My MA thesis is complete! Fancy title: “Unleashing Power in Yiddishland and Faerieland: Spectacular Theatrical Strategies for Resistance and Resilience.”  Want to read it? Here’s a link to the PDF that’s password-protected – let me know if you’d like to access it. (ezra dot nepon at gmail)

Here’s the abstract:

This research identifies transformative theatrical strategies in the work of two contemporary radical theater artists: a troupe of queer satirists from rural Tennessee called The Eggplant Faerie Players, and New Yiddish Theater-maker Jenny Romaine of New York City. Through oral history interviews, archival research, observer-participation, and in the context of their shared era, this study identifies and explores strategies that are common to both artists: Rehearsing Resistance, Re-Mixing History, and Dazzle Camouflage. Referencing Gloria Anzaldúa’s theory of “borderlands,” this work uses Yiddishland and Faerieland as frameworks that acknowledge the material and metaphorical spaces that are conjured through folk arts and culture. This thesis contributes creative new stories, ideas, insights, and critical analysis. It will benefit a wide community of historians, theater artists, culture-makers, and social justice activists who work to build resilience and resistance, toward personal and social transformation.