew I was “different” early on, I was certain I was gay by middle school, and I came out in high school. No huge trauma along the way, and yet no explicit permission to see myself as a gay man in what I was learning. I wasn’t in history, or literature, or even drama.
Part of my mission with Queer Classics is to show through example what no one ever told me as a child.
I like good writing and I love great writing. I believe God lives in great art and divinity can be mined infinitely. Thus, I am drawn to “the classics.” I want to work with writing I can trust, writing I can lean into, writing deeply woven with themes, motifs, symbols, ideas, and truth. As a young artist, I find the variables of creating a live performance to be daunting enough without the possibility that when something doesn’t work “it’s the writing.” I take great comfort in knowing that when Queer Classics starts a project, the material is freakin’ fantastic.
Queer Classics re-imagines classic material through queer lenses because it works. Classics are great pieces of art that stand the test of time, and great pieces of art explore and reveal human truths. LGBTQI characters are not common in classic material, and that’s no tragedy, but it is time for a refresh. LGBTQI people are humans and their truths are ultimately the same as everyone else’s, thus it’s possible to drop a queer lens on a classics piece and no humanity is lost.
Casey Kringlen
Last year I conceived a gay version of The Importance of Being Earnest and what we ended up with was a celebration. The piece became an example that showed heterosexual romantic narrative varies little from homosexual romantic narrative. The world we created for Earnest was that of 1890s London high society, bent only by the fact that — in our world — homosexuality was completely normal. We didn’t add a coming-out scene or imply that the couples shouldn’t marry because homosexuality was illegal or even frowned upon. The gayness wasn’t a big deal. And gayness isn’t a big deal. A world where being gay is a-OK is no magical utopia, it’s still the same world, full of compassionate humans and total jerks alike. We had a lot of fun with Earnest and audiences enjoyed it as well. The ultimate purpose was to show that acceptance of homosexuality wouldn’t break a beloved classic and to celebrate that truth by having a blast.
The Taming of the Shrew offers an exploration and an explanation, not necessarily a celebration. The queerness we explore creates motivation for the lead characters. Kate is trans without any notion that being so is possible. Kate doesn’t relate to any of the societal standards that everyone around him follows, so he feels completely alone and alien — wondering how everyone else can be so good at being themselves and he can’t even walk like “a man.” Petruchio doesn’t tame Kate, but dismantles his facade in the hope that Kate will rebuild himself from a place of honesty; inside out, ignoring society’s assumptions regarding sex and gender. For this exploration to work, the world must be one void of language with which to discuss trans people — as well as one where deviating from societal norms is frowned upon and often dangerous. We chose the 1950s.
Queer Art is ready to move beyond rage-fueled protests, because love via celebration and exploration carries true power, whereas anger carries none.
The unique power of live theatrical productions is mystifying, and Queer Classics will always be anchored in direct contact with audiences. I am also excited to expand the reach of Queer Classics by developing our online presence with Queer Classics Web Series and film versions of our adaptations. I am privileged to live in a city rich with culture and opportunities and want to share the celebrations, explorations, and explanations we discover with a broader audience.
NOW PLAYING AT QUEER CLASSICS: The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, running through June 21 at the Actors Company (Other Space Theatre) as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival.
In modern times, Queer Classics’ Kate and Petruchio might identify as trans*, but the 1950s are a completely different world. In this fresh and sexy take on Shakespeare’s classic comedy, QC explores the characters’ expression of gender in a time before there were labels to define it.