Sacramento State Student 2023, “Women & Gender: Staging Diversity”
"Dr. Kaplan is one of my favorite professors at this university. She is clearly very knowledgeable about the subjects she is teaching, but at the same time she is still open to learning more. She constantly fosters progressive and beneficial discussions, and never makes her students feel stupid or uninformed for having to "fumble forward" during a discussion. We are never shamed for where we are in our learning process, as long as we are still learning. She takes such pride in her class and the effect that it can have on us as we go into the world of theater and performance. I cannot think of any ways to make her a better professor or to make her class a better class."
Women & Theatre: Staging Diversity
SACRAMENTO STATE UNIVERSITY , DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE & DANCE/ DEPARTMENT OF WOMEN & GENDER STUDIES
Spring 2023, 2024
This course examines the works of women (inclusively and capaciously defined) in American theatre through the lenses of race, ethnicity, queer, trans, and feminist theories, and cultural criticism.
The objectives of the course are to
1) examine how issues of gender, sex, sexuality, race, and ethnicity operate in live female-identified performances
2) ascertain how female-identified artists explore their intersecting identities through performance and
3) to create performance works through the interrogation of feminist, queer, and trans-feminist theory
Students will participate in both lecture/discussion and performance activities throughout the semester. The course is designed to enhance learning and improve critical thinking skills through discussion, performance, and collaboration. This is not an “acting” class, but students are required to explore different modes of performance and present performances with confidence. I encourage you to ask questions, share your own experiences, express your views, and find useful and creative ways to engage the material and each other.