Playful trangressions: male drama teachers in elite boys' schools

Edited book (chapter)


McDonald, Janet. 2006. "Playful trangressions: male drama teachers in elite boys' schools." Kiernander, Adrian, Bollen, Jonathan and Parr, Bruce (ed.) What a man's gotta do?: masculinities in performance. Armidale, NSW, Australia. University of New England. pp. 136-151
Chapter Title

Playful trangressions: male drama teachers in elite boys' schools

Book Chapter CategoryEdited book (chapter)
ERA Publisher ID11787
Book TitleWhat a man's gotta do?: masculinities in performance
Authors
AuthorMcDonald, Janet
EditorsKiernander, Adrian, Bollen, Jonathan and Parr, Bruce
Page Range136-151
Number of Pages16
Year2006
PublisherUniversity of New England
Place of PublicationArmidale, NSW, Australia
ISBN1921208023
Abstract

A man’s allowed to play hard, and work hard and all those things—but a man's got to know when to play those different roles, and to jump from one to another. He's got to know when to turn it on and when not to turn it on … It comes from the success that these schools are built on … ; if you can turn it on and speak the speak and walk the walk, you’re streets ahead of anyone who can’t. And they know that.

(Paul, Drama teacher, interviewed 4 Aug. 1998)

This quote illustrates the performance of masculinity and class that takes place inside the Great Public School (GPS) culture in Brisbane, Australia. In the GPS, there is a level of anxiety about the perceived place of Drama (the subject) and how it might interact/interfere with the apparent veneer of an iron-clad essentialist and homogenous masculinity promoted by elite all-boys' schools. The feminisation of Drama and the suspicion of males who 'do' drama create a tension for boys and teachers as they walk the gendered tightrope across the gap between the expected public display of the 'muscular Christian' ('playing it straight') and the disruptive instabilities of the ‘Drama faggot’ ('camping it up').

Keywordsboyhood, masculinity, performing gender, queering, feminisation of curricula
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020360403. Drama, theatre and performance studies
390101. Creative arts, media and communication curriculum and pedagogy
Public Notes

File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author.

Byline AffiliationsSchool of Creative Arts
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https://research.usq.edu.au/item/9z149/playful-trangressions-male-drama-teachers-in-elite-boys-schools

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