Overview

This is the first book to dedicate critical attention to the work of influential theater-maker Taylor Mac. Mac is particularly celebrated for the historic performance event A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, in which Mac, in fantastical costumes designed by collaborator Machine Dazzle, sang the history of the United States for 24 straight hours in October 2016. The MacArthur Foundation soon thereafter awarded their “genius” award to a “writer, director, actor, singer, and performance artist whose fearlessly experimental works dramatize the power of theater as a space for building community . . . [and who] interacts with the audience to inspire a reconsideration of assumptions about gender, identity, ethnicity, and performance itself.” Featuring essays, interviews, and commentaries by noted critics and artists, the volume examines the vastness of Mac’s theatrical imagination, the singularity of their voice, the inclusiveness of their cultural insights and critiques, and the creativity they display through stylistic and formal qualities and the unorthodoxies of their personal and professional trajectories. Contributors consider the range of Mac’s career as a playwright, performer, actor, and singer, expanding and enriching the conversation on this much-celebrated and deeply resonant body of work.

Full Product Details

Author:   David Roman ,  Sean Edgecomb
Publisher:   The University of Michigan Press
Imprint:   The University of Michigan Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.10cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 23.00cm
Weight:   0.930kg
ISBN:  

9780472075270

ISBN 10:   0472075276
Pages:   320
Publication Date:   31 July 2024
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable  
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Table of Contents

Preface: “It’s going to go on a lot longer than you want it to”: A Conversation about Taylor Mac, Covid and Collaboration. David Román and Sean F. Edgecomb Acknowledgments Introduction: The Early Performance of Taylor Mac Sean F. Edgecomb 1: Participation, Endurance, and the Pucker in Taylor Mac’s The Lily’s Revenge Carrie J. Preston 2: Between Hir and There: Considering Taylor Mac’s Work as Bridging Genres Kelly I. Aliano 3: Queer Pussy Time: Taylor Mac’s Lesbian Decade Kim Marra 4: Too Slow: Taylor Mac and the Rubs of Time Lisa A. Freeman 5: Taylor Mac, Walt Whitman, and Adhesive America: Cruising Utopia with the Good Gay Poet Jennifer Buckley 6: Circles and Lines: Community and Legacy in Taylor Mac’s Gary: A Sequel to “Titus Andronicus” Erika T. Lin 7: Designturgy, Being Queer: Taylor Mac Wears Machine Dazzle in 24 Decades Sissi Liu 8: Sing the Revolution!: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Taylor Mac and the Great American Songbook David Román 9: The Walk Across America for Mother Earth Paul Zimet 10: An Interview with Taylor Mac Kevin Sessums 11: Reflections on Collaboration Matt Ray Machine Dazzle   Viva DeConcini Niegel Smith Tigger! Ferguson Barbara Gustern Linda Brumbach Contributors Bibliography Index

Reviews

The Taylor Mac Book is an overdue encomium to the work of an artist who defines the cutting edge in theater, performance, and the interpretation of American song. With maximalist exuberance and impish daring, Taylor Mac has revived the fortunes of queer aesthetics for our parlous times. How great that now we all get to hang out with judy and the crew in this deliriously welcome collection of essays. -Tavia Nyong'o, Yale University This book is a joy to read, conveying the spirit, mischief, and intellect of Taylor Mac's work and reflecting its genius and complexity. The mix of topics and styles is well suited to the multifaceted nature of Mac's work and also makes for engaged reading. -Jennifer Parker-Starbuck, Royal Holloway, University of London

The Taylor Mac Book is an overdue encomium to the work of an artist who defines the cutting edge in theater, performance, and the interpretation of American song. With maximalist exuberance and impish daring, Taylor Mac has revived the fortunes of queer aesthetics for our parlous times. How great that now we all get to hang out with judy and the crew in this deliriously welcome collection of essays. --Tavia Nyong'o, Yale University -- Tavia Nyong'o This book is a joy to read, conveying the spirit, mischief, and intellect of Taylor Mac's work and reflecting its genius and complexity. The mix of topics and styles is well suited to the multifaceted nature of Mac's work and also makes for engaged reading. --Jennifer Parker-Starbuck, Royal Holloway, University of London -- Jennifer Parker-Starbuck

"The Taylor Mac Book is an overdue encomium to the work of an artist who defines the cutting edge in theater, performance, and the interpretation of American song. With maximalist exuberance and impish daring, Taylor Mac has revived the fortunes of queer aesthetics for our parlous times. How great that now we all get to hang out with judy and the crew in this deliriously welcome collection of essays."" —Tavia Nyong’o, Yale University ""This book is a joy to read, conveying the spirit, mischief, and intellect of Taylor Mac’s work and reflecting its genius and complexity. The mix of topics and styles is well suited to the multifaceted nature of Mac’s work and also makes for engaged reading."" —Jennifer Parker-Starbuck, Royal Holloway, University of London"

Author Information

David RomÁn is Professor of English and American Studies at the University of Southern California. Sean F. Edgecomb is Associate Professor of Theatre and Performance in the Ph.D. Program at the Graduate Center and the Coordinator of Drama at the College of Staten Island, CUNY.

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