Spring 2025

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

Plays under discussion:

Cymbeline
12th Night
Two Gentlemen of Verona

This course examines gender, performance, and power in the portrayal of women on the Renaissance stage, focusing on three female characters in Shakespeare’s plays: Cymbeline’s Imogen, Twelfth Night’s Viola, and The Two Gentleman  of Verona’s Julia. In a time when men played all the female roles, cross-dressing was more than a theatrical convention—it shaped and reflected cultural views on gender. We will explore what it meant for male actors to voice female characters and how these performances related to the actual status of women in Elizabethan England, particularly under a female monarch.

Did women truly experience a Renaissance? Beyond the stage, we will consider women’s roles in the Renaissance, the Protestant and Catholic Reformations, and the Scientific Revolution. Through historical texts and scholarship, we will assess their contributions and the extent to which their voices were heard or suppressed. 

This course will challenge attendees to rethink traditional ideas of gender performance through close readings, historical analysis, and critical theory. By connecting Shakespeare’s theatrical practices to contemporary discussions of gender and identity, we will examine how his plays continue to influence our understanding of power and representation.

📅 Dates: March 3–May 19 (12 weeks)

🕔 Schedule: Every Monday, 5:00 PM–6:30 PM

📍 Format: Hybrid (In-person and online)

Location:

Northampton Center for the Arts – The Barn
33 Hawley Street, Northampton, MA 01060
Website: nohoarts.org

Important Details:

• Please download the SLACK app to access reading materials and bring your laptop.
  I am happy help set up SLACK during the first week of class.
• Extra readings will be posted on SLACK. Although not required, these materials will
  enhance our understanding of the context in which these plays were written.
• Feel free to attend the discussions on one, two, or three plays and register
  accordingly. As constructed, the plays in this program “speak” to one another, providing
  an arc of study and allowing different facets of the topic to emerge and explore.
  However, coming to study one play will provide threads to investigate at your own pace.

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Special Guest Speaker: Alexa Joubin

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.

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!

📅 Date: April 7, 2025

🕔 Schedule: Monday 5:00 PM–6:30 PM

📍 Format: Hybrid (In-person & online)

Location:
Northampton Center for the Arts – The Barn
33 Hawley Street, Northampton, MA 01060

Website: nohoarts.org