You are cordially invited to the final Quorum of this academic year, taking place on Wednesday 3 April from 17:30 to 19:30. We are delighted to be joined by Dr Rachel Hann for a paper titled: The Transness of Pinocchio: Cade & MacAskill’s ‘The Making of Pinocchio’ (2023).

Abstract

What is ‘transness’ in performance? This is the starting point for this presentation as I look to argue a framework for investigating trans performance works beyond personal testimony. This line of questioning is connected to my AHRC funded project Trans Performance Now: Glitching cisgenderism that examines producing cultures for named ‘trans’ works in the UK. In particular, I adopt the case study of Rosana Cade and Ivor MacAskill’s ‘The Making of Pinocchio’ (2023) to unpick what transness as a set of techniques and methods might include. Theoretically, I am influenced by Marquis Bey’s (2022) proposal for transness as a ‘departure without destination’ and Grace E. Lavery’s (2023) argument for ‘trans techniques’ as means of ‘winning out against natural aptitude’. Cade & MacAskill’s trans techniques mix testimony with mediated storytelling and puppetry to offer a trans-orientated reading of the ‘real boy’ Pinocchio fable. In development since 2018, the production occurs in a fictional film studio and switches between in character presentations and ‘making of’ commentary. Critically, I argue that Cade & MacAskill’s work is part of an emerging canon of trans-led works in the UK that explore transness as strategically normative, visually exceptional, and politically scrutinised. The Pinocchio fable offers an apt lens for mapping the contemporary politics of transness, while also providing an inventive case study on what a trans-led show can be in terms of producing, genre, and form.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Rachel Hann is Assistant Professor in Performance and Design and current AHRC Fellow at Northumbria University, Newcastle (UK). She researches material cultures of scenography, transness, and climate crisis. Rachel is the author of Beyond Scenography (Routledge 2019) and co-founder of the research network Critical Costume. From 2024-2025, she is PI for an AHRC Fellowship entitled Trans Performance Now: Glitching cisgenderism, which examines the producing cultures for trans-orientated work in the UK. Rachel is also a current Chair of the Theatre and Performance Research Association.

This hybrid event takes place in person at Queen Mary University of London’s Mile End campus in Rehearsal Room 2, ArtsOne, and simultaneously online. If you want to join us, please book a free ticket. For those attending online, we will send you a Zoom link on the day of the event. Free tix at:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/quorum-rachel-hann-tickets-872194456097

For those joining in person, you are welcome in ArtsOne from 17:30. The event kicks off promptly at 18:00 and wraps up around 19:00, when in-person attendees are cordially invited to stay and chat over drinks and nibbles.

########################################################################

To unsubscribe from the PERF-STUD-NET list, click the following link:
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/WA-JISC.exe?SUBED1=PERF-STUD-NET&A=1

This message was issued to members of www.jiscmail.ac.uk/PERF-STUD-NET, a mailing list hosted by www.jiscmail.ac.uk, terms & conditions are available at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/